Line 6 Flextone III 212 Combo

This my 0ne Year folowup on my then new Flextone lll 212 combo. All I can say is wow, it took me a good amount of time to really get to know the nuts-n-bolts of this bad boy. I can give it a '10 thru and thru....never a moments problem so far. It is really nice to be able to switch sounds, f/xs, amps or cabs looking for another great sound. Some of the onboard sounds are not my cup of TEA but they might be yours so peace. This gem puts all of my older tube and solid state amps to shame, bar none. I tip my hats to the Flextone crew !

Once you get to know this amp, you can literally make any sound that you want. I use guitars with both single and double coil pickups. Maybe a tweak here or there and you're back to making music. Zero noise from this amp, that really puts down a lot of amps. I've had older amps that were noisey, probably bad caps but aggreavating just the same.

Dependable 100% so far. Nary a problem.

Never have had the need to call for support or repairs.

I could rave on and on !!!!!! It is perfect for me and my G&L guitars !

This is a follow up on my Line 6 Flextone III 212 amp. I bought my amp new in August of 2006 and wrote a review of how pleased I was with this amp despite how in-experienced I was with it. Again I repeat that it takes a lot of time to really get to know the nuts-n-bolts of this fine amp. Maybe it was slow learning me ? After owing it for a year, only now do I feel that I pretty much know this bad guy ! This amp has never given me one minute of trouble so far. I???ve made some mess ups adjusting this-n-that and the amp let me know that I made some huge goofs letting out with some awful LOUD ear piercing screeches. Why this amp didn???t melt down or at least blow both speakers, I???ll never know. When looking to change cabinets models, you must follow manufacturers instructions which I didn???t do UNTIL the amp let out with those hell-ish noises. Then it???s back to the instruction book pronto in hopes that I didn???t do any damage and learning how not to do that kind of thing again, EVER. LOL. Every day this amp shines in my eyes ! Pure and simple ! The F/X???s are top notch, the best in the industry ! I play my solid body single and double coil G&L Classics, Specials and Invader guitars thru this tone monster. I play only in the clean mode using the amp???s reverbs, delays, chorus, ping-pong and tremolo. Old country, old pop and early rock-n-roll is the music I grew up with and I???ve never outgrown it. So I can???t help you guys who want to know about it???s grunge sounds, sorry. This amp delivers my kind of music to the letter. Some reviews say this Flextone can???t compete with a tube amp???s sound. We all know that sound is very subjective, but to my ears, this amp???s tones and sounds surpass any tube amp that I???ve owned. This is going back to the early 50???s which takes in Gretsch, Standel, Carvin, Uni-Vox, Trutone, Traynor and Fender tube amps.
Rather than drag this review out much further, I???ll say this is the best and most trouble free amp that I???ve owned bar none. It never needs new tubes, never needs biasing and is always ready to boogie. It always sounds super ! I own 2 solid state amps, this Flextone and a USA Fender Princeton Reverb/Chorus 2x10. Both amps are a studio player???s delight. Before I found these amps I played only tube amps. I was a genuine tube head, but no more. If you are considering one of these magnificent amps, I urge you to try one. If I can be of any help, feel free to email me and I???ll be glad to answer you to the best of my ability. A huge thanks and a tip of my hat to the Line 6 engineers for their great products.

Glenn at riverrat@we.rr.com.

Well to begin with, I play church music, classic rock, and heavy metal, so I deal with some diversity and I can't say this baby has let me down yet. As far as features go, I'm completely satisfied with this amp (4 channels, reverb, delay (6 different types), modulation (6 different types), and compression/sustain is PLENTY for me). I especially like the chorus on this thing and I do some live stuff so the "Gate" feature is really handy to cut back on noise. For those of you who do recording or just running your gear through a sound system, the Flextone III also has stereo XLR outputs (VERY handy). Now the reason I'm not rating this section is because I bought the FBV SHORTBOARD with it and they work great together (10/10) but I hate playing in manual (5/10) so I'd advise you to get a footswitch as well. Other than that, this thing is great. Additionally, if it wasn't already obvious, with 2 12" speakers, it's FREAKIN' LOUD.

One thing you MUST understand is that you cannot buy a solid state amp and expect it to sound like a tube amp, it's not possible. I'll hand it to the guys at Line 6, they did an amazing job trying to match it and they got really close but it still isn't the same thing. If you're okay with that this amp is perfect, otherwise keep saving your money for a real tube amp.

WHAT I LIKED: this thing has great acoustic sounds and if you have the Shortboard, I HIGHLY suggest the "Sultans of Swing" preset with a single coil pickup. Similarly, I've also been able to produce some monsterous rhythm tones, excellent for "Chugging". I have a Gibson Les Paul and a Ravenwest 1000Q and for obvious reason this amp sounds a lot better when I'm using the former of the two but I've still managed to get some nice tones from both guitars.

I should make a not here that Line 6 has its "Custom Tone" website where you can get just about everything you want, but your computer needs a MIDI port to transfer information to the amp.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: half of the amp models, but then again that means there's still a pile of cabinets I can play with when using the models I like. A lot of them either sounded muddy or as if they were coming through a tin can. Consequently I've had a tough time coming up with a good solo/lead tone, but I've been tweaking for a while now and I'm starting to get some promising sounds (lots of help from chorus and sustain).

Also, I'm not just saying this because a lot of the music I listen to is loud but this amp sounds TERRIBLE when its quiet.

I bought my Flextone used and it's fine. It's built as solidly as any other amp.

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I'll be honest, the two reasons I bought this amp were the XLR outputs and the Custom Tone website. I've always wanted that 70s "Boston" tone and there was a pile of Boston presets on said website. Regardles I'm still glad I bought this amp. Due to the plethora of features, it's taken me a while to get the hang of this thing but now that I have it's really starting to grow on me.

