First gig with a solid state amp

[jonzer]

I'm borrowing a friends Line 6 212 combo. I'm not sure what it is...I think it's some sort of Flextone. I jammed through it before and settled on the jazz channel while I used my distortion pedal.

My friend is a total gear head and he loves to use a rig that resembles what The Edge uses...and loves all the gadgets. So he wants to sit down with me for an hour or so and go over all the settings, amp and cab combos....and AAAGH! He's the only guy who can tire me out by talking gear. He's very excited about me using his amp. He knows I'm a minimalist but he's eager to get me to use all the razzle dazzle with this amp.
I'm gonna go over, let him adjust settings to what I like and leave the effects alone. I'm taking my pedals.

I'm so used to my DRRI that I can adjust it to whatever problem a room gives me...of course it only has three knobs to worry about in those situations. The less complicated the better. I have concerns playing an unfamiliar amp....WITHOUT TUBES!!!

[91xlntS-3]

Why are you borrowing an amp, when you have a DRRI? Especially something you're not familiar with? I've always hated using other people's gear, even if I AM familiar with what it is. Honestly, sounds like a headache waiting to happen, IMO...

If it's a decent gig, I'd take the DRRI, just in case...You'll thank me later...

[holgaguy]

I wouldn't be worried about the amp not having tubes, I would be worried about struggling to get the sound I wanted with an unfamiliar amp. Just my 2 cents.

I use solid state amps all the time and tube amps. I am used to all of them, so getting the sound I want is relatively easy.

[JimmyJam]

I gotta agree with the replies here. Switching to a different amp right before a gig would stress me out. Also, I have owned a Line 6 Flextone II with the floorboard for over 5 years now. I have used it in a live performance, and they seem to lose bottom-end the higher the volume. Playing at home and stuff they sound fine, but they change when you get 'em on stage.

Do some things to cover yourself at least. Have your friend at least set up one good clean tone for you on the amp that you can use and remember where he stored it. You can use a stomp box for grit if you need it. Then let him ramble on about it's features. Soundcheck it at location, if it doesn't sound good, then hopefully you followed 91X's recommendation of taking your DRRI as a backup. Oh, and good luck!!

[jonzer]

If my DRRI was working properly I wouldn't be taking another amp. I don't mess with something that isn't broken, but it's broken.
My DRRI is so reliable that I when I dream of buying another amp, I recall "why?"...my amp is incredible.

I plan to set the Flextone on a clean channel and leave it there all night. I'm not going to dance on the foot switch. I really want to concentrate on what I'm playing and on the audience since I'm the front man.

I'm really concerned hearing the bottom end drops out the louder you crank the amp. I have only played it in a small room at his house....not at a super large venue (like tonight's) in front of an audience. Fortunately, the amp will be miced. I might have to sacrifice some tone tonight. This bugs me because I'm actually very proud of my tone.

[jonzer]

I should add, my friend is a great guy and he's extremely generous to help me out. He's also going to come along and guitar/amp tech for me...so that's gonna be a big plus.

Our tones are so different. He'd never want the raw nasty tone I get (usually a cheap solid body mahagony guitar through a Rat into the DRRI) where as he uses distortion and compression and a gazillion other things I can't figure out. I plugged into his rig once and unplugged after about 12 seconds. I think he knows he can't give me his tone...but I'm hoping his love for using everything at his disposal doesn't affect what I use tonight.

[bowman]

I have solid state amps and tube amps. They obviously do things differently, but I use and like all of them. The important thing is still the sound that comes out the front - how you get it is less important than what the people hear.

[Singin' Dave]

Hope it all works out!


In the future, I would save some scheckles for a back up amp to your DRRI. Even a Peavey Bandit would be nice to have if your DRRI craps out on you mid gig. I bring two amps to every gig, and it's saved me more than once.

[JimmyJam]

Also, some of the Line 6 Flextone's have XLR outs and direct outs so you can go straight to the board if needed. Then that's the best idea so far.. get one good clean tone, and use the pedal. And to have him there to help is a plus.
Good luck and let us know how it the show went!!

[Wrong-Note Rod]

+1 on the two amps to every gig. I bring my little blues junior to every gig and leave it in the van.. if anything goes wrong, i got it covered. Bringing it tonight actually... the other night it sounded so good at practice i thought about maybe doing the gig with it! Drummer is probly too loud however for this to be realistic...

[Singin' Dave]

Blues Jr's (and Princetons) are awesome tidy little amps and on my A list for backup amps!

Let us know how it went tonight. Hope you slayed!

