Line6 Flextone II

Freewheeler · January 10th, 2005, 04:19 AM

Pros and cons, please. I'm a tube amp player
but I need a more versatile amp for cover band gigs. I'm considering a secondhand Line6 Flextone II 1 x 12". Sounds any good? What about the volume, can it cut through a loud drummer? Thanx in advance!

tdu · January 10th, 2005, 08:45 AM

I owned a Flextone III, and the other guitar player in my band owned a Flextone II. One thing I can tell you is the the tone modeling and the effects on the III is far superior to the II. When you hear 2 side by side live like I did for a year or so, you can really hear the difference. And you can get III's dirt cheap used now.

They are great amps. My problem is was I taken in by all the features when I bought it...then realized I never used any of them. I had 4 preset amp models I used live, but they weren't even that different from each other. I rarely used any of the effects because unless you buy the pedal board (which costs almost as much as a used amp does) they aren't convenient to use. For my needs I decided a simple tube amp and a couple of pedals was a much better choice.

If you are in a band where you need all the effects and the amp models, you will love the amp though. I used mine gigging for about a year and half before I traded it and it was very reliable.

The other con is they massively lose their value. I bought mine for about $1200 Canadian and it was only worth about $600 on trade year later. And now they have used ones at the stores for under $600. As newer technology comes out, the older stuff becomes obsolete. When hearing the difference between older and newer Line 6's I can see why. I can only imagine what these amps will sound like in a few years.

Freewheeler · January 11th, 2005, 06:02 AM

I bought it cheap (400 euros, retail over 800) and got it yesterday. Plugged my Tele in and it sounded just like a normal (tube) amp. I tried all the amp simulations and was very pleased with the "brit" amps. All those boutique and crunch sounds were too processed. Best sounds for me and my Tele were: AC30 Top Boost, Fender '65 Deluxe and the 3 Marshalls. I didn't like the effects or reverb, too artificial. It's not a tube sound nor tranny, but I'm over all very positively surprised how good it sounds! From rockabilly to Steve Lukather in a second!!! I'll play with my band on thursday and that's its loudness test. Now I'll have to get the floor board...

tdu · January 11th, 2005, 08:45 AM

Ya, they made massive improvements with the effects and modeling on newer models like the III. They also gave more control matching amps with different speaker models. Some of the effects on the III I had were really cool sounding, I just never used them. I was shocked at how organic some of them sounded though. They pretty much made up for most of the shortcomings you mention in your post.

You will be very happy gigging with the amp I am sure.

Tele295 · January 11th, 2005, 06:50 PM

I had a Flextone II for a while that I bought used. Darn thing kept freezing up and dumping my presets.

Mike D. · January 17th, 2005, 07:08 PM

I jumped on the modelling bandwagon big time and now I'm totally back to tube amps. There was way too much tweaking and not nearly enough good tones. Plenty of people like them but I'm sticking with tubes. I currently have and AX2 that my son uses with his band and a POD 2.0 that I use for headphone practice. I had a FlexII head that I sold and I use a L6 2x12 cab that I upgraded with Celestions as my primary cabinet. YMMV.

Freewheeler · January 20th, 2005, 05:21 AM

I got a FloorBoard and now this modelling thing really makes sense! I only use 4 pre-programmed sounds: VOX AC30TB, Marshall Plexi, JCM800 and Fender Blackface with slap back delay for rockabilly. I can kick in effects, add distortion and boost for leads, use wah wah and volume pedals and even tune my axe on the fly! I played it again at the (loud) rehearsals yesterday and I must say that this Flextone II really compares favourably to a '66 VOX AC50 w/ 2 x 12" cab soundwise and volumewise. I'm still a tubeman but this new (to me anyway) digital technology is great too! Sounded great with my new Francis Rossi Tele (check Teleboard for photos)!!!

charliebrown · February 13th, 2005, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freewheeler

I got a FloorBoard and now this modelling thing really makes sense! I only use 4 pre-programmed sounds: VOX AC30TB, Marshall Plexi, JCM800 and Fender Blackface with slap back delay for rockabilly. I can kick in effects, add distortion and boost for leads, use wah wah and volume pedals and even tune my axe on the fly! I played it again at the (loud) rehearsals yesterday and I must say that this Flextone II really compares favourably to a '66 VOX AC50 w/ 2 x 12" cab soundwise and volumewise. I'm still a tubeman but this new (to me anyway) digital technology is great too! Sounded great with my new Francis Rossi Tele (check Teleboard for photos)!!!

