Why Line6 Sucks!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Toker41
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So how bad is Line6? The responses...

I had forwarded this thread to Line6, and in the interest of fairness (whatever that means :)) here is the correspondence:

I am the owner of a DuoVerb head that I have been very happy with. That is not to say that I was totally satisfied with the service when I contacted the company, but my reaction was far less severe that this. Apparently, not everyone feels the same way about the company, and I hope that I don’t experience this if I need service again. https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=163944 You may particularly want to note the picture towards the bottom of page 1 of this thread

I can’t imagine you would want this kind of image, and I really do love the products and the company focus and quality. More so, who knows if this guy is accurate in his assessment? In any event, as a product owner, I just thought you’d want to see what’s out there.

The response:

Dan,
Thanks for giving us a heads up. The simple truth is that we do support the product Toker was talking about. We work very hard to make sure that our customers don't have bad experiences when dealing with our Support or Service departments. You said that your experience was not totally satisfying, we welcome any suggestions for improvement! Hit me back if there is something on your mind.

My response:

I appreciate your response. Ultimately I did receive satisfactory help, it was the process of being referred from one person to another that was frustrating. The rpoblem was initiated because I live in what your tech/rep called a 'dry' area- meaning that you do not have as many sales and/or need for service. There is only one service center from VB to Richmond- almost 100 miles, and they want a large bench fee and have at least a 3 week turn around time before giving an estimate. I am simply not used to that kind of service from a company- either locally or from a company of your stature.

Maybe a start would be to have local techS- as in more than 1- available :)

As for the guy online, after I stopped laughing at the picture, I felt that your company's products are generally so state of the art that you could not possibly want to have this message out there. I would feel much better if I knew that you followed up with him and stepped up to help the guy. Setting a precedent of cellent service is something that should be in the minds of every consumer- professional or amateur.

Looking forward to more good things...

Their response:

Dan,
I understand. It is frustrating to have to go through what seems like a bunch of hoops to get something simple done. Unfortunately, the only other option we have is to have customers send their units here. We are in California!
As for the Toker guy, I have included our service/support rep in the UK in on this, and we will see what we can do to help this guy. It is just a matter of getting his contact info and getting some more specific information. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

So there you go...'just the facts' but good luck to Toker

:cool:
 
damn you forgot to ask them if they pay Ian Bairnson to set up their amps on stage :p
 
I bought a used Line6 Duoverb about a year ago from ebay. Of course, like most things I get from ebay, it died shortly after receiving it. I called up Line6 to find out the cost of repair. The customer service guy had me send in the amp chassis, free of charge, shipping covered by them. Well I got the amp back a few weeks later and it died again. They repeated the same service as before and it has been working fine.

For me, the customer service was excellent. As far as the amp sound, it has some ear pierceing frequencies in the highs that I can't get rid of no matter what. Otherwise, the amp sounds pretty good.

Would I buy another Line6 product? Actually, I have tried most of their stuff and really don't like much of it at all. I don't think I would buy another Line6 product even though I received excellent customer service.
 
I own and have owned a number of Line6 products. Overall, they work well and hold up well. Getting support from Line6 is something i have not had to do, so can't comment on that part. However their forums are very useful and their folks chime in when needed.

On average, I think they are above average for music firms. Many firms drop support for past products once new ones supercede them. Whether that is right or wrong, it is fairly common in the industry.

I find POD tones quite useful for both live and recording work. Behringer also makes gear, that cost less, that has very similar tone and features. Currently I own both.

Ed
 
I have a Variax 500 - and it kicks ass for what I would pay for a fuckin' squire. I have a POD XT and a Bass pod and I'll tell you that the price/performance for both the units is through the fuckin' roof.

If any of my Line 6 stuff were stolen I'd replace it without a second thought.

-Casey
 
One thing that I am very suspicious of........

