Line 6 Flextone III Plus 112 Combo

My model was made in 2008. I'm a recreational player. It's easy to find out the features of this amp by going to the company's Website. Basics: different amp and cabinet models can be paired to each other for creating a variety of sounds. Very versatile. I wouldn't buy this if you want to play real loud. It's solid state, and offers stereo sound if you buy the cabinet for it, or maybe use your own.

I play an Ibanez RG3120. It has a mahogany body and a maple top. It's a very dark sounding guitar--reminds me of a piano tone in a fashion. Like I said, I'm a recreational player. I don't have any guitar heroes these days. As far as guitar playing goes I'm into real nice clean folk styles (I don't play that style though, just into it as a listener) and progressive rock styles of various kinds. I used to like John Petrucci a lot, and I like Adrian Vandenberg. I bought this amp because I wasn't happy with my triple xxx super 40, which is a very good amp. However, I became tired of the raspy distortion and only really liked it with the mids kind of scooped, and I wanted to get away from that sound. You can dial in some real smooth distortions. Granted they sound processed, but most tones on records do. A lot of people don't mention that when their talking Mesa Boogie this or that, or whatever high-end gear they want. You can also dial in some very nice clean sounds. The thing that impressed me about this amp is that you can change the tonal range drastically, unlike a tube amp, by changing cabinet and amp model settings. It's not perfect. It doesn't have the textured distortion a nice tube amp does, and it sounds a little synthetic. Also, the sustain is close, but not as much as a tube amp. However, most solid states I played were horrible in this department, so I'm impressed that the flextone comes close. It sounds great. The distortion is super smooth. Some kids into the newer hard rock/metal styles may not like it. However, I heard some guys dial in some incredible tones on youtube. It has onboard effects. I'm very happy with sheer versatility of the amp.

Not applicable for me. Except to say I haven't been able to use the Line 6 edit program available at the company's Website. I went over this extensively with a tech, and the problem could be with my computer so I don't blame anybody.

They are friendly, though they try to push off any inquiries to be answered at the Website.

I'm very happy with it. It doesn't have the immediacy of a tube amp in terms of the note really singing from the speakers. Regardless, it sounds great. It really reminds me of the trademark 60 I used to own in terms of sounding very warm for a solid state amp. I will add that this amp is very bass heavy on the distortion models. However, my guitar is bass heavy too in sound, so it's hard to judge this fairly. Sometimes I wish I could dial out more bass on some of the distortion settings. I used an eq to help with this, yet I wish I could do it with the amp controls. I've owned lots of gear over my life--Marshall 800 tube head (tube ragged on this amp back when it came out, now it's so popular), carvin x100b, carvin legacy head, mesa boogie 20/20 power amp. Various guitars too, but I sold them all! I now have only this amp, my RG3120, and a Fender Concert my dad bought for me growing up. I have various effects pedals. Oh! I don't like the reverb on this amp very much. My one complaint. It's not horrible, it's just average. It could have been better. This amp does take effects excellently, unlike a lot of digital gear. Check it out! You might go home with one.

This amp does a lot and it does it all pretty well. I've been playing about 6 years. I play rock, progressive music, usually slightly distorted but I do love a good clean channel and it supplies all of these for me. It might not work well for a metal sound but I haven't tried to get a really high gain sound out, I usually noon my gain where most does a 3 or 4 o'clock on it. I think all the amp models sound good and different from one another. In my defense in case someone hates this amp, I've never played alot of the amps it emulates, so the dual rectifier emulation might sound NOTHING like one, but it sounds really good. I think the price point on this amp rules considering you get a lot of things out of it, plus line out for live sound or recording. Sounds good whisper quiet or balls out loud too. The only really crappy thing is the foot pedal costs almost as much as the amp itself. Thanks line 6.

It has a ton of delays which is cool too, different kinds and it's all tweakable. You can adjust any amp with any cabinet you like, any effects then tweak it all in detail, or you can just turn the knob and it sets up a *ideal* factory setting for each amp. 75 watts is plenty for me and if someday it isn't enough there is an extendable cabinet or you can put a line out to put into a mixer and adjust the power from there, it's seperate from the master volume so you can have a decent level up front and have a small amount from the mixer or whatever you want.

I use a 1984 Gibson explorer (450 I believe). I have a stock single coil in it and I just put a seymour duncan dimebucker (which on a side note is a great/versatile pickup for the money) It suits my music well. I usually play with a nice crunch. Coheed and Cambria is my favorite band so just a rock tone and I'm okay. It isn't any more noisy than any other amp. Built in gate is good and bad, cuts off pinch harmonics and stuff but you can tweak it to balance out what it cuts off and such. Good loud clean channel and good loud distortion. Speaker sounds good, I'm sure with a bigger cabinet it would sound better. It can make a ton of sounds, built in tremalo, flanger, phaser, roto-matic. Best bet is to get on youtube and listen to a few videos. Some guys try HEAVY metal with them and it doesn't sound "bad" so figure you can turn the gain down and be fine, some guys play reverb - fender style stuff and it sounds good so figure you can adjust that sound to you and be fine. It's very good at all things it does. ONCE AGAIN - I'm not comparing it to what it is emulating, as a stand alone amp it sounds awesome.

