Line 6 Flextone Duo

This amp is a first generation Line6 Flextone amp. It's a 2x50W stereo modelling combo with 16 amp models and 16 different FX combinations. Speaker setup is 2x10" eminences. Feature-wise it is a good piece of equipment, you can achieve a wide range of sounds from "JC-120"-style super clean to Soldano SLO-100-type super dirty. It has a combined headphone/direct out-connection, which is a nice feature for practicing and home-studio applications. I never really used that feature, the amp was used in band rehersals and gigs. It also has a stereo series FX-loop, which is something I used extensively. Bitches are the following: tweaking possibilities are very limited. There is just one knob + tap tempo for FX-tweaking, which is very limiting. Also the EQ's are useless. They have no effect on the sound (I tweaked the bastard, belive me). Other thing is necessity of the floorboard. In order to use all 12 memory bank and the tuner, you must also purchase the floorboard, whics isn't cheap. Also the lack of MIDI-connections is a seroius flaw in a modelling amp.

As I mentioned earlier, I used the amp in rehersals, gigs and studio.
My band plays straight-forward guitar rock and pop and I play a custom-made Telecaster with SD pups. With this amp, I plugged my Boss VF-1 in to the loop and occasionally I hooked my 10-series tube screamer in front. Being the only guitarist in my band, I never faced the problem of "not being heard" or "not cutting thru the mix". In fact, the amp is loud. But I can imagine, that if you have a two guitarists or guitarist and keyboardist (among a singer, bassist and drummer) in a same room going flat out, the sound of this amp probably won't cut. Reason for this is that it lacks dimension. It is flat. You can get, for exmaple, descent marshall-type crunch or fender-type clean out of it and you can get away with it in a rehersal situation, but it will not be a blast to play. I used to gig with this amp in small places where you can't crank your amps. For this kind of cases, this amp was good, since you can get, again, decsent sound out of it without going to full blast. And when playing larger venues, you can of course mike the thing and again end up with something descent. You can also get a wide variety of descent sound out of it in studio, which is also nice. None of are phenomenal, but you can get away with them. '

While reading this review, you may realize what is the "catch" with this amp. It does a wide variety of tricks descently in a wide variety of situations. And that is definitely a virtue. On the other hand, it cannot produce anything that will send shivers down your spine.

I owned it for five years, and it to the shop only once, which is a good thing for a computer. I think that is was a broken cap in the power amp or something. It also lost all the pathces for six or seven times which was annoying. Besides that, it worked all right

No experince.

I have played guitar for 20 years, and have owned tubeamps, rackgear, and modelling amps. I sold the amp 2 months ago after owning it for five years. The reason for selling it was that I got tired of the fact that you can produce only descent sound with this amp. You can produce a bunch of descent sounds all right, but I don't need that anymore. Once I thought I did, but not anymore. What I need is a few great sounds. That's why I sold the flextone and bought a mesa.

A number of amp models, 4 user presets, built in effects. 2x50=100watt 2x10 cab. Sometimes wish there was a bit more flexibility in the effects category so a 9 here.

Lots of good sounds available to you here. I play many different styles of music. This sounds like a tube amp except at way lower volumes you can get good syrupy sounds. Its not as great as a tube amp for cleaning up and then opening up and the tone is not quite as great but it sure is pretty handy. Some of the sounds are lousy but others are quite good. You can toy with this thing for a long time and get some very usable sounds, especially if you need to copy a lot of different sounds/styles this is certainly very convenient for that. And priced so well too.

It's a little flaky sometimes with occasional popping and mystery noises but you can always recover from it. Mines been solid. Really need the footboard to get everything out of the amp, and that has some bugs but nothing thats ever stopped the show. sometimes I have to hit the same channel button several times to get the channel to switch, but mostly pretty solid. been roughed around in the trunk for years.

Support is ok in terms of responsiveness. Seems like the support staff I have talked to have not been as educated on Line 6 products as I would have hoped they would. Often I seem to know more than they do.

