Line 6

[aeonrevolution]

Anyone heard one of the new modelled spider II ? Theres a 2x12 with the setting for insane that I'm talking about, not the other one.

Ive heard a few guys playing the red spiders and it sounded pretty nice, a little weak on bass but that could have been the PA .

[jayrope]

ah i don' t know. to me all that line 6 stuff sounds dead and harsh, especially when you tun it up loud. it is just not pleasant, and that is no wonder, since even if the processing inside is sorta cool (which i doubt) then still it is simply not possible to equip such cheap stuff with proper a/d, d/a converters for that price. sorry: i'd use these boxes to find a sound but npt to record it. just did it like that again, and it was definately worth it to use the line 6 ONLY for inspiration...

[djslayerissick]

the Spider line of products isnt that high on the totem pole for quality.

-Vetta is the flagship name brand intended for professionals

-next is Flextone, but the new Flextone III's have the same 'brain' as the Vettas

-last is the Spider line


one of my guitarists uses a Line 6 Flextone III. its the best sounding of all the line 6 gear i've heard. i'm still undecided at how good it is for recording or not. i havent had much experience recording high-end amps. BUT its the best live rig a guitarist could ask for: all the effects you need are built in and sound gorgeous, you can change every little setting you want in 1 stomp (gain, volume, EQ, compression, gate, verb, chorus, delay, phase/flange, tremelo), a myriad of tones and ways to shape them, you're able to label all your settings with its own readable name, you never have to replace tubes and it sounds amazingly better than solid state, etc.

[aeonrevolution]

well about 3 months ago I ended up with a flextone 3 (mono).

and just last week bought a 57.

I'll have to get around to posting some clips...

[Deadtide.com]

I just bought a PODxt Pro and a Bass PODxt Pro (the top o' the line rack mount PODs) and I couldn't be happier.

I was a total sceptic until I played them, and even after I bought them, I wasn't sure. But just last night I did a quick test recording and they sound fantastic. Not as good as a real amp in a real studio with a great mic and a great engineer, but compared to what I was doing before, it's miles above in sound quality.

Secondly, they've completely eliminated most of the things that used to stop me from recording (loud volume, "is the mic in the best spot?", getting consistent sounds, cables everywhere, etc.). Now, I just plug in, dial up my sound, record enable the dry and wet tracks (it's all set up for reamping) and play. It's like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and I finally feel completely free to just create instead of trying to create AND engineer.

Then, the reamping business is a miracle. Not just for changing sounds in the future, but I can capture all of my PERFORMANCES in the comfort of my home studio and if I ever want to get a "real" guitar sound, juust take my stuff to a real studio and have them wire it up with the good stuff.

Last, I did have some "issues" with the POD (their USB/MIDI driver kills ProTools, and their patch editing software doesn't work with the bass pod), and I emailed Line6 tech support for answers. After years of dealing with DigiDesign's customer "service", my tone was a bit harsh. To my surprise, I not only got fast answers, but they asked about my system, answered more questions, and are now actively looking into fixing the problem.

Bottom line, if you're a tone freak (*cough*snob*cough*) and can afford to spend your money on a one-shot deal with a real studio, good for you. If, on the other hand, you're a home studio person, stretching money as far as possible, and want a good sounding system with lots of flexibility, then the Line6 stuff - especially the PODxt Pro's - are worth taking a long, hard look at.

Oh, for what it's worth, I play metal and while you don't get a great distortion sound out of the box, if you start with their presets and fiddle, you'll find some great stuff. All the bass and "classic rock" guitar sounds are really good out of the box; Line6 just don't get metal at all...

And no, I don't work for Line6; I'm just a very happy customer

[aeonrevolution]

Aye I agree. Great post too!

I have been giong for a real smooth type distortion that is just barely hi-gain'ishy (heh thats a word?). It sounds great to my ear I am just having the worst time capturing it in my recordings.

Are the XLR outs that good in your opinion? I dont have the flex 3 plus or else I would try it out. I still can't imagine that the direct out would sound better than a mic

But yes the flextone sounds great, has the same brain as someone said as the vetta and pod I think? And it really opens up when you turn the master to about 3-4'ish.

