Advice about the Amplifi FX100 and TT

[The_Saints]

Hi

 

I've been lurking around the forums for a while, but now ready to ask for some advice.

 

I play acoustic and electric rhythm guitar in a 5 piece and a 3 piece band. We mainly play rock & roll from the 50's and 60's but occasionally venture into melodic rock and blues. I use a Bose L1 system for my vocals and guitar for the larger gigs and a powered speaker and small mixer for the house parties.

 

I now find that I need some flexibility with my guitar sounds, but don't want to use an amp. So I have been looking at the FX100 and the TT.  I only play rhythm and the sounds I want are mainly clean (with a few variations to include reverb, delays and occasionally some OD) and the research I've done so far, it seems that the TT would fit the bill. I don't need any high gain stuff.

 

Then I started to read up on the FX100 and things became a bit confused. I've watched the obligatory YouTube videos and downloaded the app but it hasn't really helped much. You might have guessed by now that I'm not well versed in the art of setting up electronic gear such as this. No problem with a traditional amp with knobs...!

 

So my questions are...

 

1. What are the differences between the two units? I understand one is a table top, the other a floor pedal.

 

2. If there are differences, which one is best for my use?

 

3. Will either or both be suitable for acoustic and electric guitar?

 

4. I've read comments on other media sites that suggest Line 6 are not so committed to these units. Is that a fair comment?

 

All advice welcome..

 

Thanks

 

Graham

 

[cloph]

Besides the obvious difference (the FX100 comes with a "included footswitch and expression pedal") the only difference is in i/o

Differences:

• the FX100 has an additonal (assignable) FX knob (the TT only has drive, bass, mid, treble and reverb and master volume/blend)
• the TT has additional optical out and additional cinch connectors for master out in addition to the 1/4" connection
• the TT has FBV connector
• the FX100 allows you to switch banks with the footswitches / the TT only allows access to 4 presets (to access the other banks you would have to use the Amplifi app or connect a FBV board)

Ampmodels and effects are the same, so both are equally suitable.

As to not committed: That's blown out of proportion/wrong expectations. If you don't expect to get new ampmodels or effects in those units after you buy them, then there's nothing wrong with the Amplifi series. The App could definitely need some love though, and recently there's a server issue that results in unnecessary re-logins. This might be annoying when trying to create new tones, as if there's too long idle time between saves to "My Tones", you need to reenter the login details. 

That being said: this is no problem when dealing with existing tones/ones you already did save in My Tones or on the device itself.

 

As to what is more suitable: I got a great deal on the TT, so I got that. But later I just wanted a footcontroller, so I bought the FBV3 that cost more than the TT and now I'm happy :-)

• if you ever want to switch a preset within a song: get the FX100 (or TT+FBV)
• if you want to access more than 4 different presents without having to rely on the app: get the FX100 (or TT+FBV)

But also consider the Firehawk FX - that has better effects and is also more "stage ready". 

FBV 3 is available at 169 € at thomann currently, the Firehawk FX is 333 € (and both the TT as well as the FX100 were already sold off/are no longer available)

 

My recommendation:

• get the Firehawk FX if you can get if for a similar price
• failing that, and if you can get a good deal on the TT, then get the TT and the FBV 3 which will likely end up in the same ballpark (300€)
• get the Amplifi FX100 only if you can get it for significantly less than the 300€ / what the above options would go for in your area

If you rally don't need any switching / are fine with having just 4 presets and don't mind walking to the TT everytime you want to switch a preset: get the TT

[The_Saints]

Hi Cloph and thanks for the detailed advice. It's helped me tremendously.

 

Having done some more research, I can get the FX100 and the TT for around the same price, 200 euro. But looking closely at the FX100, I see that the presets are only numbers where I believe with the TT + FBV,  I can allocate named patches which I much prefer. Am I correct in my thinking..?

 

So I'm leaning more towards the TT + FBV at the moment. However, I need to look more closely at the Firehawk before I make a decision. 

 

I'll let you know how it pans out.

 

Graham

[cbrillow]

You're essentially correct in that the preset banks are only represented as numbers on the FX-100. The presets do have names, though -- which are visible when you're using the Amplifi Remote app on your iOS or Android device. Still, being limited to seeing, for example ''09" on an LED display isn't all that helpful in remembering which presets you have and and which one you want to use next...

 

An alternative to the FBV 3 is the FBV Short Board MKII, which should also work with the TT. Like the FBV 3, it has  alphanumeric display that shows the name of the currently-selected preset. I have one that I use with an Amplifi 30 and a 150, both of which are very limiting in a performance setting without a flexible foot controller for selecting sound presets. A significant advantage of using a foot controller instead of the FX-100 is that the foot controller has additional switches that allow you to turn on and off individual effects --- reverb, modulation,  compression, etc -- within each preset as you're using it. The FX-100 simply has 4 switches to select one of 4 presets in a given bank of 4.

 

The FBV Short Board MKII is no longer in production, so you would have to locate a used one if it were your choice. The good news is, this could save you some money. I found mine at a local pawn shop for $100 USD, and it was in excellent condition and works flawlessly. 

 

In case you missed it, the FBV switch displays have multi-color LEDs, but they only illuminate as red when used with the Amplifi series. This may or may not be a function of the Amplifi firmware, and may or may not change in the future. (Line 6 hasn't given any indication that I've seen...)

[The_Saints]

Thanks cbrillow

 

I've looked at the Firehawk but decided that a TT and FBV 3 (or the Shortboard) is the way I'll go. 

 

Once I've created patches with my tablet, do I need to connect to the TT via bluetooth for live use? 

 

I get the feeling that I don't want to rely on BT during a gig. 

 

Graham

[cloph]

No need to use Bluetooth once you created your tones. You can store up to 100 different tones in the device itself (25 banks with 4 presets each) of which the TT by itself only allows you to switch between the four presents in the first bank using the selector button at the front and doesn't allow to switch banks.

 

However you'll be using a footcontroller that allows you to switch banks, so you can access all 100 tones stored in the TT – no need for bluetooth/your tablet/internet connection.

[The_Saints]

Thanks again cloph.

 

I think that's settled things. I've found a used TT online ( just hoping that he accepts my offer..) and I think either the Shortboard or the FBV 3 will fit the bill

 

Great advice guys..

 

Graham

[cbrillow]

With the TT and a foot controller, you would only need bluetooth in the event that you wanted to stream music from the remote app to the TT -- like a backing track to play along with. (There are other ways to accomplish this, as well...)

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that there is a fairly significant delay when changing between presets from the remote app. With the foot controller, there's virtually no delay, but you'll find that the patch change triggers when you let OFF the footswitch, not when you first press it down. So you don't want to hold the button down for any length of time. 

[The_Saints]

Thanks for all the advice, now looking for a TT and FBV, but there's not many TT's about.