Line 6 Flextone II

Not a bad rig at all. "Models" a variety of popular guitar amplifiers with a large variety of onboard effects all in one combo. If you are using the floorboard there is a built in tuner and you can check tuning on the fly, silently if you wish. I've been working in cover bands for decades, approximately 5 years with this Flextone II, is easy to use, reliable and versitile. We appreciate the compensated direct low z stereo/mono outs to the p.a. mains (no mucking around possible inherent problems with microphones). There is plenty of power being that it is direct to p.a. and monitors anyways.

The sound is good for me on the "blackface" and "Vintage Brittish". These suit the live coverband stuff fine (Dire Straits, Stones, Tom Petty, Blues, etc.) For studio recording originals however I prefer what I hear on playbacks with my Marshall tube amp. I use either a stratocaster, les paul or a Gretch 6120, all sound fine through this amp. High gain settings lack the spongy brown tone present on some other amplifiers. I believe that this amp is not for everybody and quality of instrument plugged into it and playing tecnique should also weigh heavy on critique of this amp and its capabilities.

In five years of heavy use I have never had this amp break or fail. I did have to re-boot once, took about two seconds. With this service length that is better that any of my prevoius rigs. The associated floarboard finally had a switch go bad, fixed it on break (simply streched out a spring)and was good to go. I dont see a need to pack around a backup guitar amplifier.

Never needed to repair the amplifier. The floorboard I mentioned earlier... I made one phone call asking for one replacment switch- three days later I got a bag of them in the mail free and soldered it in myself, very easy.

I would consider a replacement if I lost this one. I am impressed with the clever and inovative design and features. With the Flextone II and the floorboard you can just plug and play, I really like that for the bandstand. For me and what I do this amp is fine and meeting my needs.

See other reviews or website.

I believe this amp has more possibilities than appear on the surface. You should download the manual if you don't already have it to see how to maximize use of this amp's features.

Jack of all trades, master of none. I bought it because I rehearse in my attic and wanted something versatile for bandmates to use, rather than lug their amps from their own homes.

Very solid, and lighter than you'd probably think based on it's size.

Good website.

Don't buy it.

If you like its features, buy the POD and run it through a nice tube amp, like a Fender Pro (cheapest, most basic Fender tube).

Better off starting with a solid tube platform, clean sound, and adding the effects to that with the POD or some similar all-in-one.

This amp has about a million combinations of cabs and effects and I'm not going to go through them all. Suffice to say, if you can do a million things adequately, you probably can't do any one thing excellently. If you want to get effects on the cheap, this is the way to go, but you do get what you pay for.

I've played this amp through an epiphone Les Paul, the best Gibson Les Paul you can buy without getting a custom shop, a Fender Strat deluxe with the s-1 switching system and an Eric Clapton signiture edition strat with Lace Sensor pickups.

When I first got this amp, I hadn't developed my own sound, style, or, for that matter, my ears. I thought it sounded great. Now, after fooling around with genuine tube amps and better-quality solid states, I understand what other people mean about the "tinniness" of this amp. The sound doesn't melt together; rather, it sounds like it's coming out of cheap headphones even when playing through the speaker. It shreaks, and not in the good way. Think of your girlfriend screaming at you through a telephone after you've forgotten her birthday. There also tends to be an additional crunchy sound that I guess is supposed to mimic overdriven tubes when you turn the drive up. Sounds a bit like trucks driving through gravel. In addition, if you turn the volume up to anything approaching gig-level it's muddy as all hell.

Two or three of the amp setting are okay at low level - here I'm mainly referring to the "brit classic" and "brit blues" models - but, again, turn her up and you might as well forget about that searing lead you had planned, because nobody is going to be able to distinguish it from the scratchy mess that has become your amp.

