Rowbinet – Rowbi's Guitar & Recording Blog

Line 6 has obviously been very busy of late… New site, New product line of live devices (SoundStage and SoundScape), new USB and iOS tri-platform keyboard controllers, a new version of wireless microphones with extra microphone models and features.

Also announced today are some upcoming updates (v2.0) to the higher end POD HD series of amp/FX modelers and some new acoustic guitar models for the Variax guitar line (v1.8).  Both these updates will be released in the near future, so there aren’t many details yet…

All of these plus the existing DT25 amplifiers, and POD HD Pro  announced a few months back will be demoing at Winter NAMM starting today.

Check the other blogs later today for more info on all the products I’ve mentioned in this blog…

Whether you need a MIDI keyboard for your PC, MAC, iPhone, iPOD Touch or iPad… You now have a single option that can do all those things. Introducing Line 6 Mobile Keys.

Here’s the official Press Release from Line 6 from earlier today:

Line 6 Mobile Keys™ Premium Keyboard Controllers Move Seamlessly Between iPad®, iPhone®, Mac® and PC

– Available in 25- and 49-key models, each with full-size keys, iOS and USB connectivity, and compatibility with iPhone^®, iPad^® and iPod touch^® –

ANAHEIM, Calif. – January 19, 2012 – Line 6 (room 212A/B) is showing Mobile Keys™ premium keyboard controller for iPad^®, iPhone^®, Mac^® and PC at Winter NAMM 2012.

Mobile Keys 25 and Mobile Keys 49 are a pair of new, lightweight, ultraportable keyboards designed to control iOS music apps and do double duty as USB MIDI controllers for Mac^® and Windows^® computers. Both models have full-size keys and solid keyboard action. The keys are velocity sensitive, allowing them to accurately interpret the nuances and subtleties of a keyboardist’s playing. Both Mobile Keys models are compatible with any iOS app that supports the CoreMIDI standard for input, including GarageBand^® and numerous drum machines, synthesizers and virtual instruments.

Read more…

I remember the first effects pedal I ever bought when I was an angry teenager at 15 years old – The Zoom 3030.  I didn’t really need such a large box of tricks, and a Zoom 505 would have likely done the job well enough.  However a friend of mine (who was also a better guitarist than me) had the 505, and so felt getting a bigger FX pedal would make me a better player… Well FX pedals do have an instant talent switch, don’t they!?

Roll forward 15 years and there’s far more processing power available in my iPhone and iPad than in pedals even from a few years ago, as well as many tens of millions of users of iPhones and iPads globally.  So it’s a sensible way forward for any amp modeling and FX software company to design an interface and iPhone/iPad App that can give guitarists the amp and FX tones they crave for, any time and in any place they can hook up their iPhone/iPad…
Read more…

It’s not surprising that Line 6 and James Tyler’s love child, the James Tyler Variax, won the MIA Electric Guitar of the Year 2011 award.  They are really well constructed guitars, with some very smart Line 6 black magic thrown in too.  If only there was an instant talent switch for us wannabe rock stars… Well there’s certainly not much else this guitar can’t do
Read more…

Do you have a POD HD500, HD Bean or HD Pro?  Well you’re in for a treat.  Line 6 have released a free update for you with some great additions.

If you want more DSP, then you can configure a POD HD500 and a POD HD Pro (or multiple POD HD Pro’s) daisy chained using an S/PDIF and a MIDI cable, and configure your 1st device to control effects on the 2nd device.  This means that you can potentially run half your single signal chain on each unit, while still having total control, and keeping your audio in the digital domain.  OR you could run dual tones (1 on each) and have more DSP intensive FX in your chain… Like if you want to have, say 8 complex reverbs… (kidding).  That dual tone approach is possible because the Pro has a dry output which you could feed back to the HD500′s or another Pro’s input… As we don’t like dirty signal degrading Y cables!

Read more…

I blogged a while back that Line 6 had announced the impending release of their premium iPhone4/iPad/iPad2 audio interface.  Well I’ve just heard that Mobile In (the interface) has started shipping, and Mobile POD (the free amplifier and effects simulator app) is available to install from the App Store.  Watch this space for a full review coming in the next few weeks.

Read more…

Press releases can sometimes be about as exciting to flick through as having a tooth pulled, but not this time.  The pioneers of amp modeling – Line 6 – have recently announced their new line of DT25 guitar amplifiers, and to add to the buzz I’ve got the full press release here in my grubby paws… MWHA HA HA HA HAAAAA… OK, enough of that… Here’s the scoop:

Read more…

What’s your favourite superlative?  Like a rock star throwback from the 1980′s crossed with a Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) wannabe: My favourite superlative has to be AWESOME!… I say it far more than any self respecting guitarist should, but much like my GAS (Gear acquisition Syndrome), it’s a hard habit to break.

On this occasion I am forced to make an exception, and only because AWESOME! just will not cover it.
Read more…

Get your wallet out, because you’re gonna want one of these!

The top chaps at Andertons have recorded a video along with Line 6′s own product demonstrator.  Check out the video below:

Read more…

Pro

What does ‘Pro’ really mean… yeah ok, you got me, of course it means Professional. But what does that word mean to you?  Does it mean a job.. A career.. Or perhaps a vocation?  When listening to your guitar heros (and playing air guitar to their uncommonly good chops) do you dream of a day when you too could be a guitar hero with others listening to you on their iPods, etc. Would you then consider yourself a Pro?
Read more…