Ya'll might wanna ban me because...I like a Line 6

[jonzer]

Ok. I was just experimenting a little...I still love tubes. It was just a fling with a Flextone III and I think I'm over it. And I didn't get that involved with it. I only used the jazz channel with a Big Muff. Oops...is that too much info? Are we through? I swear I'll go back to tubes. It was just a one night thing. And no, I didn't love her two 12 inch speakers more than my tubes one 12 inch....I swear. OK, they were nice yes. I did take a look inside the cab but it's not nicer than inside the tube's cab...I swear. I'll come home now. Don't make me sleep on the couch. I shouldn't need counseling if it was just a one night thing, right?

[PraiseCaster]

How could you!

[FMA]

You'll be hearing from our lawyers!

[BB]

Originally Posted by jonzer

Ok. I was just experimenting a little...I still love tubes. It was just a fling with a Flextone III and I think I'm over it. And I didn't get that involved with it. I only used the jazz channel with a Big Muff. Oops...is that too much info? Are we through? I swear I'll go back to tubes. It was just a one night thing. And no, I didn't love her two 12 inch speakers more than my tubes one 12 inch....I swear. OK, they were nice yes. I did take a look inside the cab but it's not nicer than inside the tube's cab...I swear. I'll come home now. Don't make me sleep on the couch. I shouldn't need counseling if it was just a one night thing, right?

Heavens jonzer.......get a hold of yourself boy! Did you leave a note before you left in the morning? How about money on the dresser? Are you going to go out of your way to avoid Flexy in the future? Did you use protection? We don't want any MTD's infecting things!

Seriously...whats wrong with a bit of modeler love? In addition to my tube and solid state ( oops.....the tube police are here...I must run! ) amps, I also use a ( shhh ) Behringer V-Amp ll! And you know what, it sounds pretty good. On top of that, I traded a TDPRI brother for a Yamaha DG60FX!! I have since sold it, but that was another damn fine amp.

The local store has a used Line 6 Variax. I've played it several times and you guess what????? I LIKE IT! It needs a good set up and it's a bit ugly, but my goodness, the ability to get all these cool tones with the twist of a knob is amazing.

I'm trying my best not be jaded by the modeling naysayers. While not the end all be all many proclaimed, it's still an excellent tool for many.

There will always be players for whom nothing but a tweed deluxe sans pedals will do. They have found what works for them and I say good on ya....more power to them! For many though, the deep tone expermentation provided by modeling is not only refreshing, but inspiring.

[woodman]

when i first got my POD, i went nuts over it, the variety you have at your fingertips. used it awhile as a front end to drive the power amp in the HRDlx i had then. had a stupendous stable of cool sounds dialed into my footswitch. but playing live, all the subtleties got washed away in the stage din and all i had was a thin, buzzy mess.

i imagine the amps are better in this respect, but it scared me away from using digital onstage!

[vic108]

I got a FLEXTONE XL III (with full sized floorboard)
and it's a fun amp to use.

The F/X's on there are pretty cool too.


Will it replace my tube amps? Naaaaaaaaaaah, but it has it's place.

[tbp0701]

It could be worse, you could have declared an affinity for a Blues Jr. (virtual ducking for cover). I couldn't resist.

How long did you spend with it? In my experience with some digital modeling, it can be especially impressive at first, but after a while, it tends to get a little fatiguing and shrill. (I also felt pretty much the same way when CDs first came out). I haven't spent any time with a Line 6, however; well, just some kids repeatedly cranking out the "Enter Sandman" riff at full tilt in a local Sam Ash. That was fatiguing, too.

[OaklandA]

I've mentioned this before...twice in the past year I've been out and heard a band where a guitarist was getting righteous tone. Both times I was surprised to see them playing through a Line 6 amp.

I'll always prefer tube amps myself, but it seems like Line 6 is narrowing the gap on some of their higher end models.

[GatorBait]

Let me start by saying I prefer tube amps.

But if you play in a cover band, or an orchestra pit (like one of my buddies), a modelling amp is a god-send!

If you're only playing one style of music, you can usually find an amp that does it very well. But finding an amp that covers all the musical bases is a bit more of a challenge. This is the perfect niche for the modelling amps (whether it's a Line-6, a Cyber-something, Vox, or other brand is a different discussion).

