What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what gives?

[Kramer Guy]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

Since you have a Peavey Duece , why not just go any buy yourself a effects procecessor like a Digitech RP series ? Much better than getting a Line 6.

 

[mantis]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

You be the judge. Go out and play one. Personally I really like my Spider IV 75. I have a distinct feeling that most people that talk crap about them have either never played one or are just being elitist asses.

It's really what it comes down to , how the player likes it.
You make a blanket statement here about Elitists that simply isn't true. Yeah maybe some people are snobs and act as you claim but not all I can assure you of that. I know why to many guitarist to know that to be true. None of them use Line 6 amps.
Line 6 equipment have their place or they wouldn't sell.

 

[JeffB]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

I have owned some Line6 gear...spiders..a pod xt floor, pocket pod. The XT was fun..was nice to hav emy whole normal amp.and.stompbox setup as I used to have. I have played the flextones, vettas, new dt series, spider valves, that crazy metal head they had several years ago..everything but the new HD floor units. It

I think the new DT series is good. Those old Flextone II and III sound pretty decent. The Vettas too. The rest sounds like complete garbage to me especially dry (which is how I play 90% of the time) They record easy, but are a ***** to dial in, and if you you change one of the volume or gain controls you often screw up the tone of the whole patch. They are plastic sounding and one dimensional. There is a massive physical disconnect and lack of dynamics. They do not do crunch. I have run them slaved through boutique tube amps, full size cabs with regular speakers, and even purchased an atomic reactor specifically designed to make them sound awesome. Meh.

I understand for some people they are awesome and work great. They are anti inspirational to me..I want to turn off and not play guitar after about 5 minutes barring the few models I mentioned above. I was never unhappier with my tone than the 7-8 years I was pretty much forced into using modelling gear..but the L6 stuff was the worst of the modelling gear I had.

 

[Reload in 5]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

It's really what it comes down to , how the player likes it.
You make a blanket statement here about Elitists that simply isn't true. Yeah maybe some people are snobs and act as you claim but not all I can assure you of that. I know why to many guitarist to know that to be true. None of them use Line 6 amps.
Line 6 equipment have their place or they wouldn't sell.

He used elitist in the correct way.

1. A person who believes that they are superior to others (and thus deserve favored status) because of their intellect, social status, wealth, or other factors.

So in this case the elitist would think they are better because they have the expensive gear. No one said all musicians with expensive gear act this way, but using the word elitist implies the person thinks they are better than you and I.

Only line 6 amp I have experience with was a crappy spider. It sucked as mentioned here. Flat, compressed etc
I however use a POD HD500, and it is none of those things. It is also NOT hard to dial in. I regularly adjust the gain, EQ etc on the fly. And there is an overall master volume for the unit so if you find all of your presets are a little low or high then you can just adjust that. Older units were much more complicated. Not now

 

[SongsForTheDeaf]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

I had the Spidervalve 1x12... first real amp and honestly it was a pretty sweet amp I only sold it a few months ago. I never used its effects or its drive channels but the clean Marshall channel which loved my pedals and had serious JCM 800 tones. I really liked that amp but I needed money towards something new at the time so I sold it. I think the name Line 6 has a lot of stigma surrounding it and to be honest the few times I gigged with it mic'd it was very thin sounding through the PA..

 

[Rez]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

I really appreciate everyone's input.

I'm using the Deuce with a Boss SD-1 Overdrive, Boss DS-1 Distortion, Boss DD-3 Delay, Dunlop 535Q Crybaby and a Digitech RP50 (mostly for tuner/flanger/phaser here and there). There are those times though where I just can't seem to dial in that certain Marshall/Fender tone for certain songs.

The Valvestate 8080 does a good job as well but doesn't have that Fender-ish sound that the Deuce kind of has. Which is why I was thinking about a modeler.

