Line6 Flextone HD Head - Experience?

R

rion

New member
I'm just wondering if anyone here has spent much time with one of these bad boys.. I've been a tube kinda guy for a long time but the flexibility here is really tempting. I guess what I wanna know is how close is it? Can I retire my tubes? How does this thing perform when it's really cranked up?

On a side line to this, how about running a POD through a nice tube halfstack? Anybody done it? Does anyone have samples of it up somewhere?

Well, I just asked a mouthfull. Whadday'all say?
 
I probably wouldn't put the tubes in the closet quite yet.

While all the Line6 equipment is very nice, I think the POD is their best product to date. I would probably purchasr a POD for the versitility and use it in my tube amp, wait, that is what I do. Anyway, the POD is very accurate, as are the amps. I put a Mesa Boogie Mark III up with my POD and after I EQed it just a little, I couldn't tell the difference between the POD and the Boogie. The Fender Amps are not quite as accurate, but still very very nice.

About running the POD through a tube amp, in GIG magazine, (found at store everywhere) either this month or last month they were talking about how useful the POD is. They were saying that almost every session player in Nashville has been walking in with a blackface Fender Twin, and old Tele, and a POD. They like the coloured sound the twin adds on the POD.

I first used and heard about the POD when I was in Nashville, they are great little pieces of gear.

I don't know too much about the Amps, I have played them, and I like them, but I think you get the Flextone brains with the POD, more or less.

Anyway, hope I could help.
MIKE
 
I've been using the Flextone Plus for over a year now...used it live and in sessions , this is basicly the same as the head model that you asked about...same amp models and effects...They have some really good qualitys
They really shine in the recording enviorment.They are comeing out with the new Flextone 2...more amp models[32 instead of 16]and all the recording features of the POD.As far as replaceing tube amps the one thing that I think that they dont do well yet is that cool tube sag, they still have a little ways to go on that one yet.Still for the money I'd have to say they are realy worth it, but check out the new Flextone 2s first
 
I'm using a Flextone XL (2 12") with a line out to a Peavey head in a 4X12 cab, and although I do get a good sound, there's something "organic" missing. I mean, when I use the distortion of the Peavey head instead (transistor amp (Supersat)) it doesn't as good but it gets my blood boiling and my heartbeat rising, where the Flextone's distortion only sounds good...
Anyway, I do like the versatility, so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna buy a Mesa Dual Rectifier head, and run it through my 412 cab, and use that for the big distortion sound I use most of the time, and I'll switch to the Flextone with a A/B switcher for the fenderesque sound or the other type of sounds I might need beside fully overdriven.
 
rion, I would fully check out the flextone before I retired my tubes, I had the johnson 150 for about a year, and it was a love/hate relationship all the way, while it sounded good on some things it could not produce that "harmonic distortion" that a real tube amp can, never tried the flextone amps but i'm pretty sure they sound like the johnsons "close but no cigar"! but do try it out first, dont just take my word for it.
 
Hey rion . I am in the process of looking for a new amp and have tried the Line 6 products as well as the Johnson and they are close but don't have the same feel comin off the amp as tubes.. Last week I tried the Yamaha DG80-212 for the first time and in my opinion it blows away the Line 6 and the Johnson.. the clean sound was very twin like . i didn't have a chance to compare them side by side , but they seem to have captured some of that tube feel .. I will be going to compare them side by side soon... I think that i'm leaning towards the Deluxe Reverb RI as it is a killer amp and would fit my style perfect. ( blues, classic rock and some country) the best thing to so though is go and try everything in site and get what you like the best...
 
Thanks for all the responses, folks! A friend of mine from Vancuver, BC is playing down here this weekend and I think I'm gonna take his Flextone HD for a spin while he's around. I let you guys know how I think it stands up to my Carvin 100w head with my Gretsch plugged into it.
 
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