Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

[beggar_guitar]

I've been on the fence about adding some modulation effects, and was starting to wonder if perhaps this would be a good unit for me. I've been wanting to stay away from multi-effects units, but perhaps having some effects I would use more sparingly all in the same box could save me some hassle.

How are the tones in this box? Pros and cons?

 

[Hoss]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

well...i had one for awhile and while it sounded pretty good...it was just too many knobs and tweaking for my tastes...i like things simple...but that's just me...MANY people love them and i kinda regret selling it now that i'm wanting a phaser or a vibe and etc again! :31:

 

[beggar_guitar]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

Yeah I worry about all the tweaking involved. I like my mod effects use sparingly, and I like them easily dialed in. Having so many variables to adjust on a single pedal seems to, at times, make it harder to get the tone I want.

But these run $250 new, and I know i could pick one up used somewhere. If it's a good reliable unit it just makes more sense to me than going out and picking up a nice chorus, phase, and flange that I will only use sparingly, and I would probably end up spending More money that way. GAS is a terrible disease.

 

[Hoss]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

tell me about it!!!

i'm g.a.s.sing hard right now for a Budda Wah, a Route 66, and a Phaser of some sort!!!

 

[millsart]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

Its not a bad pedal but your limited to one effect at a time and you've got no flexibility in routing order so those are the big problems for me.

A vibe pedal for example I like near the end of the chain, after the dirt

A phaser I like near the front, before the dirt

A chorus I like in the loop


For the price of the thing you could get a few pedals that do what you really need/like the most and most likley be happier in the long run.

One other thing I don't like about line6 is that their stuff always has the same general sound, not bad mind you, but no matter the effect it will have a certain sameness to its character.

It would be like going out and buying all Boss pedals.

I'm much more of a mix match type of guy, with say a boss pedal for chorus, a EHX for phaser, sweetsound for vibe etc.

Seems to give each effect a bit more of its own place in the overall sonic soundscape that makes up my tone

 

[beggar_guitar]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

Ok... You just sold me against it.

You can't use multiple FX at once? No thanks! Not being able to customize where each effect is in the chain is a downer too.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

I put the DD4 through extensive sound testing, and A/B'd it against other delays, digital and analog. For the life of me I can't figure out how it gets good reviews on sound. It's extremely powerful, and it can do a lot of things. But the biggest thing I noticed is the DRY sound when the pedal is ON is weak. It's a tone sucker on your dry signal. If you've got overdrive on it may be less noticable, but the digitized dry sound is a bummer to me. I ran parallel tests against the truly dry analog sound, and it was staggering. A true analog dry sound blended with the Line 6 delays was actually quite good, but the T-Rex delay smoked it. The Line 6 delays are a little canned sounding, too, but that's just my opinion. One man's "processed sounding" delays are another man's "polished" delays, right? It gets my vote for "bang for the buck" or "my first delay pedal" award, but not much else.

 

[millsart]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

All good points Frank, but we are talking about the MM4 modulation pedal, not the DL4 delay pedal keep in mind.

Basically everything you said though really applies to the MM4 or any other Line6 product though.

I'm really more of a fan of analog chorus, vibe etc. Basically any effect that you want to sound lush and alive is best served by analog (generally speaking)

Delay is one area where I think digital can hold its own or even be superior depending on the application.

I'm not a huge delay fan but if I was I'd have one of each, a nice analog pedal as well as a good clean digital delay. Sometimes that analog dirty/mush is counter productive.

I had a DMM and sometimes I wanted a bit more clarity and articulation on the repeats that it couldn't deliver.

 

[James Rock]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

I had a DMM and sometimes I wanted a bit more clarity and articulation on the repeats that it couldn't deliver.

Thats why I want the new SMM with Hazarai because you can change the tone of repeats and while not analog organic its not BOSS harsh seems like a perfect middle ground.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

I actually had the exact same pedal that Hoss had (I had it first ) And man it's a decent pedal, but it's got so many things built into it that setting, and tweaking, and all that stuff was just too time consuming and too much effort for something I used so little. Also there's a volume drop off when using it. I got rid of it and just got me a tremolo pedal (the only effect I really used on there anyway).

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

All good points Frank, but we are talking about the MM4 modulation pedal, not the DL4 delay pedal keep in mind.

Basically everything you said though really applies to the MM4 or any other Line6 product though.

Yes my bad, I was trying to make the assimilation that I put the DD4 through it's paces, and that the MM is bound to exibit the same properties, as it's likely the same makeup with different software.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

One other thing I don't like about line6 is that their stuff always has the same general sound, not bad mind you, but no matter the effect it will have a certain sameness to its character.

It would be like going out and buying all Boss pedals.

I agree with everything you've said. When we were doing the band thing, my guitarist had a Line 6 amp with built in effects, it worked great for what we were doing, very limited effects. A little chorus on the cleans, tremolo for one song as an over the top effect and a little reverb for recording.

If you want to do some more effects heavy stuff you might want to look into mroe dedicated effects you really dig. Now, one of my favorite boxes is an Echo Park, good sound and really versatile. There are quite a few pros that use the **4 boxes, Joe Perry and John Fruciante immediately come to mind, so they can be decent...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Line 6 MM4... Opinions?

I like them for the fact that they do more than just stock sounds. With all those FX to choose from, you can just spin the dial till you hear something you like, tweak a few knobs, then hold down the footbutton till it's stored. It's far easier than scrolling through parameters on rack gear.

The upside is the sheer number of options, and the simplicity of tweaking and storing.
The downsides are the inability to mix FX together, and the slight lack of warmth you'd get out of analog pedals. Sure, I'd rather have 4 Moog pedals and a couple T. Rex's, but to equal the L6, you'd pay $1400 or more. Still....I don't see the L6 pedals as a big comprimise. Through a good amp, they sound good enough. They're also stereo, so you can use it to split to 2 amps.