Line 6: Take Advantage of Kids Everywhere

[brandondrury]

Here's a new article entitled:

Here's an article I wrote about shitty Line 6 guitar amps.

<a href="http://www.recordingreview.com/begin...tage.php">Line 6: Taking Advantage of Kids Everywhere </a>

Let me know what you think, dick skull brains.

Brandon

[tyger373]

Never buy a Line 6 amp. First off most of the channels are sub-par. I actually like the clean tone that I get out of it with my guitar, but thats about it. My biggest problem is the low-quality manufacturing. I had my for only 9 or 10 months when all of a sudden it started to mess up, and made this weird popping noise. Well, it was still under warrenty so I took it to get it fixed. Well guess what...the nearest authorized Line 6 shop is in St. Louis. Since it is a solid-state amp its like working on a computer, with all kinds of microchips and such. I went up there and all it was was a bad soldering job on one of the circuits. I figure that it was a fluke and I was one of the lucky few people who got a defect product. Well 4 months later, the other guitarist in my band, who bought a Line 6 the same time I did, started to have the same problem. Then i knew that Line 6's were pieces of shit. Its been 6 months since I had mine fixed and just 2 weeks ago my amp started to sound like it might be malfunctioning again. So who knows what it is this time. My advice is to never, under any circumstances, buy a Line 6 amp. I will never buy any of their products since it is apparent to me that they are manufactured under a low quality environment. Go buy a tube amp that is easy to work on should a problem arise. Besides, they sound better.

Tyler

[brandondrury]

That's a great point, tyger373 .

I didn't even include this in my article. I focused solely on the tone being totally horrid. That's just another reason to buy a tube amp. For any experienced electronics tech, the tube amps are a breeze to work on...mainly because the technology is 40 years old. I'd guess working on an old Marshall, for example, is like working on an old Chevy 350.

Great point, dude. Just another strike against "cheap" but expensive junk.

Brandon

[guitar junkie]

my Line 6 spider II sounded ok for what it was... it was $200 and it worked for live shows. i never wanted it to record with i wanted to play out with the band and get all those tones i needed (drive, delay, chorus,) it was basic enough and cheap enough and loud enough. we played in a gyme so the reverb in there plus the level we played at made it so that tone did not matter a whole lot at all to me. now i think that if you pay more than $200 for line 6 you are screwed as you could buy much better used tube amps for the $500 to $600 range. myself i say screw guitar amps i want to play acoustic any way

[Deng]

It really all depends...
I personally don't like the tone at all...the thing is though someone I know and just recorded likes the sound a lot. Is it just the ones I've played or does the mid setting seem to be noise and not actual mid frequencies (distored channel)?

[brandondrury]

Is it just the ones I've played or does the mid setting seem to be noise and not actual mid frequencies (distored channel)?

It has to do with the way the amp distorts. You lose all the tone out of your guitar. My buddy has a Hughes and Kettner Triamp. You can turn the gain to a trillion and you can still hear the string of the guitar ringing out. Of course, it costs about $3,000.

To me, the biggest problem with these amps is their resale value. Kids will pay nearly what they would pay for a real amp and then in a year or two it's totally worthless. It's like some sort of junk bond scam. I always encourage people to buy good stuff first. It doesn't have to be mega dollar. Don't spend $500 on a crappy combo amp when you can find great amps for $700 or $800. If you have to wait a couple of monthes to afford it, do it.

Brandon

[PhilB]

Brandon, you get and award for being a breath of fresh air. Thank you!!

[brandondrury]

What's my award? Toothpaste? Scope?

I'm just being honest. I have no problem bashing the hell out of something if necessary. Line6 makes a lot of money. They run a good business. Most good businesses sell shitty products. That's what most people want and I don't have a big problem with that. In fact, I buy generic cheese for my sandwiches. A food snob would scoff at me.

However, I'm not going to want to upgrade my cheese in 2 monthes just to find out that the new Line6 amps are blue instead of red and all the kids want the blue ones because they have a "vintage tube" sound. I feel strongly about this because Line6 often charges as much as a real amp company does.

I bought my 5150 for $400 a few years ago. Granted, you need a cabinet too, but you can find a shitty cabinet for $300 if you look around. That's a tone (if that's your bag) that is pro. You can always get your money back out of it....maybe profit.

Brandon

[dach]

>>>>Most good businesses sell shitty products. That's what most people want and I don't have a big problem with that. In fact, I buy generic cheese for my sandwiches. A food snob would scoff at me. <<<<

I love this quote!

I am a tube freak but I do own a line 6 amp, the Vetta 2. It sucks but is great at the same time.... I also own and have access to a shitpot of good tube amps. I'm definitely not arguing with anyone about this since I pretty much feel the same about L6... however, Part of what I do means getting stuff out the door quickly. I can dial in a sound with the Vetta 2, place a mic or 2, hit record and be on to something else by the time the jcm800 reaches room temperature...(Do not use the presets though) Yes, I can tell the difference but some can't - even some guitar players which is a sad thing.... I'll call it about 80-90% there.... no mojo though...It also does things quickly I can't get the tube amps to do. If I have the time and really want to feel the walls shake, or if it's really important, the tube amps win almost everytime but this is one of the places I have to make compromises. It's the versatility of the thing that I really like and why I bought it. The amp models are certainly not there but most guitar sounds are made to be mangled... I just try to go for what works. I've tried the other L6 amps and totally think they sound like shit. I think the V2 is useable but really only when miced up like a regular amp but at much lower volume...

[TAlderson]

I've had a Spider II amp for a little under two years now, and I think it sounds fine. Sure, it's not a great amp, but for what I do with it it sounds perfectly good. I am looking to get a tube amp, but for the $200 I paid for the amp it sounds good. That's just about all I have to say.

-Tyler