This is the only positive thing about this amp. It can take a beating. If you've ever owned a tube amp you know the slightest bit of moisture or even an accidental kick can put you out commission for a while. You can chuch this thing out of a third-story window (and trust me, I've wanted to) and the sound won't be affected. Then again, it'd be hard to make it sound much rougher than it does...

I hear they're good.

If you're not sure what kind of sound you want, go to a guitar store, play around with the simulated amps at low volume on this, and, once you've found a model whose tone you like, see if they actually have that amp in the store. This amp is okay for recording or for people who need a lot of gear and simulated cabs for not too much dough. But if you're like me and play only one or two styles (blues and classic rock for me) find an amp that specializes in what you like. Don't go for any of the modeling amps. They look like a good deal and the guys in the store love to chat up all their features, but if you need special effects to make you sound better you're only going to reveal to people how inexperienced you are, especially if you're gigging in any semi-serious environment where people actually listen to you. After this, I don't think I'll ever go back to digital. It's tube all the way from here on out for me.

A very kind friend lent me his flextone 2 for several months and 3 gigs, so I'm not going to be ungreatful and write a bad review.
I've previously owned solid state combos and proper valve amps and have gigged with both, and was the custodian of the line6 while I was looking to buy myself an amp. I had sold my Marshall JCM800 50W valve head and 4x12 cab on the basis of it being 'too big and ugly' (not my words - you get the picture) so was looking for something that would have wife pleasing aesthetics, but would sound good too. The line6 really helped form my opinion, which may also provide some clarity in the tube/modeling discussion that has been raging on these pages.

As someone with a low budget and a requirement for the same amp to suit all purposes I think I represent the majority of readers on this site.

At home the line6 sounded great (I play an LP studio by the way) and contrary to what many people have reported I found the interface very easy to use and before long I had a small number of sounds that I felt would cover my repertoire. At rehearsals and gigs (at much higher volume) I had mixed success, clean sounds were ok and there was an attempt at mimicing the nice break up that you get with tubes, although I had to be extremley carefull for that not to get muddy very quickly as the break up started to get painful at high volumes if my playing got clumsy (I am heavy handed, I don't ever have a gig without busting at least 1 string) overdriven sounds were ok for rythm stuff, but I found I had difficulty cutting through whilst playing lead on the back pickup. I am prepared to accept that this may be partly my inability to get the eq right, but I did find that the more sustain an overdriven sound gave me, the less it would cut through, as if eq was compromised by sustain. Maybe I needed more compression...

It may also be that there was just too much to choose from sound wise, and this is my main problem with modelling amps. I can't see why most guitarists would want to make the sacrifice of not having a more realistic tube sound in favour of just having a myriad of emulations that, although are good sounding and perfectly usable, not as good as the originals (I don't think there is any disputing that.) If you only play at home and want to play along sounding the same as your favourite guitarists, or if your covers band is trying to faithfully reproduce every detail of the original versions, then a modelling amp is certainly more practical than 1 of each of the amps that it models, but line6 seem expensive to me. You should look at the behringer v-ampire and VOX Valvetronics first at much lower prices, and by all accounts just as good (if not better) emulations.

For playing out, you're better off finding 'your' sound from an amp that suits your style and will make your sound an identifiable part of the bands overall sound. For this reason, it would be nonsense for me to advise on what amp you should get.

You may be wondering what I went for in the end though... well size and budget were my main constraints, and given that I tended to head towards the AC30 emulation on the line6, I went for the VOX VR30. Yes its not a proper tube amp, but I just can't afford that, the little VOX sounds great though, although Ive not yet rehearsed with it. but I do find that I get the nice tube break up that I just couldn't find with the line6, and my wife approves!

Lots of effects, lots of emulatory (don't bother looking that up, it's not a word) "amp models", lots of preset channels (with footswitch - 4 without), lots of different cabinet types that you can mix and match with the amp models...etc...

