Line 6 Guitar Port

My Impressions: 

First, a little background on me with modeling gear.  When I began playing guitar, I used a Fender Solid State amp with a Boss GT3 effects unit.  As time passed, I began to notice how thin and brittle the overdriven tones on the unit were… and I’d heard great things about the POD 2.0.  So I replaced the GT-3 with the POD.  I have to say, the Line 6 stuff was worlds away from the other modeling gear I’d played.  But I was still pretty disappointed.  Overdriven tones, especially with Class A style amps seemed weak and muddy.  I’d run the POD through both an amp and direct into a quality PA, but I couldn’t seem to improve the tone.  So I broke down and purchased my Orange AD-15 and single effect units… and have been playing them ever since.

Last Christmas, I bought a Line 6 Guitar Port.  It was really a purchase on a whim, and it sat largely unused for .  My original thoughts were to use it as a practice tool, since it’s completely unpractical for me to play my live setup at home… (I live in a condo with neighbors on both sides…  plus hauling my gear out and putting it away for 15-30 minutes of playing isn’t really worth it.)   

Since using the Guitar Port more in the past few months, I’ve really begun to love it.  For recording purposes it’s great.  I have the Sonoma Riff Tracker software that came with it, and it’s a great sketchpad for doing basic recording of ideas.  While not Pro Tools (not by a long shot), you can use the built in Drums on Demand to lay down basic ideas, then overdub bass and multiple guitar parts on top to see how different sounds can shape the flow of a song.  The simplicity of the recording process lets you focus more on experimentation instead of setup and getting your tone to come through.