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Guitar effect patches for the Line 6 X3, X3 Live and X3 Pro The POD X3 family will inspire and amaze you with the most complete collection of POD-quality guitar amp and effect models ever. This arsenal of rare vintage treasures, modern boutiques, and perennial classics offers nearly unlimited creative possibilities. POD X3 Series: Factory Reset, Reflash, and Firmware Updates Q: Can I reset the POD X3 series units directly from the unit? Hold the 'home' button.

Line 6 POD XT Live Metal Tones Part I: Metal Rhythms metal players were pleased with the POD for metal (especially the following unit, the POD X3). Aug 19, 2003 Enter the PODxt. The Line6 PODxt is a significant update to the original POD in terms of features. Not only have a wealth of new models been added, but many of the classic effects boxes – from fuzzes, to delays, to Leslie speaker simulations – have all been included. On top of it all, even the models that have been transferred over from the.

Line6’s original POD unit has been wildly successful since its inception just a few short years ago and with good reason. Any guitarist can imagine the appeal of having a musical tool that can call up a variety of guitar tones instantly at the push of a few buttons and a twist of a few knobs. In fact, having this versatility in a small package made the original POD a mainstay for studio musicians and recording studios.

While a new loyal group of Line6 users embraced this digital modeling technology used in the original POD, some musicians were quick to judge negatively against the POD and modeling technology in general – even if they never had tried it in the first place! It is interesting that while we as musicians like to think of ourselves as individuals, we can also sometimes be 'set in our ways' (how many of us play Strats, Pauls, and PRS’ or Marshall and Mesa Boogie amps in part because so-and-so does?) – and no debate has been stirred up with so much passion over recent years than the topic of 'modeling vs. the real thing.' It’s easy to see modeling-critics ripping apart these solutions, not only because they promise a plethora of the greatest tones according to how they are marketed, but also because they are simply new and perhaps threaten the status quo of how music is to be made and heard.
So where do I stand in this debate? I’m in an interesting space actually as I’m a hard-core lover of vintage tube amplifiers, but I’ll admit that they’re not without their faults and issues, especially if looking to buy one today. I also enjoy working on these amps so some of the love and enjoyment also comes from a different perspective – just like a person may enjoy his classic automobile – admittedly if I didn’t have any of the technical skill to maintain my amps, I’d admit that I’d likely be overly worried about issues of problems arising.
Additionally, while I enjoy my 'old amps', having a tool that promises the great tones of many types and eras of amplifiers in one package is very exciting. Much of my time in the ‘80s was spent experimenting with virtually every processor, gizmo, pickup, amp and guitar that I could – all in the quest of tone. So having gone through all those years of trial and error and frustration -would I like to have a bunch of great amp and effect tones all in one small kidney-bean shaped unit? Sure thing! So let’s go explore the PODxt and see how it went…

Enter the PODxt

The Line6 PODxt is a significant update to the original POD in terms of features. Not only have a wealth of new models been added, but many of the classic effects boxes – from fuzzes, to delays, to Leslie speaker simulations – have all been included. On top of it all, even the models that have been transferred over from the original POD have been redone and updated.

The PODxt not only adds a large supply of models based on speakers and cabinets that can be mated with any of the amplifiers chosen, but it also models the final mixed sounds of various microphones that are placed on and/or off-axis in respect to the speaker. What the PODxt is designed to do is provide the complete spectrum of tone suitable for recording from where the guitar first enters the amplifier (or before it if you choose to employ the stomp box models) to the final recording mix.

The PODxt’s 'AIR' feature has also been updated and has more specific settings for the final environment where the POD is used. Whether you’re looking for the optimum headphone output tone, or want to run it in front of a combo amplifier or direct into a PA, the PODxt allows you to make this change. It is for this reason why anyone seriously interested in the PODxt should really dive into the user guide so they don’t miss these details. Not only is it truly comprehensive, well-written, and indeed fun to read, if you miss some of the critical info about areas such as the AIR function and run the POD set in the wrong final application (e.g. running it in front of combo amplifier when in direct mode), you’ll likely be very disappointed by the final sound produced.

Last, but certainly not least, one of the biggest changes to come to the PODxt is the addition of a graphical interface that shows all the various amp and effects settings on screen. Unlike the older POD, the PODxt shows you instantly where you last left all of your dialed-in settings on a given model. This may not seem like such a big deal, but it is a huge benefit to the user to visually represent the bass, treble, drive and other settings on screen.

Amp Models and Presets

I was already well-versed in the use of Line6’s POD 2.0 and so I was looking forward to seeing how improved the PODxt would be. New models from Matchless, Vox, and Hiwatt, as well as some new variations on Marshalls are all here. The new models come courtesy of the digital signal processing technology found within Line6’s flagship Vetta modeling amplifier.

Some of the most notable of amplifier models featured within include the Hiwatt DR103, the famous amplifier used by Pete Townshend of The Who, as well as the 'plexi' Marshall Super Lead but running on a Variac, the idea based on increasing the voltage of the amplifier (more on this in a moment) to change the tone and overall inspired by Edward Van Halen’s famously dubbed 'brown sound' tone.

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New to the PODxt as well are 60 built-in presets that utilize various combinations of modeled amplifiers and effects to help users dial in some particularly famous recorded tones. Four spaces are left empty for users to create and store their own presets. For the ones that Line6 includes, there are presets such as 'Eruption' that emulates the Van Halen slow phased sweep and gainy Marshall tone running a Variac as employed on the first album. There are a host of others that are easily recognizable as to where their influences were derived, from the AC/DC-inspired 'Highway to Hell', Eric Johnson 'Cliffs of Dover', Dire Strait’s 'Money for Nothin', and many others.

So how do these presets sound? I’d say the full gamut is covered in terms of accuracy as some of the settings, most notably, the higher gain style settings such as the Metallica inspired 'Master of Puppets' preset sound very accurate, but some of the other settings are either a bit too processed with additional effects or the distortion tone doesn’t feel quite 'on' (such as the VH inspired 'Eruption' which had a fluid lead tone, but lacked the VH vibe whatsoever when doing rhythm chords or the Eric Johnson 'Cliffs of Dover' which in itself was a good tone but one of the ones that was clearly overdone with reverb and delay). Some tones seemed to miss the mark for me completely (such as the AC/DC-inspired 'Highway to Hell' – one of my all-time favorite Marshall/Gibson tones that just really disappointed me)).

All said, if you approach the PODxt with the idea that you’re going to find dead-on 100% accurate presets and tones true in every way to the original, well I’d say that you’d be expecting a quite a bit too much from the PODxt. You have to look at the unit with an open mind as to what it is – it is an attempt to model as closely as possible many of the tones one uses, but it’s something that won’t get 100% of modeled tones and shouldn’t be expected to – regardless of how something may be marketed or presented in an advertisement.

The types of guitars and pickups used of course will impact