Super handy for covering lots of sounds/styles at low volumes. I play lots of church music and with choir and praise teams you cant have a screaming stack and still mik the vocals without blowing people out, so reasonable tone at lower volumes is important. Also with all the switchable banks of sounds you can program, its really easy to cover lots of different stuff. Modern High Gain with drive on 10 and some delay give a killer lead sound. I use the black panel for a more straight forward rock and roll tone. Overall its a real handy workhorse that does a lot of things for you especially with the footswitch for a reasonable price. You could cover almost any gig with this and not have incredible one of a kind great tone but definately cut the cake and easy to set up.

I have had this amp for 3 years. It is extremely versitle, but it lacks the low end. It has suited my taste in just about every style of music. Doesnt work well with pedals. But ive been able to copy sounds from AC/DC to Ted Nugent and Metallica to Ozzy (Randy Rhoads).
It has stuff like Chorus, Delay, Compressor, Flanger (kinda like a phaser), and others that can also be combined with the delay. It has a clean to a blues to a fuzz to a ripping-off-heads distortion, but you kinda gotta fiddle with it, very intersting little amp.

If you got the time you can make some killer combinations. I have a few bands listed above and i got alot more combos on paper. It lacks the low end and sounds a lil fuzzy when the volumes around 5 or 6, and i dont recommend it on stage for Heavy-Hate-Mosh metal, but i luv to record with it.

Its a tank. Nuthin could take it down, trust me, its been dropped tested :)

I never got the manual and i couldnt get the manual from the website to check the warranty (i bought it about a year after they ran outta make.)

Been playin for 4 years, and Ive ran a Les Paul Studio, a Jackson SL-1 and a Strat. Sounds awsome thru it. If it was stolen they dont make it anymore so i cant say id replace it, but id buy the same product line (now Flextone 3). Lacks low end, but it has SHREAKING highs, if you get the right setting. Compared to all the combos ive tried (alot) this one is the best ive ever played. I wish it had a more meatier low end and didnt sound as fuzzy (im replacing the speakers soon.)

If you are a person that has a wide taste and impatient, and want to customize your tone to your own personal settings and dont have much money, get this amp, or one of the flextone products. I just described myself and i am extremely satistfied with this product.

This is a 1oo watt 2x10 combo. I have had it for about five years. It is perhaps the loudest combo I've owned, including 100 Marshall 2X12's which weigh much more. 16 different amp sim. models are offered, most very good if paired with the right instrument (and the programer has ears and taste.

I have many instruments and have found they all can be dialed in properly if you take the time to choose a model that complements the guitar you are using. In general though, I thing the amp responds best to low output pickups and tele/strar's in particular. I have used it in studio and live situations for major acts and shows as well as casuals and it works for all of them. My only complaint is the effects, which suck. If you use a pedal board in front of the pre amp you will have much better effects. The ones line6 include are useable bud not rich and full sounding. The compressor is good and the delay is usefull. The mod. effects are not big or deep sounding.

When I first got it, I noticed a backround 60 cycle hum that was not suitable for recording. Apparently. there was a problem with the circuit board which they fixed for me. There was also a chip upgrade which supposedly improved the high end response. I sounded fine to me but I up graded it anyway. I used to have some wierd sounds when using the floorboard tuner, switching in and out would create a pop. It does not always happen but can be distracting when it does (sounds like a small cal. gunshot at times, which can be a drag). They never figured that one out on my amp. I usually use the tuner on my pedal board, so it's not a problem. The amp has been very reliable with the exception of a tantrum one time when it took a nap on stage, then woke up. I think this may have been due to problems with the house AC and not the Flextone. I love it and use it without a back up.

Flat out wonderfull if you ever need it (which you probably won't).

I've been playing 39 yrs. I own six other amps., bothe tube and solid state. If the Due were stolen I would get a newer Line6 model, perhaps a Vetta. If you are an ebayer, keep your eyes open for one of these. It is a great amp, one of the best I've ever owned.

This is an update to my previous submission...

I did enjoy the sounds, but after a dozen amps I simply gave up and switched back to a tube amp and have a POD for recording.

I think the problem is that you are basically using a laptop in a bar where the power is constantly changing as industrial fridges, neon lights and such turn on and off.

