Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
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While not the first bike to do away with spokes , the Shadow might be the first to see mass production. And its certainly the first to be wireless. Yes, that’s correct. Wireless bicycles. The Shadow’s designers determined that most eBike malfunctions occur at connection points or due to loose wiring. So hey! Why not just get rid of them? Instead, the breaking system, throttle, pedal-assist system are all controlled wirelessly. The housing within the wheel well holds all of the necessary electronics. Specifications: HEIGHT: 1.1 meter WIDTH: .61 meter LENGTH: 1.7 meter TIRES: 26 inch WEIGHT: 59 lbs / 26 kilos MOTOR: 500W or 1000W RANGE: 50km Single Battery / 100km Dual Battery CONTROLLER: Daymak Drive™ POWER CHARGER: 36V – 110V/220V INCLINE: 20° Single Battery / 30° Dual Battery TOP SPEED: Limited to 32 km/h Only 300 are being made in the first run, so if you’re looking to get one of these Canadian constructions, get your fifteen hundred bucks out now. via [ RedFerret ]
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
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This is the year of Micro Four Thirds. While Nikon and Canon still haven’t dipped their toes in this pool, I think it’s time for the average camera user to look at these things seriously and the power and elegance captured in the E-PL1 – and the affordability captured in its $599 price tag. Features: 12-megapixel LiveMOS sensor TruePic 5 image processor 14-42mm lens included Flash Live Guide Pros: Live Guide makes good photos easier Great size and weight Good video recording Cons: No optical viewfinder No stereo audio recording Lighter body materials Panasonic and Olympus have been riding the M4/3 train for quite a while now and each new device they’ve released has been met with resounding claxons of joy and then disappointment as photobloggers find and focus on the limitations of the format. I’m pleased to report, then, that the E-PL1, is one of the first M4/3 cameras that I could see using as a secondary shooter instead of – or as a back-up to – a DSLR. First, what is M4/3? It is, in short, a lens format based on the four thirds system that does not, in most cases, use the same mirror or prism set-up found in most DSLRs. Think of it as a more powerful point and shoot, like the Canon G11, but with changeable lenses. I shot with the E-PL1 for a few weeks and I found it to be a great portable camera. The kit lens is great for general shooting and the 17mm is a great for portraits and wider angle shots, depending on how you frame the scene. The real value, however, comes in the Live Guide. The Live Guide is a quick help system that changes your image on the fly by modifying aperture and focus. Using it, you can: Change Color Saturation Change Color Image Change Brightness Blur Background Express Motion Each of these features acts in real time. Blur Background, for example, gives you a nice bokeh effect in headshots while Express Motion adds motion trails to swiftly moving objects. All of these features change on the screen as you modify them. The sliders allow you to set multiple features and an onscreen guide explains how each function works. Why is this important? Because as point-and-shoot photographers begin to explore new tools, they want to recreate the photos they see in magazines and are frustrated when they shoot with standard cameras (take a look at this Answers thread. Depth of field? Aperture? What is this demonry!) A small, cheap M4/3 can do many of these tricks and using art and scene modes you can add even more to your shots. The E-PL1 falls somewhere between a Canon EOS Rebel and a G11 or, on the Nikon side, the something like the D5000 and the Coolpix P6000. It is decidedly an odd duck. Interchangeable lenses may put off some purchasers who are unsure if they want to maintain a relationship with Olympus on the long term, but presumably you can swap out lenses as more powerful M4/3 cameras come out. Obviously this lock-in is what Olympus wants but, in a way, I could see this as a second system to use alongside a more formal DSLR set-up. How is shooting with the E-PL1? First, this camera is small and light enough to carry in a bag or purse, which makes it a great solution. The 17mm lens is flat as a pancake and the majority of scenes you’ll encounter on your way can be captured by it or the kit lens with aplomb. Take this shot, for example, taken in full sunlight against a colorful background. There is a bit of a blow-out on the face but it’s a nice enough shot. In direct sunlight you get some nice effects although there is some noise in slightly less well-lit shots, as we see below (taken with the 17mm). Finally, there are wide angle shots taken with the kit lens. Click on the small image to see an example showcasing the haze of New York. I really enjoyed shooting with this camera, even without an optical viewfinder. You can purchase a viewfinder and stereo microphone for the E-PL1 but working directly on the screen was not the exercise in frustration I thought it would be. Folks used to the optical viewfinder will definitely be put off by the E-PL1 at first, but I got over it. I did, however, consistently bring the camera to my face when first started using it. In short, this camera is perfect for those who don’t want to lug around a heavier DSLR but still want to get some great shots. I worry a bit about durability, especially given the lighter composite materials used for the body, but that’s nothing a good, small camera bag can’t fix. While it won’t replace the shutter bug’s favorite piece of big glass, the E-PL1 is definitely worth some consideration.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
