What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

FretFire

SingedFingerologist
The only amp I've had since I sold my VHT to help fund a move last year is an old beat up Line 6 Spider 2x10. I'm thinking of using my tax return to pick up a new amp, and I'd love to go tube again but it's just not feasible in an apartment so I've been looking at the Flextones. I'm very familiar with the PODxT and know that the models are pretty nice for the most part, and I fully realize that these modelers take some tweaking to sound their best. Any owners here care to chime in? Any real advantage to the 2x12" over the 1x12"?
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

My brother has a flextone II 2x12 and really liked it. then he bought a vox valvetronix 1-12 and now that's all he plays, and the flextone is collecting dust. I have a flextone I head that I really like, but the main reasons are the ability to change between 4 channels live and the amazing amount of power it has (300 watts). Would I personally get a combo version of a newer flextone? Probably not. But I'm a weird cat, so take all that with a grain of salt. I can party down with a Peavey bandit. How weird is that?!
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

Would I personally get a combo version of a newer flextone? Probably not.

Any particular reason? :laugh2: I actually forgot all about the Vox modelers, thanks for reminding me.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

Any particular reason? :laugh2: I actually forgot all about the Vox modelers, thanks for reminding me.

Well, for me it's kind of a been-there-done-that mentality. I like line 6 stuff, but I personally would rather have a valvetronix for a bedroom type amp since it's new to me, has a tube (oooo, pretty!), and I goofed with a tone lab and was very impressed with the sounds I heard. But if you have a lead on a reasonably priced line 6, hey nothin' wrong with that. I could have sold my flextone head a long time ago to fund a vox, but there's some really killer tones in there. Some are just plain useless (the old blanket over the amp sound), but the good ones are really good, if that makes sense. Especially the jcm800, soldano, and rectifier ones (to me).
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

I'm not too concerned with the tube in the Vox stuff, I'm not sure how convinced I am that a single preamp tube makes *that* much of a difference, but I won't know for sure until I play test them. I have zero experience with the Vox stuff so I definitely need to check them out.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

I tried the new flex 3 in GC for a while. I wasn't crazy over it and it seemed kind of gimmicky. If you are in the market for a modeler, check out the Roland Cubes. I have had several and couldn't be happier. Sound great, super reliable, built like a tank, and cheap. Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

i'm not a huge modeling fan... but i saw a cool concert last year... 3 bands.... 2 bands used Marshall stacks.... opening act used a Flextone III... The Flextone sounded amazing out front from the get go.... Later on for the other acts, the sound guys were messing around with mics... and towards the end of the other 2 bands sets they got the Marshalls sounding good...

Watching that opening act set up and tear down in minutes, and the fact they had the best sound that night inpressed me.. I was impressed by the Flexi III.... But whenever i plug into one i still miss the feeling that the digital loses...
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

The Flextone 3's are good. I thought the 2's were pretty good as well. Definately great amps for the money. If I was going to go digital again they would definately be considered. I've always wondered what a Flextone 3 would sound like with a higher end speaker like a vintage 30 or something. The speakers that come stock pretty good so I bet it would be it would be pretty amazing. :32: :)
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

What speaker configuration were you considering? The 1x12 or 2x12? I've personally always wanted a 2x12.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

I tried the new flex 3 in GC for a while. I wasn't crazy over it and it seemed kind of gimmicky. If you are in the market for a modeler, check out the Roland Cubes. I have had several and couldn't be happier. Sound great, super reliable, built like a tank, and cheap. Good luck with whatever you choose.

I would also recommend the Roland Cube Amps. I was thinking about getting one for its portability and convenients. For how small the little 15 watter is I thought they had some good quality tone. The only downfall with the Roland Cube series though is that 60 watts is the highest wattage they offer it in is 60watts through a 1x12 speaker. Even if you don't end up buying one I feel its an amp everyone should at least try.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

What speaker configuration were you considering? The 1x12 or 2x12? I've personally always wanted a 2x12.

I had a Flextone I with the 2 x 12 configuration. It was nice to push that much air but I rarely had the amp above 4 in gigging situations.

I would of gladly gone with a 1 x 12 had I known what I know now. As long as the capacity is there for an extension cab it's all equal to me.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

I'm not to big on line 6 amps (just me) the sound is never close to what its suppose to emulate IMO. If a tube amp is where your heart is you can find something, If you're looking for a hi gain amp try using an attenuator with it, it might be what you're looking for.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

I dig the Flextone III. I almost bought one, but ended up with a POD XT instead. I only demoed the amp at a GC so I don't have a lot of experience with it.

I will say that the Vox Valvetronix series is great. The other guitarist in my previous band played with one (blue cloth/2x12) and he got some really good tones.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

I'm not to big on line 6 amps (just me) the sound is never close to what its suppose to emulate IMO. If a tube amp is where your heart is you can find something, If you're looking for a hi gain amp try using an attenuator with it, it might be what you're looking for.


Attenuators are for bringing amps down to more manageable stage volumes, like if you're playing a small club. They are not for bringing a 50 or 100 watt tube amp down to living room levels, you get some pretty nasty signal squash in that scenario. I'll own another nice tube amp but it's going to wait until I'm in a house or at least start gigging again. I'm just looking for something a little more inspiring for my practice and occasional jam sessions.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

I own both a pod XT live and a Flex III XL.

The XL is a great combo amp as far as I'm concerned.
I really like the tones I'm getting from it.
It's definitely loud enough for practices and small gigs.
Very tweakable using Line 6 Edit.
Good effects for getting you basic reverb, delay, or chorusing.

Only thing I don't like is the compresser on it.
It tends to muffle things. So, I keep it off.

Only things to remember are
bedroom levels will sound different than rehearsal levels.
So, it's wise to create patches for both situations.

The gain on a lot of the high gain amp models goes a long way. So, use it sparingly and find that sweet spot. Cranking the gains all the way up on some models just saturates the tone too much. So, again just back it down and find those sweet spots. They're there.

When creating your sounds, use your ears not your eyes.
Don't assume bass and treble autimatically need to be cranked to 10.
I find with some of the marshall models, bass at around 3 is where my ears like it.

Again, use line 6 edit.
There's so much more tweaking you can do through it than just with the
Flexs control panel.
Plus, it's easier to see everything in perspective.

Do I think the models sound like the real deals? Don't know, don't care.
I just like the tones I'm getting.
I do think the models give the vibes of the amps they model though.
You listen to a model and go
yeah that's Marshallesque.
Yeah, that's Fenderesque.
That's Voxish.
Etc...

Be sure to read the manual all the way through.
So, you fully understand the what, wheres, and hows
of how it models those amps.

Taking some time and patience with the L6 gear
will reap its rewards.

Kent
 
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Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

Thanks for the insight Kent. I've owned lots of different Line 6 products (PODxT, PODxT Pro, Guitarport) so I know they take some patience and tweaking.
 
Re: What do you guys think of the Flextone III?

Well i bought my Valvetronix over a Flextone III.
For my ears ,Flextone had a darker sounding ,more sterile sound.
The valvetronix delivered more organic ,powerfull and wet tone.An AD60 will make you happy.Or an AD 50 2x12!Try it man ,you will like it!
 
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