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Are the L3T bags worth it??


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Wondering if anybody here has purchased the Line 6 Lt3 bags (they say heavy duty and wheels). Wondering of they are worth it?

 

I know many users don't bother with any kind of covers but I do. These bags area bit expensive but with the wheels it would certainly make moving these behemoths a lot easier for our (non roadie) group.

 

Thanks in advance ....

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I use the Line 6 bags for my two L3t and L3m speakers. They are definitely useful. I can't say whether they are 'worth it' because I really didn't compare against any competitive products that may be out there. But they certainly do the job for me in terms of rolling rather than carrying the speakers, and in that sense they are worth it.

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I've a full set of covers/bags for my 2x L3s, 2x L3m, 2x L2m and the M20d, all Line6 and all so far working out really well.

Having the wheels on the bags makes them much easier to move, though be cautious of going round corners too quick as the L3 in particular tends to over/off balance on its wheels.

 

Are they worth it? How do you quantify whether anything is worth it. I know how I do and, IMHO yes, they're worth it.

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Thanks folks so far for the comments. I ordered the LT3's today and was waiting for some comments before ordering the bags.

 

What I meant by "are they worth it" is basically if the construction was tough enough, padding adequate, and most of all if the wheels were solid not flimsy plastic things that would likely break easily etc. I have a feeling that these points are true? I guess my biggest concern is the wheels as the L3T's are heavy buggers and SiWatts69 makes a good point about not taking corners too sharply.

 

I am pretty sure I will be ordering the bags.

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If it helps, the wheels are approx. 8cm diameter roller blade style wheels, almost identical to those you'd find on most suitcases. There have been reports of people breaking them, but IIRC most reports involve someone other than the "owner" dragging them along. I know that my band members treat my gear a little more roughly than I do!

 

The bags are pretty well padded, with walls that are about 8-10mm thick. There's a little more spare space in the L3 bags than there is in the L2 bags.

 

So far, aside from a scuffed bottom corner (canvas corner near a wheel, my bags are holding up very well, but we don't gig as often as I'd like so it's not like they've been in and out of venues 2-3 nights a week for the past year! More like once a week.

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Good call - the L3ts are pretty heavy and cumbersome - the wheeled bags help with that a lot. They're good at protecting them from road rash as well.

 

I usually load and transport most of my gear myself, and the wheeled cases are REALLY appreciated after a long day - I'd go so far as to say that they were a significant selling point in changing from my old Mackie 450v2 system to Line 6. Well thought out stuff that works.

 

The L3t is still a little hard to get up onto and off of a speaker stand with just one person doing it. They're heavy... I got an L2t for small gigs where it's just me... MUCH easier. Got the wheeled case for it, too.

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We had a M20d and a L3T on loan for eval this past summer. I TOTALLY know about lifting that pig (technical term) up and on to the speaker stand. Initially we were considering going the L2T route but the differential in cost to get up to the L3T's was very small so we said ^%$# it let's go with the larger speakers for the tri-amp and power advantage. I don't regret doing this but my back will. I think (as you mentioned) that the bags will help a lot with the wheels getting from vehicle in and out of the venue. I, like you, do most of the transporting myself but when at the gig the band is really good about helping out. Another lesson I learned is that a Van is waaaaay better than a pickup truck for transporting. MUCH EASIER to load stuff in/out of a Van. I am also very interested in trying my PODHD into the L3t's with the Line 6 Link. I use a DT25 and I really like it but just for fun I'll play around with the FRFR deal (especially in stereo) at the rehearsal house.

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Pah, you lot ;-) They call me the speaker monster as I throw them around like confetti!!! It's a nickname I've had for over 20 years within the bands I've played in!

 

There's an art to lifting and once you know how to manipulate the boxes, they're pretty easy to move around.

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Literally the first time I hoisted an L3t up on a stand was Easter Sunday morning about 4 am (getting ready for a sunrise service) - barely awake/coherent (and I'm the minister!) - it was almost drama, but went up ok finally.

 

I've also tried laying down the L3t on the floor, inserting the stand pole in the speaker, and leveraging it up already connected. Works ok unless the stand legs start to slide - then more drama... You would need really sturdy stands to pull this off. My stands are probably too high for these - they're the Ultimate pneumatic TS-100B stands - nice, nice stands. And sturdy.

 

I'll leave you to be the official "Speaker Monster" of the Line 6 UK contingent, SiWatts69...

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  • 2 months later...

The bags for the tops are generally good value but the sub covers could be improved as if you want to lay them down in the van or truck then the wheeled end id left completely exposed. A simple flap with velcro on it would save potential damage. We put furniture blankets over ours so they don't get marked with flight cases etc.

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The bags for the tops are generally good value but the sub covers could be improved as if you want to lay them down in the van or truck then the wheeled end id left completely exposed. A simple flap with velcro on it would save potential damage. We put furniture blankets over ours so they don't get marked with flight cases etc.

Sort of see where you're coming from, BUT the subs have the transit wheels built in, unlike the tops, so a complete wraparound cover is less feasible: the transit wheels would need to be spaced further out (larger diameter wheels) and subsequently the feet would need to be taller to accommodate the thickness of the cover.

 

My only small niggle with the L3s covers is that the bottom edge drags on the ground when you are wheeling the sub around with the cover on.

 

I've now reached a point where I store the L3s's with their covers on, but transport them with covers off. The extra couple of inches I gain is worth the low risk to the subs in transit! Need every square inch! The tops do however get transported in their bags.

