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Dear Line 6, With Love


dysmantle
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While it's a clever idea, basically, anyone who buys into this first take on the idea is covering the cost of research and development. It's been that way with every single product L6 has made, from the beginning of their time making gear. Look, just don't be haters. So what if this L6 BoomBox isn't what the overzealous marketing team lead people to believe it was! In the grand scheme of things, will I be purchasing one? No. I would rather spend $600 on a copy of Pro Tools 11.

 

That being said, I like the *idea*. Should they have done it differently for the same end cost? Yes. Yes, they totally blew it. But, that's the nature of taking chances. Who cares! Don't buy it if you don't like it.

 

I mean, I have bought some serious turds in the world of music gear in my days. I am not ashamed. I like the gear I have NOW, and I look forward to being inspired one day in the future to pick up some new piece of gear.

 

In all honesty, of all the gear I have ever sold or gotten rid of, only ONE item ever made me feel regret, and I just recently replaced it. Couple years ago I was dead broke, and sold my Keeley 4-knob Compressor to Guitar Center. In a weird moment of full circle, I recently bought a used Keeley 4-knob compressor from, yep, you guessed it: Guitar Center.

 

The rest of the stuff I let go? Rarely ever think about it. Korean "Nuno Bettencourt" mahogany electric guitar with locking tuners - gone, to buy a Korean Fender Jazz bass - gave that to my friend when I bought a Korean Ibanez SR 5 string bass. Somewhere in my pile of gear, I have an old Roland drum machine, which hasn't been used in years. A crappy Behringer mixer or two, some Behringer condensor mics. An M-Audio Delta 1010 that my old cat destroyed by peeing on it...

 

While most of that stuff is relatively speaking garbage, once upon a time, I "had to have it". The Behringer performed well for years, as the bands primary live mix console, until it was upgraded to a proper Mackie. The Fender bass is gone, replaced with a proper USA Strat. The collection of solid state amps still lurk in my collection - a Marshall valvestate for instance, and have not been used in some time - not since the DT25 came around.

 

Before the X3L, which I loved, there was the god-awful-horrible Boss ME50B. What a total piece of, well - junk. The X3L I sold via Craigslist, same for the SWR bass amp and 4x10 cab. Somwhere around in my mess, I still have a very, very used up Ampeg B100R, which still cranks like a tank, but now just collects dust.

 

That's the nature of wanting 'new' things, rather than 'good' things. One day, those shiny Amplifi's will be collecting dust, when the 'new' version of that gear comes out. All in all, it's literally just a toy in it's present form. A fun toy! But a toy, none the less. I am not attacking it, just properly identifying it. It's a piece of gear you will use to have fun with. And when they have sold enough to recoop expenses, they will release the Amplifi Mark II, or the Ampli-Pro.

 

It will have things like:

 

-HD amp models

-L6 Link

-XLR in and XLR out, with a ground lift.

-WiFi

-And other stuff that was intentionally held back from being included in this release, so they still have something new to bank on in 6 months, or a year, or whenever.

 

It does NOT make this version a failure in anyway - it just is what it is. A Fun, Cute, Little Toy.

What a lovely Boom Box it is!

 

Marketing failure? Yes. At an Epic level. The people who sunk their jobs into calling this thing a "reinvented (again) amplifier" most definitely do not have a clue what a real amplifier is. But, that's not the whole story.

 

Here is why you are mad: You wanted a reason to justify spending your money on a new, cool gadget - you wanted justification for wanting it, and when the actual product left you feeling so cold, and lackluster, you like a junkie would, blamed everyone but yourself. I get it, I did the same thing.

 

For me, I was lucky - I went crazy and bought a DT25 and a JTV59 about two weeks before the Amplifi came out. I literally had just ordered the DT25 when I noticed the teasers for the January 23rd release date.

 

I was actually 100% totally relieved that this new Amplifi isn't something I am interested in, and so I don't feel any negative energy for it.

 

Bottom line is, music should be FUN. It should make you feel young again, and feel like you are alive. Getting so angry about a company trying to facillitate enjoyment of music is just a waste of your time. And I am just as guilty as anyone else, for Ampli-bashing.

 

Once I stopped thinking of it as a serious piece of gear, and instead thought about when I was 15 years old, trying to play along with my favorite albums, to learn songs, I thought it was a much cooler idea. We all gotta start somewhere. The marketing team was just selling the idea to a new generation of people, both young and old, who want a good, fun gadget to learn music with. And it happens to be loud enough, to make some proper noise.

