Line 6 Guitar Port review:5 stars (Fun and helpful) - This thing kind of sucks you in. I purchased it last year and really liked it. Then I let the monthly subscription lapse during my move and after getting re-established I hooked it back up and found I couldn't play the stuff I'd downloaded. I was kind of put off by this, but recently hooked it back up and re-subscribed for the free 30 days thinking I'd use it for 30 then cancel. But honestly, I'm not so sure. For a modest $7.99 a month you have access to some seriously good lessons and grooves to practise to. For the working guitarist, I'm not sure of the value, but for an occasional player like myself (couple of times a week), the ability to automatically loop tracks, tablature that keeps up with the tracks, the ability to slow the track down and in some cases remove the guitars from the track is simply awesome and a lot cheaper than guitar lessons. I have a modeling amp (Fender Cyber-deluxe)and play throught that, but the Guitar Port amp settings can actually help you learn to dial in your amp too!5 stars (Me Likey Guitar Port) - The GuitarPort was the perfect solution for me. After moving house, I had no place for a rack & cab setup... and *gasp* now I have neighbors! Now I can jam even at 3 AM. Most of the time I either use the headphones or PC speakers. But the RCA outs are good for hooking it up to a stereo and use that as a PA when you want to get loud.

An unexpected bonus was now I could record!!!!! LOL but I guess this was a major feature of the GuitarPort anyway, recording. I'm slow like that.

The GuitarPort works well even with very old legacy software (I'm using an old 1999 "free bundle ware" version of Cakewalk Express) and it still functions perfectly under WinXP. This, in conjunction with a neat freeware program called Audacity, and you have a cheap recording setup for PC. Apparently Line6 also has their own recording sofware called Rifftracker or something, but I've never used it since I'm cheap and got freeware stuff :)

The tones are killer. I've also been downloading tones for free from GuitarPort online. But if you want some tracks to jam to, you have to pay their monthly fee, but I've never paid for that service since I'm recording my own stuff.

Another a heads up, I poked around the Line6 website when I needed new XP drivers (after upgrading my PC from Win98, I'm old fashioned), and it said the latest software version was 2.5 (free download btw). So I installed it, and to my surprise I found that I now had 16 amp models and a startling 24 cab models. So the manufacturer press release which states "15 Killer Amp & 14 Cab Models" is either extremely modest or outdated. So it seems it pays off to visit the website once in a while to check for software updates.5 stars (Simply Awesome) - I purchased the Guitar Port from Amazon the other day, and when it arrived I was excited to see what my Les Paul would sound like though my computer. My old amp fried out a couple of years ago, and I have only been playing acoustic since. I was afraid that it might sound a little artificial. Boy was I wrong!

After only a few hours of use, I can tell you that this is going to reinvigorate my play. This product is much, much better than I though it could ever be. It sounds great! The ability to pick from 10 heads, 10 cabinets, and several effects allows you to create the exact tone needed for a given song. I have already saved 5 "tones". I can just pick from a list to grab a nice tube "warm" amp, to the heavy crunch I save for Metallica licks, to a sweet chorus with a bit of distortion for a number of rockers.

I also love the hum reducer which learns from your guitar, and removes almost all of the guitar hum. Between that and the noise gate, my guitar seems much cleaner than I have ever heard it.

A small but very nice feature is the tuner, which makes it pretty dead simple to tune your axe. There are a number of other features I have not used yet. You can play along with Mp3, CD, etc.

A previous reviewer mentioned that the online service is a rip-off and you have to watch "the fine print". I bought this product as an amp replacement, so I have not subscribed to the online service. You do not have to pay the online $10/month fee to use this product. All the cool stuff that I have mentioned is yours, forever.

All in all, this is the coolest guitar toy I have ever used, far better than any of the pre-amp pedals/effects that I have tried out over the years.
Line 6 Guitar Port Features:
Amplifiers (Amplifier)
Preamplifiers (Preamplifier)
Computer software (programs)
Music
Apreciation
CD
Line 6 models and effects for your computer
10 classic amps
Classic cabs
24-bit D/A/D conversion
32-bit floating-point DSP

Line 6 Guitar Port is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 99.99USD.