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Short version: Half PMP, half pico-projector, and unfortunately, not quite fully baked. But the next one is going to be awesome. Features: Tiny, lightweight LED-based projection 1GB of onboard storage MicroSD slot Support for Excel, Word, PowerPoint, MP3, MP4 files Charge and access via USB Pros: Still a compact, fun projector USB connection is handy Battery actually lasts tolerably long Cons: Doesn’t support many video formats No fast-forward, rewind, or aspect correction in videos Bigger than its predecessor Full review: I’ll keep this short: the MPro150 is essentially the MPro120 with an on-screen menu, internal storage, SD card slot, and support for displaying several file formats. The projector part is almost exactly the same as the MPro120, so head on over to the original review for info on that . I can summarize for you, though: as long as you’re willing to restrict yourself to using it in a dark room or have a very small display size, the MPro150 and 120 are fun and effective. The resolution and brightness are limiting, but you know this isn’t an HD display going in. The new features in the MPro150 are welcome, but it seems pretty clear to me that the MPro170 (or whatever the next version will be called) will actually be the one to get, at least if you plan on watching any video with this thing. Let’s be fair, though: the MPro150 supports Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, BMP, JPG, MP3, and MP4. Sounds like a lot, and if you’re in an office it kind of is. Text is sharp and navigation, while a little slow, is straightforward. You can zoom and scroll easily in any of the Office formats and PDF, and photos were surprisingly sharp and vibrant (if slow to load), though line drawings and diagrams showed pixellation. It should be said, actually, that the whole on-screen display is slow to respond to button presses, though it never “forgot” any that I’d pressed. (The rainbow effect you see is in my camera, not the projector. Also, you can be significantly further away and get a good image, I just needed it bright enough for the camera) For the rest of us non-desk-jockeys, there’s no support for many files we get off the internet – FLV, WMV, MKV, MOV, OGG and so on. MP4 is a popular format, to be sure, but not even all the MP4s I threw at it worked. One I’d made and encoded myself with H264 (the MPro’s preferred format) only gave me an error message. I popped on an AVI movie and it played, but was stretched to 4:3, with no way of changing the aspect ratio. Worse, there is no way to navigate within video; you can only pause, play, and advance to the next video. I was looking forward to some Zatoichi projected on my ceiling while lying on my bed, but no. Sound is, as it was before, tinny as hell but quite loud enough; I played quite a bit of Super Mario Kart on this thing and never felt the need to pipe the sound elsewhere. You might feel differently when playing God of War 3 , though. Not of lot of bass — or any at all, really. The fan sounds a little whinier on this model when it kicks in, but I suspect that’s a unit-by-unit variation. The device itself has gained a little bulk. It’s longer, and they neglected to move the tripod mount back to compensate for it, and consequently it’s more difficult to balance on the spindly little tripod that’s included. I managed, though. The controls are changed to allow for navigation. I found the buttons a bit hard to depress, which can be trouble if you have the tripod in a perfect position, since the pressure of your finger will bend its legs. Conclusion: At just under $400, the MPro150 is no bargain. For much less (~$250), you can get its predecessor, which is fine if you’re running video from an external source. If the ability to project Word files on the wall of a dark room is something you really need, then this is your gadget. But if you want to watch movies, or load your old web video collection on a MicroSD card and have it on tap, I’d wait for the next generation. I appreciate 3M wanting to keep it simple, but media management isn’t simple, and I’m guessing 3M will learn a lot from the reviews of this generation and put out a killer product in six months or so. Product page: 3M MPro150 pico projector
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 19th, 2010
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The 5D mk II 2.0.3 firmware was supposed to be the end-all solution for the Canon super camera. But it wasn’t. It caused more issues not worth the enhanced movie mode it added. Canon of course of pulled the firmware from its site cause many 5D mk II owners to cry a little. Because, as everyone knows, Canon owners are notoriously emotional unlike the cool and collected Nikon crowd. But chin up 5D mk II owners, the proper firmware is now available. Canon In the Version 2.0.4 firmware, the following phenomena that occurred with the Version 2.0.3 firmware (which was to enhance the movie functions) have been corrected. There was a phenomenon in which the manual recording settings made in C1/C2/C3 were changed and sound could not be recorded if manual sound recording was used in the C1/C2/C3 settings and the camera was subsequently turned off (or if Auto Power Off was activated). This does not occur in modes