[I'm Painting Again]

i like using my podxt as a mic preamp for vox and acoustic guitar and other instruments..some cool stuff there..the clean tones are great and i dont care much for the distortion tones..that is on electric guitar..for 400$ though you could get a music man amp or fender prineton or something and an sm57..so it comes down to that..

[djslayerissick]

i dont notice a big tone difference between the direct output of the flextone III and close micing with a 57.l

the only difference is the EQ. the direct is bassier and a littly muddy. the 57 close miced is brighter, lacking lowend, a little too much presence.

[Deadtide.com]

ah i don' t know. to me all that line 6 stuff sounds dead and harsh, especially when you tun it up loud. it is just not pleasant, and that is no wonder, since even if the processing inside is sorta cool (which i doubt) then still it is simply not possible to equip such cheap stuff with proper a/d, d/a converters for that price. sorry: i'd use these boxes to find a sound but npt to record it. just did it like that again, and it was definately worth it to use the line 6 ONLY for inspiration...

"MP3s suck, CDs are much better!"
"CDs suck, tape is much better!"
"Tape sucks, vinyl is much better!"
"Vinyl sucks, wax cylinders are much better!"

...and so it goes, on and on

[housepig]

I've had a Pod Pro for a few years, and I love it. I've used tube amps, and I can hear the difference between them and a solid-state amp or a modelling rig, but it's not enough to make me go tube.

the reliability and flexibility I get from the Pod & a solid-state power amp more than make up for the 5% sweetness I'm losing by not using my (comparitively fragile and currently dead) Marshall head.

[EletrikGutar182]

Before my Mesa Boogie, I had the Red Spider 112 (1x12, 50 watts...) I do say it was versatile, in that it allowed me to use several effects and sounds without investing in additional stomp boxes or rack gear. It did not record too well. The speaker is made by L6, and is terribly muddy. I got some decent results from recording thru the headphone jack (yeah, so shoot me..).

After a year or 2 with it, I had pretty much settled on 2 or 3 main sounds...Recto Lead, Clean (sometimes a little bit of reverb), and occasionally a semi-distorted crunch. I was emulating a $1300 Mesa with a $400 Line 6. Nevertheless, I sold the L6 and bought the Mesa Recto. Their lead channel is absolutely perfect, and their clean channel is pure and crisp. If I lower the volume on my strat to 4 or 5, I get the in-between crunch I liked. The L6 was at the same time more and less than i needed.

The Mesa suited me much better. I would advise playing it a LOT in the store, and bring the guitar you will be playing with it mowtly, and also looking into the Flextone Series, or possibly a Celestion Speaker upgrade.

Good Luck
Alex

[SKEETER]

I gotta agree with jayrope, the guitarist in the band I am in has a line 6 with two tens, and I cannot stand it when he brings it to practice. VERY harsh, and also, very irritating upper midrange. When he gets loud with it, it is like a razor blade going through your head. My son has a line 6 that is a 2x12, and I like it a little better, but it still is not something I would buy. The amp I am really impressed with is the new VOX amps with the built in modelling and effects. The VOX has tone out the ass, it kind of reminds me of the old KUSTOM tufted stuff, the combos with 15s in them, really wall shaking sound when clean. The distortion in the VOX sounds tube. I wouldn't have the old vox stuff if I had a goat out back I need soemthing to chain it to, but the new VOX is fantastic. I think they have a one 12 model and a two 12 model, and a couple others.

[aeonrevolution]

If it sounds that harsh he probably just hasn't taken the time to tweak it, ya know?

haha check out my clip see how it sounds!

[SKEETER]

it sounds harsh just because it sounds harsh, they just sound that way....

[I'm Painting Again]

i like my pod and all for the special effects and tracking too..but i just cant understand how someone could be like i cant tell a big difference between a pod distortion patch and a nice overdriven tube amp..theres a HUGE difference there..in my experience anyway..even listening to a marshall valvestate vs a tripple rectifier..big difference in the quality of sound..yeah it is harsh vs smooth and creamy in both cases..it all depends how you use it though..like feeding an amp a pod can be cool..or blending amp + pod..whatever..i like my pod but it aint the same as a nice amp..but can be on par or rock a shitty amp..in terms of usability..minus the inherent differences of the two..