Gig with modeling amp

Re: Gig with modeling amp

I've used a Flextone II now for I think 2 years?

It's been very reliable, is very versitile and I have had no issues with it, other than I'd like a fuller, fatter tone, which I can't seem to dial in with it at all.

I've found I only actually use about 4 of the models (coincidentally the three patches on my footswitch :scratchch ) and I don't really touch the rest very often... It's got too much for me!

Of the effects I mostly play without, but sometimes I'll use some delay/reverb...
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

DirrtyCraig said:
I do have one and only one good thing to say about Line6... they hold their value pretty good. I bought my Line6 Flextone new for $400 on an employee discount at the store I taught at. This was '99 or so,,,and sold it to some kid 2 years ago who likes Limp Biscuits for $500 with the footswitch. NICE.
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Wish that had been the case with my AX2. The only bigger bath I ever took on a piece of gear was a modded Dillion. :(
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

I would thing a POD Pro and a good power amp would work well for gigs. I have seen it done plenty of times, and I have always thought it sounded good. I am not so sure about the combo stuff.
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

Not really, my rhythm guitarist used a POD pro rackmount and it died constantly due to the heat from the tube power amp underneath it. Piece 'O junk.
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

DirrtyCraig said:
Not really, my rhythm guitarist used a POD pro rackmount and it died constantly due to the heat from the tube power amp underneath it. Piece 'O junk.
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Haha, You have to vent that baby! Other than that, did it sound ok?
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

Undertone said:
I've been lurking here for a while and decided to post. I'm looking to trade my Yamaha t-50c in for either a Vox AD60VT or a Line 6 Flextone III+. My question is has anyone played out with one? Would you reccomend one over the other in a gig situation?
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Do you like the tone of your T50? I plugged mine into a 2x12 cab, and gigged with it for a bunch of years. If you like the tone of that amp, you won't be happy with a modeling amp. While modeling amps DO serve a purpose by delivering a truck load of somewhat usable sounds, nothing serves up tube saturation like a real tube amp. Sorry. A lot of the guys here will disagree, I know. They'll either learn to tell the difference, or suffer with weak tone for the rest of their playing careers. I've played every modeling amp I've been able to get my hands on, and they all lack that 3rd dimension that experienced guitarists love, and have come to rely on for inspiration. You know when you've experienced it.

I'd suggest experimenting with the T50C a little........retube, extension cab, etc.......or trading up for another good high gain tube amp. Don't get lost in the 'wall of effects' shuffle. Pick a few that you really like, and invest in a couple of good pedals.

Just my opinions, that's all......

Mike
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

Burkwieser said:
Haha, You have to vent that baby! Other than that, did it sound ok?
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Well, no not really. At the time I was using a 5150 and in comparison it just sounded like a modeling amp with no balls. All that stuff is great for cleans and "NU" Metal, but theres no real tone or warmth there.

He has since switched to the Flextone head or whatever, and I've since switched to a Splawn Quick Rod. I finally have him convinced that tubes sound better from a recent live recording where you can really hear the fakeness of the Line6 vs. my Splawn.
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

Y'know what I'm thinking ... you've seem to have more problems with Line6 Stuff crapping out of you than pretty much anyone I know (or have heard of)
- your Flextone 2 the motherboard dies twice
- Rhythm guitarist POD pro rackmount died constantly
- Rhythm guitarist Line 6 head footswitch cable dies



Maybe it's just the karma and bad vibes you're sending out their way that's making it crap out :D


Just kidding ... although I reiterate I've never had any problems with my Line 6 and it's going on what nearly 6 years of abuse (and I don't treat my amps and guitars like babies - it is literally abuse)
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

i dont like the sound of Modeling amps when cranked up loud. personnally i would use a Nice valve combo like a Peavey 5150, Engl thunder/screamer, Marshall Dsl/Tsl or their stack versions. excelent tone, Much louder than any modeler, nice and simple and perfect for playing live.
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

Your right, but I probably play way more gigs than most people here too. I need stuff to be reliable. When I used my Flextone, I was doing 5-6 nighters and traveling for 9 straight months. Thats over 200 gigs, I would venture to say more than most Line6 users but still I expect the stuff to last. I did 320 gigs in 2002 alone.

On the flip-side my 5150 tube head lasted 10 straight years of un-serviced duty. Not so much as a glitch in 10 years dude. And I'm talking 10 years straight of 3-4-5 nights per week. Nothing but changed the the tubes every 3 months and a fuse now and again. Thats it.

....so now I only play about 45 weeks per year maybe 2 nights, I've slowed down alot... but still play almost every week. All I'm saying is I know every pro-guitar player in Orlando who gigs regularly and none of them are using Line6 . To me that says volumes.

Ok, so I'm done whining,, LMAO. Sorry :)
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

I will agree on one thing ... no Modeller out there comes close to sounding as good as a tube amp at live volumes.

However there's a number of reasons why I still use mine live and that's because I need more than 3-4 diff amp types for some odd reason. I normally would be good with an EL34 Marshall type along with something that can do Fender cleans. But then I also get cravings for Fender Deluxes, JTM 45's, Boogie, and Dumble'esque tones ... and I can't really afford to keep 2 tube amps let alone 4-5. I'm literally a tweaker who'll record something using 6 or 7 different amp types.

A person who only wants the JCM800 or Dual Rec sound is better off buying the real deal IMHO

Plus when you're the only guitarist, the crowd really doesn't have any sense of tone like we do.

I tell you what ... if I win the lottery I'll scrap my Line 6 for some serious high amplification
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

Yeah, If your playing lots of different tones you need something like that really, I agree with you there for sure. I'm doing a gig now where I play 1 clean part all night and the rest is straight up rock high-gain stuff. Anything else in-between I just roll-back the volume on the guitar.
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

Undertone said:
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the Vox AD60VT and AD60VTX? To me it looked as if the cab was better quality and it had a better speaker.