other than C1/C2/C3. The Version 2.0.4 firmware includes the movie function enhancements listed in items 1 through 5 below, and also incorporates the correction listed in item 6. Adds or changes the following movie frame rates. NTSC: 1920×1080 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps) 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps) 640×480 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps) PAL: 1920×1080 : 25 fps (added – actual 25.0 fps) 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps) 640×480 : 25 fps (added – actual 25.0 fps) Adds a function for manually adjusting the sound recording level (64 levels). Adds a histogram display (brightness or RGB) for shooting movies in manual exposure. Adds shutter-priority AE mode (Tv) and aperture-priority AE (Av) mode to the exposure modes for shooting movies. Changes the audio sampling frequency from 44.1 KHz to 48 KHz. Fixes a phenomenon where communication between the camera and the attached lens is sometimes interrupted after manual sensor cleaning. (This phenomenon only affects units with Firmware Version 1.2.4.) Caution: Firmware Version 2.0.4 is for cameras with firmware up to version 2.0.3. If the camera’s firmware is already version 2.0.4, it is not necessary to update the firmware. Movies captured using EOS 5D Mark II cameras with Firmware Version 1.1.0 to 1.2.4 can be played back on cameras updated with Firmware Version 2.0.4. However, if you try to play back movies captured with a camera with the new firmare on a camera with a previous firmare version, a message, Cannot play back image, appears on the camera’s LCD monitor. It is recommended that you use the latest Canon applications*1 to edit movies captured with EOS 5D Mark II cameras that have the latest firmare because some previous versions do not support movie-editing functions and the frame rates that are added or changed by the latest firmware. You can download the latest Canon applications from our Web site. *1 ZoomBrowser EX Version 6.5.0 or later (compatible operating systems : Windows XP/Vista/7) ImageBrowser Version 6.5.0 or later (compatible operating systems : Mac OS X v10.4/10.5/10.6) In addition to the enhancements to the movie function, the accompanying instruction manual has also been revised. Users are asked to download both the latest firmware and the latest instruction manual. You can proceed to download the instruction manual by clicking the [I Agree] button from the bottom of this page.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
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iBUYPOWER announced today its latest, 4 new “Paladin” systems using the i7 980x processors . These new systems come with iBUYPOWER’s free liquid CPU cooling, and you can request that the CPU be overclocked and tested before being shipped out. The new systems are available in whatever custom configuration you might like, including your choice of ATI Radeon or Nvidia GeForce video, up to 1TB of storage, and Blu-ray drives. The F970 and XLC V3 both come standard with an 80GB SSD drive, and Windows 7 Ultimate. From the press release: El Monte, CA – March 18, 2010 – iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator of gaming PCs, is excited to announce four new Paladin gaming systems all powered by the new Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition Processor. The new 6 core processors are extremely overclockable, deliver benchmark shattering performance and allow unmatched multitasking capability. Gamers need not be concerned with having multiple browsers open, team speak, or MP3s files playing while gaming due to the new processor’s revolutionary hyper-threading technology. The four new configurations all feature the finest components available, including the newest ATI Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce high-definition video cards, which all support DirectX 11 graphics. The Paladin F950, F970 and XLC V3 all pack 12GB of DDR3 Memory, provide at least a 1 TB of storage space and a Blu-ray drive. The fully loaded F970 and XLC V3 also come standard with an 80GB solid state drive and have been upgraded to Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate. Additionally, like all iBUYPOWER desktop systems, the newest Paladin model all feature free liquid CPU cooling. Gamers looking to get the most out of their new six core systems can take advantage of the iBUYPOWER Labs’ Power Drive Overclocking Service, which overclocks the CPU by as much as 30% and comes standard on the Paladin XLC V3. Other innovative iBUYPOWER exclusive products and services include the Harmony Sound Reduction System, the Internal USB Expansion System, and iBUYPOWER’s Specialized Advanced Packaging System with expanding foam inserts to prevent damage during shipping. The new Paladin systems start at $2,159 and are available now at www.iBUYPOWER.com . Customers with more specific gaming needs can configure a fully customizable system at www.iBUYPOWER.com. All iBUYPOWER systems also come standard with 1 year limited warranty and lifetime technical support.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
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They’re in our homes, and they’re in our schools. There they sit, silently, eating our power . Even if you unplug your phone, they keep devouring power . What’s next!? Will cell phone chargers some day EAT YOUR CHILDREN? More at 11. In a move to save you some gadget juice and boost their “green”-factor, AT&T has just announced what they call the first “automatic zero draw charger”, the ZERO. Read the rest at MobileCrunch > >
