Line 6 TonePort Tone Port UX8 and stuff....

[maceman]

Hi Guys,

First off... sorry to everyone that i am not around much right now. I had a throat biopsy done last week (i'm okay, no cancer!) because i have had re-occuring toncillitis for about 2 years now....
I found out today that they will being doing surgery to remove them. This is not a walk in the park for me...because of other health issues, it can be fatal at my age and health, thus they are taking each step really slowly. I will know more after wednesday.

This has been hard for me because I am full of musical ambition as of late, but cannot deliver, at least not vocally, which some may think is a good thing- ha ha.

Anyways, the post title, yes.... Anyone know much about this little device? I am thinking that i want some more versatility that what my zoom offers. I want to go straight into the computer and try recording ideas, rather than setting up for every idea i get.... yes i know, Steve warned me this day would come, and he was right.

I looked at this product and it looks like what i want. Long and mcquade sells it locally for $599.00 which is alot. Our dollar is almost par with the US, and i see some ebay stuff at 399 + 60 shipping or so. They don't tell you that customs will ding you another 40-60 to cross borders do they- ha. I know better though.

Anyways, does anyone know who will send this for cheaper and fast. I figure that perhaps i can have a toy to take my mind off things when i need to recover. I may not be up to it after surgery, but if i am, i want to be prepared.

Thanx for any help.

Maceman

ps. friendly reminder {HOW COME YOU GUYS ARE NOT SIGNING THE NEWLETTER ON MY NEW SITE!! Yes i am yelling }

[Sungodv]

Do you need to have 8 inputs all recording at once? If not, a KB37 or UX2 may be more in order.
Too bad this wasn't a year or so ago. You could get a UX2 for about $99 as they were phasing it out for the Pod Farm version.
You should check out ebay.ca and see what you can see.
The .com American site only shows one used one....the rest are around $200 Dollars.


I wouldn't be surprised if this is moved over to the Line6 sub-forum.

[Lee]

Matt, the surgery sounds intimidating even without the more serious health issues looming. Keep us posted...

As far as a recording interface goes, why not consider the Zoom R16? It should do exactly what you want AND continue to provide you the option of full portability (and at 24 bit). We have different goals but I see the UX8 as an anchor. Then again, I see all studio spaces as an anchor sooo.... .

Why not get the best of both worlds (a computer interface and a standalone device) in the R16 and save a hundred bucks in the process? If you don't like it you could always sell it to me at a slightly reduced price! Lol

[minerman]

+1 about the reply on the surgery from Lee, hope everything works out ok, please do keep us informed Mace. On the Line 6 subject, Steve's right about the 8 inputs, do you really need 8? If so, then Lee made a pretty good suggestion with the Zoom R16, I haven't personally tried it, but have heard good things about it (I have heard negative things too, but there are pros & cons to everything). I'm sure you'll find what you need, the UX2 sounds like a good choice, but again, it depends on how many tracks you need to record at once. Hope you get what you want/need, & hope the surgery goes smoothly. Keep us posted Mace!!!!

[Gu Djin]

I agree with what Steve says re the ux2 and KB37. And i was going to mention the ZoomR16, but Leigh ( I meant Lee) got in first.

I don't know how good the R16 will be as a DAW controller, but if you are moving to a pc for working it would well be worth investigating.

All my best wishes for you surgery and recouperation.

Best regards Leigh

ps if you're thinking of using midi the ux2 isn't going to help.

[maceman]

Thanx guys. i appreciate the support and feedback...

Actually Steve... I need to go check that kb out. I actually really like the idea of a keyboard interface, but in the past i was thrown off by the non-hammer key feel. But it may add somewhat to what i am after, and no, i certainly don't need 8 imputs. I just thought because the one auction included the platinum package with that, that i would use all those effects maybe to try them out. But maybe the other products have them as well. I don't know enough yet and need to go try something.

Lee/James- thanx as well.... I haven't ruled out the R16. I forgot about it momentarily. Has anyone other than armin actual tried it yet? Can i plug my acoustic into it and get some better recording with next to none latency, as the UX's offer? That is manditory as i have a cheap sound card and no money for a good one

Thanx guys!
Maceman

[maceman]

thanx leigh... you posted at the same time as i so i missed ya! Cheers.

[Sungodv]

I can't see going with an R16. You have the MRS-8, so you can always take your recording "on the road" with it.
TonePorts have Tone Direct monitoring and I hear no latency with it. I sold my MRS-8 within a year of buying the UX2 and can't imagine going back to that small of a screen with multiple menus again.

[minerman]

+1 about the screen size, just before I posted this, I was recording & adding markers in Reaper, so much easier to be able to "see" what's going on, can't do that with the Zoom pruducts. You can add markers, but you can't see them as the page scrolls along. +1 about the multiple menus also, to me, PC is much easier. Hope you find what ya need/want Mace!!!

[Lee]

I can't see going with an R16. You have the MRS-8, so you can always take your recording "on the road" with it.
TonePorts have Tone Direct monitoring and I hear no latency with it. I sold my MRS-8 within a year of buying the UX2 and can't imagine going back to that small of a screen with multiple menus again.