When my Duoverb first bit the dust I started combing the net for info, especially the Line6 forum. After a bit of searching, I found info leading me to believe that the Duoverb had a major defect. Many Duoverb owners had a problem with the power section of the amp going out. Line6 discontinued the amp pretty quick, even though many people say it is one of the best sounding amps they have ever made. Anyway, info about the "flame thrower" power sections started disappearing from the Line6 forum. The power section got the nick name "flame thrower" because when it blows up, you see a big blew flash of fire/electricity come out of the front panel. I think that Line6 edits their forums to protect their company image. I have noticed this same thing on other company forums. Musicians Friend comes to mind. I have left alot of gear reviews on their site and most of the negative reviews never get published. I have also noticed some words in consumer reviews to be changed. I know this sounds like some kind of conspiracy shit but I swear it's true! This kind of thing makes it hard for consumers to really research some products and I think it is dirty as hell.
 
Supercreep, I have heard some of the tunes that you have put together and it's nice sounding stuff. I guess all gear can have it's place and purpose but I would take a real strat/tube amp over a Variax/POD any day. I can't exactly put my finger on the things that are lacking in modeling gear but I can definitely tell a huge difference in playing real gear and modeled gear.
 
ibanezrocks said:
HAHAHAHAHA oh yeah line6 definitely doesnt need to pay professionals to endorse their products, everyone's just lining up... :p
Click to expand...

Whoa..only a couple of things could invoke that kind of response. I'll just assume that it was me not expressing myself well.

Not even close to what I was attempting to say. My strong inclination is neither you nor a great majority of folks on these boards has EVER heard the name Ian Bairnson or his contributions to the music world. Having said that why would a company who obviosly markets towards a younger crowd choose, of all people Ian Bairnson, a guitar player not likely to garnish a great deal of attention on any level (no matter his talent) as an ideal canidate to promote a Line6 hoax. How much money could possible be in it for Ian?? For the sake of an arguement even if there was a lot of money involved who at Line6 could POSSIBLE think that Bairnson is just the right guy to reach that all important over 50 crowd?


As I said in my earlier post. If Ian Bairson has chosen Line6 amplifiers for this particular tour it's because he likes the sounds he's getting.
 
Joseph Hanna said:
As I said in my earlier post. If Ian Bairson has chosen Line6 amplifiers for this particular tour it's because he likes the sounds he's getting.
Click to expand...

maybe he is deperate for a live endorsement. money always talks. I cant think of anyother well known pro guitar players that use line6 as a live sound other than their effects, maybe they mix in direct signal as well, but i cant imagine anyone seriously micing a line 6 for live situation and saying they like the sound.
 
about the whole 'using an amp with a pod and micing it' thing... you can turn the mic simulation off with the a.i.r. select switch. why not run direct? why doesn't everyone in the world mic any amp with an sm57, off axis, right against the speaker... flavor. letting the pod saturate the power tubes in an amp being miced by a combination of an sm57/e609 with an at4040 in the room will not sound the same as guitar->pod->soundcard. will it always be THE sound? nope... but if you've got the equipment, experiment.
 
Line 6

Just like anything else, the Line 6 junk has its place.

I have a friend who does country music, and gets GREAT results direct out of the line 6.

I haven't used Line 6 alot, but I do plenty of clean direct in guitar tracks with modellers over them during mixdown. Not quite as many presets that sound good, but still useable.

I also use the cabinet emulator on my Cream Machine once in a while. It all has its place - - -

Most of the digital GTR FX remind me of those old Zoom 9002's that were all crappy and tinny sounding - - -
 
metalj said:
I cant think of anyother well known pro guitar players that use line6 as a live sound other than their effects, maybe they mix in direct signal as well, but i cant imagine anyone seriously micing a line 6 for live situation and saying they like the sound.
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Widespread Panic...http://www.widespreadpanic.com/theband/ I'll check when they're in town this weekend- last time out there were a few Line6's in the live rig... :cool:
 
New here...hello all.

I have the PODs for guitar and bass and have used most of their other products either live or recording. Put me in the "Line 6 has their place" category...demo-ing with a DAW or playing covers. They have no place in a real original recording/performance, though. You can't get around a real tube amp and "real effects" unless you don't care about having your own sound, etc.