Posted by 010081
Tech
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
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Apparently it’s illegal in Canada to copy music from a CD you bought to an iPod (or whatever). It’s simply not allowed, even if you’re not breaking any DRM in the process. (In the U.S., it’s illegal to copy a DVD to your computer’s hard drive because you have to circumvent the copy protection in the process.) Solution? Some sort of levy, which would ensure that “artists” make money even though you’re not re-buying their music. The deal now is that an MP up there wants to introduce a CAN$75 “iPod levy” that would effectively legalize copying music from a CD you bought to your iPod. The levy has just been proposed, but if the Canadian legislature is anything like its American counterpart it’s going to be a little while before anyone even raises the issue again. The idea of a levy isn’t new, per se—there’s already a levy on blank media (CD-Rs and the like) that supposedly help to make sure that “artists” get paid. (My hunch is that it goes right back to the record label’s coffers, but whatever.) Granted, you could be buying blank media to backup your PowerPoint presentation, so it’s not a 100 percent fool-proof thing, but it neatly solves the problem in a way that prevents people from having to re-think the entire concept of copyright in the 21st century. This so-called iPod levy could also negatively affect people who buy iPod but don’t put any music on them—people like me, for example. I have an iPod touch and I dare you to find one song on there. (I pretty much just use it for like 10 minutes a day to check WoW.com before going to bed.) Why should I have to pay CAN$75, which is like US$4,000 these days, to subsidize other people’s habits? Yes, I understand that the number of people who buy iPods and then don’t put any music on there is quite small, but I needed to fulfill my daily complaint quota. Let’s turn it around, make it local to our fair American readers. Let’s say Congress, for whatever reason, creates and passes a law that says you’re 100 percent allowed to copy DVDs (legally bypassing the DRM) that you own to your hard drive, but that from now own all commercial DVDs come with a $10 tax on them to cover the “losses,” so to speak. Would you go for that? Flickr
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
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There’s a disturbing trend in music technology. Although home studios are rising, music is generally still recorded in specially designed environments and at high fidelity. Then for distribution, we compress the hell out of each track and do all sorts of terrible MP3-related things to them. And now, in order to repair the damage, we’re seeing a rise in after-market software designed to make the bad sound good. The Digital Power Station is one such plug-in, and just for you guys, we took it for a test run. This plug-in is for Mac OS and iTunes only. There are different algorithms based on your input and output medium. The input is pretty limited since you can only use this thing with iTunes, but apparently the transients in music and movies are that drastically different. The real differences come out in the output profiles. Pick whether you’re using your computer’s built-in speakers, externals, or listening on headphones. There are various output presets based on your hardware. All the different Mac laptop and desktop models are available, along with various “universal” settings for other brands of speakers and headphones. I found that this plug-in only really shines when you’re using either the built-in speakers, or low-quality peripherals. When listening on my Sony MDR-7506s, I didn’t notice any change from the enhancer. I could see this being a piece of pre-installed software, but I would be hard pressed to drop $30 on it. Especially for only one license. They’ve got a free trial available, so you guys can go listen for yourself. They’ve even got endorsements from at least three members of Boston. Or you could encode your audio into a decent file format. Yeah, do that.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
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Tired of Guitar Hero, and DJ Hero, and Rock Band Hero, and Flailing Wildly Hero games for your console? Ready to try a fresh new challenge, that might actually provide some real world skills, unlike frantically mashing colored buttons? Try your hand at Ribbon Hero for Microsoft Office! “Ribbon Hero is a game for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel 2007 and 2010, designed to help you boost your Office skills and knowledge. Play games (aka “challenges”), score points, and compete with your friends while improving your productivity with Office.” Just what you’ve been waiting for!! The history behind Ribbon Hero is actually pretty interesting. Ribbon Hero, in part, was born from a speech I gave back in October 2007 on applying the design lessons of Super Mario Bros. to application design. I made the following bet: If an activity can be learned… If the player’s performance can be measured… If the player can be rewarded or punished in a timely fashion… Then any activity that meets these criteria can be turned into a game. Not only can you make a game out of the activity, but you can turn tasks traditionally seen as a rote or frustrating into compelling experiences that users find delightful. Via Mark Pilgrim .