IF YOU PLAY IN YOUR BEDROOM NO LOUDER THAN 0.5 THAN THIS IS YOUR AMP. IF YOU CAN HANG WITH THE BIG BOYS AND ACTUALLY PLAY WITH A BAND, ONSTAGE, IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, FORGET THIS AMP!!! IT IS ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS BEYOND 3 ON THE MASTER VOLUME...HORRIBLE! Alright, with that said, it would make a good practice amp and if you are a teacher you might want one of these for your studio (I do).
Besides - why emulate that which you can achieve with the real thing? If money's an issue (and you're not a bedroom rocker) - SAVE UP SOME MORE! I give it a 4 because it is a horrible live amp but a very good practice amp.

I've had it for 6 years and have had no problem whatsoever. I used to gig with it a few years back (someone burn all the old tapes so I don't have to hear that God awful tinny tone!!!)...it has held up well. I give it an 8 in this category...after making the switch to tubes I just can't trust digital any more.

Never dealt with them.

If you are going to play live with a band, don't even think about it. It may sound pretty killer in the guitar store, but TRUST ME - go back to the store and turn it up as loud as you're allowed to and see what I mean about the tinny-ness (another made up word). If you are looking for a practice amp this is for you! For people who know what they're doing and actually play out...I don't even need to tell you - GO TUBES!!!

Built around 2000. This is an extremely "versatile" amplifier. Now that I've said that, I need to emphasize the type of versatility. This amplifier can generate thousands of tones and the features are easy to access, especially with the knob-based programming (rather than the typical click wheel/button formats of the 80s and 90s effects and processors). Countless effects as well - seemingly insurpassable in a combo amp structure. But the bottom line is this - it's an expensive toy: no more, no less. I have a few class A tube amps with no features at all in comparison, and they blow it away. As a typical 60-watt solid state combo, it can't keep up volume-wise with a 30-watt tube amp even on a good day. For live applications, don't even bother playing clean. By the time you turn up loud enough, the clean sound gets solid-state distortion (yeachhhh!) When are they going to start selling amps with a dB rating?

I play countless styles of music depending on my bands' shows. As a circuit musician, I cover the gamut of styles and venues. The original appeal of this amp was to set styles and plug in and play when I arrive. I have more guitars than I'll bother listing here, and believe me - I tried all of them through this amp. Did the amp get cool tones? You bet. Remembering the 80s and 90s attempts at cabinet emulation, this was only surpassed by the original Groove Tubes STP-G (should have never sold mine. RePete - if you're out there, sell it back!! heh heh). However, it is exactly what it is - emulation. Just like any cool solid state gizmo, it sounds fine at home and when playing live, its timbre changes dramatically. Anyone out there use a multi-effects pedalboard? Same problem. the only usable live sound at high volumes is the modern high gain with loads of compression. So I would market this amp towards modern players in a niche style. But then again, if you only need one sound, why not get a great tube amp and set it and forget it (sorry Ronco - I'll pay royalties on that)? The variety of tone is exceptional, but since most settings are rendered unusable in a live setting, what's an amp like this really worth?

Here's my true disappointment. I went through two of these thinking I had a defective amp. However, both did this and after discussion with others, they have the same problem. In live situations with poor wiring or possibly heavily-drained electricity due to a live band, sound and lights, when a quick surge of power is used (say a floodlight tripped on), the amp will reset its global volume to default (about practice-at-home-in-a-one-bedroom-apartment-next-to-complaining-neighbors level). I found myself constantly wiggling the master volume pedal of the floorboard to retain my volume level. This made the volume control on the floorboard useless because I had to set it to be my stage volume at max level andlightly tap it all the way down every time the electricity dipped. Did the amp ever break down? No (although I hear horror stories about these things having their software shut down and not being able to reboot).

Line 6 is a great company. Free upgrades, great computer interfaces and cool new recording concepts. Their website is extrememly helpful, and customer support is friendly and willing to try to help.

