Line 6 gig report

[Phil M]

Sounded good, but that guitar was really cool--gives me some ideas for a partsocaster!

Originally Posted by GuitarRuss

I found this while looking for clips of Lollar pickups. I was digging how fat the guy's tone was for a bridge pickup and later noticed that he was playing through the Line 6... The tube snob in me was pretty surprised. I'll still have to play one in person to really believe it though, but I was impressed enough that next time I go to the store I'll try it beside a real tube amp and see how it compares.

This guy has really nice tone in his hands and obviously knows how to dial the better tones out of that amp. The other Line 6 demos I've seen are so bad that I couldn't believe it. Crazy cool guitar too. Makes me want to throw a tele bridge on my strat!

Dirty: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=CCZbKmA77Lo
Clean Tones: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=8GLO0f0aXLg

[ronmail65]

This guy (quote below) nailed my experience too!! I almost went back to Line6 when the Spider Valve came out, but found myself very disapointed. The tube tone was great, but the tweak-ability on F/X was really crappy. Line 6's idea of scaling effects from say 1 to 10 on the Spider Valve amps was hitting on the 5 to 10 range of the original AxSys amps. I couldn't tame the F/X or make any fine adjustments which, in my opinion, you have to do on one of these modeling amps to really polish the tone. It was a deal breaker for me.

Line6 made too many compromises on the Spider Valve to maintain a low price point. The married a huge tonal advancement (Bogner tubes) with their cheapest amp models (the Spider). It was a real disapointment to me.

I'm hopeful they will introduce a newer, better valve-based modeling amp in the near future.

Originally Posted by GSHARP

Well, this is a great thread. My opinions/experiences probably mean nothing here in The Gear Page community as I don't post often but what the heck, here I go:

I had a Line6 AX212 when they first came out. Soundmen were laughing all the time when I was showing up with my amp, cracking jokes about the "digital-computerized-toy" I was carrying. It was so simple: plug the amp, plug in the Floorboard and I was ready to gig. And the tone wasn't bad also, if you tweaked the amp a bit, if you learned to work with it. Man, I was gigging all the time, everywhere with anyone. And then I made some real money, started to buy more expensive amps (tube amps), you name it: Boogie, Marshall, Rivera... Combos, heads, rack setups... For the last 6 or 7 years, I bought and sold so many tube amps because I was struggling with them. To get to what I wanted, I needed like 3 amps - or a 4 channel amp. I'm a gig man and I play Metallica to Wallflowers and Pink Floyd, Beatles and ZZ Top in between. You get the idea. Now, I'm down to a Peavey Classic 50 combo, and despite the fact that it's superb sounding, it doesn't get the job done, even with pedals. I miss my AX212 and I'm not ashamed to say it. It wasn't the "Tone of God" but I could go from Metallica to Beatles in a click. What I'm saying is in all my 23 yrs of gigging, very few people in the audience care about "tone", they wanna be entertained and have fun, dance to the music and, in a way, be part of the band. I was never concerned about how my Line6 was going to sound night after night, it was consistent. Nothing will beat a good tube amp, nothing will beat that natural sound of a pushed tube but I still think I would be better served with my AX212, not because it's better than a tube amp, but because it's easy to get more than decent tones out of it for a lot less $$$. I am currently looking to get a Line6 amp, not sure if I'll go the "spider Valve" route or the "full solid state" route.

[SouthernShred]

I’m kinda tired of dealing with the inconsistencies of tube amps, trying to chase the perfect "one" that can sound like a cranked stack in any size room, trying to assemble the perfect collection of analog effects to achieve this huge range of sounds, tired of carrying the pedalboard from hell...I'm just tired of obsessing about gear and not creating...I'm spending time chasing down

I’m on the fence right now, partially due to my hearing (tinnitus, a lot of high end loss from standing in front of big amps for 15 years) and partially due to just wanting to stop fooling with gear and play, but leaning toward going digital again or just playing straight jazz on on archtop and giving up this crazy gear chase...gear is consuming me in a bad way...

