I’ve been playing guitar for about 20 years and have a nice collection of analog gear, but I also use a lot of amp and modeling software too. One of the questions I often get is “what hardware and software should I get?”

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]The answer to that question differs depending on the needs of the person asking, but more often than not, it’s simple: Line 6. I have a lot of Line 6 gear — a Pod X3 Live, Pod XT Live, HD 147, Vetta 3, UX8, a couple of TonePorts, and the latest Pod Farm 2 software (I have more, but you get the idea).

One of the things I like most about the Line 6 hardware, software combination is that it’s easy to use. Literally, you plug it in, install the software and you’re done. It’s hard to beat that when all you want to do is sit down and play.

Of course, the hardware acts as an audio interface, so your computer can recognize your guitar signal. With that, you can open up an application like GarageBand and immediately start recording.

There is nothing quite like the feeling of recording yourself playing a song. I’ve heard from so many guitarists that get so frustrated trying to get things setup to record that they want to give up.

Technology is supposed to help us make this easier, not make it so bad that we never want to look at the computer again.

The Line 6 product line allows you to grow within the company’s products. You can start off with a Pod Studio for $100 and work your way up as the need arises. The great thing is that all of the guitar presets you build will work as you upgrade.

Perhaps my favorite piece of gear is the Pod X3 Live. It’s a pedalboard with all of the electronics built-in. I can plug it in to the computer via USB and record or I can take it to a jam and go straight out to the board. Where things get really interesting is when I plug it into one of my tube amps. Power and tone all neatly rolled up into one.

Regardless of how I use the X3 Live, the sound is always consistent and I’m not messing with my settings all night long.

Guitarists have a lot of choices these days, but if you are starting out and want to grow with a company, I couldn’t recommend a company more than Line 6.