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
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As immature as it sounds, I was originally suspect of Line 6 products because I did not like the name of their Variax guitar line. (Whew, glad that’s off my chest). But while working on an audio project a while back, I picked up a Line 6 TonePort UX2 amp simulator/tone modeler in order to record some guitar parts. I bought the TonePort because it was cheaper than its competition and because it had cool, old-school analog meters. Not expecting much, I was quite impressed with the versatility of instrument tones and ease of use. I was eager to try it in a “live” situation, but the TonePort is really more of a recording device since it requires a computer to be present for its UI. I really didn’t want to lug my laptop out to a gig and set it on top of my amp—that’s just not very “rock and roll”. Besides, I would have inevitably spilled beer all over it and the MacBookPro only gets a 5 out of 100 on the Beer Spillage Scale (read on for more detail on the Beer Spillage Scale). Anyway, while contemplating this, a little research pointed me instead to the Line 6 POD X3 which has pretty much the same functionality as the TonePort, except the UI is built in and it can operate as a standalone unit. I therefore figured it would be my chance to hear the tones coming through an amp without looking like a douche. So how does it sound? The bottom line is that it can sound really great! Actually, I can sum up the Line 6 POD X3 this way; in a live situation, it won’t make a great amplifier sound any better than that amplifier sounds on it’s own, but it sure can make a piece of junk sound like a whole new amp (especially if the junker is a tube amp). When it comes to distorted effects to layer on top of an existing amp tone, it is very functional. And for computer-based recording, it’s awesome! It makes it easy to record simple demos or even full-on, layered scores. I therefore like to break its use into two categories: use in a live sound situation and use as a recording device. But first I’ll let you know my thoughts on the hardware design, usability and tone. Then I will describe how it worked for me live and for recording. Hardware Design In general, the POD X3 hardware design is solid. The device mostly feels like a professional piece of sound equipment. The die-cast metal outer shell feels good and “dropable”. The main knobs are large and solid and never seem loose. All the labels are descriptive and readable in low light. There are a few smaller knobs and buttons that unfortuantely have a toy-like feel but they are still passable. It also weighs enough to stay anchored on top of an amp or stationary on the floor and the rubber feet on the bottom really “grip” and keep the unit from moving about. Also, I would give the POD X3 a 75 out of 100 on the Beer Spillage Scale, meaning that if you spilled beer all over it, there is a 75% chance the device would survive the event. This is important. I’m serious. The center “On/Off” and “Home” buttons are the only real achillles heel where beer could get to the inside of the unit. It is comforting to know this as you line up an evening’s worth of pints next to it on the floor. Also, the device is fairly small and self contained. Perfect for practice yet capable for live use. The distinctive metalic-red coloring of the body is nice too. Usability My first test to define greatness is usually this: “If I turn the thing on and, without reading the manual, can figure out how to master it in about 5 minutes…it’s a brilliant device”. (See iPhone) The POD X3 is no iPhone. I was forced to read the manual and believe me, to read the manual is a sign of weakness. Alas, I cracked. The manual helped though and cleared up most of the confusion for me but the the POD X3 is fairly complex and I would be lying if I said I still understand all of it’s functionality. I will describe the basic setup. The device has 2 zones of interaction: The outer ring of larger “amp-like” knobs and the inner ring which houses the screen and smaller controls and buttons. It’s probably an over-simplification to say that the outer ring is like the normal power amp section of an amplifier and the the inner ring is like the pre amp section, but that is how I imagine it. When you boot up the POD X3, the first thing you see on the monochrome, orange backlit screen in the center is the depiction of the basic signal chain, effects and virtual hardware components you can place in that chain to model your instrument tone. There are rows of buttons and knobs just below the screen. The soft, rubbery buttons correspond to the virtual signal chain (double click to get to a virtual