Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Jump to content

Did I Make The Right Choice?


pnash5p
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've been playing for three years, a rookie guitar player, and was ready to move up to another amp.  I was set on either a Line 6 Spider IV 120-2x10, or the Spider Jam 75, then the GC salesman promotes the Amplifi 150 which I bought 3/5.  Although now I know they are as confused as me.  Admittedly being a rookie compared to all in this forum, I think that this amp is too sophisticated for me, and still has bugs, and that I'm not smart enough to know about.  I want tones that are done or damn close.  I don't want to play with the tones, tweak this, tweak that.  This might sound stupid, but why can't the app "Shazam" the tones exactly like "Shazam" will tell you who is playing a song?  it seems like every song on my playlist for practicing comes up "Twin Vibrato Clean."  Then I have to mess with it.  Which I don't know what I'm doing. Heck I have a hard enough time learning the song but it helps when it sound right initially.  You guys with years of experience and an ear for this, open it up and adjust settings.  I play basic stuff, Ramones, Nirvana, Cream, etc, and some country with basic chords.  Open forum- should I stick with it or go back and get one of the Spiders?  I still have a few weeks for a return. Thanks!!!       

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I find the Amplfi to be much more user-friendly than the Spider, and it sounds a lot better. As far as the amp having bugs, I can't say that I've seen anything that seems too problematic. There are few minor confirmed bugs, but nothing that should really impact the use of the amp too much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 I want tones that are done or damn close. 

 

This doesn't exist. From Line 6 or any other company. There are no "one size fits all" tones. Give the same amp and same guitar to 10 different experienced players, and you're gonna get 10 different sounds.

 

 

I don't want to play with the tones, tweak this, tweak that.  

 

Then you picked the wrong instrument. This is what guitarists do.

 

 

why can't the app "Shazam" the tones exactly like "Shazam" will tell you who is playing a song? 

 

Because magic isn't real.

 

 

Which I don't know what I'm doing.

 

This is where we ALL started, and there's exactly one cure...experience.

 

 

Should I stick with it or go back and get one of the Spiders?  I still have a few weeks for a return. Thanks!!!       

 

Not liking the amp is one thing. If you're more comfortable with something else, go for it...a piece of gear you like will probably inspire you to GET better, but it can't MAKE you better. And just so you don't get discouraged with the Spider series, there's no mystical "Nirvana" or "Ramones" buttons on those amps either. Anything you get will need tweaking...100% universal.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just want better control of sound.   Looks like the new FX100 is not an option.   Seems the shortboard gives you some control by way of switching presets and some stomp effects.  I don't see another option.

 

I like the Amplifi.  Think I would have gone another route if I would have known the limitations with the foot controls.  Also want a looper function.  Possibly the JM4.  Could have done all this with the HD500.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just want better control of sound.   Looks like the new FX100 is not an option.   Seems the shortboard gives you some control by way of switching presets and some stomp effects.  I don't see another option.

 

I like the Amplifi.  Think I would have gone another route if I would have known the limitations with the foot controls.  Also want a looper function.  Possibly the JM4.  Could have done all this with the HD500.

 

I agree...the whole thing is an interesting concept, but a 500 it's not. That doesn't make it any better or worse, just different. I really think they were targeting a different user base with the Amplifi. Before this thing was introduced, never once did I say to myself "Gee, if only I could stream music through my guitar amp". I've got a stereo for that. So obviously they were going after another demographic, lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a lot of new players are ill served by starting with this or a modeler in general.  I think you need to start on the real thing and learn what the knobs and tweaks do so if and when you do move to a modeler you have a foundation from which to work.  Without that, too many come to find they have no idea what they are doing with all the options available with today's gear.  A good modeler can make life easier and improve workflow if you know what you are trying to do but coming into it blind its gotta be daunting.  Just a thought...