 

The POD led to the POD Pro to the XT to the XT Pro to the X3 to the X3 Pro, the HD500 to the HD-Pro, and so on and so on.

 

The Ampli-Pro, will most likely come along some day, and maybe it will be cooler than this thing is. Until then, if you like it and want one, buy one. If you want a serious amp, buy something else. There is no reason for people to defend this as being serious gear, because it's not! There is also really no reason to bash the heck out of it, once you realize, it's a little kids toy - whether you are 40 year old kid, an 80 year old kid, or an 8 or 15 year old kid - it's meant to help making music exciting and fun. And that alone, is worth congratulating.

 

I spend alot of time tweaking my HD500, and love the way the DT25 makes me tweak less and play more. I also really enjoy my JTV59 into the gear, and despite still being freaked out by plugging an ethernet cable into my guitar instead of a 1/4", I end up playing more and tweaking less.

 

In the end, yes, marketing soiled the bed. Badly. No, this is not the "guitar amp reinvented" they claimed, and yes, they have many, many, many other technical issues with existing products that should have been addressed. But, this is the nature of the beast.

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Nice long post, but still nothing more than one man's opnion... Sometimed we need to proof read our opnions that are stated as fact.

 

"Marketing failure on an epic level".

 

Mktg sells product. Product is selling fast. Where is the EPIC fail? So, because reinventing means something different to YOU than ME, it is wrong? Ever see a beer commercial?

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While it's a clever idea, basically, anyone who buys into this first take on the idea is covering the cost of research and development. It's been that way with every single product L6 has made, from the beginning of their time making gear. Look, just don't be haters. So what if this L6 BoomBox isn't what the overzealous marketing team lead people to believe it was! In the grand scheme of things, will I be purchasing one? No. I would rather spend $600 on a copy of Pro Tools 11.

 

That being said, I like the *idea*. Should they have done it differently for the same end cost? Yes. Yes, they totally blew it. But, that's the nature of taking chances. Who cares! Don't buy it if you don't like it.

 

I mean, I have bought some serious turds in the world of music gear in my days. I am not ashamed. I like the gear I have NOW, and I look forward to being inspired one day in the future to pick up some new piece of gear.

 

In all honesty, of all the gear I have ever sold or gotten rid of, only ONE item ever made me feel regret, and I just recently replaced it. Couple years ago I was dead broke, and sold my Keeley 4-knob Compressor to Guitar Center. In a weird moment of full circle, I recently bought a used Keeley 4-knob compressor from, yep, you guessed it: Guitar Center.

 

The rest of the stuff I let go? Rarely ever think about it. Korean "Nuno Bettencourt" mahogany electric guitar with locking tuners - gone, to buy a Korean Fender Jazz bass - gave that to my friend when I bought a Korean Ibanez SR 5 string bass. Somewhere in my pile of gear, I have an old Roland drum machine, which hasn't been used in years. A crappy Behringer mixer or two, some Behringer condensor mics. An M-Audio Delta 1010 that my old cat destroyed by peeing on it...

 

While most of that stuff is relatively speaking garbage, once upon a time, I "had to have it". The Behringer performed well for years, as the bands primary live mix console, until it was upgraded to a proper Mackie. The Fender bass is gone, replaced with a proper USA Strat. The collection of solid state amps still lurk in my collection - a Marshall valvestate for instance, and have not been used in some time - not since the DT25 came around.

 

Before the X3L, which I loved, there was the god-awful-horrible Boss ME50B. What a total piece of, well - junk. The X3L I sold via Craigslist, same for the SWR bass amp and 4x10 cab. Somwhere around in my mess, I still have a very, very used up Ampeg B100R, which still cranks like a tank, but now just collects dust.

 

That's the nature of wanting 'new' things, rather than 'good' things. One day, those shiny Amplifi's will be collecting dust, when the 'new' version of that gear comes out. All in all, it's literally just a toy in it's present form. A fun toy! But a toy, none the less. I am not attacking it, just properly identifying it. It's a piece of gear you will use to have fun with. And when they have sold enough to recoop expenses, they will release the Amplifi Mark II, or the Ampli-Pro.

