Line 6 amps

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Gadzz

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Jeez! I had the pleasure of playing through a line 6 head over the weekend, I was blown away on how bad this amp sounds and feels! Just not my thing! I have a Axe-2 which is easy to dial in nice round warm tube like tones but even that doesn't compare to my Splawn! The Line 6 is just so sterile it sounded to me like robotic bees! Good for the black metal kids though I guess :no:
 
Hold up a moment. Which line 6 amp? They make some good stuff, you just have to know how to dial it in. I used a spider valve for months with my last band and I always got compliments on my tone
 
I played in a band with a guy that just loved Line 6. All by itself his amp sounded terrible but to be honest in the band it sounded ok. He only played rhythm so I never heard his lead tone. Personally, I would rather play unplugged than play through a Line 6 amp, but that is because every time I tried to use something by them it never sounded good no matter how much effort I put in. :doh:
 
Not sure the amp model but it was in a head shell and had many push buttons that lite up and a LCD display! Just not my thing a lot of people love em though.
 
I was a Line 6 hater for years. Especially when I joined a band and the other guitarist was using a Line 6 head (it was the chrome one with the blue light, I forget the model) and it sounded quite bad. It was somewhat acceptable for lone basement playing, but live with a band, it was not good.

A few years later I was looking for a modeling combo amp that I could use for quick low volume practice at home and with the band, and in a pinch, use it for a gig. A local working guitar player (who is an UNBELIEVABLE guitarist, chops for days) used a Line 6 Flextone III combo for all his bar gigs. He was also in my band before me. I asked what he used on the bands recordings and he pointed to his Flextone! I was shocked so I monitored the local Craigslist looking for one on the cheap. A few months later I found one and have been happy with it. Happier than I EVER thought I would be with a Line 6.

A few months after I purchased the amp we opened for Stryper. Due to extraneous circumstances I was forced to use the Line 6 for the gig instead of my EVH/rack rig. It held it's own and got me through. Wound up being one of our best gigs! I found that it sounds much better live mic'd with a E609 vs an SM57. I don't like it as much direct.

Also, the guitarist from the show "Live from Daryl's House" uses a late model Line 6 combo and his tone is excellent!

So, It all depends on how you dial it in, which model you play, and how it's ran through the PA.
 
Time and time again I see local bands here in KC using a Spider Valve, and let me tell you, they are no slouch. I'm not sure how they sound on stage, but most of the time through a PA at various venues they sound great and thick, and cut through very well.

It's sometimes great to get that reality check after we all lust after boutique amps, and then your run of the mill, under the radar amp can still make you sound good :D
 
I still facepalm at the memory that I sold my little Roland Cube30 practice amp to "upgrade" to some shitty Line6 combo amp. That Cube30 was perfect for what it was. The Line6 was clunky, heavy, crappy sounds all through, and only half of the functions worked unless you bought the pedalboard which cost the same price as the amp....
 
IDK, the Vetta, Vetta II and HD147 sound pretty amazing as long as you remember to correct the simulated speaker/cabs.

Some of the lower end amps aren't that hot.

The spider valves I have heard weren't bad at all, they still were a little "stiff".

Derek
 
You're talking about the Vetta. That was a GREAT amp. I had a an original one and a Vetta II. The sad part was that shortly after the II was out they stopped supporting it and focused more on their more popular PODs.


I even bought the original Ax2 212 when it came out in the late 90's. That was my first real amp and first real expensive purchase. They were the pioneers with all the "modeling" stuff.


Vetta001.jpg


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Until fairly recently I used a spider III and IV, as it was the supplied back line. They worked, but really the feel of the amp was what I missed. I found the high gain sounds in general to be better than the clean and crunch sounds. I actually have the spider IV at my house and will be putting it through its paces to check it out for my buddy before he gets it.

I also used to play in a band with a spider valve 1, it was okay, but the volume pedal on the footswitch was Terrible, very touchy. Once again, the high gain was pretty good, but the guy always used too much gain for crunch and too much chorus on the cleans.
 
I started on a Line 6 Spider combo when I got serious about playing lead and switched from bass... From there, I "upgraded" to a Flextone 3 head, which I now affectionately refer to as "the old Flextone headache"... Because that's exactly what it was. Nothing but problems. When we canned our other lead guy in my band and I took over all leads I needed something better and fast. I wanted to go tubes/pedals then but I couldn't swing it... So I picked up a POD XT PRO for a while because I heard the guys in TSO rehearsed with them at one point... That was the best of the 3. The tones were okay, but you really had to tweak and tweak and tweak to get it dialed in and even then... Something was missing. Plus, every gig I ever played with it, it always seemed like the tone was changing on the fly by itself... Weird... I finally got ahold of my Marshall and assembled my current board and couldn't be happier. I think Line 6 makes great stuff if that's all you can afford, or if you're just starting off... But if you take tone seriously, I'd say look elsewhere... Just my .02.
 
Check out the Blackstar ID series amps if you want the "modeling/all-in-one concept" down to a fine art. Their processing and resultant tones are - according to many - superior to the L6 stuff that's out.

Just sayin'.
 
I was surprised to learn via Premier Guitar's rig rundown that Steve Howe from Yes has ditched tube amps and pedals all together for live performances and is using a complete Line6 rig - the floorboard and the corresponding amp...own his own accord.

I love my tube amps for cranking things up and jamming with friends and the ever growing collection of boutique pedals and what not, but I am of the opinion that there is no reason not to own the Pod HD500. There are going to be at least a couple of amp models that sound good to you, if not great. Zillions of effects and routing capabilities, a great setup for patches, and a 48 second looper. For 300 bucks on CL, thats some of the best dough you can put towards your habit.
 
I had an HD500 for a while....the cleans and the mid gain stuff was great, and that's mostly what I play just for fun, but every once in a while I jam with friends who are metal heads, and to me the high gain stuff was lacking in it, with the exception of the SLO model they did last year. I ditched it just because I was jamming more and more with those guys and couldn't get a sound I really liked to play for hours on end. It was great for home use though.
 
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