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1964 Views 15 Replies Latest reply: Sep 16, 2011 2:48 PM by JellyWheat RSS
JellyWheat Gear Head
JellyWheat
1,220 posts since
Aug 18, 2008
Currently Being Moderated

Sep 12, 2011 6:20 AM

?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

... why don't I see more players using them?

 

For my main style of fingerstyle chord solos, Gibsons are ubiquitous, with Gtretches filling a sort of "niche sound" hole that Gibson and Fender can't seem to exactly match. But Bill Frisell, whose work I greatly admire, gets awesome tone from a Telecaster (as did the late Ted Greene), and I often take a Strtocaster out to jazz gigs as my main squeeze. But none of my heros ever play PRS...

 

This week, I saw a PRS Modern Eagle in a faded green finish, and it is probably the single most visually stunning guitar I have ever laid eyes on. It has the wide, fat neck profile I prefer, and a Dalbergia (read rosewood) neck... to die for. But I never see anybody I recognize and like playing this make of boutique guitar. Line 6 has done a terrific job modelling most of my all-time favorite axes (including some not-so favorite ones like the Danelectro) and a bunch of arcane boutique amps, but - no PRS.

 

Whassup wit dat? Anyone got any comments or opinions?

 

Kindest regards to all,

JellyWheat

 

 

 

 

 


  • amx05462 Power User
    amx05462
    3,495 posts since
    Sep 1, 2008
    Currently Being Moderated
    Sep 11, 2011 4:37 AM (in response to JellyWheat)
    Re: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

      most likely  they   thought   to  take  what is  most popular  and biggest selling   to attract  the most customers.

     

    prs  is as  you say  a botique  guitar.  most people   have   probably never had  the chance  totry  one  let  alone  the cash to buy  one.  aslo while  playability  is an attraction  the  bottom line  is all the  features  you mentioned    dont come  with the  variax.   the   the  neck the color  etc etc   stay  with the prs  and  you get the  sound ...maybe. again  you  emphasize  its  visual  stunningness  your  not gonna  get that   on the variax.

     

    i think there  point  was to moddle  the  most   wanted  guitars. to attract   the most customers.  after  all most buyers  will   not have  your  experience  and in alot of cases  your   ammount of talent.. believe  it or not this was  brought up more than once   in the renkin forum. before the   jtv was    made.

     

    i have to say   that  the danelectro   is one of  my favorite  patches   on the  variax  list.

     

    probably my least favorite  would  be the coral sitar..   only because i have  no use for it.

     

    honestly   these  days    with all the distortion  and  shreading....   one  model   would have been  plenty  in my  opinion.

     

    thats  my 2c  worth

    • JellyWheat Gear Head
      JellyWheat
      1,220 posts since
      Aug 18, 2008
      Currently Being Moderated
      Sep 11, 2011 8:40 AM (in response to amx05462)
      Re: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

      Thank you for your $0.02 on this, Great One.

       

      By way of explanation: The reason I am not fond of the Dano model is exactly because it is such an accurate rendition of the real thing! Maybe it's the way I set the controls on Danelectro, but I could never get them to sound as warm and smooth as I like. My opinion has to do with the characteristics of the guitar being modeled, and is not related to the quality of the emulation, itself. In that regard, I believe Line 6 got it right (again).

       

      [OK, I can't resist slipping in this jab: If only Line 6 instruments lived up to the standards set by their modeling and amp execution!]

       

      Even though I commented on the visually stunning aspect of the PRS, it's funny that my personal favorite guitars from my equipment locker are pretty well the plainest ones... my 2 favorite Stratocasters and my Les Paul Studios. Yes, I do have eye candy, but in the instance of my Custom Shop Gibson ES-137, the sound exceeds even the aesthetic beauty of the instrument itself. [Another sidde note: Gibson Custom Shop does not automatically guarantee a really superior guitar... but they do produce more of them as a percentage of their total production, IMO.]

       

      My blue Variax 700 was an extremely attractive instrument, but, as I have said previously, it is not my policy to retain "legacy" instruments for which parts and service are no longer readily available. In general, I agree with you, however, that the sonic functionality of the guitar is more important than the other stuff.

       

      Come to think of it, I don't know if I could bring myself to show up in public or in church with a guitar that screams "MONEY IS HERE" like the PRS.

       

       

      Thank you for sharing your comments and observations.

      J/W

  • laplayantonio Guru
    laplayantonio
    2,435 posts since
    Sep 26, 2006
    Currently Being Moderated
    Sep 12, 2011 6:18 AM (in response to JellyWheat)
    RE: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

    Thanks for getting in contact with us regarding your feedback.  However, for your feedback to get to the right people, it needs to be added to our product feedback database, which can be done here:

       

      http://line6.com/company/contact/productFeedback/?topicSelected=3

       

      We take your feedback very seriously and appreciate the time you take to help us better serve you with better quality products.

       

      Thank you,

       

      Line 6 Customer Service

       

    • amx05462 Power User
      amx05462
      3,495 posts since
      Sep 1, 2008
      Currently Being Moderated
      Sep 12, 2011 3:03 PM (in response to laplayantonio)
      Re: RE: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

      just curious  cant  you  just pop it  over  there?

    • JellyWheat Gear Head
      JellyWheat
      1,220 posts since
      Aug 18, 2008
      Currently Being Moderated
      Sep 12, 2011 5:43 PM (in response to laplayantonio)
      Re: RE: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

      Hello Line6Antonio.

       

      I was not so much providing Line 6 with my god-like feedback as I was trying to stimulate a discussion on how your company chooses candidates for emulation and why PRS is not among them. Lord knows you model a bunch of esoteric, very high-end boutique amplifiers, some of which I had never heard of until I got my XTLive (and I have been playing guitar professionally since 1971).