 

It will have things like:

 

-HD amp models

-L6 Link

-XLR in and XLR out, with a ground lift.

-WiFi

-And other stuff that was intentionally held back from being included in this release, so they still have something new to bank on in 6 months, or a year, or whenever.

 

It does NOT make this version a failure in anyway - it just is what it is. A Fun, Cute, Little Toy.

What a lovely Boom Box it is!

 

Marketing failure? Yes. At an Epic level. The people who sunk their jobs into calling this thing a "reinvented (again) amplifier" most definitely do not have a clue what a real amplifier is. But, that's not the whole story.

 

Here is why you are mad: You wanted a reason to justify spending your money on a new, cool gadget - you wanted justification for wanting it, and when the actual product left you feeling so cold, and lackluster, you like a junkie would, blamed everyone but yourself. I get it, I did the same thing.

 

For me, I was lucky - I went crazy and bought a DT25 and a JTV59 about two weeks before the Amplifi came out. I literally had just ordered the DT25 when I noticed the teasers for the January 23rd release date.

 

I was actually 100% totally relieved that this new Amplifi isn't something I am interested in, and so I don't feel any negative energy for it.

 

Bottom line is, music should be FUN. It should make you feel young again, and feel like you are alive. Getting so angry about a company trying to facillitate enjoyment of music is just a waste of your time. And I am just as guilty as anyone else, for Ampli-bashing.

 

Once I stopped thinking of it as a serious piece of gear, and instead thought about when I was 15 years old, trying to play along with my favorite albums, to learn songs, I thought it was a much cooler idea. We all gotta start somewhere. The marketing team was just selling the idea to a new generation of people, both young and old, who want a good, fun gadget to learn music with. And it happens to be loud enough, to make some proper noise.

 

The POD led to the POD Pro to the XT to the XT Pro to the X3 to the X3 Pro, the HD500 to the HD-Pro, and so on and so on.

 

The Ampli-Pro, will most likely come along some day, and maybe it will be cooler than this thing is. Until then, if you like it and want one, buy one. If you want a serious amp, buy something else. There is no reason for people to defend this as being serious gear, because it's not! There is also really no reason to bash the heck out of it, once you realize, it's a little kids toy - whether you are 40 year old kid, an 80 year old kid, or an 8 or 15 year old kid - it's meant to help making music exciting and fun. And that alone, is worth congratulating.

 

I spend alot of time tweaking my HD500, and love the way the DT25 makes me tweak less and play more. I also really enjoy my JTV59 into the gear, and despite still being freaked out by plugging an ethernet cable into my guitar instead of a 1/4", I end up playing more and tweaking less.

 

In the end, yes, marketing soiled the bed. Badly. No, this is not the "guitar amp reinvented" they claimed, and yes, they have many, many, many other technical issues with existing products that should have been addressed. But, this is the nature of the beast.

 

 

 

 

 

You pretty much said how I feel about this.... well done.

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Of course they are just one man's opinions! My view of it is totally inconsequential, if I didn't make that clear, let me say it out right:

 

my opinions are of NO CONSEQUENCE.

 

No one in L6 Marketing is losing any sleep about what I say! I wouldn't want them to.

Personally, I think their visual campaign was well done, given the circumstances.

 

And of course, they are selling like hot cakes! It's a great idea, at a doable price point.

That's the sort of point of my long, rambling post - the idea is great, and I applaud them for it.

 

If it was truly "the guitar amp reinvented" it would have the laundry list of things that people are complaining about it not having. L6Link. Variax input. HD amp models. XLR input. XLR output. WiFi.

 

Also, USB connection? I see there is a port for a USB interface, I would imagine to update the firmware with Monkey down the line. And, for me this isn't a big deal, but - maybe a manual? They did release it with the 'Pilots Handbook', but that document is woefully lacking in detail and specific info.

 

Did I miss anything? Is there a version that you can pay more $$ for which has those features?

 

I'd love to see the wireless technology they have support L6Link and Variax input. Build that + this Bluetooth stuff into the DT series, and then you'd have a $2,000+ piece of professional, crazy cool gear.

 

This isn't that though. Next to a 25watt DT, this thing can't hold up. But it's not intended to. Not at least, judging it on the merits of what it actually does, vs. the overblown claims of the extremely clever marketing campaign. That soft focus photo of the knob was the primary selling point for three weeks...

