WharfRat
06-08-2002, 09:34 PM
In the latest issue of PC Mag, I just copied their review & pasted it here for ya'll.
Electric-guitar players search their whole lives for "the tone." When choosing an amplifier for your guitar, you match the amp to the kind of music you're going to play. But what if you could own ten of the world's greatest amplifiers and match them up with classic speaker cabinets that have rocked audiences the world over?
The Line 6 GuitarPort harnesses the digital signal-processing power of your PC to do just that. Its software simulates the distinctive sound of Fender, Marshall, Roland, and other amplifiers and adds a dozen or so essential effects. The included hardware box accepts a guitar input and steers signals to and from your sound card, USB port, and speakers. (For more information, see www.extremetech.com/guitarport.)
The main screen shows the control panel of the amplifier it's simulating. You can adjust the knobs and switches by clicking and dragging. Volume, tone, drive, and other controls work as they do on real amplifiers. Stomp boxes depicted below the amp add effects such as reverb, compression, delay, chorus, tremolo, and even a decent rotary speaker sound.
There's hardly a sound that you can't make with the GuitarPort, from mellow jazz effects to country twang, from warm, light overdrive to death-metal sounds that scream big hair and leather pants. To get you started, the product comes with a generous number of preset tones, and you can save any additional tones you create or download. The presets slant toward distorted, hard-rocking effects, but it's easy to create clean tones, too.
The GuitarPort showed admirable performance when we used a Stratocaster-type single-coil guitar and a thinline archtop equipped with EMG Humbucking pickups, and the big volume control on the adapter box helped us set levels quickly. We used it on a variety of PC speakers and generally found that we had to lower the bass setting or back off the subwoofer.
We also compared the GuitarPort to the well-regarded Fender Blues Junior amp. The GuitarPort produced very similar tones, but it lacked the Blues Junior's in-room presence and considerable volume. You can record with the GuitarPort from your sound card or via DirectSound.
GuitarPort Online is a subscription service with licks, lessons, accompaniments, hundreds of additional tones, news, and features. It's well worth the price.
www.line6.com
Electric-guitar players search their whole lives for "the tone." When choosing an amplifier for your guitar, you match the amp to the kind of music you're going to play. But what if you could own ten of the world's greatest amplifiers and match them up with classic speaker cabinets that have rocked audiences the world over?
The Line 6 GuitarPort harnesses the digital signal-processing power of your PC to do just that. Its software simulates the distinctive sound of Fender, Marshall, Roland, and other amplifiers and adds a dozen or so essential effects. The included hardware box accepts a guitar input and steers signals to and from your sound card, USB port, and speakers. (For more information, see www.extremetech.com/guitarport.)
The main screen shows the control panel of the amplifier it's simulating. You can adjust the knobs and switches by clicking and dragging. Volume, tone, drive, and other controls work as they do on real amplifiers. Stomp boxes depicted below the amp add effects such as reverb, compression, delay, chorus, tremolo, and even a decent rotary speaker sound.
There's hardly a sound that you can't make with the GuitarPort, from mellow jazz effects to country twang, from warm, light overdrive to death-metal sounds that scream big hair and leather pants. To get you started, the product comes with a generous number of preset tones, and you can save any additional tones you create or download. The presets slant toward distorted, hard-rocking effects, but it's easy to create clean tones, too.
The GuitarPort showed admirable performance when we used a Stratocaster-type single-coil guitar and a thinline archtop equipped with EMG Humbucking pickups, and the big volume control on the adapter box helped us set levels quickly. We used it on a variety of PC speakers and generally found that we had to lower the bass setting or back off the subwoofer.
We also compared the GuitarPort to the well-regarded Fender Blues Junior amp. The GuitarPort produced very similar tones, but it lacked the Blues Junior's in-room presence and considerable volume. You can record with the GuitarPort from your sound card or via DirectSound.
GuitarPort Online is a subscription service with licks, lessons, accompaniments, hundreds of additional tones, news, and features. It's well worth the price.
www.line6.com