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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
Simply Awesome
I purchased the Guitar Port from Amazon the other day, and when it arrived I was excited to see what my Les Paul would sound like though my computer. My old amp fried out a couple of years ago, and I have only been playing acoustic since. I was afraid that it might sound a little artificial. Boy was I wrong!
After only a few hours of use, I can tell you...
Published on May 25, 2005 by Jason Jackson
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Hardware and Software are good, Support and GuitarPortOnline have issues
Hardware and Software
Make sure you download the latest Gearbox and Line Monkey from Line6.
The GuitarPort hardware and Gearbox software work great on my HP TX2010us running 64bit Vista Home Prem. It rocks in "Portrait" mode and most functions even work with the touch screen (some elements are to small), it does not work so well in "Landscape" because...
Published 14 months ago by C. Dunavan
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
Simply Awesome, May 25, 2005
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
I purchased the Guitar Port from Amazon the other day, and when it arrived I was excited to see what my Les Paul would sound like though my computer. My old amp fried out a couple of years ago, and I have only been playing acoustic since. I was afraid that it might sound a little artificial. Boy was I wrong!
After only a few hours of use, I can tell you that this is going to reinvigorate my play. This product is much, much better than I though it could ever be. It sounds great! The ability to pick from 10 heads, 10 cabinets, and several effects allows you to create the exact tone needed for a given song. I have already saved 5 "tones". I can just pick from a list to grab a nice tube "warm" amp, to the heavy crunch I save for Metallica licks, to a sweet chorus with a bit of distortion for a number of rockers.
I also love the hum reducer which learns from your guitar, and removes almost all of the guitar hum. Between that and the noise gate, my guitar seems much cleaner than I have ever heard it.
A small but very nice feature is the tuner, which makes it pretty dead simple to tune your axe. There are a number of other features I have not used yet. You can play along with Mp3, CD, etc.
A previous reviewer mentioned that the online service is a rip-off and you have to watch "the fine print". I bought this product as an amp replacement, so I have not subscribed to the online service. You do not have to pay the online $10/month fee to use this product. All the cool stuff that I have mentioned is yours, forever.
All in all, this is the coolest guitar toy I have ever used, far better than any of the pre-amp pedals/effects that I have tried out over the years.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
Revolutionary Product for Guitarists, October 9, 2006
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
What I purchased is the GuitarPort (a hardware device which acts as an interface between your guitar and computer) bundled with an excellent music recording software program called RiffTracker. The GuitarPort plugs into a USB port on your computer, and you plug your electric guitar into the GuitarPort, which enables your guitar to have many great sounds; then, the RiffTracker software enables you to do professional quality multitrack recording and mixing on your home computer. Read on to better understand all this.
I've owned the GuitarPort for over a year. It allows you to change the way your guitar sounds in the same way that a word processor allows you to choose different fonts. If you want your guitar to sound the way Jimmy Page's guitar sounds on the song "Heartbreaker", you change to a preset which is in fact, called "Heartbreaker". If you want your sound to be like John Fogerty's on "Rolling on the River", you change to the preset "Rollin'". And so on.
All the presets are organized by genre: metal, blues, classic rock, surf, jazz, etc. They also include preset bass guitar settings, so you can use the GuitarPort with a bass as well. It's great: you can sound like Sabbath, Cream, The Ramones, etc. By using this device, you can avoid the expense and complexity of utilizing hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of effects pedals, and/or the expense of purchasing several different types of guitars (hollow body guitar vs. solid body guitars) to obtain different sounds.
Also, you can tweak and customize the presets, and give them a name of your choosing, or start from scratch to create your own unique sound, that you can save and get back to quickly and easily. And let me tell you, this customization feature is actually very comprehensive and sophisticated: I've created settings that incorporate echo, delay, distortion and octaves (where you can add more distortion to certain frequencies of the sound and keep other frequencies cleaner), where the sound you get out of your guitar is unique and amazing! PLUS, I've run my electric violin through the guitar port, and it's worked great for creating a truly memorable audio experience!
Much of the time I plug my headphones into the unit, so I can play to my heart's content, without disturbing the family. For recording, the RiffTracker software (which you can purchase later after buying and implementing the GuitarPort), which works quite well, allows a non-engineer to create complete recordings with guitar, bass, vocals and drums (using the drumbeats included with the software) with any number of overdubs. RiffTracker allows you to alter the volume level of each overdubbed track independent of the other tracks, so you can "mix" your final musical creation in the exact manner you desire. The vocals are recorded by simply plugging your microphone into the GuitarPort.
I e-mail MP3's of my recordings to my musically interested friends and they listen to them and give me feedback. Anyway, the GuitarPort is tons of fun and well worth it's affordable cost! I only give it four stars, because it's an electronic, computer product, and as such, it can be a pain to set up, with drivers to install, cables to set up just right, etc. I'm sure you've experienced the same type of trouble with setting up new printers or multifunction devices. So I had to struggle with it a little bit in the beginning, but overall, nothing was too difficult in getting it set up and configured.
