Digitech rp vs line6 pod xt live

I recently acquired a digitech rp70 which is a all in one amp modeler ,f/x unit and pedal board in one. Now keep in mind that this pedal is less than $100 new and mine was a whopping $35 used. My main unit is a line 6 pod xt live and it is similar as it is an amp modeler,f/x unit and pedalboard in one as well,but is closer to $500 new. I have used the line 6 pod xt live for a long time and have it setup the way I like it. I have had the rp70 for 2 days.My initial impression of the rp70 is very good.

The fact that I can even compare it to the $500 line 6 pod xt live is impressive from this cheap pedal. It incorporates the new audiodna2 chip which is also found in digitech's higher priced models. After playing and recording with this unit I found several things. First, the presets can be useful though most require a lot of tweaking to be used normally.however, it also had some amp modeling presets that were just right,especially marshall like sounds. It also has some really great amp models and good effects like the pod xt live.

Smoothness
Overall they are much smoother sounding than the pod xt live which is very rough sound. however, for recording the rough sound of the line 6 wins out as it sounds more realistic than the digitech which is a bit too smooth to sound or feel like an amp to me. the softness of the rp70 can be useful for clean sounds and rhythm guitar at times.

Lead sounds
the rp70 makes lead easy to play in comparison to the line 6 feel wise.But the line6 is much more convincing and balanced in this area.Part of this is to how clean the rp70 sounds are in comparison to the line 6 which is a bit noisier in a good way,much like a real amp.

Cleanliness
the rp70 and its sounds are very clean.no hiss,no noise ,just really clean. This makes for good recording, however, the line6 is nosier but in a good way in that it's noises are more like what you would find in an amp such as a bit "grumbling or growling noise, some hiss at times,etc.." very minor ,but the end result makes a big difference.This is why again ,the rp70 is better on clean sounds and "soft sounds" compared to high gain settings that are much more convincing on the line 6.

OVERALL
I am glad i got the rp70 as it is convenient ,very small and sounds very good. It also made me appreciate the line 6 pod xt live much more. the pod xt live is rough harder to play feel wise but the recording results are much better than the digitech rp's.The hype online is that the rp's blow the pod's out of the water.I totally disagree. The line6 sounds more realistic to me and better results when recording. That is not to say that the rp's are nice and in fact with some tweaking can yield some great results as well.It is a much smoother sound than the pod and really almost has its own sound and its very clean. Spending some time with it, one could easily come up with there favorite patches that sound good, recording and live.That said, to me the line 6 pod xt live is a more professional sounding unit but the rp is not very far behind and in fact can shines in some situations better than the pod and its fun to just to turn it on and experiment. For the money the rp70 is amazing but to dismiss the pod xt live is a big mistake with its pro and realistic sounds.

Audio studio on the Cheap

Cheap audio furniture: The microwave stand
For home audio studio furniture, there are a few companies that make this type of furniture and it is very expensive with a typical desk with some rack cases built in going for $2000 or so.now that is $2000 less that could be spent on equipment recording gear etc...Well, I was in need of a desk and rack case to carry a mixer and 2 ADAT machines and a power amp.About 12 rack spaces altogether and then a mixer on top. A rack case like this would easily be $200-400 or more. So, instead I substituted a used $10 microwave stand from a thrift store. I painted it black and it turned out very well. I removed the drawer to make more rack space. As luck would have it, the power amp and the 2 adats fit in the space perfectly. With the equipment in the stand , one would be hard pressed not to think that it was audio studio furniture custom made for this purpose. With some creativity and experimentation, one can get standard furniture to be functional audio studio furniture.



ok, well, my home studio has been growing at a steady pace. along with that came huge bundles of cables, equipment everywhere and soon no space to work in. Well, I added these computer desks and though that I could use these desks in my home studio to double as desk to do computer video and audio editing.Well, that ate up space and while it worked ,I was just very cramped.So out they go!! I just recently replaced my old crt monitors with flat screen monitors and that does help cut down on the space needed. We will look at some ways to save some space next time.