Got one, arrived today. I originally wanted it for backup for my Vetta but I think I may have posted here that my band is looking to go all direct in the near future. I was going to maybe get an X3 Pro rack or Bean, and use my FBV to control it, but I got the XTL for $170 shipped and in mint condition with the Metal expansion pack, so I couldn' resist. I'll sill end up getting an X3 Pro down the road, after I find a day job. Been over a month and my band is my only income so cash is a little tight.
Cool. If you don't have one, buy a stereo direct box. The XT Live's outputs are unbalanced, and if you're going to run it direct across a stage, you'll probably want to have a direct box connected. They fixed that with the X3 Live (thankfully).
I'm sure in most situations, it won't be a problem, but I figured I'd make sure that you were aware of that piece of information.
Good luck with it! I'm sure you'll find some awesome sounds in there.
Tripper
yeah I knew that, it was the reason I bought the TLSE a few years ago instead of the XTL. TO me, it is a glaring omission. To my surprise, when I logged into Line 6 last night, my model pack licenses from 04 were still there, FX, MEtal and Collector Classic. The unit shipped FX Junkie, the former owner bought Metal Shop so all I need to load is the CC pack. But good to know I still own the others if I ever need them.
I have a Behringer Ultra DI which I can use for a bit, but after Christmas I plan on buying a Sansamp Para DRiver DI. I figure having the EQ options on it will solve my DI needs and my external EQ needs so I can tweak to each room without altering my presets.
Also, gonna grab a BBE Sonic Stomp and put the XTL, BBE and Sansamp all in one case, and eventually get a nice tube buffer or tube compressor pedal to run in front of it.
Ended up giving the XTL to my son for Christmas, he needed something to play through. I went back to the X's pawn shoppe and grabbed an XT Bean for $93. Since I have an FBV anyhow the bean actually seemed to make more sense for live use with it's TRS outs. I am going to grab an extra FBV in the near future, then I am compleely redundantly backed up. Watching the Bay for a great deal on an XT Pro, unless I end up just forking out the cash for an X3 Pro. But since an XT Pro can be gotten for as little as $275 on a good day on eBay, I imagine that will be what I get next. Then I will sell the bean for an easy $50-100 profit.
However, I am really liking the Pod, so far over all I like it a bit beter than the TLLE, which surprises me. I do like the character of the TLLE tones and they are definitley much livelier, but the flexibility and cool features of the Pod make it so much better in a lot of ways.
Funny how I have had the bean, XTL and XT Pro, as well as a few Vettas, FLextone 2XL, Spider, and the Tonelab deskop and TLSE, and I am treating all these things as though they are new discoverise. To me I think that is the strength of these types of products. My needs now are completely different from when I last owned a Pod, so this time around it is much more useful to me.
Of course my buddy Eric who plays jazz/blues and builds custom tube amps came out to see me play the other night and said "Dude I just don't believe in he Vetta, it puts the other two 6's in Line 666." I said "well, i's right there so believe in it". He and I are going to disagree forever, because he thinks even Mesa Mark IV's, with all the switching options, are "un pure" amps. He is like a Muslim fanatic when it comes to tube gear, especially vintage or boutique stuff.
spaivxx — Dec 20, 2008
Of course my buddy Eric who plays jazz/blues and builds custom tube amps came out to see me play the other night and said "Dude I just don't believe in he Vetta, it puts the other two 6's in Line 666." I said "well, i's right there so believe in it". He and I are going to disagree forever, because he thinks even Mesa Mark IV's, with all the switching options, are "un pure" amps. He is like a Muslim fanatic when it comes to tube gear, especially vintage or boutique stuff.
I find some of the modelers useful, but I agree with Eric, if it ain't got power and preamp tubes there is a harshness and fizz that I dislike. I am a definite tube amp lover over the digital and solid state stuff, just because the tube stuff sounds much sweeter. But for the stuff you do, metal and all that, a modeler or modeled amp would be useful with a little tweaking. I have two of them, a Digitech GNX2 and a Tonelab tabletop. I use one patch on the GNX2 for intelligent harmonies, and one patch on the Tonelab for a recording preamp.
Yeah, I know, in a perfect world I would be using a Bradshaw switched multi amp setup with a nice refrigerator sized rack and some stomps, but that just is not practical for me. I love real tubes, but these days I love convenience and versitility more.
Plus, we are playing in bars and such to people who simply would not even hear the difference, not everyone hears our gear the way we do. I have gotten pretty good at tweaking my Vetta so it has no harshness or whatever. I am pleased with it for what it does.
I agree that if I were playing in a really good blues band I may need to have Eric build me one of his cutom tube amps.
Incidentally, one of the reasons I picked up the Tonelab LE is because it does sound so good in front of a tube amp, and hopefully this year I will find some kind of day job to suppliment my income and I can start buying more gear (that is, gear that I don't actually need). I want to get a HRD. At first use it with the TLLE, then add a few pedals like an Xotic BB or a Fulltone or something, and use that for blues gigs. So, in the end, I will have the best of both worlds.
Tube lovers unite! :D
And, for those wanting to see those DD tubes on the top left better, here's a larger version: ;)
http://www.n2-o.com/gif/tubeshrine.jpg
