So, ive finally got around to reviewing the X3. Im gonna do this in 3 parts. 1st im gonna compare the X3 to the XT, cus thats the only thing ive owned that can really compare. 2nd im gonna review the amps and effects. 3rd and last of all I will give my conclusions about the unit. There will be sound clips and such, but keep in mind that ive been away from the bass for 8-10 months, so I suck BAD... (stupid world of warcraft... but thats another story, prolly never to be told
)
Ive also only skipped thru the manual, so ill be giving my opinion on the X3s user friendlyness
Also note that I have the X3 bean, controlled by the FBV "longboard".
Part I. X3 vs. XT
Having done some incredible (i hope) research into both the regular and bass specific PODxts I'd first like to point out that the X3 is, for all intents and purposes, 2 xts, with all the model packs and such, put together in parallel. From what i gather on the web the CPUs are improved, but in all honestly I dont notice that the X3 is any "faster", especially when switching patches/tones/whatever. There is still a slight pause/muteing when doing so.
Which brings me to something i like to call the "what the hell does that mean" section. The only thing that really need explaining IMO is to how the PODs sounds are organized and named:
- Bank 1
- Patch 1-A
- Patch 1-B
- Patch 1-C
- Patch 1-D
- Bank 2... etc.
Honestly the 2-tones-per-patch is the biggest "upgrade" from the xt. Other than that its a lot of interface stuff: The X3 has the same tone knobs as the regular xt, including the reverb knob which controls the verb mix variable. No comp knob. The order is changed, but thats about it. They are more logically organized on the X3, except for the verb and tone volume. The soft buttons for the diferent effects moduals within a tone are along the bottom of the unit on the X3, instead of above the screen on the xt. X3 has a bigger screen where you can see the name(s) of the patches/tones and a block style diagram of the signal chain of the current tone. The other controls are pretty intuitive and are well marked, even the "press to save" knob.
As for the differences in controlling each with the FBV, not much has changed. The stomp 2 and 3 buttons now controll the same thing as stomp 1. No more gate or EQ on/off, which is kindof a setback cus I liked the idea of being able to switch in the EQ block for a different sound instead of switching patches. On the bean at least, the FX Loop button can be set to toggle the Comp, Amp (which already has a separate switch), or which tone youre editing. The last function is really nice, cus the amp, verb, mod, and delay buttons only affect the tone your editing (aka the one you see on the screen). Just use the loop button to select tone 2, switch in a verb effect, then press it again and hit the stomp button to add some distorion the tone 1
The last control change is that the "Favorite Channel" button does nothing. Not too bad of a downgrade, but a downgrade none the less.
The Wah is also STILL only pre-everthing-but-the-noisegate in terms of positioning.
For those interested the bean has a metal casing. I belive the live version is plastic tho, just like its xt predesessor.
Part II. The X3s amps and effects
First off, the amps. The bigest *** for me is that even though the all the cabs are usable on each amp model, you can only select amps in the currently selected catagory. The second thing to bug me, was how the 8 mics were cab-type specific (4 for the guitar cabs, 4 for the bass), and to my ears, colored the sound more than most of the cabs, yet the "room"/mic distance variable does almost nothing sonicwise. I noticed the coloration "issue" on the xt as well. IMO it makes the entire thing imposible to compare to the real thing. Just my opinion tho
I find that there is quite a noticable difference among a lot of the guitar amps, but not the bass ones. Especially with the preset EQing. Unlike the xt there is no "manual" mode, where the physical positon of the silver knobs overrides the preset stuff. The following is me switching among the the guitar/bass/preamps. The EQ/Gain/Cab/Mic is all preset, but it should give you some idea as to the sonic spectrum of the unit. The other thing i feel i should mention is that amps in the preamp catagory can not have cabs/mics selected. Makes it more realistic that way i guess. Note that there are a lot more guitar amps than bass
Oh, and no comment on my playing. I know i suck
The 1st guitar one starts out with no amp/the amp modeling bypassed.
Guitar Amps 1 Guitar Amps 2 Bass Amps Preamp Models
Now for the FX, starting with the "stomp" section. This is where all the distortions/comps/dynamics/filters are. Note that you can only have one of those running at a time, and only before the amp. No dist->auto wah (or pedal wah for that matter
). Here is a sound sample of all of the stomp effect other than the "boost + eq", which is just a clean boost, nothing more. Again, just the default settings, nothing more. At the end I have some fun with the pitch shifter (which can be controled via one of the exp pedals if you assign "Stomp Pos" as the tweek value).
For those of you interested in the synths: The tracking is a little better than the xt, prolly due to the afore mentioned possible CPU upgrade. They still dont track perfect tho. The tracking is better on the higher strings and higher up the neck, and if you pluck closer towords the neck rather than the bridge. If you're looking specifically for a synth unit id still suggest the Korg AX3000B, even just based on the samples ive heard
There are a bunch that sound clean that are the 4 comps (red, blue, vetta, and vetta juice), and a couple after those that are the female/male de-essers, which would have more of an effect on vocals.
Stomp Models
Next up is the Mod(ulation) section. Not much to be said. All the FX in this section (phase/chorus/flange) can go from subtle to crazy. There are some that get REALLY crazy, like the Random Sample/Hold, but most are you're normal chorus, etc., or a variation thereof. IMO/E most chorus is the same, just a little variation on how deep, etc., it can go. Maybe some EQ diff on the effected side, but not much else. I think that the POD does a decent job covering all the modulation bases, but its not necessarily where the unit shines
Modulation Models
The delays are the same as the mods: covered well, but alone not a good reason to pick up the POD. Also like the mods, line 6 has added some that are combo effects, like phase + delay, etc. Some interesting sounds, and some plain ones.
