View other reviews for this product:
MGR/Laklander « Line 6 Lowdown Studio 110 »
Published on 11/29/09 at 15:00I've played bass professionally for 44 years. I currently play in a praise band in a local church and also do studio work. I favor rock but have played just about every style, even -- shame -- disco. Favorite players include Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, Tony Levin, Chris Squire, Joe Osborn, Bob Glaub and Sting.
--------------
* 75 Watts
* 10' speaker
* 12'W x 12'H x 12'D
* 24 pounds
A small, lightweight combo amp. Covered in dark gray carpeting with vinyl corners; black metal grille. Top-mounted controls and jacks include 1/4' input; active/passive switch (-10DB pad); Drive, Bass, L-Mid, Hi-Mid, Treble; Octo Comp; Master Vol.; Headphone out (1/4'); CD in (1/8'); four amp/cabinet model pushbuttons: Clean; RandB; Rock; Grind. Rear panel includes XLR out with ground lift switch (takes the cabinet model sound to the board); preamp out; power cord socket and power switch.
Purchased in 2005 from Musiciansfriend. I needed a small, portable amp for practice, small gigs and possibly for studio work. MSRP: $349.99 Price paid: $225 (B stock -- box had been opened).
This amp puts out a lot of sound from a small package. I have used it outdoors with a small combo and had bass players come up to say how amazingly loud it is for its size. It handles a B string with ease. Three of the four amp model presets are very usable for me: Rock (very punchy); RandB (think Motown); and Clean (a clean Brit sound with presence -- my favorite setting.) Grind sounds, um, grindy -- very distorted with lots of high end. Not my metal cup of tea. Line 6 says the models are 'inspired by' the '74 Ampeg SVT (Rock); the Ampeg B-15 'Fliptop' combo (RandB); the Eden Traveler (Clean) and a distorted SansAmp through an SVT mixed with a clean DI signal (Grind). Perosnally, I'd prefer a an overdriven Marshall tube head for Grind, but that's just me. There's also a 'secret' Brit model that can be achieved by following instructions in the owner's manual.
Press the RandB and Rock buttons together to get a Synth setting. Synth uses the amp's volume, tone and Octo Comp knobs to manipulate envelope, wave shape and octave parameters for some 'interesting' sounds. Octave down is particularly nice, envelope sounds. less so. The Octo Comp compressor does its job nicely with minimal noise. A tube overdrive sound can be achieved by running the Drive control high and leaving the master volume down.
You can program your own presets by tweaking knobs and holding a preset button down for two seconds. Factory presets can be recalled if you make a horrible mistake or decide 'Suicidal Distorted Dragon Tail Thrash' isn't that great a tone after all.
The only negatives I can find in the Studio 110are slight hiss from the headphone jack, and the lack of parcticality form its Synth section. Not many usable sounds unless you're a fan of '70s 'yow-yow' envelope filtering. And the Synth and amp model presets aren't footswitchable, so on-the-fly live changes aren't possible unless you want to bend over and play bass one-handed while pressing buttons.
Construction seems solid and fine. I've read opinions stating that the cabinet is made from inferior materials, but I have used this amp weekly for practices with no problem and for the occasional gig without problems. If you're loading it in and out of a truck every night, maybe it won't hold up, but that's not what the amp is designed for.
The Line 6 Lowdown Studio 110 delivers what it promises: decent preset amp models at the touch of a button plus the ability to create more of your own. CD in coupled with headphone out makes it ideal for practicing along with recordings, and the preamp and XLR outs make recording easy if you're looking for a cabinet sound rather than straight DI. It has served me well in a number of light rock or church settings and puts out a ton of low end from a small package.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
--------------
* 75 Watts
* 10' speaker
* 12'W x 12'H x 12'D
* 24 pounds
A small, lightweight combo amp. Covered in dark gray carpeting with vinyl corners; black metal grille. Top-mounted controls and jacks include 1/4' input; active/passive switch (-10DB pad); Drive, Bass, L-Mid, Hi-Mid, Treble; Octo Comp; Master Vol.; Headphone out (1/4'); CD in (1/8'); four amp/cabinet model pushbuttons: Clean; RandB; Rock; Grind. Rear panel includes XLR out with ground lift switch (takes the cabinet model sound to the board); preamp out; power cord socket and power switch.
Purchased in 2005 from Musiciansfriend. I needed a small, portable amp for practice, small gigs and possibly for studio work. MSRP: $349.99 Price paid: $225 (B stock -- box had been opened).
This amp puts out a lot of sound from a small package. I have used it outdoors with a small combo and had bass players come up to say how amazingly loud it is for its size. It handles a B string with ease. Three of the four amp model presets are very usable for me: Rock (very punchy); RandB (think Motown); and Clean (a clean Brit sound with presence -- my favorite setting.) Grind sounds, um, grindy -- very distorted with lots of high end. Not my metal cup of tea. Line 6 says the models are 'inspired by' the '74 Ampeg SVT (Rock); the Ampeg B-15 'Fliptop' combo (RandB); the Eden Traveler (Clean) and a distorted SansAmp through an SVT mixed with a clean DI signal (Grind). Perosnally, I'd prefer a an overdriven Marshall tube head for Grind, but that's just me. There's also a 'secret' Brit model that can be achieved by following instructions in the owner's manual.
Press the RandB and Rock buttons together to get a Synth setting. Synth uses the amp's volume, tone and Octo Comp knobs to manipulate envelope, wave shape and octave parameters for some 'interesting' sounds. Octave down is particularly nice, envelope sounds. less so. The Octo Comp compressor does its job nicely with minimal noise. A tube overdrive sound can be achieved by running the Drive control high and leaving the master volume down.
You can program your own presets by tweaking knobs and holding a preset button down for two seconds. Factory presets can be recalled if you make a horrible mistake or decide 'Suicidal Distorted Dragon Tail Thrash' isn't that great a tone after all.
The only negatives I can find in the Studio 110are slight hiss from the headphone jack, and the lack of parcticality form its Synth section. Not many usable sounds unless you're a fan of '70s 'yow-yow' envelope filtering. And the Synth and amp model presets aren't footswitchable, so on-the-fly live changes aren't possible unless you want to bend over and play bass one-handed while pressing buttons.
Construction seems solid and fine. I've read opinions stating that the cabinet is made from inferior materials, but I have used this amp weekly for practices with no problem and for the occasional gig without problems. If you're loading it in and out of a truck every night, maybe it won't hold up, but that's not what the amp is designed for.
The Line 6 Lowdown Studio 110 delivers what it promises: decent preset amp models at the touch of a button plus the ability to create more of your own. CD in coupled with headphone out makes it ideal for practicing along with recordings, and the preamp and XLR outs make recording easy if you're looking for a cabinet sound rather than straight DI. It has served me well in a number of light rock or church settings and puts out a ton of low end from a small package.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com