[robt57]

The XL and the Plus [With the extension cab] do not exhibit the fall off until after you and your band mates ears bleed anyway. I stopped using my Flextone II when I got the Plus. I had sold my XL a few years previously and was sorry I did, except the weight. I put the Flextone II amp/head out of the combo cab on eBay, and use my Plus and the other Flex now as a cab with the second 12". But hardly ever need that much power when I am playing, which I have not been doing...

I totally use MIDI and deep edit the Flex for detailed dialing in via my laptop, it is the beauty of the setup IMO.

[JimmyJam]

I don't like my Flextone II.. seems flat and can't mimic a tube amp very well IMO. I bought a Peavey Classic 50 410. This thing weighs a ton (70 lbs) but sounds spectacular. Maybe a Peavey classic would be a good backup to your DRRI.

[Sproles40]

+1 for the CLassic ! Ive played the classic 30 and the classic 50 and they are excellent amps. Im buying the 30 because i cant afford the 50 but the 30 will get the job done. Dont let the peavey name fool you they make sum great tube amps i recommend them for anything especially small gigs.

[JimmyJam]

I found my PC 50 410 at a pawn shop in downtown Louisville for $425. You can sometimes find them on ebay for a decent price too.. most drop to the $300-400 range. Craigslist might also be a good avenue, but I don't see too many good items on there...

[jonzer]

The show went well. My friend wasn't able to make it to help me out but he did school me on the amp's features when I picked it up.
I set up my pedals at his house and plugged in. I had a few questions and I saved four different models. I figured I might change channels here and there for certain songs, but after the gig started I just said screw it and stayed on the blackface model with just a little reverb. It cranked and it sounded close to the tone I usually get with my DRRI. The room was huge and they miced the amps and drums and it was kinda cool hearing my guitar come out of monitors behind the stage. It was a pretty full sound on the stage and our regular followers told me they could hear my vocals more than usual. We had a good sound guy.

I broke a string on the very first song so I spent the entire gig playing an amp new to me and a guitar I wasn't planning on using. But my backup was my telecaster which I'm very comfortable with, I just didn't have that humbucker drive I wanted.

Oh, and the amp is a Flextone III.

[JimmyJam]

Sweet! Glad to hear it went well.

New amp, broken string.. what doesn't kill ya, only makes you a stronger musician.

[91xlntS-3]

Glad to hear you made it thru the gig! Didn't know your DRRI was on the fritz till later in the thread.

Even tho I don't personally like the Peavey Classic series, a Classic 30 might be a good back up for you. If you don't mind SS, then a good Bandit 112 is always good to have around!

Not dissing the Line6 amps at all, but I prefer thier PODxt Live into my amp anytime. Seems to be easier to tweak, and with my amp, I can still get the kind of tone I want.

[jonzer]

I'm not a Line 6 fan at all. But it's a fun toy at the very least. In the practice space yesterday my drummer and I were toying with all the models and just making noise with it.
My friend is thinking about selling it to me...I'm thinking about buying it. Neither of us has really decided yet. If I told him I wanted it then he'd probably do it.

I have another gig this Thursday. I'm thinking after two shows I'll have a better understanding on this amp.

If I don't buy it then I should probably start thinking about a backup that's not as heavy as the Line 6. A Blues Jr could be cool. I think I'd prefer an AC15 but they're more expensive.

[jhundt]

So he wants to sit down with me for an hour or so and go over all the settings, amp and cab combos....and AAAGH!

I once was offered a nice, clean little Boogie m3 (with flight case) for an unbelievable price. He said "take it home, try it out". So I did... after 20 minutes of flogging around with all the knobs I asked myself "why would you want something like this?"

My Fender amp takes about 2 seconds to figure out. It sounds like a classic Fender because it IS a classic Fender. It can't really sound like a Vox or a Boogie,... but then again, I don't want it to anyway.

I'm happy to hear that you found a good setting and that the amp worked for you when you needed it.

[jonzer]

My friend and I were drinking when he talked about going over all details of the amp, which sounded like a brutal way to spend time to me. But when I got there he said there it is and he left me alone. I had to call him back in the room a couple times to ask a question. Near the end he sat down and gave me his opinions on the tones I selected. Then we talked gear for a little while. He was totally cool.
So cool, that was Friday, it's Tuesday and he hasn't called me about his amp.

I like to keep it simple with amps. I don't want to learn a lot of new stuff with gadgets. I want to spend most of my time playing without worrying about switching anything. I don't dance on the pedals much.

I actually asked him "What exactly am I going to get from this 'mid' knob". He said if we scooped the mid I'd get a more metal tone. Then I asked "what does 'scoop' actually mean? So he turned it all the way down and we had a metal tone....which I immediately cranked the mid back up.

I've spent the last six or seven years with a DRRI and I'm not used to all the ridiculous stuff that can come with an amp.

But I had fun.

[jhundt]

But I had fun.

well, there ya go - that's what counts...