I do have a Pod and it is fun, but I don't gig (and my son has pretty much "adopted" the Pod and floorboard).

So while modelling amps aren't for everyone, for many they sure beat hauling around a Fender, a Vox, and a Marshall to every gig!

[sixty4fairlane]

hey I got a number for one called cube 30, she gets down and dirty if ya play with her button and knobs. She don't cost much, and she don't mind dark smoky rooms either. Call Roland-usa.

[jonkay1]

I've tried Line 6s' out in music stores and never much cared for them. However, I saw Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakums' lead guitarist) using a Flextone III at a club here in Sac and he sure made it sound great. Blew me away.

[joe c]

Don't tell anybody,but I use a Cyber Twin at home and I like it. Mums the word.

[Big Lug]

What I hear you saying is that she's a lot of fun in the bedroom

but...

You wouldn't take her out on the town.

Probably for the best.

[joe c]

Best bedroom amp I ever had a great home tone . Playing out???? I might if I could run it to the board in stereo.

[Wildhawk]

Originally Posted by joe c

Don't tell anybody,but I use a Cyber Twin at home and I like it. Mums the word.

CyberDeluxe here.

Line 6, Fender, Tech 21 and others build great SS/modeling amps that sound every bit as good as tube.

Don't think so? Take the challenge. You bring the cash and I'll bring the CD's to spin. Every time you miss on the amp type I take some cash.

[Ice9]

Originally Posted by jonkay1

I've tried Line 6s' out in music stores and never much cared for them. However, I saw Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakums' lead guitarist) using a Flextone III at a club here in Sac and he sure made it sound great. Blew me away.

Because they ARE great amps.That is,if you sit down with one and spend some time with it.
And I will admit,I was less then pleased with what I heard in the music store,BUT,when I got it home and fiddled with the deep edit settings,I was amazed at the sounds I could get.

That being said,as happy as I am with it and how good it sounds live,it will NEVER replace my Boogie MKIII Simulclass head.

Mike

[GTRFan]

Originally Posted by Ice9

Because they ARE great amps.That is,if you sit down with one and spend some time with it...
That being said,as happy as I am with it and how good it sounds live,it will NEVER replace my Boogie MKIII Simulclass head.

Mike

I had a Line 6 Flextone II 2x12. The Flextone usually required deep editing, but would sound great after some time. My main problem came that after spending time getting the sounds right in one environment the patches still needed additional tweaking at each gig. Multiply that times multiple venues and the patches added up. In addition it had no digital readout or LCD so you could never quite be sure which way to quickly tweak a knob while in the middle of a set. I also started to experience occasional volume drops with it and had my confidence shaken once or twice with it.

I thought switching to a Vetta I would make tweaking on the fly easier with the LCD, but the tweaking and number of patches to maintain continued to grow and distracted from playing (it was also a head and 4x12 which made monitoring it directly a bit tough on some stages)... so out it went.

I'm now on a Cyber Deluxe (smaller, lighter and easier to tweak on stage than the Flextone II). I tossed the MIDI board and am trying to stick with the basic foot pedal and 4 simple patches (less to trip over than the Longboard / Vetta, easier to setup & monitor and less patches and options to get hung up on). We'll see how long this "affair" lasts.

My practice amp is a Tech 21 TM10 and it sounds great as well, so I have no fear of digital or solid state. I also use a Mesa Boogie F50 from time to time, but have yet to gig heavily with it. The appeal is it's relative simplicity and that it seems easier to achieve a great tone and "presence" quickly. However, the downside for me has been that even with regular maintenance I've had some bad luck with tubes and fuses on other tube amps going south at the worst of times in the past. Since I'm usually just a sideman it becomes a pain for the frontman to slow down the show so I can do a quick repair.

For playing out, I think the ideal setup for my needs lies somewhere between the flexibility of digital modeling, the relative reliability and light-weight of solid state combos and the real-time simplicity / easy to work with / solid tone of a decent tube amp. Next up? Maybe a Tech 21 TM60 or I jump solidly with both feet and "get married" with the F50 / tube amp route again.

At least there's lots of relatively affordable choices out there these days. After 30 years of this though, I think I might be better off playing the kazoo.