I own a Flextone II Plus with the floorboard and am very happy with it. The intention of Line 6 was never that one would use all of the amp models, cabinet models, effects, etc...it was to appeal to a diverse, mass audience-so to speak...give amp models that rock, shreddders, country players, jazz players...you get the idea...something for almost everyone. You choose the models you like and ignore the rest...add effects you like and forget the rest. I hope no one who bought one thought the intent was to use everything the amp has onboard. THAT would be an impossibility.

January 10th, 2005, 04:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
Freewheeler Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 846 39 Photos	Line6 Flextone II Pros and cons, please. I'm a tube amp player but I need a more versatile amp for cover band gigs. I'm considering a secondhand Line6 Flextone II 1 x 12". Sounds any good? What about the volume, can it cut through a loud drummer? Thanx in advance!

January 10th, 2005, 08:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,531 11 Photos	I owned a Flextone III, and the other guitar player in my band owned a Flextone II. One thing I can tell you is the the tone modeling and the effects on the III is far superior to the II. When you hear 2 side by side live like I did for a year or so, you can really hear the difference. And you can get III's dirt cheap used now. They are great amps. My problem is was I taken in by all the features when I bought it...then realized I never used any of them. I had 4 preset amp models I used live, but they weren't even that different from each other. I rarely used any of the effects because unless you buy the pedal board (which costs almost as much as a used amp does) they aren't convenient to use. For my needs I decided a simple tube amp and a couple of pedals was a much better choice. If you are in a band where you need all the effects and the amp models, you will love the amp though. I used mine gigging for about a year and half before I traded it and it was very reliable. The other con is they massively lose their value. I bought mine for about $1200 Canadian and it was only worth about $600 on trade year later. And now they have used ones at the stores for under $600. As newer technology comes out, the older stuff becomes obsolete. When hearing the difference between older and newer Line 6's I can see why. I can only imagine what these amps will sound like in a few years. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

January 11th, 2005, 06:02 AM	#3 (permalink)
Freewheeler Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 846 39 Photos	First impressions of Flextone II I bought it cheap (400 euros, retail over 800) and got it yesterday. Plugged my Tele in and it sounded just like a normal (tube) amp. I tried all the amp simulations and was very pleased with the "brit" amps. All those boutique and crunch sounds were too processed. Best sounds for me and my Tele were: AC30 Top Boost, Fender '65 Deluxe and the 3 Marshalls. I didn't like the effects or reverb, too artificial. It's not a tube sound nor tranny, but I'm over all very positively surprised how good it sounds! From rockabilly to Steve Lukather in a second!!! I'll play with my band on thursday and that's its loudness test. Now I'll have to get the floor board...

January 11th, 2005, 08:45 AM	#4 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,531 11 Photos	Ya, they made massive improvements with the effects and modeling on newer models like the III. They also gave more control matching amps with different speaker models. Some of the effects on the III I had were really cool sounding, I just never used them. I was shocked at how organic some of them sounded though. They pretty much made up for most of the shortcomings you mention in your post. You will be very happy gigging with the amp I am sure. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

January 11th, 2005, 06:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tele295 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Haunted Amp, CA Posts: 3,479 14 Photos	I had a Flextone II for a while that I bought used. Darn thing kept freezing up and dumping my presets. __________________ "Turn it up and it doesn't need any reverb." - Danny Gatton www.dannygatton.info Tiger Town Aces - Music That Bites Back In Redd we trust! Free Bill Kirchen! If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

January 17th, 2005, 07:08 PM	#6 (permalink)
Mike D. Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 570	I jumped on the modelling bandwagon big time and now I'm totally back to tube amps. There was way too much tweaking and not nearly enough good tones. Plenty of people like them but I'm sticking with tubes. I currently have and AX2 that my son uses with his band and a POD 2.0 that I use for headphone practice. I had a FlexII head that I sold and I use a L6 2x12 cab that I upgraded with Celestions as my primary cabinet. YMMV.

January 20th, 2005, 05:21 AM	#7 (permalink)
Freewheeler Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 846 39 Photos	Floorboard I got a FloorBoard and now this modelling thing really makes sense! I only use 4 pre-programmed sounds: VOX AC30TB, Marshall Plexi, JCM800 and Fender Blackface with slap back delay for rockabilly. I can kick in effects, add distortion and boost for leads, use wah wah and volume pedals and even tune my axe on the fly! I played it again at the (loud) rehearsals yesterday and I must say that this Flextone II really compares favourably to a '66 VOX AC50 w/ 2 x 12" cab soundwise and volumewise. I'm still a tubeman but this new (to me anyway) digital technology is great too! Sounded great with my new Francis Rossi Tele (check Teleboard for photos)!!!