device’s properties) and the small knobs edit those properties. The good news is that even though setting up a guitar tone on the POD X3 can be a little confusing using the on-board controls, the engineers at Line 6 are pretty clever and made the device also configureable with their desktop software called GearBox . You take a USB cable and connect the POD X3 to your laptop or desktop machine running GearBox and Voilà—you can easily set all your presets through the much nicer computer interface. And truly that would be my recommendation; set up all your presets from the computer interface and save them to the device. The beauty of the POD X3 is this design model: it can be controlled by a computer but it also has everything you need on-board for in-the-field edits. Tone Besides writing for CrunchGear and doing mobile strategy work at the day gig, I am also one of the touring upright bassists for Nashville Honkey-tonkers Bucktown Kickback . I can safely say that in the 25,000+ van miles I have logged touring around the U.S. with that group, I have seen every conceivable live sound situation. From “hey, the sound guy called in sick tonight and you guys are on your own” to “would you like 3 or 4 monitor mixes tonight sir, oh and shrimp cocktail or caviar?” The reality for a touring musician is anything but predictable when it comes to live sound and it is for this reason that I’m really not that picky when it comes to instrument/amplifier setup. I’m not a vintage gear whore nor a purist requiring the exact same set up every night. I am fairly pragmatic and can usually roll with the punches. More than anything I search for warmth of tone when possible. Despite this intended flexibility, I’ll admit I’ve never been too keen on effects processors (these days they call them “modelers”). I always thought they sounded “wanky” and tried to stay away from them. Well, a lot has changed in the 15 years since I last used one. Line 6 has extensively sampled many, many classic amps, cabinets and mic setups for their products and, as I noted earlier, have done so with great results. This is evident on the POD X3 as it lets you mix and match classic/modern amp and cabinet sounds for custom instrument tone and it replicates these well for recording and studio use. Their website accurately and somewhat overzealously describes the POD X3’s capability this way: The desktop-friendly POD® X3 represents the exciting evolution of the classic bean-shaped digital guitar amp modeler, with an expanded array of 78 guitar amps, from high-wattage heavyweights to boutique beauties and vintage treasures. Guitar amp models are just the beginning: With 24 guitar cabs, 98 stompbox and studio effects, 28 bass amps, 22 bass cabs and six vocal preamps – POD X3 comes complete with the all-around sonic firepower of a top-tier major-label studio, ready to tackle guitar, bass vocals and beyond. What’s more, its larger LCD and smart new editing workflow pages make it easier than ever to find, tweak and save tones. Live Rehearsal I tested the device on two different physical amplifiers: A 300 Watt Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout bass amp and a 1965 30 Watt Univox 305R guitar amp . The Mesa is a great amp. The Univox…well, lets just say it’s unique. (Actually, it’s not necessarily a bad amp, but is just very one dimensional in tone). It will howl in its own distinctive way, but that’s all it’s got. I actually liked how the POD X3 colored that amp’s tone quite a bit. When testing the POD X3 with an Epiphone Alleykat 6 string guitar through the Walkabout, it first seemed to lack a bit of the warmth that the Mesa normally has on it’s own, but I later found out that I didn’t have it dialed in very well. You need to make sure you set the outputs to preamp and not studio to get the cleanest “live” tones. Despite the headroom the Walkabout has, I was able to simulate that “amplifier-breaking-up” sound pretty well with a couple of tweaks to the presets. With the Univox, I think I achieved a nice ballsy guitar blast as well. I was impressed with results. I wondered if the fact that the Univox is an all tube amp, helped “humanize” the digitalness of the POD a bit, but I didn’t dive much deeper than that because I liked the sounds, especially the American Punk tone model. BUT…I’m a bassist, not a guitarist, so naturally when I ran an American P-Bass through it, I found the bass tones a little thinner than the guitar tones. Maybe Line 6 spent more time on their Guitar models? Or maybe this because I simply have more experience with bass tones and I just don’t know any better when it comes to guitar? I tend to think the later is true because I did read reviews by some guitarists out there on various