;)
 
Supercreep said:
I have a Variax 500 - and it kicks ass for what I would pay for a fuckin' squire. I have a POD XT and a Bass pod and I'll tell you that the price/performance for both the units is through the fuckin' roof.

If any of my Line 6 stuff were stolen I'd replace it without a second thought.

-Casey
Click to expand...

Interesting.. I looked at the Variax 300 reviews online last night and most of them said that something broke down on them and they had to send them in for repairs and it's been months before they got them back. They said the only ones worth buying were the 700 series.

But at $1200 a pop I might as well buy a used American Tele or Strat, and a hollow body to go with my Les Paul.
 
metalj said:
I cant think of anyother well known pro guitar players that use line6 as a live sound other than their effects, maybe they mix in direct signal as well, but i cant imagine anyone seriously micing a line 6 for live situation and saying they like the sound.
Click to expand...

I recently saw SymphonyX in Vegas and Michael Romeo had 2 Vetta half stacks. He was using them as his live sound. IMO they sounded a bit harsh at the stage but they sounded great in the mix. I was very surprised to see him playing through them.
 
My Experience

I have to admit you guys almost had me worked into a frenzy fearing the kind of support I would get from Line 6 - but it really could not have gone ANY better. I just got off the phone with Neil (tech support). I hava a Variax acoustic 300 steel string (yes, I've heard the put downs) with a recently broken bridge saddle. In less than five minutes he found the part, had all my information and offered to ship it today. I had my credit card out and was expecting something crazy like $25.00 - but he said they would ship it to me for...wait...FREE! I never even registered my guitar. :D

I am in no way affiliated with Line 6, and I thought it was fair to post this so others could see that at least someone had a great experience.

~Bob
 
I use a Pod XT Live, mostly for practicing but sometimes for direct-in recording. It's a great unit and you can get some killer tones from it. It's very versatile and easy to use.
 
I'm not trying to say bashing digital modeling is a cliche that any dumbass can and will do, but...

A singer/songwriter told me last week that he used to have a Line 6 amplifier but he got rid of it right away because "they didn't do a very good job on the sounds!"

And he plays an acoustic/electric with nasty corroded strings directly into a PA head, so clearly he knows the difference between a great guitar sound and playing an acoustic/electric with nasty corroded strings directly into a PA head. He knows the difference, but for whatever reason he prefers to sound like shit.

But EVERYBODY has READ that Line 6 didn't do a very good job on their sounds, and now EVERYBODY can SAY it like they figured it out all by themselves. Even if all you do is play an awful guitar with awful strings into a PA head, you can act like a gear expert if you say "I don't like Line 6 because digital is bad" which you read on the internet.

I have the Pod XT Live. It comes stock with 36 amp models, 24 cabinet models, and something like 70 effects pedals, for $399 street. Ignore the 70 effects pedals and ignore the 24 cabinet models. Let's pretend that the average modeled amplifier would cost you $750 each, but the Pod doesn't REALLY sound EXACTLY like $27,000 in amplifiers. It only sounds close to those 36 amplifiers, so let's give them a "modeled" value of merely $500 per amplifier.

So you've got something like $18,000 in modeled amplifiers in a thing that costs $399. Plus 24 cabinets and 70 effects pedals. Wow what a rip off! :rolleyes:

It cost $399, sounds close to 36 different amplifiers, but it doesn't sound EXACTLY like a Hiwatt DR 103 for $3250. Wow, what a rip off! :rolleyes:

And just to be balanced, the Behringer V-Amp sounds like a nice deal as well, though I've never played one. You'll NEVER catch me saying that the Pod XT Live sounds exactly like the modeled equipment (at least, I've never gotten it to sound exactly like any particular real piece of gear) but FFS, $400.

Here's the new cliche. The fastest way to prove to me that you're kind of a dummy is trying to explain to me that a $400 pedal that does a decent impression of $50,000+ in equipment is a rip off. And if you say that while holding an Epiphone Les Paul, I might punch you in the face. :D

To the OP - I'm not addressing the tech support. Sounds like a bad experience. If it were me, I'd probably avoid Line 6 in the future as well.
 
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