SeriesLine 6 Plug in

The Line 6 Gearbox Plug in is very simple to use, there are only 6 knobs on the main interface (Drive, Bass, Middle Treble, Presence, Volume). I do recommend looking through the manual to get a better feel of working with the pedal options and cab models/amp models though. The Gearbox does come with a manual that is easy to understand and comprehend. This plug in can work with Mac and PC computers, it is an effect and amp modeling plug in software that uses a high amount of CPU. The amount of CPU that it uses almost made it impossible for me to run more than 3 instances of it without wanted to deal with the cracking sounds that most DAW programs start to make when there is no CPU to use. Even when running with ASIO drivers it still uses a significant amount of CPU. There are a few different bundles you can purchase of it as well including the Silver bundle and the gold bundle and they will cost more. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I originally started using the Gearbox plug ins with the Line 6 Hardware USB back in 2008. I loved it and it had some great effects emulations to use. I also had the Toneport DI that allowed me to have very low latency monitoring because it served as a dongle for the Line 6 GearBox software. OVERALL OPINION This whole package has over 80 effects and comes with a total of 78 guitar amps and 24 guitar cabs/28bass amps and six microphone preamps. I loved working with it but do not use it as much anymore mainly because of how it ate up the CPU. It makes it almost un usable some times and If you do not have a lot of RAM available then I do not suggest wasting your money on this because it is not cheap. If you have sufficient RAM then I recommend buying it because of how many great amps it comes with!

Line 6's Gearbox Software was the start of their venture into software versions of their amp and pedal simulations, and although the product is mostly discontinued, it still is valuable to computer users today. The sounds in the Gearbox suites are identical to the sounds found in the newer POD Farm suites. The fx include gates, volume pedal, wah pedal, stompbox pedals, delay pedals, modulation pedals, distortion pedals, compressions, eq effects, and reverb effects. Of course, it also includes Line 6's legendary amp and cabinet and microphone modeling, and depending on what version of Gearbox you own (Silver or Gold), you can have anywhere from 18 to 78 guitar amp models. That is quite a lot! SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE One of the newer features of Gearbox, is that if purchased, you can use the VST or RTAS plugin versions of the Gearbox software. Initially, Gearbox was a standalone executable program, that let you record wet/processed tones into whatever DAW you were using. Now, with the plugin, you can record guitar parts dry, and add the effects and modeling afterwards: this allows much more flexibility, more tweaking power, and much more creative possibilities. However, the guitar amp emulations can be cpu intensive (this is also true with the newer POD Farm software). So using a Gearbox plugin on every track (including vocals) can slow your computer's performance, and you can quickly get CPU overload and glitching. So be careful. OVERALL OPINION The Gearbox software allows semi-custom routing, where you can change the position of certain effects, like delay or modulation, to be before or after the amp modeling. You cannot, however, use two delays, use two stompbox effects, or do any dual amping: these routing flexibilities were added in the POD Farm software systems. But Overall, Line 6 Gearbox is an incredible piece of software, and if you can get it for free with your Line 6 hardware, it is certainly worth using today.

Line 6 Amp Farm was quick and easy to install. I had no compatibility issues with my machine the general set up of the plug-in is easy to follow. The interface of the plug-in is set up smart and it is easy to find your way around. I don't have a manual for this plug-in, so I can't speak to how sufficient it is. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I have run Line 6 Amp Farm on both a Pro Tools LE and HD system. I mostly run it on a Pro Tools LE system with a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run Pro Tools LE 7.4 with a Digi 002R audio interface. In both the HD and LE systems, I never had a problem running this. I have never run more than two or three of these at once, but at this rate I have been able to run it without any problems. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Line 6 Amp Farm for about two years and I have found it to be a great tool for amp modeling of all types. It has modeling for all types of amps - including Vox, Marshall, and Fender amps, in all types of forms. Each amp has its own parameters and all different types of effects. My favorite on this is the vintage Fender interface as it has the look and feel of an old Fender. This plug-in is quite versatile and is easy to get a wide array of amp modeling done with this. The price isn't too expensive and I would compare this to Native Instruments Guitar Rig, because they do similar things, but this is more aimed at amp modeling rather than guitar effects. I would definitley recommend those with DAWs looking into this, as I have found it a great tool when recording and mixing guitars.

The Line 6 Echo Farm was easy to install and I have never had any problems with installation or compatibility. It is easy to follow and the interface of the plug-in is laid out smart and easy. I've never had access to a manual for this plug-in. SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE I run the Line 6 Echo Farm on a Mac Book Pro with a 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I use it in Pro Tools LE 7.4 that runs with a Digi 002 rack version as an audio interface. I have also used it with a Pro Tools HD system and have never had a problem running it on either system. I've only used one or two of these at a time as I usually put delay on a stereo aux track and send buses to it. This saves computer performance and it will run better if you don't have a bunch of these up at once. OVERALL OPINION I've been using Echo Farm for a little over a year. The sound quality of the delays on this plug-in are very realistic sounding and is modeled after a number of classic stomp boxes. You can get a bunch of different delay sounds from slapback to sweep to standard delay. It is clean sounding and has become a favorite of mine when using delay. I would compare it to the Bomb Factory Moogerfooger Analog Delay and the Massey TD5 delay. All three are great delays in about the same price range. I like different things about each of these plug-ins, and I would say that Echo Farm is the most diverse of the three. It definitley has a wider array of sounds than the other two and while it doesn't have as warm of an overall tone, the variety of tones on the Echo Farm are top notch and makes it a great overall plug-in.