[papa taco]

Didn't line 6 make an amp a couple years back that didn't have effects? I think it was strictly amp modelling and you could run 2 different models in stereo. Duotone, I think. Did anyone here ever try one? I think it was supposed to be pretty simple in operation, ie it looked just like a regular amp and didn't have all the menu bullpoop.

[buddaman71]

Originally Posted by papa taco

Didn't line 6 make an amp a couple years back that didn't have effects? I think it was strictly amp modelling and you could run 2 different models in stereo. Duotone, I think. Did anyone here ever try one? I think it was supposed to be pretty simple in operation, ie it looked just like a regular amp and didn't have all the menu bullpoop.

They did. GREAT idea; poor execution. Looked great and had awesome features, it just didn't sound very good.

[Tbone135]

I love my Pod XT; it's perfect for what I do. I built a good model of a very slightly overdriven Plexi 45 with a good bit of bass cut out and a bit of tube echo. It sounds really good with either an FD II or especially my Box of Rock in front of it. These days it's just pedal to Pod to a good DI box. Tweaking at home and through the performance PA makes all of the difference in the world.

[aaronmcoleman]

Let me preface all this by saying I own several very nice tube amps and a lot of classic pedals...

I bought a PODxt live from a friend of mine just to see if they were any good. I wanted to hate it but couldn't. I always knew (but couldn't admit to myself) that eventually these things would sound pretty good. I don't think they are 100% yet, but they are much better than even a couple years ago. One day (soon) digital modelers will be the way to go.

In fact, many, many bands tour with these things and NO AMPS. Weezer did it for a long time, and I've heard that a lot of live shows (such as SNL) won't allow bands to use amps and require PODs or something similiar. I still love my amps, but a guitar a cable and the POD is very convenient and sounds very good in every different room through any PA.

I am very glad to see an honest discussion on this page about modeling devices with no name calling or demeaning...could this be because they're actually pretty good?

[irok660]

Originally Posted by MartinC

I say tomayto, you say tomaato ...

I say.....mater!

[FromTx2]

having used a Line 6 Vetta II + fvb for over 3 years

I do an open mike night we are the 'house band" and let people come up and play

I ask "who or what you want to sound like?"

dial it in and you could not wipe the smile off their faces

for what its worth I was a total tube snob till I drove the Vetta II

[FromTx2]

[gag halfrunt]

Originally Posted by FromTx2

having used a Line 6 Vetta II + fvb for over 3 years

I do an open mike night we are the 'house band" and let people come up and play

I ask "who or what you want to sound like?"

dial it in and you could not wipe the smile off their faces

for what its worth I was a total tube snob till I drove the Vetta II

Great story!

[Miles]

yeah......so.....uh.....I kinda sold my last tube amp for a Vetta II combo.


Ooops....


Not really, it sounds insane. Everything I liked in the Flextone times 5.

I played a gig at Iliff Park on Saturday as the headliners. My Jazzmaster into the Vetta II all night at had enormous tones. My monitor mix was also unbelievable and we had a great show.

It seems there are more converts by the day around here.

cheers,

miles

[guitarman_nebr]

Iliff Park Saloon? man, i have played a hundred gigs there back in the 80's!!

great stage!! always got a huge crowd there.........ah, the memories

[Miles]

Originally Posted by guitarman_nebr

Iliff Park Saloon? man, i have played a hundred gigs there back in the 80's!!

great stage!! always got a huge crowd there.........ah, the memories

Yep Iliff Park Saloon. Fun place, a lot of different kinds of people. A lot of bikers, and a lot of average joes. It's super loud and it still gets decent crowds.

[HEAVENandHELL]

I have a Flextone III 1x12 and FBV shortboard on its way! I already have a 6L6, an EL34, and EL84 amps so I figured I needed a solid state amp! Plus I wanted something extremely portable with ease of set up. Plus I think it will be fun to explore the models and find something that sounds great! I'll find out soon enough!