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a lot of new players are ill served by starting with this or a modeler in general.  I think you need to start on the real thing and learn what the knobs and tweaks do so if and when you do move to a modeler you have a foundation from which to work.  Without that, too many come to find they have no idea what they are doing with all the options available with today's gear.  A good modeler can make life easier and improve workflow if you know what you are trying to do but coming into it blind its gotta be daunting.  Just a thought...

 

Yup. The marketing makes it sound like the tones of all your favorite players are just the click of a footswitch away, but it's never gonna work like that. It's a bitter pill for some...and for the novice who likely doesn't yet understand how much subtle nuance and feel contribute to one's sound, the straight-out-of-the-box experience is bound to be disappointing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was ready to pull the plug and get a shortboard.  Now am wondering whether to return this thing in time to try something else. Maybe try a HD500 or maybe just deal with my "vintage" AX2 2I2. Really not a bad amp.  The app is cool though and you need the "amp" to make it work, or now just a floorboard(?).  

 

Pros - easy to use, good sound, cool app....  

Cons - limited control while playing even a single song and other better options seem available (even the same option with the FX 100).

 

Difficult life decision here.  Help!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was ready to pull the plug and get a shortboard.  Now am wondering whether to return this thing in time to try something else. Maybe try a HD500 or maybe just deal with my "vintage" AX2 2I2. Really not a bad amp.  The app is cool though and you need the "amp" to make it work, or now just a floorboard(?).  

 

Pros - easy to use, good sound, cool app....  

Cons - limited control while playing even a single song and other better options seem available (even the same option with the FX 100).

 

Difficult life decision here.  Help!

I know I'll get flamed for this, but the Amplifi imho, is not pro gear. While it has some cool features, its clearly geared towards the beginner. If you need versatility, there are better options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How much $$$ can you spend? I am intrigued by the AMPLIFi, but had already embarked upon the HD500 route back when it came out, and have been using it through a variety of amplification options - FX returns on guitar amps being the most common way I used, before buying a DT25 earlier this year.

 

So, I think the AMPLIFi is a cool idea - though, when it first came out, I feel bad, because lambasted it in these forums as "just a boombox", and wrote alot of judgmental, semi-ignorant, uninformed negative comments about it, since it "wasn't HD". I got over being an angry lolli-pop and have since invested a fair amount of $ on some gear that goes in a decidedly different direction.

(all in all, I bought a DT25, a JTV59, an M20d, and two L2t's)

 

If you get a chance, definitely try playing through an HD500x. It's a *great* modelling unit, and the HD amp models are really, really good. In terms of 'amplifying' the HD, you do have a wide array of options, and they are all quite good - though the Line6 options are a bit expensive.

 

I think, if you like the way the HD sounds, and you are not overwhelmed by the interface, you may find the experience closer to your comfort zone (it's definitely a learning curve). You may also have more luck finding "ready to go" tones on CustomTone, that you can literally drag and drop using a very simple PC based editor. (HD edit is great)

 

As you progress as both a guitarist and as a technician, you can delve deeper into the editing parameters, FX block options, and in general, sound-scaping.

 

So, the HD500 definitely gives you "room to grow" into it's rather robust "Dream Rig" options. For example, with the HD500 you have the option of going down the Variax route, and the HD500 does some amazing things when paired with a James Tyler Variax using a VDI cable. I definitely personally enjoy what the JTV has to offer!

 

And, Among other things, what you will get with the HD500x that you don't get with AMPLIFi are:

 

- recording options. The HD500 is an excellent ASIO soundcard, and with just a USB cable, your computer, and either some headphones or speakers of *any* type, you can make some high quality recordings of your playing.

 

- looper. Especially for a growing guitarist, this can be a huge bonus. Perform a loop of some rhy guitar parts, and then jam over it - and that will all be recorded direct. You can also set the looper to run "pre", meaning it's the first part of the FX / amp signal chain, which will allow you to play a guitar part, then put your guitar down, and tweak the FX setting, or even audition different amp models. The dry guitar is the part recorded into the looper in that mode, so as you tweak FX and amp settings, the looper keeps playing through the changes, and allows you to dial in patches, audition new patches downloaded from CustomTone, or edit existing patches with subtle variations until you hear what you want.