BOTTOM LINE: this is a versatile solid state amp and as long as you undestand that it's not a tube amp, you won't be disappointed. Basically, if you're ready to sit down a tweak it for however long it takes, you'll get the sound you want.

I have to say that this amp has everything you could ever want with all it's bells and whistles. It's all been said before...

The effects are fabulous. Just sit down and dial in the effects that you want. It should only take you a few minutes, once you discover the hard-to-see switches on the body. Now, this is where my Line 6 and didn't see eye-to-eye. The JC-120 sound was great! That was it... The distortion sounds about as good as my Vox Valvetronix 15 practice amp. I turned every knob as many times as I could stand to. No difference. Sterile... The only reason I'll even go so high with the rating is for the effects.

I only had this for about three days. I bought it brand new from the store (where they wouldn't let me turn it up loud enough to get a good grasp of it's sound), and put it in my car. Apparently there was some black grease on it, as my seat is permanently stained! I took it home and dialed in some sounds at a quiet level for about two days. Then I took it to where I jam with one of my bands. The two other guitarists were using a Peavey Ultra 112, and a Peavey Special Transtube 212. As soon as we turned up to a good volume, I was gone from the mix. It was either too loud, or I had no cut and body - just mud! I had four other people come and dial the knobs around while I played (I wanted to make sure it wasn't me!)and they all gave up after about 20 minutes. I took it back the next day! Totally unprofessional! I tried my Fender American Standard Strat, B.C. Rich American St-3 with SD Screamin' Demon, and an Ibanez custom S540FM with an EMG 81/85 set in it. Nothing remotely near usable. I also have a Peavey XXX 112, a Sovtek MIG-50 modded by Cesar Diaz, and a Red Bear MK-60 (amazing tone, but one channel) with a 4x12 cab. Call me a tube snob... I returned it and bought a Hughes and Kettner Switchblade for an additional 300 dollars. I've only had that for a week, but it's already done 2 shows with flying colors! It even came with a footswitch, unlike this "300 dollars extra if you want to change your channels" amp. if you need flexibility and want great tone look into the H&K. If you don't care a great deal about tone, then spend a little less on this. I have been playing for about 10 years and have learned that tone is the key. I found this unusable, but others disagree. Use your own ears and good luck!

Mine was bought new in July 2006, no footboards. Solid state 2x12 combo with a pair of Celestian C12P-80 (8 ohm) speakers that are made in Ipswich, Eng. Versatile is the word, it has many voices, settings, etc., for a new owner to wade thru. Be patient and keep digging, sooner or later all of the mystery goes away and things make sense for once instead of always being lost. There are plenty of feature that I don't use like distortion and there are plenty of features that I do use, everything is there and the quality of effects are top notch. Power to spare. So far I'm really impressed with this amp, it has it's own Line 6 sound plus other amps and cabs. It'll take a person a good 6 months to wade thru things and really get to know it.

From what I've found so far in the month that I've owned this gem, it has most of the sounds that one needs, all settings are flexible with very active EQ. Reverb is plenty tube like from surf to hall, chorus is adjustable as is tremolo. Delays are great and very adjustable even has a ping-pong setting among others. Distortion is available as I've dialed it in accidently and there is plenty of grind. I use both single coils and double coils and the amp is stone quiet at idle in the studio. I play older country, pop, rock-a-billy and older rock-n-roll.

So far the amps seems rock solid. Line 6 has great support which is a plus but will the amp hold up on the road. My guess is that it will especially if you take a reasonalbe amount of care when handling it. I like it's styling and appearance. It weighs in at a hefty 70 lbs. Rubber feet keep amp from sliding.

This is my first Line 6 anything. They offer a 1 year warranty on this amp, I'd feel a little better if the warranty was 2 or 3 years, then I'd feel more confident. All info that you need are on line, so no problems there. This amp started right up from the box and has kept going.

I've been playing for 50 plus years, have owned or played most any amp or guitar, tube or solid state, effects, etc. This amp has it all, but I'll still keep my Peavey Stereo Chorus 400 2x12 combo as a backup. Also will keep my Boss DD3 Delay just in case but so far I'm very happy with what I've learned and heard fromthe new amp.

this is the most versatile amp ever. almost too versatile, it would take years to try out all the possible sounds. 36 amp models 6 delays and 6 modulation effects all based on great products. great reverb sounds. and the comp and gate are excellent. it has 4 channels but the fbv shortboard is a mustto get the best out of the amps versatility. this amp gas all and more features than possible. this amp is great for recording as it has stereo xlr outputs and is great witha good dynamic mic. its also loud enough to fill a small to medium sized venue. this is solid state and although valve amp puritans will critcise it has all the balls of a valve amp and more.

i use a fender cyclone for clean and a les paul with seymour duncan pickups for overdrive. this amp would suit any style of rock i play anything from radiohead to pink floyd to muse and have been able to create some awesome sounds of my own.
the clean channels are smooth or bright and the quality is great. the fender twin simulator is brilliant. the distoration ranges from vox ac30 crunch to mesa boogie scooped mids lead. the distortion is smooth and is controlled well by the gate.

this amp hasn't given me any problems so far.

line 6 seem friendly the manuals great and there internet site is great too.

All in all this is the best amp i have ever owned i have been playing for 5 years and had numerous marshall amps. nothing i have ever played comes close to this amp and is far better than its sister amp spider. i would buy another if it was lost.
love its versatiolity and quality. hate its weight!
i compared thisto the valvetronix and marshall avt, this one was the stand out winner.
buy this amp