Why all the Line 6 hate?

[Dr. Cloud]

I've been wondering. Why does everyone seem to hate the Line 6 amps? I played the Spider IV 120 today and I thought the gain channels were great. I got a great metal "chugging" sound out of it.

[M7GT]

Well I've played on Line 6, peavey, Marshall, Randall, and Fender amps and I personally love the gain on the Line 6. I think what people hate are on the Line 6 modeling amps I've heard from a lot of people that they sound digital; I think they sound a little more digital than other modeling amps but I still love line 6 amps they are amazing. I used to think that Peavey was better but honestly Line 6 has a better sound for gain while peavey has better effect sounds. I hope this helps

[TheLivingDead]

It's mainly the muffled roars from all the old traditionalists that can't wrap their minds around the fact that an amp can sound good without *GASP* tubes. Let alone, one that's a modeler. Oh God save us all!!!!

Most people hear that and just vomit it right back out and so on.

An honest guitarist will admit they're no game-changer but they are great amps for getting you in the realm of whatever tone you may be after. Add the cheap price tag and you have a winner. And most of all they're just plain FUN!

[aviator05]

I think the biggest problem is the models..They sound really cheap and digital. I also think they try and cram way to much into one unit. The distortions are fair but not really my taste, but sometimes, unfortunately, they are the best a music store has which forces me to play through one.

[Maxxxwell]

The 2 biggest complaints I hear are "They sound too digital and lifeless." and also that the controls are not very intuitive. I don't mind Line 6 but it's certainly not my favorite.

[S-H]

I hate their amps. I would say they sound soulless. That's a bit of an arty-farty thing to say, but I've played a lot of tube amps which have their own "personality" and the Line 6 amps don't. Modeling amps nullify the possibility of carving your own uniques tone. They are what you'd expect a bedroom player to have- not pros (even for practice).

For bedroom guitarists, the modeling amps are ok and relatively cheap. Most bedroom guitarists want to stay hobby players & I'm sure the different amp clones are fund if you play different stuff. For professional setups, tube amps are definitely the way to go IMO & I would be astonished if somebody genuinely believed Line 6 modeling amps are better than the high-end tube amps on the market.

[Michael Angelo Batio]

I have visited literally hundreds and hundreds of different music stores over the years. Line 6 is everywhere - in stores all over the world. I honestly rarely hear people that either work at the stores, customers or my fans say bad things about Line 6. It might not be their "cup of tea" but again, I virtually never hear people say negative things about their products - except for here. I have the POD XT Live and also several of their wireless units. While the POD will never replace my Marshall's, there are many sounds from the unit that I like and find useful when practicing. I understand and respect S-H's view. Simulations of amps are just that. But, for the person that wants a lot of features for a good price, it is hard to beat Line 6 products. They are also reliable.

[polarbear]

I love my spider 4.

Granted I only use 'clean' and 'insane' but I dialed in nice tones for both of them and the thing rips!

[aviator05]

I know where you are coming from Michael..I believe you worded what I was trying to say a lot better. They definitely do have some usable tones but they aren't my cup of tea.

[Mr.Tepes]

Great for practice, garbage for recording or performing. I love my Pod XT Live for practicing, but I would never use it onstage; it sounds horrible at loud volumes, and it doesn't offer the same kind of response that a real amp does. A friend of mine performs live with a Spider amp, and while it doesn't sound horrible, it doesn't sound great either. I would recommend any of the Pods to someone for the purpose of practicing, but I don't think I would recommend buying one of their amps.

[polarbear]

Bad for recording?

Mine sounds great.



Thats played with a spider 4. How'd you like the sound of it?

[Michael Angelo Batio]

Again, IMHO, I like Line 6 products. Stated simply, they are great for what they do. Also, the Line 6 wireless units are fantastic and affordable.

[shreddingjoris]

I would never use a line 6 product live, but for demo recordings it's great for the price!
Line 6 is a love hate relationship ;-)

[Maxxxwell]

Jun 15, 2011 7:07:37 GMT -6 Michael Angelo Batio said:

Again, IMHO, I like Line 6 products. Stated simply, they are great for what they do. Also, the Line 6 wireless units are fantastic and affordable.

Michael not to go off topic here but you mentioned wireless units. Do you have an opinion about wireless gear in general? Some guys like EVH are famous for never using a wireless, saying that it sacrifices tone and so forth. While others, Yngwie for example, always use a wireless. I'm curious where you stand on that.

[loudguitar]

Max, I am starting a wirelss thread so as not to hijack this one.

[Mr.Tepes]

Jun 14, 2011 15:56:27 GMT -6 polarbear said:

Bad for recording?

Mine sounds great.



Thats played with a spider 4. How'd you like the sound of it?