 

- XLR mic input. I don't use this much, but it's nice to have especially if you want to explore multi-track recording. You will be able to use your HD500x as a microphone preamp, for recording acoustic instruments, drums, vocals, etc.

 

As far as "growing into it", the HD500x also offers the Line6Link technology, which is really, really cool. You can link up to four L6Link enabled devices to the HD500, and go crazy with your sound. But even just linking to a single DT25, it enables a whole other side of your Hd500 to be used, to create some really amazing tone.

 

Which brings us full circle to my initial question: How much $ do you want to spend?

 

The DT25 is an amazing little 25 watt amp, which is technically a Bogner tube amp, paired with Line6 digital technology. It's very loud - in terms of relating the distinction between 150watt solid state AMPLIFi and a 25 watt tube DT25, the DT25 is probably louder at it's maximum. I realize that's not exactly a fair comparison, but it's worth clarifying since not everyone understands the difference between solid state and tube amp power. The DT50 (50 watt tube) is most definitely, several times louder than the 150watt AMPLIFi. Like, painfully louder. ;)

 

For example, the L2t, Line6's StageSource 1x10" powered monitor / speaker, with onboard mixer, is solid state, 800 watts. Their 2x10 L3t is 1,400 watts of solid state power. *serious volume*. But hi-fi / high def sound clarity. And they can also all be L6linked to an HD500 in various configurations. Many people prefer that "full range / flat response" option, vs the manner in which the DT and HD500 configure themselves when linked to each other. That's another conversation to itself, but the basic difference is in the output modes on the HD500. Studio/Direct is what you would use for direct recording, direct to PA / mixer use, and things like running the 1/4" out from the HD into the FX return of a guitar amp, to bypass the amplifier preamp and essentially tap the HD500 output directly into the power amp. Keyboard amps also work well with the HD500, when using it in studio direct mode. The DT25 is a different beast all together - it goes into combo or stack poweramp mode, and typically only uses the 'preamp' versions of the HD amp models, allowing the Bogner tube amp to recreate those poweramp characteristics, in the analog rather than digital realm.

 

While you may not necessarily need to start off with all of that gear, for me it was a definite selling point that you can build your rig up slowly, piece by piece, and that it all integrates so well. I bought my HD500 way back in 2010, but only just added the DT25 and L2t gear early this year. And my HD500 still works fine and still sounds incredible four years on!

 

So there ya go. If you can still return the AMPLIFi, the HD500 is an equal price point swap, and down the road when you have a spare $2,000 or so burning a hole in your pocket, the DT25 / DT50 and L2 / L3 gear is pretty amazing.

 

As far as comparing the HD500 to other modelling gear on the market, take a look at these other options, even if to just compare and learn what these various options mean:

 

-Check out the Avid Eleven Rack, which you can buy bundled with ProTools 11 for just a bit more than the HD500, around $700.While it does basically come nearly 'free' with ProTools (the software alone is only about $100 less than the bundle) it does not include a floor board, you would need to also buy a MIDI floor controller. There are several options, anywhere from $100 up to a whole lot more. Which is worth considering, as the HD500 is an all inclusive option for $500, whereas the Eleven Rack, while it does include ProTools, once the MIDI board is factored in is near, at or above $1000 total.

 

Here are a couple compatible MIDI floor control options for use with the Eleven Rack:

 

-Behringer FCB1010

-Stomp IO

-Roland FC-300

-Voodoo Lab Ground Control

 

-For a substantially great deal more money, take a look at the Fractal Audio Axe-FX equipment,

it's a big step up in complexity and price. ($2,000+)

 

-For a similar 'deep editing' modeller with a big price tag, take a look at the Kemper Profiler rack; people are saying some good things about that piece of gear. ($2,000+).