Steve, I sold my UX2, KB37, and MRS8! (the list goes on but I'll stop there)

The one thing about the R16 that's attractive is that you have one tool that is highly versatile and it's very compact so you can do both. I'm not big on the visual side of recording and I actually prefer the LED interface for marking and editing using numbers on a command-line like interface as opposed to a GUI, but that's just me.

[Sungodv]

Steve, I sold my UX2, KB37, and MRS8! (the list goes on but I'll stop there)

Yes, I remember, Lee.....I sometimes wonder just what you are buying....or selling. Did you end up canning the Variax?

A stand alone interface is going to be so much cheaper than the R16 Hybrid. He mentioned Line6, but there are many others. I guess if money is no object, take a look at the R16.
It might also make toast....

[Lee]

Yes, I remember, Lee.....I sometimes wonder just what you are buying....or selling. Did you end up canning the Variax?

I've done a lot more selling the past two years than buying, and yes, the Variax went too. My mistake was buying the 700 and not a cheaper model. For some reason I really don't like having things that are worth over $500 and aren't getting used regularly (the limited low-end frequency support on the Variax made it so I couldn't use the whammy the way I normally do so it didn't work out for distored guitar -- it was great for everything else though, but I don't want to have several electric guitars so....).

Yeah, I'm definitely not a collector type at all. "Things" equate to maintenance and that in turn translates to work for me -- I don't see the benefit. So I still just use my Ibanez through either the Line 6 X3 (POD) or even the native HD8 sounds.

[maceman]

... the benefit of living in the US as opposed to Canada is.... that you guys can pretty much walk into a good music store and try stuff. I find here that it isn't so easy. For example, yes, i can probably find someone with the line 6 products which will be great (probably long & mcquade), but most likely the R16 wont be there which stinks. This is one reason i enjoy my yearly Florida visits and visit the guitar centre or sam ash (although i boycotted sam ash now ), so i really rely on you guys for this stuff..

I gotta say that although i don't cycle as fast as Lee, I sure feel like it sometimes. I am hard to please. This is one of main reasons you haven't heard my 'new' flamenco yamaha yet.... Yes, I liked it for the first hour or so, but now i find it goes out of tune more than i like to mess with (compared with the taylor)... and if i could get close to what i paid i would sell, but i know i wont, so it is rotting in a closet .. I hear this is normal for classicals?

Anyways, I really don't care about LED or Flashy... as long as it makes my music progression move along. I am bored of the same old, same old. I think i like the idea of plugging straight in, having next to no latency, having numerous amps and effects to mess with... I think I will also want to upgrade the MRS8 to the R16 as well, but it sounds like that would be redundant to have both? Unless i want mobility, which is true. Even though i have this new studio set-up, i still like sitting on the couch by the window upstairs and playing guitar while watching doves landing on the droppy evergreen tree

And i still want that Yamaha M08. I want, I want, I want!

What's today tuesday? I think i may run over tonight to L&M and see what they have to play with.

Thanx guys!

Maceman

[Zoetrope]

Sorry to hear about the health issues.

As for the question at hand, I don't know Bo Diddly about the UX8 but I have the (original version of the) UX2 and love it. If you don't need all those inputs, it would be a cheaper way to go. It has definitely made recording easier and more fun for me, since I have one dedicated device to plug everything into (and keep it plugged in). No more reaching behind the computer, battling the dust bunnies to pull out one plug and put in another. The free software that comes with (Pod/Gearbox) is icing on the cake.

You might want to read through some of the R16 posts as there's been some lively debate over there. I think for the right user it's the right piece of gear, but it's strength seems to be more in portability. If that's not a big issue, I'd stick with a desktop based system and a solid interface like the UX2, UX8, or some other flavor of Line6.

Good luck with everything.

[tonyoci]

The UX8 is the UX2 with 6 additional input, but you can't use those extra inputs with the guitar modeling etc. They basically just stuck 6 more inputs on.

If 2 inputs is enough then you're fine with one of the others though I do find that once in a while I could do with an extra one. For example to record vocals and double mic an acoustic at the same time. Recording drums, if that happens, is another reason.

[maceman]

Thanx guys...

Ok, i have sitting in front of me one UX2, one taylor 614ce, and one beer- just kidding.... anyways, i am trying to get sound- i know, pathetic. i hear nothing. i have aguitar in te normal port and on.....i am in the headphone jack, i see needles moving, but no sound. i wanted to try as a vst in reaper but it prompts for some monkey think and i need to see what is wanted first before doing that.

So right now i got the sound of silence happening

Maceman

[Gu Djin]

The monkey thingy is essential to getting ux2 running, updating and registering your line six gear. You need to have the drivers installed before you plug in your ux2 and when monkey updates your drivers you will have to unplug you ux2 to install the updates. If you get past the first stages you get plenty of prompts. With the Line 6 stuff I found best not to try to shortcut its instructions.

Let us know how you get on.

Did you buy it new or is a previously loved bit of kit?