Now, here are two other excellent and noteworthy bonus features you get when you own both the the GuitarPort and RiffTracker software. The RiffTracker software enables you to upload your completed musical compositions to a website for RiffTracker users. At this website, you can listen to hundreds of songs created by other hobbyists using this same recording technique, and you can leave comments about their songs, and you can read comments left about any of the songs you've uploaded. Plus, you can read questions and answers posted by hobbyists about using this technology, and figuring everything out. This "bulletin board" finally enabled me to determine how to record vocals with the GuitarPort/RiffTracker. This website and service is free.
The second bonus feature is that Line 6 has hundreds of pages of guitar lessons available in conjunction with the GuitarPort, plus a very clever "guitar-aoke" feature. The "guitar-aoke" feature refers to thousands of songs they have available where you can listen to the song with or without the lead guitar. Of course, the version without the guitar is available so you can play the guitar part, while the rest of the band accompanies you; plus, tabs are included so you can figure out how to play the guitar part for each song. This feature, the guitar lessons with "guitar-aoke", is available for GuitarPort owners even if you don't purchase the RiffTracker recording software. It is free for the first month you try it, but then costs seven bucks a month thereafter (if you want to continue with it.)
I hope I've been able to make everything clear about what the GuitarPort with RiffTracker is, and what it can do for you. Thanks for reading all this!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
The Perfect Way To Record On The Cheap!, February 20, 2005
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
This is the perfect option for those who don't want to spend a fortune on equipment and software. You get the GuitarPort hardware along with software that will give you a ton of unique sounds. If I would've known about this when I bought my first guitar I wouldn't have picked up an amp (it's just been collecting dust while I use my GuitarPort). The sound is superb. It's very rich and sounds like it was recorded in a studio.
Set up of the GuitarPort was very simple and I was playing in about 5 minutes!
One important thing to note is that you cannot record with the software provided with the GuitarPort. But not to worry! Once you have the GuitarPort software installed you can go to the Line 6 website and download their RiffTracker software to record all the music you can make. One nice thing about the RiffTracker is the InstantDrummer feature which allows you to set the tempo and variation for different types of drums and match it with your style of play on the guitar. And the drums sound great!
GuitarPort($99) + RiffTracker Recording software($99) = Equals the perfect way to record your own music on the cheap!
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
The perfect practice amp, August 14, 2003
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
I bought my GuitarPort about 4 months ago and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to replace their practice amp.The sheer amount of tones and effects means you can achieve absoloutely any sound you want, It is ideal for beginners but at the same time it has everything an enthuasiast could want, but the GuitarPort does have some minor problems. Firstly any instrument lead above 10 feet seems to cause a loss in sound, another slight annoyance is the noise feedback that is experienced with CRT monitors (not flat screen), but if you stand back from the monitor it will go away. Apart from this I could not fault it. Another feature of the GuitarPort is GuitarPort Online this is an online community which costs 7.99 a month, it is full of tones, lessons and tracks that are tabbed out for you, it is very comprehensive and updated regularly but there is nothing here that you wouldn't find on the net. When you buy your Guitar Port you have a free trial of their online services so you can make you mind up for yourself. All in all this is a very complete product and excellent value considering all of it's features, don't let the minor flaws hold you back.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Guitarport is not perfect, but great for what it is, September 5, 2005
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
Reading some of these reviews reveals to me how uneducated some folks are when writing reviews.
I've had Guitarport for almost 2 years and it's the best bang for my buck purchase I've ever made on musical equipment! I am a novice-to-intermediate player (learning on and off for 10 years). This thing is not for advanced gigging musicians. If you are that advanced, then you won't like the sounds as much. They are a simulation of the real thing, not the real thing. But it's close enough for me.
Anyone who is a beginner and want's to learn, this is a fabulous piece of equipment. It's way cheaper than buying amp(s), effects, and microphones. It's great for people like me who aren't experts at tweaking and tuning an amp for a particular sound. Load it up or set one and save it. You can get a wide variety of sounds from it and you can experiment with different effects without spending the cash. I like the headphone use too.
For recording - it's not really designed for it, but you can do it with other software/equipment. Riffworks was added about 1-2 years after Guitarport came out. Computer recording software is getting better and more stuff seems to work with Guitarport than 2 years ago. I tried Riffworks but didn't like it and got my money back.
It's flexible and upgradeable. I like the tuner, metronome, noise gate and the ability to save sound settings to use again later. You can add a midi controller pedal and control the wah and volume effects, as well as, trigger changes in amps, effects, etc. Add software and you can record music. Riffworks is supposed to be an easy to use guitar-centered recording software package. It's for laying down ideas, not putting out masterpieces.
And it's $99 for crying out loud! How many guitar effects do you see out there for less that does so much?!?
