The greatest, most intelligent, incredibly stupid, infuriatingly proprietary live sound system ever

[jeffhenning]

Kudos to Line 6 for creating the easiest sound system to set up, ever.

 

Shame on you for not including, for a few dollars more, open standard digital I/O like AES or USB to any of your StageScape/StageSource equipment.

 

What "genius" in your company decided that it had to be a thoroughly proprietary, closed system that didn't have any normal, digital ins or outs?

 

Sure, no one would want to record their gigs or practices in pristine digital form, right?

 

And, of course, everyone will want to use only your guitar pre-amps to hook up digitally to your speakers rather than anything else, true?

 

And when you have digital recording interfaces and wireless units, you really do benefit from having extra, unnecessary AD/DA conversions, don't you?

 

Open standards are for morons, correct?

 

So, enough of my snark.

 

I'm truly thinking about not buying an L3S and selling of my L3T because it won't recognize any digital input other than your L6 Link.

 

If you can offer a firmware upgrade, great, problem solved. If not, wow, big mistake on my part thinking that you'd make a truly all-around, great product that didn't have some gigantic design flaw.

 

If I wanted to buy your Helix Rack, this wouldn't be a problem, but, since that box has the most wackass effects line up ever and doesn't offer anything approaching studio level effects for bass or vocals, sorry, no thanks.

 

Even worse, it doesn't seem that you guys have added one new effect algorithm to your Pod line up in over a decade. That seems to be the running theme with everything you've ever produced. Great ideas that turn into product with glaring flaws and ommisions.

 

Thanks,

jeff

[cruisinon2]

Say what's on your mind, man...don't hold back. ;)

 

It's gonna fall on deaf ears in here, though.., "official" responses are few and far between around here.

[rimrocked]

Hey Jeff sorry to hear you are having some frustrations. I am a longtime user of the Line 6 digital link and must say I've not run into those issues. However I believe it is because I am using the complete system. I have a 5pc band and we all use direct in via the M20D mixer. I believe Line 6 intended the L6 link to work in tandem with their mixer and speakers, with the option of using their speakers with their other products, only. Like Apple, I believe this is a closed architecture but unlike the "open" systems, I have found the Line 6 system very competent in doing exactly what they claimed and without all the other headaches of incompatibility introduced by a 'non-compliant' product. By using their mixer, 4 L3t's, L3s and my ipad, I have no amps on stage everyone is direct into the mixer. It took a while to get the guitar and bass presets tweaked just right for their individual preferences, but the effort was worth it, we now have 1 point source for stage monitor volumes etc., and 1 for FOH. I know this doesn't solve your immediate issue, but perhaps you could consider investing in the mixer?

[jeffhenning]

Thanks for the commiserations.

 

Hey, I understand why their system works the way it does and think it's really clever. What pisses me off, though, is that they digitally close off the system to everything else on the planet. Most especially, top-tier effects from TC and Lexicon that are much better in the realms of modulation, delays and reverbs than anything Line 6 has or most likely will ever produce.

 

Sure, for the people that aren't audio engineers, make the system intelligent and easy to set up. That doesn't mean that it should then not also have the depth to allow experienced engineers to take it to the next level. As is, it's made for non-engineers exclusively. There is no way to add room and speaker correction or use better and more effects digitally.

 

There is no road for expansion or extension of the system. It is all that it ever will be and that runs counter to just about every other competing product on the market.

 

While I can somewhat justify adding the L3S sub and the Helix Rack to my L3T for use as a bass rig, I wouldn't buy the Stagescape unless I was doing a lot of small club gigs and I was using it as a set and forget mixer for each song using its scene presets.

 

I would never buy this system if I was working as a FOH mixer. It just isn't at the same level as the stuff that Yamaha, Mackie, etc. produce.