I think I'm leaning to the Vox side of the fence now.
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The AD60VTX is a voidless baltic birch cabinet with "upgraded" neo-something speakers. It's also closed back. The orginal cab on the AD60VT is particle board with a celestion "voiced" speaker.

Some people prefer the original because it's open back. I guess the marshall mods might sound a bit better with the closed back, and the other higher gain models. Overall I'd say the VTX has a better quality cab & speaker. They discontinued the original AD60VT, anyway.

I've been having fun lately with my open back AD60VT, on the Tweed 4x10 setting with the bass rolled back to 9 or 10 oclock, mids pushed past 3 oclock, gain and volume full, presence & treble around 1 oclock, a bit of reverb and the OD pedal with the drive low and level almost full, this setting sounds like an old Fender Champ on crack. Got to get the master past 3:00, too, which gets almost as loud as a Fender Champ with a tubescreamer cranked, even on the 1 watt setting.

According to Vox, the 12ax7 tube in there is used as a mini power tube, not a pre-amp tube. The pre-amp is all digital. But there is a mini tube-power-amp. That's why it has the feel of a tube amp.
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

I think every serious guitar player should own whatever suits their needs to perfection, and within their financial means...even if it means wheelin n dealin.
For me, I sold off all my OK amps and plunked down a chunk of change for the best multichannel amp ever made, a loaded early white chassis Bogner Ecstacy, then got a 4-12 and 2-12 to be appropriate for the venue. I also crave a pure point to point clean amp for pure tube joy......that's where I again, tossed out the second rate crap and condensed it into a Matchless Chieftain. Since I'm also in a situation where I need an amp to sound good at super low volumes, I sold a Classic 50 I was rarely using and put that money into a Vox modeling head. I'd never bring that thing to a rehearsal or gig, since the Boggie is my lifetime amp, but for home practicing, it gives me everything I need, and the output is very kind to my neighbors.
At this point, I can't even look at many other amps, only because my bases are fully covered. It wasn't cheap to pull all of that off, but if you want it, you make it happen. That's how important tone is.
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

After a little Ebay-ing, I was able to trade one of my Strats for a Flextone III. I'm going to set it up next practice with my Yamaha T50C and do a little A/B testing.
 
Re: Gig with modeling amp

michael romeo of symphony x tours with his Vetta 1 head extensively and raves about it....and it sounds great

DirrtyCraig said:
Well, sorry I disagree big time,, Its just not Pro quality gear.
I'll just copy what I posted in a similar thread...

"One thing that noone has mentioned. Have any of you guys gigged extensively with his digital stuff? I bought a Flextone 2-12 100 W a few years back and did a regional year long tour. I treat all my gear pretty well, but the motherboard on that thing died twice. Its like a computer. Very delicate. Great for the bedroom but its just not pro gear. Twice I was left stuck out of town trying to get a replacement part for some Pc chip that no electronics guy would touch. Never again.

None of these things are ruggedly built enough to play live with regularly. I'm happily back to using all handmade tube heads again and haven't had so much as an issue since.

...on a side note. My Rhythm guitarist has a Line 6 head with the pedal board right,,, so 3 weeks ago were playing and the footswitch cable dies. Here its friggin CAT5 network cable. LOL... same as you use for a cable modem. Try to find a replacement for one of those on a Friday night at about 10PM,, you can't. Of course we all had plenty of 1/4" backups lying around, but didn't do him any good."
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Re: Gig with modeling amp

I have a vetta II upgraded combo as well (I think you saw my velvet revolver cover so you probably knew that already..lol)

have you ever posted any of your patches on www.instituteofnoise.com or custometone.com?

I'd be interested in scopin' out some of your tones...I can't utilize the feature right now, since it's at my practice area (too heavy to lug around every friday night back and forth) but maybe u could pm me with some general settings?

I started messing around with some of the line 6 tones..i came up with a REALLY crunchy one using the line 6 purge (pretty sure it was the purge) and no cab sims...


elvhfan said:
you guys are probably sick of me saying this...but i feel the need to defend modeling amps (line 6 mostly) for gigging purposes...

i've gigged almost every weeknend for the past 2 years with my vetta (upgraded it to a vetta 2) and i always get compliments about the tone...plus it's so versatile it can create any sound i want...we cover everything from metallica to neil diamond and i can get my different sounds by just changing patches...plus, it's super quiet and reliable...
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Re: Gig with modeling amp

michael romeo of symphony x tours with his Vetta 1 head extensively and raves about it....and it sounds great

DirrtyCraig said:
Well, sorry I disagree big time,, Its just not Pro quality gear.
I'll just copy what I posted in a similar thread...

"One thing that noone has mentioned. Have any of you guys gigged extensively with his digital stuff? I bought a Flextone 2-12 100 W a few years back and did a regional year long tour. I treat all my gear pretty well, but the motherboard on that thing died twice. Its like a computer. Very delicate. Great for the bedroom but its just not pro gear. Twice I was left stuck out of town trying to get a replacement part for some Pc chip that no electronics guy would touch. Never again.

None of these things are ruggedly built enough to play live with regularly. I'm happily back to using all handmade tube heads again and haven't had so much as an issue since.

...on a side note. My Rhythm guitarist has a Line 6 head with the pedal board right,,, so 3 weeks ago were playing and the footswitch cable dies. Here its friggin CAT5 network cable. LOL... same as you use for a cable modem. Try to find a replacement for one of those on a Friday night at about 10PM,, you can't. Of course we all had plenty of 1/4" backups lying around, but didn't do him any good."
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