 

Again, not bashing, attacking or supporting either side of this conversation. In summary:

 

- it's not a pro piece of gear, so enjoy it for what it is.

- but that's no reason to hate it.

 

They have a hard act to follow, with those Bogner DT amps!

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Look, not trying to be negative - like I was saying, what this concept has going for it is mojo.. It's spirit, if you will, is a return to the fun of musical discovery.

I'm definitely putting my money elsewhere, but I don't mean to disparage. Compared to what I learned to play guitar with?! This is WAYYYY better! I mean, I

had one of those horrible 2x12 'red knob' Fenders, solid state, a Power-Chorus or something like that. By comparison, this gear is a world better.

 

I look forward to what this morphs into, down the road. Don't get me wrong - I friggin' LOVE the sound of my JTV59+HD500+DT25.

Line6 Fan Boy here, and proud of it~ :) Their gear makes me want to play music, and have fun doing it.

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I own a number of Line 6 products. My relationship with Line 6 is a bit disfunctional.

 

I keep hoping, unrealistically, that they will change. That their customer service department will somehow have a "lightbulb moment" and understand that WE keep them in business. I keep hoping that their tech/repair team grows larger, so I don't have to wait a week (just happened) to get a response from them regarding a return. I keep hoping that they look at the market BEFORE they come out with a new product and understand what base functions we need in a product (i.e. footswitch in the Amplifi) and then innovate from there. 

 

Aren't we all hoping that the acquisition by Yamaha will really help Line 6 "up it's game"?? In 2013 I purchased a Yamaha THR-10 desktop amp. I was, and continue to be, blown away by the quality of the hardware and software. This product far, far exceeded my expectations. I get giddy every time I play it. You can bet that if Yamaha morphed that THR-10 into a larger gigging amp, it would be astounding. 

My Expectations Exceeded: something I personally have never experienced with a Line 6 product. I still keep hoping... maybe that is the nature of disfunctional relationships!!

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Let me start off by saying i own other line 6 products, including modeling guitar and pod effects units. I was a happy customer of those products. I have used them recording many cds in the past. i have used them playing many gigs in the past. they worked reliably for these real world playing situations.

 

I purchased the 75 watt Amplifi. In theory it sounds like a great product. The reality is very different.

 

The connection between the ios app and the amp does not work reliably. This has nothing to do with the bluetooth connection between the ipad and the amp, which works fine. The app will lose connection with the amp, even though the actual bluetooth connection is there between the devices. You can switch to an ios synthesizer app, and it comes out of the amp fine via bluetooth when this happens. switch back to the amplifi app, and it says no amp is connected.

This problem seems to happen randomly when using the app.

 

The only way i've been able to use the product reliably in an actual playing situation is to only use the 4 tone presets available on the amp itself. which is extremely limiting because then there are only 4 tone memories available.

 

My other issues.

The app only allows for searching for pre-built tones via song title? Every other multi-effects unit on the planet has an extensive set of pre-built high quality factory presets available for easy browsing and audition. There is nothing like this available in the app for amplifi.

 

The marketing for this product also implies that it is able to do some kind of tone matching like a kemper profiling amp. when in reality, it appears that the tone match is just someone manually associating a song title with a tone preset, end of story. 

 

Why can't i load a set of tones into banks in an ios app, and then use a midi footswitch controller to do program changes on the fly when playing? I can do this with other ios guitar effect software?

 

It is easy to accidentally log out of the cloud when using the app. When you are in setup the logout button looks like the way out of the setup dialog. of course the whole reason why i was in setup is because the app was not sending my selected tones over to the amp, and i was trying to figure out why. all of this was occurring when i was in the middle of a jam session with someone.

 

so there is the reality of using this product in a real playing situation. you can't change tones reliably while playing,  and then it's easy to accidentally shut down any ability to even access tones by pressing the large logout button.

 

Where is the user manual for the amplifi app? nothing available. And the manual for the amp is only 4 pages long pilots guide?

 

there is a usb port that does nothing??? was the product released before it was finished? seems like it.

 

This product could be really great. But the reality of it for me is that it is not. It doesn't work reliably for starters. and it is extremely self limiting, like it was only designed for someone to play along at home to a song on their iphone music library, end of story. and the product marketing is very misleading to boot.

it's sad, because it's taking someone like me who was a happy line-6 customer (and booster of line-6 products to the world) and turning them into a line-6 hater.

