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MGR/Steve W. « Line 6 Flextone II XL »
Published on 11/28/02 at 15:00Sim's Music, Gainesville, FL, $1,000 including FB-4 pedal.
When Line 6 amps first came out, I was not impressed. When the Flextone series was released and I finally tried one, I had to have it. I get tones from Brian May's AC30 TB, to plexi-tones and more. The salesman told me he had a Marshall and didn't gig with it anymore as the tubes were too tempermental (take too long to warm up and get "sweet" as well as needing to be really juiced up to get that tone).
You really need to read the manual and realize that not only can you set four pre-sets, but you can also set a defined tone/volume/drive/cabinet/etc for every one of the 32 amps modeled. That way, you can instantly get that sweet sound you like from each setting without fiddling with it. This also applies to the 16 effects settings.
Be sure to purchase a MIDI cable for your amp to talk with your PC. That way, you can access lots of other settings (pre-delay on chorus, reverb diffusion, etc) that cannot be altered from the panel.
The low end on the amp was a bit muddy. I never could describe it, but I could always work around it. Then I got the upgrade chip to v2.4 of the software. No more muddy bass!
I wish the on/off switch were somewhere else too. I have heard of someone who had theirs break off, so I purchased the cover for it and worry less.
Also, you cannot hook up an external cabinet for use with the internals. I know you can fry the amp if the speaker loads are not right, but it would be nice if you had another 2x12 cabinet and could run left to one cab, and right to the original. Then I should have purchased the Plus instead of the XL!
Amp is well constructed. No complaints.
Many people are offering modeling pedals (what a waste, unless you are running straight into a board or PA). Others are making modeling amps too. While I have not tried other modeling amps, I have played enough of the real deals in 27 years of playing to say that the Line 6 gets them all close enough to satisfy me. Face it -- not even two of the same amp model sound the same, so don't say "It doesn't sound like a real _____"!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
When Line 6 amps first came out, I was not impressed. When the Flextone series was released and I finally tried one, I had to have it. I get tones from Brian May's AC30 TB, to plexi-tones and more. The salesman told me he had a Marshall and didn't gig with it anymore as the tubes were too tempermental (take too long to warm up and get "sweet" as well as needing to be really juiced up to get that tone).
You really need to read the manual and realize that not only can you set four pre-sets, but you can also set a defined tone/volume/drive/cabinet/etc for every one of the 32 amps modeled. That way, you can instantly get that sweet sound you like from each setting without fiddling with it. This also applies to the 16 effects settings.
Be sure to purchase a MIDI cable for your amp to talk with your PC. That way, you can access lots of other settings (pre-delay on chorus, reverb diffusion, etc) that cannot be altered from the panel.
The low end on the amp was a bit muddy. I never could describe it, but I could always work around it. Then I got the upgrade chip to v2.4 of the software. No more muddy bass!
I wish the on/off switch were somewhere else too. I have heard of someone who had theirs break off, so I purchased the cover for it and worry less.
Also, you cannot hook up an external cabinet for use with the internals. I know you can fry the amp if the speaker loads are not right, but it would be nice if you had another 2x12 cabinet and could run left to one cab, and right to the original. Then I should have purchased the Plus instead of the XL!
Amp is well constructed. No complaints.
Many people are offering modeling pedals (what a waste, unless you are running straight into a board or PA). Others are making modeling amps too. While I have not tried other modeling amps, I have played enough of the real deals in 27 years of playing to say that the Line 6 gets them all close enough to satisfy me. Face it -- not even two of the same amp model sound the same, so don't say "It doesn't sound like a real _____"!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com