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Yeah the dragging on the floor will wear them out quicker. We're using up to 6 subs with 6 L3t as tops and then 4 L2t as monitors so we have to have a large vehicle, though it's still fairly tight. I actually have a company that will add the flap to the bags but it's £60 a cover, so they become pretty expensive.

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  • 9 months later...

I have two L3m, an L3t, and two L3s, and the M20d. I have the bags, cases, or covers for them all.

It's definitely worth it to protect the speakers, but $150 each is way overpriced. $79 would be a much more reasonable price IMO.

 

Every time you purchase a speaker, you need to budget an additional $210 just for the L6 link cable, and the bag. Pretty tough to take after spending top dollar for the speakers themselves. IMO, a $999.99 L3t should come with a bag and cable.

 

Also, the bags do NOT protect the very dent-prone speaker grills...so beware.

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After a year with the L3T's, the bags have done a great job of keeping them safe and dent free. Have no regrets purchasing the bags. Answering the question of my own thread would be ... "well worth it" if you want to keep their value strong for resale. They would be pretty scratched, maybe some broken knobs, and maybe some dents without the bags. Glad I did it a year ago since the L3T's now cost 23% more and the L3T bags are 31% more .... Canadian prices. I regret we didn't get at least one L3S. The L3S are more expensive than the L3T's by $300 ea .... !!!! We use an analog mixer. Couldn't afford the M20d up front.

 

Everybody around us agrees the L3T's sound great. No regrets.

 

I do agree that for the price they are charging for the speakers they should come with bags. However, I just bought a new ~1K Fender Tele that comes with no case or gig bag just a beautiful cardboard shipping box .... lol. These companies are nickel and diming us to death.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've had the bags for as long as I've had the speakers which is about 1 1/2  years now.  On one of the bags one of the wheels broke, but L&M replaced the bag free of charge.  That was the only issue, never happened with the other bag or with the replacement since.  It could have been the result of someone not being careful with the bag in transport.  I now make sure everyone knows to just be mindful.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I just lost another wheel off one of my L3t bags.  And since it happened the first time I have bent over backwards to baby these bags. I'll take it in for repair and see what happens.  And report back in case it's different from last time both times for me the plastic casing around the wheels just snapped.  I am so careful after the first time this happened when setting these on the ground from the car and even more careful to roll them along gingerly being ever so gentle when going over a door jam or any other kind of bump.  I really didn't expect this to happen a second time.  Maybe time for line 6 to look for a more robust wheel manufacturer to supply them with wheels for these bags. 

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  • 2 months later...

Thought I'd post back on this topic - just had a wheel pop on one of my L3t speaker bags - ugh!  Two Years to the Day that I ordered it from Sweetwater - I'm checking to see if they will still honor the 2 yr warranty they have on everything you get from them. Kind of bummed - I really don't travel with them much - and it's always on pretty smooth surfaces. I've maybe moved them 10 x since I've got them. If I were a regular gigging musician, it wouldn't have lasted a month at that rate. Weird - the wheel housing is pretty thin plastic - it is a weak design for such a heavy speaker. I can't imagine trying to move them around without wheels, though. 

 

Will report back on how Sweetwater handles it - literally right on the invoice date - sheesh... looking on their web site, the rating on these bags is pretty low - seems I'm not the only one with this issue. 

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I'm not going to diss the bags, because they are a huge assistance in moving them round... but

 

The L2 bags seem far more sturdy capable than the L3 ones.

I poped a when on an L3 bag too and when you look at the overall design, the speaker can sit directly onto the housing in one of two ways depending upon how well you've loaded the speaker into the bag. Either way though, with certain jolts, the full weight of the speaker is on the wheel housings and, as they are only secure by some 3mm thick plastic flanges with rivets, it is inevitable that one day, the jolt will be sufficient to sheer the plastic flange off along the point where it meets the more rigid box style part of the wheel casing.

 

I'm really careful, but my colleagues (one in particular) are not.

 

BUT, I still bought the replacement bag... easier to replace one of them than a trashed speaker!

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I took my L3t bag in to Long and McQuade for repair about 6 weeks ago, I haven't heard anything yet.  If it's repairable that will be good news because then at least if it happens again I know there's a solution.  They could be waiting for the wheel and housing and that's what is taking so long.  Hopefully they order a bunch and keep them on hand.  I can't be the only one using these bags and at some point the wheels are going to give.  As with SiWatts, I don't want to diss the bags, they are extremely helpful and I can't wait to get this fixed.  But I think inherently the speaker is just too heavy for the material used in the construction of this bag.

 

I'll be sure to report back how L & M goes about this repair or if I end up forking out for another bag.

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  • 8 months later...
  • 6 months later...

I think they are worth it. I have Line 6 bags for my entire system. However after only 8 weeks one of the L3T bags blew a wheel. The plastic housing snapped in half. Called Sweetwater and they promptly looked after me, no hassle. I only hope this was an isolated incident. Two or three bad wheels in perhaps thousands of bags isn't too bad. The fit of the bags are great. I was using for 2 years, Lacrosse bags for the speakers. They have wheels and are a tight fit, they aren't padded though and the bags eventually wore out. Just hoping the Line 6 wheel issue is just a rare occurrence. Other than that the bags are great.   

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I have bags for 2 subs, 2 mains and 4 monitors.  As much as I loved them when they were new, after 2 1/2 years they are quickly becoming unusable.  Broken wheels, broken zippers, extendable handles that are frozen.  One bag has a seam that came undone so when you zip it, it still flops open.

 

Maybe that is the expected life span of these things, but at over $1000 to replace them it's kind of hard to swallow. 

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