 

If you don't "feel it" with the AMPLIFi, definitely look into other options! Especially if you are still within your return time frame. When you are battling with your gear to get good tone, your quest to explore the important part - "the Music" - will be fundamentally compromised.

 

Gear is what makes the music possible, so your equipment should be an extension of your own "voice" as they call it. Your soul, heart, your fingers, your guitar, your ears, your amp, your FX, your tone. It must "speak" to you, and you need to resonate with it.

 

Cheers! And most of all, HAVE FUN. Music is Good for the Soul, while it can be complex, challenging, and make you insane, it should also be enriching, exciting, exhilarating, and rewarding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"vintage" AX2 2I2. Really not a bad amp.

 

I see in the AX2 notes, that it has "an independent clean channel for plugging in a mic, drum, or tape machine,"

 

That's probably the ideal connection to run an HD500 into the AX2, if there is not an FX return.

You want to just bypass the amp's preamp / fx / etc, and tap direct into the poweramp portion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amplifi could be a really cool product, but unfortunately it appears to be designed for karaoke guitar playing, end of story. And purposely dumbed down to fit into that product category. If that's the kind of player you are, then great. But if you really play music, then you are going to find it frustrating. 

 

I've put together some decent sounding custom tones for my playing styles, but accessing them while playing live is difficult to say the least unless you limit yourself to just putting 4 of them into the on amp favorites memories. It wouldn't have to be this way, the software could support midi control to swap in tone banks on the fly, and all kinds of other advanced live editing or modulation features, but it doesn't.

 

Amplifi as a product was released before it was finished. No real documentation. The USB port currently does nothing. So currently no way to record from it digitally. There is a whole world of ios or desktop computer based recording software this amp could interface with. So then you could use it with digital recording software, or with ios synths with audio-bus support. But right now it's essentially useless for interfacing with that world. I hope that changes in the future. 

 

I thought 'Iknowathingortwo' comments above were very well written. A better alternative to Amplifi might be a pod and some other high fidelity powered speaker setup. I have found pods great to use in live playing or recording situations. Amplifi is not great in the first, and useless in the second right now. If Line6 actually finishes the product, then Amplifi might be very useful in both of these situations. But because of the way it's being marketed and the initial rollout, I don't have high hopes they are going to care about it in the right way to make that happen.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, i agree that getting the USB port working for recording the effected guitar sound into a computer DAW or back to the ios device controlling it is important. I'm going to feel a lot better about my purchase when the USB port starts working.

 

For me personally, i'd want to record it in Ableton Live on a mac if i was recording back to a personal computer.

 

The ipad is also a pretty interesting audio recording environment these days. So ideally i'd want something like AudioBus support so that i could work with AudioBus enabled ios software synths or ios DAW software on the ipad along with the guitar amp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I connected my AMPLIFI's USB to my Mac I got an audio option called, "ToneMatchAudio" but it wouldn't work (no sound) ... I'm hoping Line 6 puts out a firmware update that later gives the amp's USB port some audio recording / playback functionality. Hopefully, it's in the works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To say this amp is for karaoke guitar players and only that is disingenuous and pretty far off base. This serves as a good backup amp and an excellent practice amp. If my main 5 figure rig hiccups at a gig, I know I have this relatively inexpensive solution ready to go so I can finish my gig.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought 'Iknowathingortwo' comments above were very well written.

 

That same thing threw me for a loop; Line6 assigns those tags based on how many posts a user has made and/or how many of those posts are +1 (favorably) reviewed.. I swiped my nickname from Phish / Trey Anastasio's "Gamehenge" saga, the character Colonel Forbin gets transported to Gamehenge, where he has to do battle with the evil King Wilson, and help save the Lizard people with the help of The Famous Mockingbird and the Helping Friendly Book~ :)

 

The avatar pic, is of course, Captain Avatar! Anyone old enough like me to remember Starblazers??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a lot of new players are ill served by starting with this or a modeler in general.  I think you need to start on the real thing and learn what the knobs and tweaks do so if and when you do move to a modeler you have a foundation from which to work.  Without that, too many come to find they have no idea what they are doing with all the options available with today's gear.  A good modeler can make life easier and improve workflow if you know what you are trying to do but coming into it blind its gotta be daunting.  Just a thought...