I tried power bars, power/surge protectors, and everything I could for under $500 but the problem would still come back. I went through roughly a new amp every 2 weeks of gigging, that is just insane. And it did cost me a couple of BIG gigs when the act saw me onstage attacking my amp as it randonly switched channels and effect on and off for the 10th time.

They did keep supplying me with amps and would have, but I had had enough.

Flexibility is clearly the flextones strength - it has 10 or more amps in one, obtainable at the press of a floor board buton...

I use the amp in the Blues band I'm in - playing Stevie Ray to Muddy Waters. Since buying the duo about 3 or 4 years ago, my sound definitely went up a notch. Before then. I'd always struggled to get a decent sound, and I did with this amp at first, but once mastered its extremely useable.

One criticism I do have is that the level boost option in each channel does not boost the level anywhere near enough for lead. Line 6 should have put in an option to set the level of boost this button gives. To get round this, I have separate lead and rythm settings that I store as separate sounds on the floorboard. I usually find I need about twice the volume on the amp setting to go from rythm to lead levels. Though this wastes a channel, it does give you the option to give the mid a slight nudge for the lead sound should you wnat to.

I use a 90's USA Strat plus with Gold, Silver and Red Lace sensors, which I have raised as high as possible whilst maintaining a balanced level between all three. I think Lace sensors give the best tone set high.

The sound I really love on this amp is the Bassman sound - with a gain of between 5 and 6. EQ'd flat this sounds great, (with a bit of delay - very SRV), though I prefer it with the bass EQ'd out a bit. The other sounds I like are the Marshall Plexi, and the Fender Deluxe.

The clean sounds I tend to use are the Plexi with lowish gain - which is extremely clear and the Line 6 clean which is like a Bassman with a more distinct top end. I have no problem at high levels with either of these.

I'm not so keen on the high gain models on this amp. The best is probably the boogie rectifier model, which I like with the treble off and the mid taken out about half way. In general, I find the high gain amp models to toppy.

When using this amp I think its sounds better if you keep the amp model volumes below half way - meaning you have to crank the master level up more. The tone sounds better turned up doing it this way and seems to remain purer sounding.

In using this amp for several years, I've discovered that you have to be sparing with pushing the top EQ becasue as you crank the amp up for gig levels, the speaker response brightens and you consequently neede less top end.

The effects are o.k. on the whole. I like the delay and compressor options. The flanger effects are average and the chorus is useable - but not stunning.

The Amp has never let me down so far at a gig. However, I did manage to lose all my sound settings once after a gig - and I don't know how this happenned. It could also do with some corner brackets on it.

I haven't used the customer support yet.

I've been using the amp for several years now and I've grown to love it. It's the first amp I've owned that really makes me lose myself when I'm playing on stage and really let go. I wouldn't say it will deliver one killer tone that is as good as a high end valve amp, but the tones it give are above that threshold that will make an audience stop and listen and at the end of the night compliment your tone.

Line 6 flextone Duo

Lots of folks whining about the low end on this amp and how it cuts through the mix. This is an amp that you have to work with for a while and get to know. It's not going to jump in your lap and sound great. I've had mine over a year and I'm still learning what it can and can't do. Most of the problems people are complaining about here at H/C can be avoided by dialing in your setups with the master vol cranked up and the channel vol lowered. I'm also looking into squeezing in a pair of 12"s or replacing the factory 10"s. This amp can sound really good in most situations - Live, studio, etc.

Very good, no problems

Sucks... never return my emails, ever.

Many, many!!

Ive got to echo the user comments above. I played with a strat in a basment blues band for 3 years with this amp. Its sounds great and authentic at low volumes but just doesn't punch through a mix of instruments. It gets plenty loud but doesnt cut through. I remember comparing it to my 64 deluxe reverb side by side. They had the same type of sound but not the same strength of sound. I finally gave up and sold the amp. Im now using a straight 64 princeton reverb and ts-9 mod mic'd through the PA. The good times are back again. I know Ill miss the versatility of having many sounds and effects in one box. But hey what good is all this if you can't hear it through the mix. Line 6 really needs to figure out how to get a better low end and stronger sound out of these amps. The duo is loud but not strong!! Oh by the way don't even think of running the line out to a P.A. input of any kind. There is such an impedence mismatch here its a joke. How could Line 6 engineers not have known that the amp would be used this way? this is unforgiveable.