I would like to stay somewhere in the $500 range... or less if possible. Then again, I could always save up and go better... oh the choices :scratchch

 

[chris effect]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

I'm a big peavey vypyr fan(big peavey fan in general), i have the 30 watt head and 2 matching 112 cabs and it is great. - I haven't tried the new ones VIP series, waiting for a small head to be released. I've owned a 5150 and a XXX and overall I'm happier with the Vypyr, granted I don't do gigs anymore, but for jamming and bedroom playing it's great. The only line 6 i played was a small spider IV (and maybe an older POD at some point). I didn't really dig it, but i only spent an hour or so with it. I played a mustang II and hated every minute of it. I'd suggest trying a Vypyr. The original Vypyrs can be found used for cheap, Some are solid state, some have power Tube sections. The new Blackstar ID series seem cool, haven't heard a good demo yet.

 

[everdrone]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

hate.

had the line 6 toneports for recording. bought two of them. the cheap one needed to be plugged in to use the software, but I did not like the sound of the cheap software. the expensive one I bought needed to be plugged in to use its separate software, but it died, and line 6 would not let me use the software, because there is a key and my hardware died so they wanted me to buy more stuff. I just wanted to use the software that I already had that came with the hardware. didn't sound that great anyway. LAME!

 

[Mattr4president]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

I have a XT Live and I take it for what it is. I got it used and I run it in to my peavey express or my Tascam unit for writing. Sometimes it's hard to compose whole songs standing in front of a cranked half stack. So I sit down and at low enough volumes so I can think and record. Would I ever gig with it? No. It's very... fuzzy feeling, sorta digital. It just doesn't react like the amp/guitar mix. But they are a very useful tool if used that way. As far as how they soun compared to the real thing? Do

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

versatility in amps = overrated.
versatility as a player = priceless

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

^^^Good point.

As a player that has mostly sounded like a cross between Malcolm Young and Steve Jones, I only need a good tube amp to plug straight in to. The variations off that theme that I do play, such as blues and maybe some Gram Parsons flavored country, can be done easily on the same rig.

That said, I used to see these bands in the area of Green Bay, WI, playing covers in cheesy bars, and some of them had Line 6 amps (don't know the models). And, for what they were doing, they sounded ok. The audience ate it up. People are just not that picky. So I always thought that if I ended up back in Green Bay playing covers in cheesy bars, just maybe...not that there's much chance of that happening!

However, I think the point that some here have made, that is, you have a decent amp for a base, just go get a decent effects processor, is a good one. The more I think about it, the more I think that's what I would do if I really required a vast array of effects.

 

[Rez]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

However, I think the point that some here have made, that is, you have a decent amp for a base, just go get a decent effects processor, is a good one. The more I think about it, the more I think that's what I would do if I really required a vast array of effects.

I believe it was Mantis that had suggested the Boss GT-100... A buddy of mine had one of them... or one like it... I found it to be very daunting with all the choices. He was actually playing out of my Valvestate 8080 and it sounded (like someone above mentioned) very digital... maybe his settings were lousy?

I like my single pedals and I use my Digitech RP50 for flanger and phaser which for the songs we play, suit very well. But maybe I should look into an effects processor like some of you have mentioned. I always find the initial setup for those processors to be a pain in the a$$... I reckon that I'll have to check my local music store and plug in and try it.

I'll tell you what, it really helps to talk to people like all of you, that have been there/done that. Thanks again everyone.

 

[Mincer]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

For a cover gig, a HD500x direct into the PA sounds great. I use mine direct for an original project too, and get wonderful, very diverse sounds out of it.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

You also could just add a few more single pedals to your rig if you're part way there already.

 

[everdrone]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

for coverbands, I love my 400 bass head, it offers the versatility I do not necessarily need, but I do like

I dig the virtual rig for cover bands for line 6, of course this guitarist is a MONSTER:

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

versatility in amps = overrated.
versatility as a player = priceless

What type of player versatility is it that makes a Fender Deluxe Reverb sound like a Bogner ?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

Good point pigbacon. There is nothing that can sound like nice sexy amp like a bogner in full flight.