 

For just a thought, this is an excellent point! I started on a really loud, really lousy 2x12 red knob / grey grill, solid state Fender Power Chorus. For a young kid, as I was then (and still am at heart, despite my nearly 41 year old aging creaky boned body, went to the chiropractor again yesterday self) that amp was the bees knees! It had *built in chorus and reverb* ;)

 

And that's kinda the points rads makes; even though the tone on that thing was horrible, and it eventually just stopped working, it gave me a good understanding of what the basic principals of volume, drive, EQ, and FX processing were all about. Ahhh, good old 1989...!....

 

I eventually went through a variety of fx pedals, stomp boxes, this that and the other thing. Digitech something or other, led to some Boss gear. When it all finally "clicked" for me, was with the X3L. Which is probably why so many people are frustrated by the AMPLiFi experience; it's taken the technology into non-intuitive realms, for many, an unwelcome departure for those who have become accustomed to the manner in which the POD style equipment. That doesn't make it *bad*, it's just a different beast. I can understand why someone with - was it a five figure main rig (NICE!!!) - has no problem looking to the AMPLiFi as a good alternate to their primary rig; gig saved, probably works awesome backstage to stay warmed up before the set starts.

 

In all likelyhood, for those who have a mountain of gear waiting on stage, with intricate settings, and time consuming set ups, this is a welcome simple, good sounding piece of gear. Oddly, despite it possibly being intended for the more casual or novice user, it has a particular niche among those who already have the best gear they can get, and want something far less complex.

 

For the new guy or girl, learning chops, and looking to explore tone sculpting and sonic exploration, they may actually find themselves frustrated by the lack of tangible knobs, dials, levers, and adjustment mechanisms.

 

All I can say, is you are still 1,000% better off with the AMPLiFi than with a Fender Power Chorus, you lucky peeps! :)

 

Holla if you remember the red knob Fenders!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My first "dream rig" was a Gibson firebrand "The Paul" and a Lab series L5 100 watt 212 run through a Peavey 412 cabinet.  It had a built in compressor and frequency modulation along with tone controls and that with another MXR compressor and analog delay and I was the shiznat.   Did put the shizzle in the shiznat when I got an AX2 in the '90's and thought I would never need another amp or effect pedal. Just reached a young 50 and after approaching 3 decades after getting out of school, getting a job working 9-5, and pretty much exclusively playing my Yairi DY 53 at home and around, I really started back with the electric last year and re-learned a lot real fast but still working during the day and not much time to play.

 

Last week at this time I was ready to swap my Amplifi 150 for a HD500. Struggled with the decision but then plugged the 150 back up and find that it is really more convenient to play and I do play and practice even more with it.  

 

I do see some things occurring that are a bit unusual and I see where there have been some recent posts about uploading tones which I have yet to even try b/c I don't have a Mkii.   I still have time to swap but I am hoping improvements will occur and Line 6 will make it better.   I really do hope so.  It is now just a nice practice amp.  Could easily be an even better practice amp.  

 

I am holding off getting a floorboard as suggested by a GC tech.  Says things are in the works.  It would be cool to hear something encouraging from Line 6 about "things in the works".  For now I'm keeping the 150 and hoping for any news at all from Line 6??????

 

Still, the '79 dream rig doesn't touch either of the 2 Line 6 amps I have.  Actually still have the Lab series, and the firebrand still looks, sounds, and plays sweet!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last week at this time I was ready to swap my Amplifi 150 for a HD500. Struggled with the decision but then plugged the 150 back up and find that it is really more convenient to play and I do play and practice even more with it.  

.......

