mdt0266 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Hi all.....new member here. I've been reading the threads here for the past few days and they have been helpful. I was hoping to ask a few more questions to hopefully assist in my decision making process on the AMPLIFi FX100.... I play on our church's worship team. My main rig is a Gibson LP through Pod XT Live direct to board. I have used the XT Live for the past 4 years and actually love it. At one point, I briefly use the HD 300 but ended up going back to the XT (maybe just liked the familiarity?)..... Typically I will use my iPad running "Music Stand" to keep my music sheets avail if I need to glance at the road map or something. Here is where the AMPLIFi intrigues me. I like the idea of being able to make tone/effect adjustments on the fly from the iOS device that I'm already using without having to get down on the floor and start tweaking the XT's knobs/buttons...just less obtrusive. So, I've been reading good and bad about this unit. The good seems ok, the bad seems really bad. Maybe I'm not looking at things accurately? I *really* want to like this unit (the concept just seems like something I could use), but I want to make sure it's gonna work. So my questions are: those of you who use it, do you gig w it? And if so, are you happy w performance? Happy w tones? Happy w iOS utilization/pairing/response? Have you used other Line 6 devices previously and how would you compare this device with those? Thanks in advance folks! I really appreciate any input you guys could give.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ric1966 Posted August 5, 2014 Share Posted August 5, 2014 I've gigged with mine twice. Here is the scoop... The Good: 1) The awesome TONES!!! Many compliments on how naturally the rhythm tones sit in the mix, from both fellow musicians and the audience. I have also been told about how well my "new" lead tone cuts through without being harsh. 2) The ease of setup. Last night I ran a more complex rig than the first gig - stereo, one main-out channel into a back line that was a Carvin FET450 power amp into a Yorkville 12" full range floor monitor stood up. The other channel went into a small Behringer powered floor wedge facing back at me. My original plan was to send the link output of the powered monitor to the mains, but it was such a small gig we didn't even send instruments through the mains. The other gig was just the powered floor wedge back at me, with the link output to the mains. Both sounded great! A major benefit of FRFR is ultimate control over your stage volume. And the Twin Reverb, JCM800 and Spinal Puppet models sound incredible at any volume! The Bad: 1) Maybe I have big feet, or maybe the stage was too dark... several times I fat-footed the switches and changed banks by accident while just trying to change a patch within a bank. Not good! Lots of pedal dancing to get it back in the middle of a song. Luckily the other patch it went to wasn't too far off from what I wanted. I decided I don't like the "two switch at once" method for changing banks. My RP500 had separate switches above the main row for changing banks, much better. 2) Also in comparison to my RP500; that unit lets you toggle back to the previous patch by pressing the same switch you just hit to get to the current patch. Doesn't work like that on the FX100. For example, when we played the Van Halen version of "You Really Got Me" with lots of fills, it was nice to toggle back and forth on the RP500 between lead and rhythm patches using just one switch. I could position my toe over it and I wouldn't have to look down every time like I did on the FX100 to make sure I was going left and right the correct amount to get the two patches on adjacent switches. Easy to get lost that way... 3) The tuner is very accurate, but unless you have your IPad synced and mounted on a stand in front of you, the lights on the top of the volume knob on the FX100 get shadowed by the knob unless you are right over the unit. This forces you to lean forward when tuning. I usually don't keep my IPad synced during a gig, because it seems to introduce latency in the switching speed. The bad features are not enough of a hindrance to keep me from absolutely loving this unit! It's not perfect, but I didn't think I would ever hear any solid state setup that sounds like this. I was a die hard tube amp fan until now. To me the incredible tones, control provided by FRFR and the rig simplicity are well worth the entrance fee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdt0266 Posted August 5, 2014 Author Share Posted August 5, 2014 Hey ric...thanks so much for the reply....I was wondering if any feedback was coming! Anyway, it was helpful. When you say the iPad sync will cause a bit of latency, is that meaning if I'm sync'd and I try to switch from crunch to clean or straight to delay/chorus/etc, you are getting "lag" time before the switch is audible? Are you talking crazy noticeable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ric1966 Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Glad to help! Yes, that's what I've noticed when switching while connected, a slight delay between the physical pressing of the switch and the audible change in tone produced by the new patch. It's not real bad, but my RP500 never had any lag. I haven't missed using the iPad live, with the exception that its visual interface for tuning is far better than the FX100's lights around the dial. I tend to save all tone edits to my tone library when connected (not gigging) and then pre-load them into banks on the unit before a gig. This requires you to recall tones by number, but I have a scheme that is consistent for each bank I use... lower gain tones on the left, with gain and/or effects increasing as I go to the right across the row of switches. My lead patches tend to be on the rightmost switch in each bank. I typically don't do any editing on the fly during a gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdt0266 Posted August 6, 2014 Author Share Posted August 6, 2014 Got it...thanks.... I may just pull the trigger on this. Thanks so much for the input... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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