Had no problems

Took me days to find an e-mail address. All phone numbers are left out of the manual intentionally. This makes me hate them. Although when I did write them they responded quickly and were concientious.

Ive played for 37 years and have had over 70 amps. If someone had stolen this amp I wouldnt replace it with another.

You know all that stuff already.

I just want to voice my agreement with those who are disappointed when it's turned up. It wimps out and gets muddy. It doesn't have that tube thump. I have lots of tube amps (Marshall Anniversary, Boogie MkIIB, Peavey Ultra 112 and others) and they each have one or two "sweet" tones. The Duo has lots of great sounds, but they only seem to get worse as the volume rises above speech level. Those beautiful sounds you carefully program change drastically for the worse when you crank the master. Line 6 has a section on their web site which talks about human hearing response as the volume rises. Even so, no amount of tweaking is going to recover those cool tones when the volume goes up.

My Tube Screamer won't work with this amp. Other pedals are ok but a little noisy. The TS9 makes the amp swoosh like a phase shifter at any control settings.

The construction is way too sloppy for a combo amp. Turn it up and the rattles start. The power switch is sloppy and rattles easily. The circuit board is held to the chassis partly with plastic clips. There are places where there are holes through the board where screws were planned to go but never installed, I think replaced by a clip. The back panel of the chassis is not well attached and resonates. Even the speaker cables (no, wires, they don't deserve to be called cables) were rattling against the back panel. They just pass out of the chassis through a slot with no grommets or any other thought to vibration. The rubber feet are poor and collapse easily. The logo was on crooked. The corner protectors were mounted with gaps behind them.

The floorboard acts up ocassionally, most often refusing to enter tuner mode. Sometimes some of the other switches refuse to function as well. Nothing seems to restore function, not even a full reset. Then it just starts working.

They seem helpful but they did give me a difficult time buying a new master volume pot. They couldn't accept that anyone other than a "trained service technician" could handle the job.

Playing for 32 years, 10 years of lessons. Eight guitars (Jacksons, Kramer, custom scalloped Strat, SG, Ovation) six amps, recording gear, piano, Korg X3, Marshal JMP-1, Rocktron Intelifex, Alesis Midiverb 2.

If the amp needed replacing I might get the XL 212. But I think a Pod Pro and a tube stereo power amp would make a good head and eliminate those wimpy solid-state power amps of the Flextone Duo. Then a 212 cabinet, maybe a Marshall 1936, and you'd have the same or better versatility with full response and punch at volume.

this amp is very versitile and it covers many style, for that its great, its also conveinent as hell, many differnt amp modles, onboard effects, all of that i love however,, it just plain sucks! the key word is amp modles,

ok, i use a ton of guitars ranging from my prs to my strat to my tele, the problem with this amp is it sucks live the clean and dirty are night and day, its nearly impossible to match the volume of a crisp clean sound with a dirty sound in a live situation. this amp dose not cut threw the mix at all youll be so barried its not even fun! also its very hard to play dynamicly, most ametures dont care or even consider dynamics, but if you lister to srv or any great guitar player, they are dynamic this is much harder to achieve with the responce of solid state and amp modeling but,,,, it kicks ass for recording thats the only reason i keep it, its great for recording it sounds so damn real if you spend the time to tweak it and its convienet for rehersals, but i recommend waiting for them to dick around with the tecnology of modling for a few more years before you waste your money on a solid state wanna be!

its reliable, but it seems to sound different every where you go, so all your pesets are constantly being tweeked.

never had a problem

ill close on this, if you love this amp i dont mean to insult your taste , but it is not a giging amp. it takes damn near 350 + watts of solid state to even compete with a 100 wat tube head, and its very mushy sounding at high volume. if your a home player or a recreational bedroom studio musican then this amp is for you, if your tying to play with the big dogs then go get your self a tube amp!