Was shopping for a cheap self powered interface to take on tour with me in Europe and USA... I'll be gone for like 2 months!
And came across this little marvel:



LINE 6's Website:
http://line6.com/toneportgx/

There are alot of USB interfaces out there, and I reccomend that folks stay away from USB for audio devices, and instead choose firewire / PCI, whatever else!

BUT this one is pretty amazing as it is BUILT for playing guitar into the computer and does so with ZERO LATENCY, which is the biggest problem when playing "fake amps" in the computer... Latency= delay, which is a huge dealbreaking buzzkill.

And, this comes with amp simulators that are as good as they get right now...I suggest NOT using the presets and building your own rig... I find that if I simply choose a head / cab combo and spend a little while tweaking it to the way I play, it sounds pretty darn good.
It also has bass rigs and preamps / fx some of which are intended for vocals, which also sound pretty good thru this thing.

The simulators can be bypassed and the box used as a straight recording device, or you can set it up to send the processed signal to one track in your computer software, and the clean, uneffected signal on another track... Leaving you with a world of options.

One thing to note is that this is NOT a plugin in the traditional sense...
The amp sounds are not acessable to you in your recording app unless you buy the plugin version... what you record is what you get.
Having said that, if you record the dry signal along with the effected, you can use the Toneport like any other outboard effect if you have the necessary inputs and outputs on your soundcard... or you can simply put a different simulator plugin on it, I have put a few reccomended ones up on my DIY audio page on the jakerock.com site

http://www.jakerock.com/DIYAUDIO_INDEX.htm


I bought the GX because it is the smallest... was $49
The UX1 and UX2 have more input / output options and are of course more expensive.

Anyway, for $49, this is a full-on bargain.

Heres a review of the UX1 and UX2, most of which applies to the GX...
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb06/articles/toneport.htm?print=yes

And heres one for the GX written by a guy from the reaper messageboards....
http://www.cockos.com/forum/showthread.php?p=174445#post174445

BTW... I dont work for line 6!!!!

so let me get this straight. i can use this badboy with my garageband deal on my computer and not worry about the delay that comes with trying to use the mic input or built in mic?

if this is the case then i am on board 100%
thanks' for the info jason.

Yeah man... Thats what it means... There is still a TINY little delay when recording vocals, but its MUCH better than usual, especially with USB.
The tiny little delay is probably still there when recording guitars, but its its completely unnoticeable.

I have been using this alot here on this tour... Recording on the laptop in hotels rooms and backstage. It sounds really good for recording guitars and bass...

I was really skeptical, but even the vocal chains seem like they could be somewhat useful.
Its great to be able to get the benefits of having nearly no latency, and to be able to record both the dry and the effected signals from the TonePort.
Then you can re-amp / re-effect the recording whatever way you want, monitoring the amp-sound when recording guitars, or putting verb and comp on vocals while tracking to make things a little more ambient.

I did not expect this, but I have found myself using the FX and pedal sims as well... They sound good.

There is also a plugin version of this thing, but I believe that you must have the toneport attached to the computer at all times when using it.... I hate that idea and wont deal, but if it didnt have that BS I might have sprung for the plugin as well... I am pretty much sold on the sound of this thing....

what kind of laptop are you using to plug into (if you don't mind me asking)

i am on the search for one of these (thanks' for the tip)

oh and thanks for that freaking ass ripping stuff you put up for us to stream. fuck you guys sound like fucking teenagers (who can play well) on those recordings. are you three drinking some sort of elixir to maintain your youth?

Its an older Toshiba 2435

2.4Ghz / 768 RAM...
Its a dual boot, so one side is a super stripped down version of Windows XP, set up to only do audio work...
Ive done most of the recent stuff from my engineering demos page on it, and also mixed the new Fiery Furnaces "live" album on it...

Im working on a really comprehensive tutorial for setting your computer up for audio, should be ready pretty soon...

Having said that, I have the Line6 set up on the regular patition (internet / antivirus / etc...), and it runs pretty well... With an expected, but minimal amount of hiccups from the system...

If you set up a stripped down version of windows on even an old computer you can get alot done audio-wise... Windows is a bloated sack, but you can do alot to slim it down and use all of the power of your system.

Best.

this could be helpful but i am running on a mac book pro (does have an intel duo core...so it starts to become family to pc's). i am a complete idiot with a lot of this computer stuff but i might be able to follow and translate to apple speak (right?)

Im sorry I missed my chance to reply to this in a timely fashion...

The Toneport series of devices run on Mac's too!

I am really becoming an even bigger fan of this device...
I just bought a big upgrade from them with alot more amp models and a VST plugin that I can use with my recording software...

As far as recordings go, theres a modified VOX and an Orange Amp in there that make my tele sound better than it EVER has through any amp.

Ok, there, I said it.

I like fake amps, real guitars, and I think ones and zeros sound fine.

I bought the GX about six months ago and absolutely dig it! I could never stand using the other amp sims because of the latency. The direct monitoring of these units make them a must-have.

I just bought the Silver Bundle for my other audio computer about a month ago (so i wouldn't have to keep switching the GX between them). It automatically upgrades to the Gold Bundle when you register it - giving you *all* the amp models, fx, and plug-ins. What a deal for $99.00!

BTW, Todd Rundgren recorded his latest disc, "Arena", using a Toneport and Gearbox on a laptop.

Yeah man!
The obliteration of latency with this device had me singing from the rooftops when I first got it!
I got the gold bundle for $99 as well... Pretty good deal by any standards.

I wish the plugin would work without the Toneport attached, but its not really that big a deal.

I recently tracked a band that was playing hard rock with Marshall type tones... One guitarist used an amp and the other played through the Toneport / Gearbox, and the difference in the tones were complimentary to say the least. One really did not sound more "real" than the other, just as asthetically different as you would expect from having two different amps.
I love this thing.