Line 6 M13

[mrfunnyman]

Has anybody on here played or currently own this board in the video below?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuYEWYSnhnc&feature=fvw
Hey I know I've been posting on here like crazy lately.
Currently I am in the process of putting a pedal board together and so far the FX that I have are a Dunlop Crybaby, a Behringer UM100, a BOSS DS-1, a ProCo "85 Whiteface" RAT RI, an MXR Stereo Chorus, an MXR Flanger, and a Line 6 DL4 Modler. I like all the pedals that I have going on but some of them don't do well with other pedals and I am having issues with the DL4 in the FX loop on my amp. After seeing the demo on this board I've kinda thought it has everything I want wrapped into one big package and then some. I just thought owning something like the M13 would make things alot simplier, less messy and give me alot more options tone wise aswell as effects wise.

Anyone on here care to chime in?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Line 6 M13

This will replace your whole board. I've been using mine for about a year. I was able to clone all of the sounds on my own board. Really, it is that good.
downsides:
no USB, so it isn't as easy to update (must use a USB to midi cable)
no amp modeling if you need that sort of thing.
no software editor

 

[mrfunnyman]

Re: Line 6 M13

How good are the distortions on it compared to stompboxes? Anything else you could tell me about it?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Line 6 M13

i was able to clone my tube screamer and big muff. those are the 2 main ones I use, and i really don't own more than those actual drive pedals. the other ones on there sound great too, but i can't compare them to the originals.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Line 6 M13

it will simplify your set up and reduce headaches. I am a total nerd when it comes to pedals and modellers etc, but that M13 will most likely be an improvement on what you are using. heres why:

1.Dunlop Crybabys are notorious tone suckers when off and you get a level drop when on.
2.Boss DS1s have a buffer which is good, but still noticeable as opposed to straight cable.
3.I generally steer clear of Behringer stuff, but i reckon it will have a similar buffer to the ds1.
4.The delay is not happening in your loop for whatever reason, but as you know they generally dont work so well before the preamp (due to preamp distortion) they work fine into a clean amp if you are using pedals for dirt, but because its a digital pedal it also has a buffer when off even if you use it in front of your amp.
5.The mxr stuff is not hard wired bypass either even tho they are good quality switching systems.\
The rat is fine.

What all that means is, by the time the signal gets from your amp to your guitar and back, you have lost a lot of the good stuff in terms of high end and response.

If it was my gear i would get rid of everything except the rat (and maybe the mxr chorus for special occasions) because its good when on and true bypass when off....however im not you of course, and a really sexy sounding analog pedal board with all the sounds you are after and all tru bypass with maybe 1 excellent dedicated buffer is really expensive (plus power supply, weight factors and good cable etc)

So...the M13 being an integrated unit does go thru a lot of complex (digital) circuitry, but it is all high quality stuff and will all work together seamlessly with no patch cables or batteries. Even tho its digital, it is capable of making some great sounds, and honestly when you add up all the signal degradation in your current analog set up it will sound a lot better. All that plus the ability to save all you favourite patches. You can then get rid of the delay thats causing you heartache and get pretty good representations of the pedals you already own. So yeah - all up, an M13 would be a great solution for you.

HOWEVER....you have a jcm 900 right?

They are not what anyone can call a good clean sounding amp. As a result they are not a good platform to use an integrated system in front of the preamp.

The best and easiest way to get a 900 sounding killer is to have a sexy overdrive pedal in front and then all your delay/modulation effects in the loop. Now in your case that does not work cos you delay is not up to the task. Which brings us back to square one.

So here are 2 other solutions. one is more old school, one is totally modern:

1. keep the rat in the front end use the channel switching on your amp and get a really nice delay like the deja vu and run that in the loop. You will have four good footswitchable sounds from the pedal/preamp and high quality stuff in the loop.

2. Bypass your preamp section entirely and plug a really top level integrated digital unit like the eleven rack straight into the fx return socket. When you compare the cost of an eleven to all the pedals you use - and then add up all the amazing tonal options available its a really good choice because you can get pretty well any amp sound you are after and have it all running thru the 900s prodigiously grunty and responsive power amp section.

 

[sbecker67]

Re: Line 6 M13

The M13 is fantastic. I find the dirt models to be about 50/50 with the OD's being slightly better than the distortions but everthing else is good. I have it hooked up via the 4 cable method to both a Mesa and a Marshall so I'm not looking for the distortion models anyway and it does everything I want or will ever need.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Line 6 M13

i'm interested in getting one of these... but everytime i get multi fx's going i find i go back to a more simple set up... still i'd like one to try out at home...

 

[mrfunnyman]

Re: Line 6 M13

Well I lugged my JCM 900 and RAT pedal down to the local music store to try out the M13, loved it! Sounded great and had everything I want. Well... LOL right when I was getting ready to tell my guy I'll take it I saw they had a used Line 6 M9 for $250, well I tried that out, and was extremely happy with that aswell, then I plugged my RAT pedal into the M9 unit and was in tone heaven! So I eneded up getting the M9. Ontop of that this is the same store I bought my MXR Chorus from 2 weeks ago, so I was able to return that and ended up only paying $85 for the M9 unit.

So I lugged everything back home and set everything up in the following order Guitar-> Crybaby wah,-> RAT pedal, -> Line 6 M9 unit, into the front of the amp. Then I took my MXR Flanger and ran it into the FX loop, and so far everything sounds great right where it is, once I get my DS-1 back then mod it I will have to figure out if it's gonna sound best before or after the RAT. But right now I have all the tonal options at my feet that I could possibly want.

 

[Davidandrew]

Re: Line 6 M13

I have a M13 while like it has been said its much easier it does lack a certain natural feel that I get out of my pedals. I had the Nova system which I think is much better cause its natural sounding but even that didn't do it for me so I just went back to the board.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Line 6 M13

I have an M9. It's a stripped down version of the M13 but more extensive than I need. I use it for reverb, delay, phaser, chorus, and flanger only. I don't use the overdrives even though a couple of them are pretty decent. I only use it through the FX loop. I'm very happy with it. The FX are outstanding and don't muddy up my tone at all. I don't have to worry about a bunch of true bypass pedals and cables, etc.. Just my M9, one OD, and my amp footswitch sit on my pedalboard.