Delay Models
Next in the FX chain is verb. Again, great range, but not a good reason alone to pick up the POD. Verb is verb imo.
Reverb Models
The LA-2A comp does what a comp does without changing your tone. Just makes you more punchy. It is upgraded from the xt model tho, as it now features a thresh and post gain control, which was modeled into one knob on the xt. The gate does what its supposed to, and is only really "required" of you start running fuzZ->higain amp or something. Not much to say about either. The EQ however is a downgrade compared to the bass version. Unfortunately Line 6 decided to go with the 4 band guitar version of the effect, not the 6 band that was on the bass specific xt. It opperation is simple enough, the 1st and last band are shelving EQs and the middle are peak. You can select the freqency and cut/boost for each, but not the peak "width". I dont find it all that whoopy, as you should be able to get most of the sounds you want from just the stomps/amps, tho i guess the EQ would be nice for fine tuning that sound. Again just my opinion.
Last up are the Volume and wah effects. Volume does what it 'pose to do
if it didnt..... well lets not even go there. The wah effect is different on the X3 tho, as there are now more than 1, which is all the xt had. Are any of them different? Thats for you to decide. All of them sound very simillar to me, and dont sound off very well on the low strings. The ONE thing that would make the wahs useful is if you could switch the pos of the effect from before the stomp section to after the stomp section, but before the amp. I imagine that a little dirt before them would make them sound killer on the low notes. Alas that is not the case
Wah Models Part 3: Conclusions
I guess the real question that people should ask themselves before buying anything like the POD is "what am i buying it for?". If you're thinking of buying it for the synths, look elsewhere (as I stated earlier). If you're buying it for the chorus/phase/flange, delay, or reverb, consider one of the 4 button modeller stomp from which the PODs sounds are based. In the case of delay and verbs I'd even go as far as to say go for one of the units by Boss, of which i have owned the DD-20 (awesome, even has a looper
), and an RV-5 (also awesome). If you're wanting to use a wah pedal alot (pedal or auto) look elsewhere as the pedal wah gets lost, even with the lo-gain amps/stomp overdrives on the POD. The POD is a really good buy if you're looking for and use a variety of OD/dist/fuzz sounds. With the variety of gain models (both amp and pedals) on this unit, the price to number of different sounds ratio is REALLY favorable. As an amp modeller tho, i have mixed feelings about it. This is mostly due to the amount of coloration from the different mics. It just seems abnormal, and I really wish there was a way to select the amp/cab you want and bypass the mics, even if it was just to see how much coloration they actually give.
IMO the best reason to get a POD is if you want some unusual effects like a random-depth chorus, stuff like that. Stuff that doesn't yet exist in pedal form, to the best of my knowledge.
If you've spent ANY time looking at some of the older threads in this forum, anyone should be able to gather that I've had quite a few changes effectswise. From almost no effects (except some distortion) to 2 full 4'x2' boards with a gain section of comp->OD->wah->fuzz->comp to the PODxt and now to the X3. Looking back, I honestly think I was happier with the 2 boards of single effects than I am with the POD, even with my ability to have 2 signal chains.
Not to put anyone off getting the POD tho, but, if i hadnt got 200$ off for trading in my xt on the X3, which still cost me 350$, i prolly would still have the xt.
Another thing about the POD is that its meant to be run thru a PA, or something simmilar that has little to no EQ coloration. I run mine thru a home stereo sytem, and it works out fine for me. Unfortunatly if one was touring with it youl'd have to rely on monitors, or get powered cabs. On the low end of "flat", powered, cabs is the Roland D-Bass series. On the high end are the Bergatino IP series of powered/EQed cabs. Neither (as far as i know) is within what i would call the same buget level as the POD (around 500$). For some people this may be a problem, for others it might not be. Becuase of the PODs focus more on amp/cab modelling, it is one of the things that is got me thinking about giving up the POD in favor of a "real" amp, considering that i could get a decent head/combo for what ive spent on the 2 PODs. It would be nowhere near an all tube SVT or something, but I could at least get something with a tube pre.
Ive got a couple of recordings so far, and a couple more I want to do that really showcase the capabilities of the POD, but they are all in a solo context. As part of a band the choices of OD/Dist/Fuzz really gets narrowed down IMO, which really cuts down on what makes the POD shine. I am not going to sell the POD quite yet, but it might be going back in the box for a while.
Keep in mind that I'm coming back to bass (and effects for it) after a long, although unintentional absence. That being so, I have a different view of what i want to do basswise, and i find myself wishing i had a decent amp (even 60W for bedroom practice would be an improvement) more than all the effects on the POD. IMO the POD would shine more in a minimalist band setting, and when used by someone who has a lot of skill with the instrument and is looking for a lot of different gain progressions and some non-synth fringe effects.
I certainly hope that someone finds this review helpful in someway
The POD X3 Manual can be found here:
http://line6.com/data/l/0a0600729d8c...%20English.pdf
The FBV controll manual for the x3:
http://line6.com/data/l/0a06007245d1...%20English.pdf
My Review of the POD X3 
(just my opinion) It is amazing how many "extras" are in the X3, though. The preamp-channel strip models are really cool sounding (if not entirely accurate to the real things)& the sheer # of tonal choices are overwhelming.
If it's a viable effects platform for someone - then great! I guess I was being a little narrow. I do think that the recording amp/cab simulation is still the primary intended function of the POD series, however....
