G'day all,
I'm running Windows 7 RTM x64 Ultimate Edition with a Line 6 pod X3L. The system is a Core i7, 6GB, 2xBarracuda 1TB (data), 1xCaviar Black 1TB (system), no other soundcards attached (for testing purposes), POD X3L connected directly to Fostex PM series powered monitors via direct/studio XLR outputs (a bit quiet compared to a guitar amp stack - I have to set the X3L master volume to maximum, but the tone is fine).
So far (as of 12/11/09), I have found that:
- Line 6 monkey seems to works ok (in compatibility mode). It has recognised the registered POD X3L device, communicated with Line 6 servers, and I have successfully upgraded the unit's flash memory.
- Gearbox (v3.70) works as a stand alone program to send/receive tones from the device and edit/save patches etc. I have been able to download patches from customtone and save them to the X3L using Gearbox. I'm also able to create my own patches in Gearbox and save the entire bundle to HDD. However, I have not been able to get Gearbox to work as a VST plugin within Reaper (v3.14 x64) (note - Reaper is capable of bridging x86 to x64). The Gearbox GUI opens as a VST window but says that it is not authorised and instructs me to click on a Line 6 Monkey button (bottom-right corner) to authorize. But clicking on this button brings up an error message saying that Line 6 monkey is not installed; then Reaper crashes. I'll try it again tonight with a 32-bit version of Reaper to see if that makes any difference.
- Riffworks 2 Line 6 Edition (demo version) seems ok - I haven't used it much so can't say if all features work, But I was able to record a few cool riffs with drums etc and line them up into a basic song.
- POD farm (v1.11) doesn't seem to work. I have tried running in Vista and XP compatibility mode. When it loads, it says that it cannot detect a device attached, then presents a list of devices to choose from - however the POD X3L is not in this list. The program still opens, and I can edit the signal path and look at all the pretty pictures of amps and pedals, but at the bottom it says that there is no authorised device attached (or something like that). Hopefully this will be fixed with Line 6's Windows 7 x64 updates.
I have installed a virtual machine running Windows XP, initially to get my soundcards (Presonus Firebox, M-Audio 410) working with Nuendo v4 . However, running the DAW inside a virtual machine, defeats the whole point of upgrading to a powerful new computer. So instead, I bought the Line 6 X3L to use as my soundcard (with the benefit of some cool extra tones and utility for gigging), and switched to Reaper for my DAW. As Slashhead described above, the virtual XP mode will work for the Line 6 devices, but if you want to use them with your full DAW setup then you are compromising your PC's processing power and memory.
Hopefully when Line 6 release their Windows 7 drivers all of these issues will be fixed. Meanwhile, I can still record the Line 6 tones into Reaper, I just can't use the Line 6 VST plugins (i.e. for re-amping dry signals). If anyone has found a way to do this, without using the virtual XP workaround, please let us know.
Enjoying the new toy so far :-) Thanks Line 6!!
Cheerio
Dave
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