Sorry, guys. You were very nice to me, but I can't rate your product highly as I do with your service. The POD concept is a neat toy for home recording where low volume is needed, but having it translate to an amplifier doesn't fit the bill. Remember the old days where it was reverse? Great tones couldn't be direct. With Line 6, decent recording tones can't be used live. I heard a guy try to use his POD pro right into the board during a show - that was even a bigger trainwreck. I sold the amp to a local practice studio where they keep a wall of amplifiers for guitarists to choose from. Take a look at eBay - you'll see these things selling dirt cheap or not moving at all. Maybe the new line is much more competent, but after 20+ years of playing, I've gone full circle and grabbed an American guitar with a solid class A tube amp and nixed all the fancy features of multi-effects and modeling. This is a great entry-level amplifier for the young guitar student who wants to jam with a bunch of CDs and sound close to the guy in the recordings when he does so. So what's the Spider combo? Can it be that there's a Live 6 amp that does LESS of a job? If it were stolen, I'm sure I would have replaced it - with a real amp. Again, I love the idea, and the amp is a wonderful toy. But it's not a real tool for a professional situation.

2000 ish, pretty good, lots of nobs to twiddle and buttons to press. I had for six months before I figured out how to access the other 16 amp models! I bought this because I was in a shit 15 peice band that couldn't decide what type of music to play, sinatra to chuck berry . Most of the amp models sound very similar to each other, there are only probably 4 that you will use, the rest are there just to alleviate the boredom. I have gigged with this amp both through a PA and direct, if you are sole guitarist then it will be fine, but try and compete with a tube or valve amp and you might as well be playing through a dictaphone.

I play a PRS CE22, I know what you are thinking 'i should have spent more money on my amp', and you'd be right. On the bridge pickup on any of the heavy distortion models it sounds the business, but it's very difficult to get a nice clean tone without any break up. The volume knob goes to 10 - why i do not know because if you turn it up past 4 it starts making horrible 'farting' sounds like the speaker is going to blow up.

had it for 3 years, so far so good. never let me down once

Save up for a little longer and buy a decent combo tube amp and a couple of pedals. This amp is great for a novelty vlaue mess around but soon wears thin, especially if you play with another guitarist with a proper amp. To sum up 'jack of all trades, master of none!'

You know the drill on this one, I won't give you any more. Needless to say, it has a lot of features for what it is and you can't complain about that.

This is by far the most disappointing amp I've ever played. My son was in the shop when I noodled through it and even he, with his penchant for metal head madness, said "that thing sounds terrible". It has a very lame sound with no life to it at all. Every effect/model is dead and flat and all sound the same except for the lame tube simulation.

This is a solid peice of equipment. I'd expect it to fair well.

Don't waste your time. Spend a few years with a Blues Junior or some other reasonably priced amp and you'll be horrified when you go back and listen to this one.

Feature wise this amp is very versatile together with the floorboard. You can create a lot of sounds from it, if that's what you want. This amp sounds good when you use the headphones and doing some recording. 60 watts has enough power for me to play in church. If needed, I just mic'd it up and go through the PA.

Now this is very interesting. I got this amp about two years ago and when I first got it, I thought it sounded awesome, with the rectifier models and that. But as my ears develop, I'm finding this amp lacks something. It's like the sound of the modelled amp is there but it seems so faw away. It's very anti-climactic. This is the amp sounding on it's own. I have another amp-effects setup (Effects board --> Laney VC30 2 x 12) and the Flextone II doesn't compare to that. However, when I put the effects board in front of the Flextone II, it sounds much better.

This amp has been reliable enough to an extent. I had to reset the amp a few times in the past. But hey, this is software based after all and computers freeze from time to time.

I got this amp second hand. Never had to deal with them. The website has very useful information though. I'd give this section a higher rating simply because of the website.

I've been playing around 19 years on and off mostly church related events. I've been playing more seriously in the last 3 years.

