Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

Thinking about picking up a Line 6 combo. It's a PITA to lug around a half stack if you have more than one project going on -- getting real tired of that.
I figure they have alot of sounds available and it will be something i could haul around with me easily.
...Buit, I've heard that they sound good on their own, but dont really mix well in a band setting.
So, any experiences and opinions out there?

Going out on the dead limb here. Not a lot of exp behind me but Ray and I both played thru Line6 amps when we first go together. Was a lot of fun but somehow I was never really happy with the tone or responsivenes of the presets, and the more I tried to customise the tone the worse it got.
Lot of people love these amps. Generally though I did not.
Take it for what it is, a simple opinion base on little exp. with other amps.

Yeah... it would seem that the little Line 6 Spider combos sound kind of fake. Or from what I heard and could tell, down at the shop.
They didn't have the big Vetta II, but they say it sounds a lot better.
Audio samples on the web for the Vetta did sound better than the spider stuff, but they're way more expensive.
Maybe I'll kick around some Peaveys and Fenders.

These amps are really cool.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Marshall-Valvestate ... dZViewItem

It's basically a marshall 8100 in combo form. It has 1-12ax7 in the preamp.

Throw a NOS GE longplate 12ax7 (you can get 'em on ebay for about $15-25) in the preamp and this thing would surprise you.

Line 6s sound good to me at low practice levels, but when you crank them they just dont have it. If the practice facilitys have a decent pa you might just throw a preamp in your gigbag.

I have a Mesa V Twin pedal that I keep with me all the time. The other night I just plugged it into a groups pa and it got a great sound. Its great for clean fender sounds and maybe heavy blues or classic rock. It doesnt get a good metal sound, but you could put a boss metal zone pedal in front of it and it would work real well.

Ive got a collection of 4x12 cabs and if I get into a repetitve playing situation and Im happy with the security of a place I just leave a cab there and then move heads around with me.

I do have a bid going for a Mesa Mark IV combo which might be a more portable amp with guts.

I use a line 6 spider III 75w combo for band practice and playing out. It has more than enough high and low end, and color. I've never passed the halfway mark on the master volume, it really cranks. It's really not a bad amp IF you are using it for a clean channel mode only.

After I got the amp, I didn't care for the distortions/effects. I eventually got a gnx3000 pedal that does everything, so I'm selling the amp this weekend locally and upgrading to a tech 21 poweramp that's nothing more than a pure clean so the gnx pedal can really color the tones without anything else adding more color.

Kramer, whoever is singing Limelight on your samples did a great job. I may have to pull that song out of the closet and start playing it again.

Glad you mentioned "Limelight" JW, I must have missed it some how?
It sounds good to me, Being a Rush fan and all. I am really enjoying my Carvin 50 watt Vintage Tube Amp combo. The little rattle noise that was gripping my ass is a non issue with her cranked up good and loud. A good thing ya,ll told me to go with the smaller amp. Even at 50 watts it is hard to stand in front of with the soak and volune turned just below the feedback level on my strat. If there was a store near me I'd love to plug into their little 16/5 amp triode model. Just to see what it sounded like.

Don't know anything about Line 6, some like 'em some don't. The two I heard onstage last year (same band, both guitar players used identical Line 6 1x12 combo rigs) sounded ok but nothing to write home about.

I basically have two rules when looking at amps.

1. 30-50 watts is about all I need.
2. Look in back. If I don't see a full set of TUBES, I move on to the next amp.

Seriously, if it's not a tube amp I never even turn it on. That's why my practice amp is a 70's Fender Champ. I own one solid state, a RMS practice amp that mostly just collects dust, I use it now and then since it does have a decent distortion channel, but for every time I turn it on the Champ gets used at least 35 times. Usually I hook both to the A/B switch and use it for distortion while the Champ is for clean at low volume. Usually I just don't bother and run the Champ.

For onstage use, it's tubes only, I don't even consider solid state.

So...is the Line 6 you're looking at a tube amp? If so, play it...listen to it. That's the only way you can know if it will suit you. If it's solid state, that's your call, I wouldn't even turn it on so I wouldn't have a clue what it sounds like unless I saw someone else using one onstage.

But that's just me, a friend with a Peavey Butcher gave me the tube bug years ago, since then I've never seen a solid state amp that will give me the tone a tube amp will, especially at stage volume. Cranked loud enough for a band every solid state amp I played years ago got muddy and lost most of it's bass, didn't cut through the mix and usually started clipping, which is harsh and unacceptable. The frustration ended when I got my tube amps I currently still use.

That's my take on amps in general, no matter whose name is on the label, my first question is...does it have tubes? If the answer is yes, then I find out what it sounds like and what wattage. If the answer is no, I keep looking.

George, I just got a Weber Mass Attenuator. You plug this thing between the amp and speaker and it reduces the output volume going to the speaker. Ive tryed a bunch of different types but this one works great. I run the master on the clean channel wide open and my main distorted channel a little over half way. I can set the attenuator at loud live levels or turn it down to bedroom levels. That way Im getting the cranked out tone at any volume. For most band situations a 20-50 watt tube amp is all anyone will ever need.

Sorry Im adding to your list of toys.

JW
Cool, a Weber Mass Attenuator? Sounds like just the thing I need. My amp sounds so good just on the verge of total distortion, I back off on either the soak or the volume on the high gain channel just enough where I can take my left hand off the strings and it wont start to scream / squeal. The power and sustain are really good but awful loud for a small venue. Its lost when I use the pedal or the volume knob on the guitar in an attempt to bring just the volume down a bit.
Is this the application you are using it for? It sounds like it to me by your desription.

George, I just use it too cut the overall volume of my amp. An attenuator is a big inline resistor that just soaks up the power going to your speakers. This new one I have will take the volume down to headphone levels, yet I leave the amp cranked all the time. You may be setting up too aggresive of a sound if your guitar is always on the edge of feedback. I have a clean channel, then I have what I call a 70s brown sound (Bad Company, Van Halen), then I have a metal channel (high gain, scooped mids). I use the 70s channel the most. My setup never breaks up into unwanted feedback. You might need to play with your eq some more. I can hold a note and it will sustain forever and break into a mild feedback if I hold it long enough. You want your sound to be under your control. If you are using a distortion box to get a lot of breakup, you might want to make the habit of cutting it off between songs and then just kick it back in when you atart to play again. Nothing sounds worse to me than a guitarist whos standing there with his amp screaming uncontrolable. I dont use a distortion pedal much, I believe in amp distortion.

I am currently just utilizing my amp. And I like it that way thus far.
On the heavy tunes, Ray -n- the boys want a lot of grunge from my guitar. I keep the guitar quiet when I am not playing. I am going to try an attenuator when my wife and I get our budget worked out again from her job change. To get that full tone and responsiveness at a lower volume would really be helpfull. Also going to get the foot control that goes with my amp. Thanks for the input. We have not had a full band rehersal in two weeks now. I need a fix bad, hope all goes well for tomorrow.

George, My old band got together sunday afternoon at my house. We set the full pa up and played for about 3 hrs. I guess we went thru close to 40 songs and put together a basic list of around 60 songs.

It was fun and loud.

That,s awsome John. I could not at this point even begin to imagine a set of 60 songs. I think we may be in the area of 20 or so. give or take. I've not done a count or playlist in some time. Have been organizing music in my notebook in slipcovers. This weeks goal is to retype as much as possable into word program and reprint onto cardstock. It will make it easier to make notes as we play on where when and how my parts will go. amp setting notes and such.

I am wondering what gtZip decided to do with his amp set up. since I hijacked his thread. sorry Zip.