I’ve bought one and I’d say it’s pretty darned good! (especially after installing forceware 1.02)
I’ve been using the X3 straight into the computer when recording the improvisations here on the forums.
In my opinion though, you still need an external amp to run through if you want a good distortion. It has just a little too much transistor sound for my taste.
The effects and vamps are great, however they need to be run through an amp if you want them to sound like the real deal. It’s not bad with stereo chorus, though ; )
It has other uses as well – you can connect a second instrument (it’s built for bass/guitar/vocals) and run it with the same or on a different bank. So it’s much like two amp sims in one : )
Check out the line6 site for more info on connections and stuff.
The only thing I view as a drawback with the pedal is that the tone controls for the amp sim are VERY sensitive, which (for me) means that they can change from the vibrations from the bass sound (they have, and I was a little surprised when both treble and bass disappeared when playing once).
I suppose they’re there to provide final-stage tuning of the sound if you’re not playing with your own gear (meaning they should be neutral otherwise).
Only the drive switch doesn’t have a better alternative (by changing the bank on the lcd screen [eq, (re)verb, and the bank output volume]), which is sort of disappointing if you use the same amp sim for a smooth and aggressive sound, since they’re bound to change if there’s alot of movement around.
I dislike using a gate (since it can cut away soft/quiet sounds), so using a stompbox is not an alternative for me.
But on the whole it’s a two thumbs up.
Excellent sound, a robust “shell”, steady pedal (it won’t break unless you bang it into the wall a few times), great accessibility (you can switch the stompbox, modulation, delay and compression on and off with the foot) and the wah pedal is pretty good for being an “integrated” one.
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