Other recording options for the POD X3

[breadtruck]

Hey all. Lately I have been having some frustrating problems with the POD X3 and audio cutting out/crashing and having to restart my PC when this happens. I have been talking to Line6 support for months now doing various troubleshooting tips and nothing seems to be working. This is a huge disappointment to me, as looking around the L6 forums I notice other people with the same issue, but it seems no one knows how to solve it, and they can only offer basic tips such as "try different USB ports", "re-install drivers" etc (which I must have done 500 times!!)

So basically my question is this; are there other ways to record with my POD X3? Ya know, without using the USB to go direct to my PC. I'm really not very knowledgable in this stuff and would appriciate it if someone tell me which cables/hardware/whatever that i need to buy to make this happen. I tend to do most of my recording late at night, so running it thru an amp and using a mic is out of the question for now. I've heard about running POD X3 > Interface (such as M-audio) > PC; what are the benefits of this?

If this is not possible and the only way to record with POD X3 besides mic'ing a cab is via USB, then that sucks . But if anyone can give me other suggestions that is appriciated. I don't have much money but I am willing to save up some to get past this infuriating problem, especially seeing as the USB troubleshooting is starting to get into "why don't you try buying one of these..." territory, so I think either way I'll be spending money. However I would much rather spend the money to have a reliable way to record rather than just to "see if it works now". Thanks for listening

 

[Charlie E.]

I've heard about running POD X3 > Interface (such as M-audio) > PC; what are the benefits of this?

This is exactly how to do it. The benefits are that you won't have problems such as the one you're having
Since you sound like you're on a budget and on a PC a cheap m-audio interface such as this might work for you: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrack.html

Before making a purchase I recommend that you speak to a knowledgeable person regarding your computer specs. A good interface is basically only as good as your computer so please make sure you'll be able to run it smoothly before making a purchase.
Worst case scenario you have to upgrade PC or components and then maybe the Pod X3 will stop giving you problems.
Goodluck.

 

[breadtruck]

This is exactly how to do it. The benefits are that you won't have problems such as the one you're having
Since you sound like you're on a budget and on a PC a cheap m-audio interface such as this might work for you: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrack.html

Before making a purchase I recommend that you speak to a knowledgeable person regarding your computer specs. A good interface is basically only as good as your computer so please make sure you'll be able to run it smoothly before making a purchase.
Worst case scenario you have to upgrade PC or components and then maybe the Pod X3 will stop giving you problems.
Goodluck.

Sounds good man. I actually saw the Fast Track in one of my local shops a while ago, so I will have to go back soon and see if they still have them.

My PC specs are alright. I've got an AMD Athlon II X3 Processor (3 CPUs), ~2.7Ghz, with 4gig of RAM. Is that enough for some basic recording and stuff in Reaper?

Will running through POD > Interface > PC instead of just POD > PC affect my tone at all? I mean the main idea of this is just to avoid these audio drop out problems I have (and I will also be getting a USB PCI card for better USB communication), but hopefully my tone won't suffer for it.

 

[Terminus]

put the POD aside and try running straight into the interface from the guitar and just using free amp sims to monitor the sound, ftmp they sound better than the X3 imo. Then you have a nice clean DI tack to reamp through a real amp later, if needed.

 

[breadtruck]

put the POD aside and try running straight into the interface from the guitar and just using free amp sims to monitor the sound, ftmp they sound better than the X3 imo. Then you have a nice clean DI tack to reamp through a real amp later, if needed.

I'll experiment with both and see how much I really need the X3. However even if it's just using it for the effects or so, then i'll keep hold of it.

 

[Charlie E.]

Will running through POD > Interface > PC instead of just POD > PC affect my tone at all? I mean the main idea of this is just to avoid these audio drop out problems I have (and I will also be getting a USB PCI card for better USB communication), but hopefully my tone won't suffer for it.

It'll sound fine. And as suggested above, if you for some reason you don't like the sound you can always plug directly in and use sims.

 

[breadtruck]

It'll sound fine. And as suggested above, if you for some reason you don't like the sound you can always plug directly in and use sims.

Alright great stuff. Thanks a TON for the help guys