Guitarport Online - I think it's great for the beginner/intermediate player who want to learn more. You can play along with some classic songs with a backing band! I can play the role of Jimmy Page in a Zeppelin song. That's cool! There are lots of lessons available as well. Way cheaper than personal guitar lessons. Regarding access to songs without/after ending a subscription, it's not about greed. If you have read anything about the RIAA and digital music, you should know how paranoid they are about people freely copying and distributing music. When you subscribe, you are not BUYING the songs (that would cost much more), you are RENTING them. That's the only way most of these studio would allow this content to be available. If you really need to record it, get the software or use Audacity or hook up a tape recorder or something!
Bottom Line - this is an outstanding value for the beginner/intermediate player. It's fun. It's a lot of power in a small package. For the experienced player, if you like the sounds or are not too picky about them, it's great for you too (or look at POD XT, it works with the guitarport software too). It's not the end all, be all piece of equipment, but it's great for what it is.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Good practice / learning aid, March 18, 2004
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
I have played my guitar much more since buying the Guitarport. The sounds, effects and amp simulations available are great. No-one else has mentioned the play along features. You can play a CD or MP3 through the GP and select parts of the track to loop or play at half-speed. The online subscription is Ok for beginners due to the number of lessons, tones and articles available, but you may want to cancel it after a while as they don't get updated as often as one would hope. Someone else mentioned a hum caused by proximity to the computer monitor. Line6 have done their best with this unavoidable problem by including a NoiseGate and also a hum canceller.
All in all, excellent and well worth the money.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Definitely worth the money, September 4, 2005
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
This is one very nice piece of device for your computer, especially if you are only looking for something to record instrumental guitar tracks in your computer. Given that you have the necessary software to record and create backing tracks in your computer, this is definitely a great substitute to buying a whole expensive rig and having tolerant neighbors and family members at home.
This may not sound like the real amplifiers and effects it emulates, like everybody is complaining about, but you could definitely get great tones from it. You choose from a variety of amplifier head and cabinet combinations, plus a pretty wide variety of stomp boxes and effects. All of these in front of your monitor and can be manipulated by clicking and dragging.
It is also educational for those with little or no experience in tweaking amps and effects parameters as well as mic choice and placement.
I did not sign up for Guitar Port Online, because of the bad reviews it had, but that is not what I paid this gadget for.
Overall, a very awesome piece of equipment, I just wish there was a way to plug a floorboard with this thing, to control the volume, wah as well as other effects.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Renewed my interest in the guitar, April 9, 2005
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
As a teenager I played the guitar all the time. I loved it! But as time goes on, you go to college, you get married, you have kids. Not so suddenly the guitar become not so important (after all I realize that I am not the next Eddie Van Halen now). But my wife (who never really has seen me play the guitar) bought me this for christmas... This is the most unbelievably coolest gift ever. I play it all the time. It is a perfect marrage of my time wasted on the computer and the past love of the guitar. I have played with this toy every day since christmas. I have even managed to impress my wife. If you love the guitar but don't have thousands of bucks to spend on equipement, and you have a decent computer, this is a MUST HAVE!!!!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Hardware and Software are good, Support and GuitarPortOnline have issues, July 9, 2009
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
Hardware and Software
Make sure you download the latest Gearbox and Line Monkey from Line6.
The GuitarPort hardware and Gearbox software work great on my HP TX2010us running 64bit Vista Home Prem. It rocks in "Portrait" mode and most functions even work with the touch screen (some elements are to small), it does not work so well in "Landscape" because the widescreen is not tall enough.
I have used it through headphones and plugged into my home stereo and it works great.
Companion Website
The companion website has lots of songs and you can download the tones, tabs and music. Provided you are not a total newbe, this feature seems awesome, although I would expect a lot more content and better organization given how long this product has been out.
[for the newbe like me, read on]
The "10 Free Lessons" mentioned on the box seem to have gone missing. I found up to Chapter 4, part 2 and then nothing. These chapters worked really well and demonstrated what this kind of interactive content could do. Given that, I tried to find songs listed for "Beginner" but they are still more difficult than chapter 4 part 2 power chords set me up for. Looking at the search results gives only a basic indication of difficulty, so I spent hours downloading stuff I had no chance at playing.
If this was my only resource for learning how to play guitar, I would be completely discouraged at this point. It just leads you down this golden path where you see exciting progress to a washed out bridge that seems uncrossable.
Given the cost of the monthly for online access, I am going to let the free 30 day trial run out and utilize another website to get me from newbe to GuitarPort "beginner" and then maybe come back when I am good enough to make use of it.
[/end newbe section]
Support
I have also emailed support and posted questions regarding the online content to the Line6 community that have gone unanswered.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Love It. It got me playing again, August 9, 2006
This review is from: Line 6 GuitarPort XT (Electronics)
This is an awsome product. After seeing my guitar sitting for a few years (kids, etc) I decided to try this after doing some reasearch online.
It is easy to set up, easy to use, and I like to on-line songs and lessons.
This the perfect tool for someone who does not have the money or space for a amp and effects.
I downloaded the new patch for the MAC and now sometimes take it to work with me to practice at lunch with my headphones on.
Only complaint is that you cannot access online content without the device connected. I think this sucks as I like to search for lessons and songs at work (don't tell my boss). And if I do not have the box with me I cannot.
All in All worth every penny!
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