Line 6 Tone Port KB37

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• 37-note full-sized keyboard with Pitch/Mod wheels for MIDI control, 16 classic and modern amp models based on POD xt , 24 speaker cabinet models based on POD xt , 5 bass amp & cab models based on Bass POD xt , 24 studio and stompbox effects
• Stereo Line Inputs for your line out level gear, Stereo Digital Output S/PDIF via RCA, Stereo Line Outputs via balanced 1/4-inch, Stereo Monitor Input via stereo 1/4-inch jack
• Expression pedal input to control GearBox wah/volume or MIDI, Headphone Output with independent volume knob, VU Meters assignable to input, record send, output and monitor levels, Dual footswitch jacks for control of GearBox or MIDI/recording software
• Pro Audio Performance with over 100dB signal-to-noise & dynamic range, ToneDirect monitoring, Transport & Control button/knobs assignable to GearBox and MIDI/recording software, 44.1 & 48KHz, 16 & 24 bit recording, 96KHz mode
• 2 Mic Inputs with +48v Phantom Power, 2 Guitar/Bass Inputs, USB-powered, Rock-solid Drivers: ASIO, WDM, Mac OS X, Includes Ableton Live Lite, Mac OS X and PC compatible!
• Expression pedal input to control GearBox wah/volume or MIDI, Headphone Output with independent volume knob
• Pro Audio Performance with over 100dB signal-to-noise & dynamic range, ToneDirect monitoring, Transport & Control button
• 37-note full-sized keyboard with Pitch/Mod wheels for MIDI control
• Headphone Output with independent volume knob
• 2 Mic Inputs with +48v Phantom Power, 2 Guitar/Bass Inputs, USB-powered, Rock-solid Drivers

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As a part-time, semi-professional musician/performer/producer [you can check out our NOVAkILL CDs here at amazon.com] I have a need for good quality and portability at a reasonable price. For maximum flexibility, I have been using USB audio I/O devices for the past 5 or 6 years, as they allow me to work on my workstation at home or laptop on stage with the same equipment. I was first attracted to Line 6 by the announcement of the KB37 because it looks so incredibly slick and sexy. To see if it could deliver the goods, I got hold of a UX2, which is basically the same as the KB37, without the keyboard. It took me about 5 minutes to realise the potential of this set-up so I got hold of a KB37 as soon as they were available.

HARDWARE The unit feels really solid. The plastic is very heavy-duty and it all seems pretty well put together, although one of my VU meters is slightly crooked. The three-octave keyboard has a good feel and also feels fairly robust. The I/O knobs [chrome] are perhaps a little loose [it is easy to bump them and change their position] where the controller knobs [black] are very stiff until you use them for a while. It is very light-weight and no wider than most two-octave keyboards so it is extremely portable. The footswitch jacks are a real bonus. The audio inputs and outputs are very good, allowing you to get high quality, clean recordings and to monitor everything easily.

DRIVERS Line 6 Monkey makes sure your drivers and other software are always up-to-date so it is a good idea to let the monkey look for the latest versions when you are setting up as the CD that ships is nowhere near current [it doesn't even support the KB37]. Once the Monkey had done it's thing, everything just worked. You use the driver interface to assign controllers and footswitches to different functions. It works really well but is a little hard to get at in a hurry.

SOFTWARE [GEARBOX] This is definitely the best part of the deal. The are plenty of amps, cabinets and other effects available and you can chain them all together to create amazing results. If you are not happy with what you get, you can go on-line and buy even more from Line 6, but I have barely scratched the surface of the bundled options after almost a year. GearBox has very flexible routing you can assign the hardware VU meters to any of a number of things [inputs, outputs, etc]. You can monitor and/or record with or without effects and you can even record your vocals or guitar parts whilst monitoring other instruments through the unit. You can have a single stereo signal path or two unique mono paths. e.g. one set-up for your vocal and a completely separate effect-chain for your guitar at the same time, whilst monitoring your hardware synths through the unit. Because it operates outside the normal Windoze audio system, latency is negligible which makes it great for using live.

IN USE This is where we ran into a few problems at first. The KB37 only transmits on MIDI channel 1 so, because we had been using Channel 8, I had to go through all of our songs and change things to Channel 1. But it was worth it because in every other way, the KB37 delivers for us. It is a great device for recording vocals and synth parts and it is a flexible and handy controller for our sequencer and soft-synths. On stage it is even more impressive as we can use it for live vocal effects without having to run our voices through our sequencer software. With two footswitches attached I can change GearBox presets easily on stage and mute the effects between songs.

SUPPORT Terrible. We had a few problems with the unit when we first started using it and the Line 6 forum was completely useless. After 8 weeks of getting no help from them whatsoever, I eventually discovered that the problem was not with the KB37. If it had been, I doubt it would ever have been solved.

OVERALL This is close to the perfect solution for us. It is robust and portable, simple to use, yet offers incredible sound quality, both for getting clean recordings and from the amazing GearBox software. If the support was better, this would be a 5-star review.

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So far I've only use this to record my guitar with GarageBand on my Mac. Works great but download the latest drivers for it through Line 6 and skip the disc it comes with.

It's going to take me a year with some mics to give it a true review; though so far, I'm more satisfied.

Read Best Reviews of Line 6 Tone Port KB37 Here

I used this for several months without any problems on an AM2 based PC, and after upgrading to a an Intel Based Q6600 Processor P35 Chipset system, I only then realized that the audio drop-out, stuttering is common to Intel chipset (ICH9) Systems :S ...and up to now, there is no solution.

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My son had asked for this for Christmas but it was backordered everywhere until after Christmas. I tried to find something comparable but when the salesman at Guitar Center saw that it was also an audio interface he said it was a great deal for the price. Before I gave up I tried Ebay and finally Amazon. I was so happy that not only was it in stock but arrived within two days!

Obviously this is more a review of the site than the product but it does exactly what it says and is the perfect small recording studio equipment.

When I bought this, the software was not compatible (out of date). Contacted line6 and got a very unfriendly rep. Line6 service sucks, and this IS NOT worth the price. Ended up returning it.