I own an Ashton Semi-Acoustic, a US Telecaster Highway 1, a Mex Telecaster 72 Thineline, an Ibanez RG 450 with Dimarzios Humbucker from Hell-HS2-Fred (H-S-H), an ESP LTD M-100FM with EMG 81/85, a Washburn Idol, and an Art & Lutherie Acoustic.

My Effects board - Danelectro Surf & Turf Compressor -> Boss Metal Zone MT-2 -> Digitech Hot Rod -> Morley Wah/Volume -> Boss ME-50 -> Nobels Preamp/Booster -> either Laney or Flextone II. I tried to run the Laney and Flextone II in stereo but I found it a bit noisy/hissy. A friend told me it has something to do with earthing/grounding.

I found this amp useful in the beginning when I was still trying to find my sound. But as I mentioned, when my ears began to develop a bit more, I'm finding the sound a bit bland on its own. With the effects board in front, it sounds much better. But hey, I can put a the effects board in front of a cheaper amp like a solid state Laney, Peavey or Marshall and it'll sound the same if much better. When I do this, the built-in effects are useless. I still use the Flextone II at church because the Laney is a bit heavy to carry around.

It it was lost of stolen, I'd get a single speaker valve amp (Laney or Traynor) and get a 2 x 12 extension cab instead. To somebody that's just starting and you can get these amps cheaper second hand nowadays, maybe. But if you want serious tone, I'd get a valve amp.

I love how just about every effect on this thing sounds except for the flanger. I'm not too impressed with the noise gate or compressor. However, I don't use a flanger very much, and I have an NS-2 and a CS-3, and I ran them with the amp and got what I was looking for. This is a very versatile amp. Great for all types of music. If you get this amp, get the Floorboard. It will be a worthy investment and will open up some new features. I know of some people who give up on it so soon. You may have to spend some time with this thing (or at least I did) if you don't know exactly what it is you're looking for. It's a modeling amp, and the Marshall tones on it aren't going to sound exactly the same as a Marshall amp. It's pretty much the same as if you were going to a music store and trying out a bunch of different pedals to come up with your own sound. But it really is a great amp. I use this amp and an Epiphone Galaxie 25 (not together at the same time) with some other pedals at church. I have blended this amp with my epiphone at home however, and gotten some great sounds out of it as well. The use of the Sounddiver software is just another great feature with this amp. Even more tweakability, and access to more features for this amp!!!

I play a Gibson SG and Hamer Echotone. It respondsd really well to my SG. I honestly haven't tried my Hamer through it simply because I don't think it'd sound as good. I like the fact that you can blend the delay with the other effects on this amp. I love the rotary speaker on this thing. I have a Danelectro Rocky Road Spinning Speaker, and it just doesn't measure up to the rotary on this amp. Having the ability to blend different amp models and different cab models with the different effects on this thing, there's just no telling what you can get out of this amp. It truly has some unique tones.

I have had this amp for about 2 years now, and have played it weekly on a regular basis up until about 2 months ago when I got my Epiphone amp, now I use the two randomly. It's a tough amp. It's been banged a couple times from being carried, and it's still going strong, and it sounds as good as the day I bought it.

Out of all the ratings I have given for this amp, if there was an 11, it'd go to customer support. I had some problems getting this amp to respond to the Sounddiver software when I first got it. I had it hooked up to my computer via midi cables, and I called them and they were able to help me to get it working. I have called them a few times about my Floorboard as well, and they were able to get me what I needed. Their customer service is top notch!!! Thank you Line 6!!!!

I really like this amp. I have actually thought about selling it and getting the XL model and an extension cab for it as well. I have the 1x12 60 watt model. If I lost this amp, I would be very upset, and would try to get my hands on another one. This is a very remarkable, versatile, and great sounding amp. If you have or had one, and it has "too many features", Line 6 does make amps with less features and effects. My personal favorite amp model is the Soldano X88R preamp model, (can't remember which one on the amp it's named). This is an awesome amp and great for any style of music you play.