That's dialed in pretty good, but still, nothing I would want to record with. I don't mean to knock your amp or your tone at all; if you can get the sounds you want out of it, then that's awesome. I'm just seeking something a little different, which I haven't been able to obtain with running my Pod through a wide variety of amps (it actually sounded worse when I ran it through my tube amps, as opposed to any of my practice solid-states). It also sounds like you are running it at a fairly low volume (which absolutely kills the sustain, because for whatever reason, even without a noise gate, notes will get cut); if you were to turn it up to performing volumes, I'm sure the tone would get considerably weaker. Either way, you're sacrificing something, which is why I love it for practice but continue to invest in more expensive equipment in an effort to carve out my own unique sound.

But don't let me or anyone else talk sh*t and change your mind. If something sounds good to you, then it's good! It's just not for me.

[S-H]

Kind of arguing against my own point, Todd Duane recorded a large chunk of his album "Eccentricity" using a POD (Mesa Recto setting I think?) and that album sounds good.

Just when you've played Fryette Pittbulls, Soldano SLO-100, Mesa Marks etc, the tone you get from a Line 6 amp pales in comparison and I think pros would (at least 9 times out of 10) opt for a high quality tube amp over a Line 6 amp for recording and live.

[Mr.Tepes]

I seem to remember reading something about Michael Romeo using an XT Live at some point as well, and his tones sound solid to me. I dialed in Michael's Speed Lives patch with my Fender Princeton Chorus for practice, and combined with that amp (which isn't that great), I think it sounds pretty damn good (at very low volumes). I Never could get it to sound that good through any other amp, nor could I ever get the Spider heads/combos to sound good at the local stores, but I am definitely no sound engineer, so maybe someone out there can do it right.

[Raj]

I like Line6 a lot and use it for everything. There's quite a few good shred players who have used their stuff.

Michael Romeo has recorded with the pod & vetta , Joe Stump used a pod on his instructional dvd, Damir Simic Shime has recorded with the pod. Chris Caffery from Trans Siberian Orchestra was using the pod xt live for their Christmas tour live shows. I'm sure there's more people as well, but anyhow it takes some time to dial in the sound you want with it. Make sure you spend some time with the eq and effects and everything, it's pretty flexible. The new pod, the x3, even has vocal preamp and bass amp models.

[Erikrt123]

I have a spider 4 120. Personally, I really like it. You can do allot with them. Even if you don't know much about dialing one in you can go to customtone.com and download some. I like the flexibility of them and if you can't play loud all the time ( thou this will get pretty loud) or maybe don't know exactly what sounds you want as far as pedals, amps. I think that this is a good way to help you get down to the nitty griddy of want you may want in your future rig by discovering what you will really use and the models of those things you like best. It doesn't offer every model out there but enough to put you in the right direction. I think it is a great concept and sounds pretty dang good. Personally mine has helped me to get down to exactly what I want when I can afford it and play louder. But at this point I don't see getting rid of this even when that day comes. It should serve good as my in home amp for years to come I think.

[Blue]

I think the problem with digital modelers is always the same, it's more or less depending how good the unit are. If you take an AXE FX, of course it's going to be better but it still doesn't completely get there.

The thing is for me with modelers is that they have an unnatural attack no matter how you do, it doesn't have the dynamic range and therefore it sounds flat and lifeless and also very processed (not the AXE FX it doesn't sound processed but everything else does). They don't have the clarity like a good tube amp has. Thats because of the lack of dynamic range and the "flatness" it creates.

If you like them, go for it. Personally I would never start using digital modelers, because they simply doesn't do it for me. I've tried everything from really cheap stuff to very expensive stuff and it always fails to me. It can sound good but it never quite get there completely.

There some pretty good music recorded with modelers, if it works for you there really no reason to care what other people think. It's still the music and the playing that matters the most.

[undeadmachines]

In my experience, Line6 gets great tones for metal (modern and extreme), but their amps (Spider, etc) do not perform well live and do not hold up well gig-after-gig.

The solid state Spiders burn up if you push them.

Now Randall solid state amps are fantastic. Sound great, made to be cranked. I don't think Randall makes any amps with a mindset of "this is for kids and hobbyists." Their cheapest amps kick out pro sound.

OR -

Use a Line6 amp modeler with a good power amp!

[dragoncure]

i am a line 6 fan. there i said it ;D I've had a few their products over the years. they have served me well and where affordable.don't get me wrong they are not the end all be all. there are better things out there. but i remember when there where no "all in one box" products like this.

i currently have a xt live. I've used it w/ my Randall rg head to play live, in the house w/ a Smokey amp or pignose, and most recently my recording PC died and now i use my xt into this laptop to record my ideas.
my point is i find them like a swiss army knife, with some tweaking you can get good results and they have multiple uses.

i do agree with mike, give me the marshalls any day

[timjmorrison]

I find line6 stuff amazing for people on a budget like me who want variety and acceptable quality!

[TheLivingDead]

Great cover, man!