The thing is, in a covers band playing all kinds of different tunes in noisy pubs, you can get away with a pretty boring standard amp, and at most, a couple of stompboxes that will get you close enough to play the repertoire. No-one will be marking the band on sounding exactly like the original records. No singer in the world can mimic every singer, no bassist can mimic all the bass tones, and no drummer using one kit can sound like all the drum sounds in a big repertoire covered by a covers band. No band can sound the same as records, there are just too many variables. Multiply that by the number of different tunes in the repertoire and i think its pretty easy to see that trying to replicate stuff exactly is more or less impossible.
If the player can play with a bunch of different styles and has a good handle on "how" to play, then pretty much any amp and a couple of stompboxes will do the job quick, easily and effectively. Need to change a sound? Adjust the tone/volume on your axe, or tweak a knob on one of the pedals on the amp or on the floor. Night in, night out, a simple rig wins hands down over anything that has presets. Every room sounds different and even those sound different depending on how many people are in there, or how many are on the dance floor. The less knobs, the better. Then all you need to do is play the right notes at the right time.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

Once you're close enough that the crowd doesn't care, I think it's up to the player to decide what's close enough. I think we have to respect the right of individual guitarists, playing different music in different settings, to determine that. I'm often suspicious of people prescribing what others "need"; they rarely think another person needs more than they use themselves. The guy in the Smart car thinks I don't need something as big as my Chevy HHR, but I'm positive the guy in the Ford Excursion doesn't need that damned thing. Of course, that guy wonders how Smart-car guy and I get through life in our tiny little vehicles. Smart-car thinks we should be prosecuted for killing the environment. The guy on the bicycle thinks… etc. All four of us are full of crap.

 

[shinyprize]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

Surprised no one has mentioned that the "real" tone is in your fingers and even the best modeler in the world will sound like crap in the hands of a crappy player.

That said, I'll expand a bit on my earlier comment about Line6 amps/PODs doing lots of things but none particularly well. While I overal have hated every Line6 product I've owned or tried (POD XT, Toneport, POD mini, DM4) they do some things better than others. I found that the super clean amp settings (Twin, Roland JC) sounded decent, as did the super high gain models. But the Marshalls, and mild overdrive sounds and crunch sounds were all just terrible. No dynamics when going for a crunch tone = bad.

As for effects, the delays and trems were all quite usable. Of course the heavy modulation on the tape and analog delays sounds nothing like the real thing, just like with any analog/tape voiced digital delay I've tried. But all the modulation effects like phaser, flanger, viibe, etc. were just plain bad. The phasers and vibe were a goopy overdone mess and the flangers were thin and lifeless. No analog "chewiness" at all.

Anyway, bottom line is that if you do go the modeler router there are many more (better) options than Line6. Just go to the music shop and try 'em all. I loved my Digitech RP300- at the time it was the least digital sounding of all the multieffects/modelers around.

Honestly you could just use your current amp and buy a couple of quality analog pedals to get you certain tones that you'll use a lot (like Marshall crunch) or you could buy a dozen Berhinger anlog and/or digital pedals and get every tone known to man. Yeah, Behringer makes cheap knock-offs in crappy enclosures but- like Danlectro- they have some real diamonds in the rough if you sift through what they offer. I bought a Behringer analog delay (DM3 clone) as a stopgap delay three years ago and never ended up buying anything else for my delay needs. A/B'd with a real DM2 the difference was there, but so, so minimal.

But the hassle of the initial setup of a modeling pedal is offset by being able to program all the tones you need in order of your setlist and not having to tap dance on analog pedals all nite.

Final word- just got try a bunch of stuff and see what suits you. While I (like man) find Line6 and others to be unresponsive and cold and and lifeless, some love that "already recorded" tone. It all comes down to your personal tastes- no one here can tell you whats right for you, they can only tell you what has worked for them and what is out there to choose from.

Good luck-

 

[everdrone]

Re: What is the deal with Line6 amps... some like them and some hate them... what giv

I like my line 6 400 head for bass.

weighs less than the 70 pound TUBE BASS HEADS!!

it is a modeler bass amp. really simple. just step on one of 4 foot controls for each of the 4 amps/settings, and adjust amp as a normal amp, then save setting, so it is very very simple to use