message boards citing that the POD X3 had too high of a gain or was “metally” or was lacking nuance. It might just be a perception issue. However, please don’t misunderstand me though because while I said the bass tones were a little thinner than my regular amp, the POD still sounded really, really good and in fact for some styles of music was perfect. Many of the distorted bass tones were cool and perfect for mimicking a fuzzed out hardcore sound. So in the end, it has a lot of usefulness and could be part of the traveling toolset for any guitarist or bassist. Also, it can be used as a Mic pre-amp for vocals, but I don’t currently have a mic that would do it justice, so I declined to test that out much. Recording Since I had already done quite a bit of recording straight to my computer using the TonePort, I found that the POD X3 behaved identically. Using it with GearBox was a sinch to port directly to GarageBand. As a recording device, I read that it will work with Ableton, GarageBand, Logic and Cubase. Interestingly though, Line 6 products will not work with ProTools. Other Notable Features One cool thing about the POD X3 is that it has two channels. So it can operate like a traditional amp where you could set one channel to a clean tone and the other channel to a distorted tone for the classic SOFT/LOUD sound. It has a jack in the back for a footswitch, however Line 6 did not send a foot switch, so I can’t really tell you how well that works. While messing with the channels though, I kept thinking to myself “what if I could use this thing as a ’splitter’ and send one tone to one amp and the other tone to a second amp, simultaneously”? Gadzooks—you can! You can send both channels to different amps or conversely, you can send both channels to the same amp and mix between them without any loss of signal strength. That is a pretty neat feature. There is a nice little demo at line6.com that illustrates this. Additionally, the Line 6 website is a pretty powerful resource. There are some fairly active forums for technical answers and their administrators seem attentive and helpful. Also, they have a unique section of their site called CustomTone . This section is where users can upload and share tone preset files they have created with various Line 6 products. These “tones” are exported as an info file and can be downloaded and used by other users. These services, coupled with their Line 6 Monkey desktop application (for updating drivers and tone packages) make for an interesting, collaborative and fun way to approach playing guitar or bass—especially for gadget minded folks out there. The Real Live Test I did decide to put the POD X3 to the real test and take it to a gig intending to run it as my sole preamp for my bass cabinet that evening. Unfortunately, it was causing my power amp to create a hum in the PA system. I was unable to eliminate the noise during the allotted sound-check time slot and was forced to revert to my regular amplifier. I plan on giving it another test soon because the reason for the hum could have been related to a specific issue with that single PA system and not necessarily a problem with the POD X3. What Is It Missing? I was unable to figure out a way to truly “bypass” the POD X3 while still keeping it in the regular amp signal chain and therefore could not get it to act like a normal effects pedal, which I thought was a bummer. It might be possible to run it through an amplifier effects loop, but I did not give that a try. Bottom Line The POD X3 is a fine little amp simulator and works great in the studio for both simple and complex recording projects. It’s built well and has many unique features. I had enough issues with it as a “live amp” solution that, at this point, I probably would not rely on it as my sole rig at a gig. It is small enough that I would still want to take it with me to every gig just to have it on hand, and that is worth noting. I don’t think the goal of the POD X3 is to act like a modular effects processor for sporadic use, but rather is built to operate more like a complete amp replacement technology. That is a bold concept, however I still think if it could be truly bypassed and therefore capable of acting as either an effects processor OR amp modeler/simulator, that it would be more useful and find its way into more setups. But that’s just my wishlist for it. While purists may not like the sounds or the style of the POD X3, it is still a very convenient and functional tool for achieving some great digital instrument tones, and at $399 is a cheaper solution than buying multiple physical amplifiers. I can see where it could be used by working studio professionals or home prosumers for many kinds of audio projects.