 

I am holding off getting a floorboard as suggested by a GC tech.  Says things are in the works.  It would be cool to hear something encouraging from Line 6 about "things in the works".  For now I'm keeping the 150 and hoping for any news at all from Line 6??????

 

Wow.  Freaking me out.  I said the exact thing last Friday, "ready to swap 150 for HD500X".  And a week later, I'm still not sure.  If there is indeed something new coming down the pike, I think I'll swap the 150 for a credit on my SW card...

 

 - Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The "something new" has already been announced... it's an amplifi FX100 it's got the same basic functionality as the amplifi in a footboard. no amp and it has 100 presets.

 

Wow.  Freaking me out.  I said the exact thing last Friday, "ready to swap 150 for HD500X".  And a week later, I'm still not sure.  If there is indeed something new coming down the pike, I think I'll swap the 150 for a credit on my SW card...

 

 - Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The "something new" has already been announced... it's an amplifi FX100 it's got the same basic functionality as the amplifi in a footboard. no amp and it has 100 presets.

 

Oh.  Guess I'll be getting an HD500X delivered Monday with a FedEx return label for the Amplifi :-)

 

Again, I love the Amplifi.  I just learned about the HD500X after I bought it and since I have the opportunity to the swap (same $$) I want to.

 

Thanks!

 

 - Tony

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh.  Guess I'll be getting an HD500X delivered Monday with a FedEx return label for the Amplifi :-)

 

 

The HD500x is a true beast of a tone machine; what I really like about my HD500 is that it sounds good through almost *anything*. In general, I use a very limited palette of the FX blocks. I still like how it sounds just using an amp model by itself with sparse FX, like a wah, compressor boost, a drive pedal, a reverb, and a delay. I do enjoy the spacial canopy of insanity that you can create, with the more cosmic reverbs, modulations, and assorted sundry wild and wooly other options.

 

But what I love most is those amp models. I did finally get to plug in my Eleven Rack to a pair of L2t's last night, running it stereo into the M20d using the stereo line in block. Sounds great, definitely a nice alternate to the POD. Though, as an all-in-one type solution, the HD500 is hard to beat! Eventually I will likely add some kind of MIDI flooboard controller for the Eleven Rack, maybe use it as an alternate rig or something; figure out how to A/B between JTV, HD500, Strat, and Eleven Rack.

 

Thus far, though, the HD500 still sounds more realistic - though I gotta give Sweetwater credit, the 100 custom artist presets that come with the Eleven Rack are play worthy and ready to go right out of the box. I was pleasantly surprised in fact, that they did a nice job with that bundle. Presets are usually not a good indicator of what the gear can do, and in this case, they nailed it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted 14 March 2014 - 06:28 AM

I think a lot of new players are ill served by starting with this or a modeler in general. I think you need to start on the real thing and learn what the knobs and tweaks do so if and when you do move to a modeler you have a foundation from which to work. Without that, too many come to find they have no idea what they are doing with all the options available with today's gear. A good modeler can make life easier and improve workflow if you know what you are trying to do but coming into it blind its gotta be daunting. Just a thought...

 

 

Yes radats, that's exactly it.  I don't know what I'm doing.  How could I expect an amp to do the work for me if I don't have enough experience to know what it should be doing.  So with arislaf, you and tomtheguitarguy's advise, tried some amps and bought a Marshall JVM215C tube combo.  My wife decided to keep the Amplifi because- it connected to her iphone playlists (just for listening to songs) blows her Bose system away.  Go figure.   

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes radats, that's exactly it.  I don't know what I'm doing.  How could I expect an amp to do the work for me if I don't have enough experience to know what it should be doing. 

 

Personally, I think the point Radatats made was well spoken, and with the intent to help, and offer valuable insight.

Personally, I totally get what he was saying, and I experienced that myself as I was learning to use both 'real world' gear and multi-fx units during my formative years.