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That's standard operating procedure. I had to go through the same thing.

 

attempting to post on ideascale... i got this message.

 

A moderator has not yet approved your account.

 

Shocking!!

There are two of us that approve accounts. To my knowledge only one has been denied because the address was all numeric and did not appear to be human. Since we are both in the US on PST sometimes you have to wait over night our time to get approved. 

 

For what it's worth I am reading this. For whatever else it is worth all the product development team spends a pretty good amount of time on IdeaScale looking at the suggestion threads.

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Hi sdevino, Do they [product managers/ developers] also read these forums? The reason I ask is because there are a lot of good ideas being posted here that I'm sure are not finding their way to ideascale. In any case, it's good to know you're there.  Btw: Love the amp ... for me it's the perfect solution for my purposes/needs. I'm looking forward to the necessary: app, firmware, and tone server refinements that I have to think you guys working on. Thanks.

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There are two of us that approve accounts. To my knowledge only one has been denied because the address was all numeric and did not appear to be human. Since we are both in the US on PST sometimes you have to wait over night our time to get approved. 

 

For what it's worth I am reading this. For whatever else it is worth all the product development team spends a pretty good amount of time on IdeaScale looking at the suggestion threads.

Thanks sdevino -- for speaking up on behalf of Line 6 and letting us know you are there and reading these posts.  AE

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Yes, thank you for pointing out that IdeaScale is a part of your plan, and showing us that the company knows where we are, they just have no real interest in participating in the conversation. 

 

 

sdevino, did you know that the equalizers in the HD series modelers are in % instead of Hz? Have you EVER heard of such a thing?

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So let's recap:

- several people in this thread note that Line 6 employees rarely comment in this user forum, and wonder whether the user feedback mechanism of Ideascale is actually monitored by Line 6. They express their wish that Line 6 employees make a comment.

- a Line 6 employee does indeed make a comment, responding to two specific requests:

--- an explanation of why it can take some time for moderators to approve posts, and

--- a statement that Ideascale is in fact monitored by, and used by, Line 6 as one input to their product development plans.

 

How should users respond to this?

1) a series of sarcastic and negative comments to the Line 6 employee, which will likely (we're all human) discourage said employee from bothering to respond to future requests, or

2) an acknowledgement to said employee that their presence here is appreciated, which hopefully will encourage future participation.

 

Now, let's see...... Which response do you think is more appropriate?

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Why would I feel sorry for anybody? Show up with a comment that really doesn't help anyone, then get praised for showing up....really, really, really, really, really, really late? If people, especially L6 employees are taking any of this personally, that sounds like a "them" problem. I'm sure this guy knows no-one wants to hold him personally accountable, but since he's obviously more "in-the-know" then any of the "experts" around here, maybe he should take some of the general disdain for customer relations on the official forums to someone who can do something.

 

Sorry if I hurt your internet feelings, L6 employee.

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If people, especially L6 employees are taking any of this personally, that sounds like a "them" problem. I'm sure this guy knows no-one wants to hold him personally accountable, but since he's obviously more "in-the-know" then any of the "experts" around here, maybe he should take some of the general disdain for customer relations on the official forums to someone who can do something.

 

"I'm going to attack your company and the competency of its employees...What? You're taking it personally? What's wrong with you?"

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you guys are hilarious.....I've gone the normal channels trying to get some real help on the boards, because the support ticket system is slow (i've had two that never even generated an automated response), sent multiple requests, even posted something on IdeaScale like the second day it existed (funny, I couldn't find it a week after that, and now I get booted from IdeaScale every other time I try and log in, yay technology)....so if dude wants to cry in his keyboard because I said the company he works for needs to try a little harder, I don't care.

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Nobody said anything about feeling sorry. And the post was helpful to the person who wondered why their account had not yet been approved, and to anyone who seriously wondered whether Line 6 ever looked at Ideascale.

 

I understand that you didn't find it helpful. Don't extrapolate your opinions to others. You don't represent anyone but yourself.... And neither do I.

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From my vantage point, I see one fellow with an attitude, and the rest are calm, but starting to lose patience. Who's the one with the problem?

 

I report, you decide.

...and it's because of this I'm locking the thread. gunpointmetal, or anyone else, can call us or create a ticket with specific technical questions if need be: line6.com/support.

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