       

      Since I don't know very much about that brand of guitar, I wanted to find out from the tone monsters in the Forum whether or not PRS guitars sound different enough to warrant emulation, or whether they are just another pretty boutique face on the same old sounds.

       

      That is why I am not migrating this thread to the feedback loop, FYI.

       

      Regards,

      JellyWheat

  • frenchfries Just Startin'
    frenchfries
    71 posts since
    Jan 28, 2007
    Currently Being Moderated
    Sep 14, 2011 10:00 PM (in response to JellyWheat)
    Re: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

    I shime a bit too late but here is my POV of Variax 500 owner/user since 2003: Line6 has not modeled a PRS nor any modern guitar because it wouldn't suit the overall "voicing" of the Vax (which is rather dark and warm, in order to tame some "piezo" characteristics which would be annoying otherwise).

    • JellyWheat Gear Head
      JellyWheat
      1,220 posts since
      Aug 18, 2008
      Currently Being Moderated
      Sep 15, 2011 2:41 AM (in response to frenchfries)
      Re: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

      Thank you for your opinion, mon ami!

       

      I spent a while playing a PRS CE24 through a Soldano amp yesterday... I can't say that I recognized any distinctive "PRS sounds" emanating from it. It was versatile, extremely well-crafted (but no better than my Variav 700, to be quite honest) and the control setup was a bit idiosyncratic, but - other than that - it did not pruduce a recognizable, unique timbre like a Tele, Gretsch, or P-90 equipped guitar do.

       

      I can better appreciate now why Line 6 chose not to model this particular guitar. It was not any brighter than a Tele or a Stratocaster, but neither was it distinctly different from them. I must say, however, that it would be a real player if set up correctly (which this used specimen was not!).

       

      Thanks for weighing in to the discussion.

       

      Bonne journée

      J/W

      • frenchfries Just Startin'
        frenchfries
        71 posts since
        Jan 28, 2007
        Currently Being Moderated
        Sep 15, 2011 12:33 PM (in response to JellyWheat)
        Re: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

        Yes, I understand. You're totally right in your explanations and you make me realize that I haven't been so clear in my previous post. Let's try to reword it...

         

        If the Variax models tend to be dark, it's not a problem for us users because...

        1) some vintage guitars like those modeled in the Vax are actually dark too (not all of them: I've recently repaired an early L Series Strat whose pu's were still extremely bright, while another L series owned by a friend of mine sounds much darker);

        2) anyway, we, users, can't compare the Vax models to the real things, most of the time, because owners of vintage guitars are pretty rare. For example, the two L series mentioned above are the only ones that I've been authorized to play these last 30 years.

         

        On the contrary, a modern guitar could be directly compared to the Vax model - and those who ignore the influence of cable capacitance on tones, for example, would then conclude than the Vax modeling is not faithful...

         

        IOW, there's 2 benefits in the fact to model only vintage guitars:

        1) those who can't touch the real thing can at least play a satisfying copy;

        2) those who are anal with their tone but who don't understand technical parms have less chances to be frustrated by Line6 since they generally don't own  real vintage models to compare with the Vax...

         

        I don't know if this explanation is clever or if it's totally stupid but it apparently translates what I was trying to say.

         

        Regards (and thx a lot for your efforts to write in French, my friend).

        • JellyWheat Gear Head
          JellyWheat
          1,220 posts since
          Aug 18, 2008
          Currently Being Moderated
          Sep 15, 2011 1:38 PM (in response to frenchfries)
          Re: ?(8>*}?!?... Why doesn't Line 6 model PRS guitars, and...

          [Il n'y a pas de quoi, car je suis Québecois, de la Ville même !]

           

          You explanation makes sense to me, and is an angle I had not thought of. I am one of the fortumate ones who has owned or still owns the majority of the guitars modelled by the Variax, and I feel qualified, therefore, to give the models very high marks not only for their sonic accuracy, but also for their playing characteristics.

           

          For example, I find that - for finger style stuff, anyway - your right-hand touch with P-90s can deliver many more nuances than with PAF humbuckers, whose dynamics are much less sensitive, IMO. One of the reasons I happen to like the more modern 490R/498T Gibson humbuckers is that they have a certain "liveliness" the vintage ones lack. They are, as their ads tout, more "Touch Sensitive"...

           

          I know from your post that you appreciate what I am trying to say, although I am not sure somebody who has never played genuine PAF humbuckers would...

           

          Because the vintage pickups were hand wound, and had quite large variances in their number of turns, their sounds are nort consistent, as you so aptly point out : this gives Line 6 a certain "fudge factor" or "marge de maoeuvre" with their models' authenticity. Single coils demonstrate a wider range of variance than humbuckers simple because they have fewer windings to dilute the effect of the over- or under- winding. It makes the "definitive" sound harder to nail down to one spot on the deck.

           

          You are also one of the uncommon folks who recognize that - when discussing old pickups - cable length has a much bigger effect on the sound coming out of the amp because those pickups were not as "hot" as their modern counterparts. They are more susceptible to signal strength attenuation as a function of cable length...

           

          Maybe this makes it more atteactive for Line 6 to emulate the old classics, for all the good reasons you have mentioned, rather than trying to copy the unique, but more easily-referenced, sounds of modern boutique instruments. Many people will have no objective knowledge as to whether those algorithms are good or bad, again, as you have pointed out before me!

           

          [Thank you for participating in this thread. It is nice to talk about something other than where is located the answer to a question that has been asked a hundred times before, if one would only take the trouble to look it up!]

           

          Au plaisir

          Gelée-Ouïte

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