 

Myself, you, you, you - or anyone else who wants to delve deeper into musical tonal exploration can benefit from the point of view he offered! And he was 100% correct, though it may not apply to everyone equally. Lord knows I have benefited extensively from taking the time to listen to what people have to say; to see it from their point of view. There is always something new to learn in the world of music equipment, and the most important part of what Radatats said is totally applicable to anyone trying to get the most from their equipment.

 

Considering the amp models were created - especially the HD amp models - by Line6 collecting the *actual* equipment they created models of. And I quote:

 

"Quite literally, we went back to the drawing board for over 3 years to develop a brand-new suite of tools that would capture, analyze and translate a tremendous amount of amplifier data. During that time, a dedicated team of amp hunters scoured the globe to amass a dream-worthy collection of amplifiers for us to model."

 

So, it follows that it would at least help anyone trying to use these amp models, to have some basic "hands on" experience with ACTUAL guitar amps and FX units. The tangible experience of dialing knobs and adjusting physical, analog components forms the bedrock of understanding that can then be later extrapolated into the world of virtual amp modeling.

 

Like I said in my reply, anyone with an AMPLiFi is in league beyond where I started! Playing lousy guitars with a rather horrible solid-state Fender, ugh - I could have made far better choices in stomp boxes, amps, guitars - but we all start somewhere.

 

Maybe the complexity of deep editing amp models and composing FX chains comes naturally to some, or with enough experience they become experts, like Glenn DeLaune. Not me! I tend to go *very basic* with my patches, because when I try to do much, it just sounds horrible. Personally, I know I benefited from my initial learning of the basics of hands on the amp - even if my amp was not the best quality - compared to the AMPLIFi, my first gear was *total garbage* (no offense to Fender, generally they build great gear!)

 

Later down the road, when I started with multi-FX units, I didn't have a clue about connection types, best way to connect the FX units to the amp, or even how to get a good recording signal. Digitech, Boss, etc. Experimenting with different amps, cabinets, and using actual microphones helped me understand a whole lot about how my favorite musicians got their tones on my favorite albums and songs. It wasn't until I moved up to the X3Live that I really started to "get it", in terms of hearing the models as responding like their real world counterparts. Understanding the difference between overdriving a preamp vs overdriving the tube poweramp. Learning what putting a compressor pedal in a tube amp fx loop does, and understanding what folks meant when they talked about 'rolling off' the guitar volume to 'clean up' the tone. Doing that with a REAL amp first was crucial for me, so that I could find ways to transfer that experience to the "virtual world" of the POD experience.

 

Alot of these variables contained in the new world of high tech amp modeling gear - POD, Eleven Rack, Axe Fx, Kemper - are attempting to emulate a valid correspondence to real world equipment. And that's awesome! I mean, you can literally model your own equipment with that Kemper profiler. WOW is all I can say to that!!!

 

I mention Glenn DeLaune, because besides being a professional and extremely proficient musician, he also has a webpage where you can pay money for his presets for a variety of this type of gear. He didn't get *that* good at programming without a solid real world background; and that's all Radatats (IMHO) was trying to convey. Plus he has a cool vibe in his tutorial videos that doesn't come off as elitist, he just seems to honestly enjoy sharing what he knows. Which is what Rads was trying to do.

 

I personally really enjoy the HD500 for it's deep editing features, and the Line6 link is worth it's weight in gold. Others may not be interested in such options, which is why AMPLiFi could be a good option for them.

 

I think, just from looking at the grill that the AMPLiFi was born from the StageSource speaker design, which inherently puts them into the "hifi" realm. I personally wish the gear didn't depend so much on using third party equipment (iPad) to control and adjust the tones; for me, that seems very frustrating - but that's just me, and doesn't really have any bearing on the merits of this new equipment. As always, God Bless Line6! They keep it interesting, they keep pushing the boundaries of what gear sounds like, how we interact with it, and their tools are some of the best in the business for making Music FUN! And their stuff sounds amazing; that's what we are all after, in the ends.

 

Cheers everyone! Happy First Saturday of SPRING!!! :)

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...