I would use it at a gig. THis could be because I only have one amp aka it or because I can't afford a back up. I would trust it though. I've only had it a day or two but it's used and it seems to be a great shape. It's a few years old and still looks/sounds brand new. Tubes aren't an issue.

I haven't, but I've heard good things and judging by the site where you can download toans they do care about their products and back them.

6 years playing. Gibson explorer. A sigma acoustic guitar.

I would buy it again if it were lost/stolen. I probably wouldn't find a deal like I did again so maybe not but only for financial reasons.

I love the versatility and look of it. It's very stylish. weighing in at 48LBS, it could be lighter but it's still LOUD as hell.

I compared it to vox valvetronix which is was considering also, this won because A- it's louder and I got a better deal on it.

B- it has a better rock sound and sounds less...generic? Not that the vox sounds bad, but the 30 watt has a cheap speaker and is no good. The

This is a follow up to my previous review.

There have been some important new developments that I should share because they could make a difference to you if you are considering this amp.

The software problem I was experiencing was NOT the fault of the Line 6 Edit software, but rather my midi interface software by M-Audio. M-Audio has issued new repair software and instructions on how to correct the problem. I have had the Line 6 Edit and Monkey programs up and running for about two months and it is great having them.

Line 6 Edit (or the also available free Tweakwizard program) allows you to change all the amp settings with your computer. It gives you access to settings in the amp that cannot be changed manually. You can make these changes with your guitar plugged into the amp and hear every adjustment you make. Tweakwizrd will even save your tone bundle for later retrieval (a backup file). This is about as cool as it gets kids!

If you buy the FBV Shortboard it gets even better. You will have access to all 32 tones (amp models, if you will), you can turn effects on and off, control an external effects loop, have wonderful full time wah and volume controls, and a great stage tuner.
This set up has eliminated stage clutter I've hated for 30 years, and my sound is better than ever.

New developments in the "sound" category too:

The XLR OUT feature is something your sound guy or studio tech will love, but the only way you're going to hear the same thing through the amp's speaker is to turn off the cabinet modeling feature. I also turn of the microphone modeling, but some claim that has no effect on what you hear. I tweaked my tones (amp models) through good headpohnes (which will sound the same as the XLR OUT signal) and by ear too so they match.

Of course, you can continue to use cabinet modeling, but the tone coming out of the amp changes as you turn up your stage volume even though the signal to the board stays the same. My experience has been that several of the cab models distort the speaker, and the resulting stage sound is raspy and unpleasent.

I've got all that turned off and I still think the amp sounds terrific.

I have six models in use right now and they are all awesome.

I have no concerns about the durability of this amp, however be very careful of the woven reed speaker cloth!

Some advice:
1. Buy an amp cover. Line 6 Tolex is pretty fragile.

2. When taking the amp out of a cool, dry house into a high humidity environment (like outdoors in June in Alabama) LET THE AMP SIT FOR ABOUT AN HOUR BEFORE TURNING IT ON. That will allow some of the condensation on the circuit boards to evaporate. I've always done this, even with valve amps. One little drop of water can raise some serious hell inside an amplifier. That being said.............

3. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT sit your beverage on top of this amp. Find another place for your brew.

I haven't had the amp long enough to know how durable it's going to be, but our other guitarist has an old Line 6 Duo that's only been in the shop once in about ten years.

Customer support leaves a lot to be desired.

At times I've been quick to criticize others for condemning gear that was unsatisfactory when the REAL problem was operator error or just plain impatience. Well, now I have to admit I have been guilty of this myself, but everything is working now and I sincerely recommend this amp to cover tune band guitarists.

The tones I???m getting are just stupid good, and I???ve been at this awhile. I swear, if you couldn???t see this amp on stage you would not know it is solid state. I promise you, with the software working and several hours of serious tweaking you can get really great sounds out of this amp. It???s the most satisfactory amp I???ve ever owned. I replaced a Mesa with this amp, and that was before I had the Line 6 really cooking.

Customer support is the main reason this amp doesn't get a ten.

Very versatile, especially helpful for a guy in a cover tune band. This amp fills my needs very well.
The reviews below describe the features, which are MANY. I have the express pedal. I just LOVE the Wah-wah. It easily rivals my antique Vox pedal.
The one feature it does not have is a TRULY user-friendly computer interface. Oh, it has one, but it is ANYTHING but user friendly, and Line 6 is NO help ironing out the interface difficulties.
I use it on stage in medium-sized club and run XLR to the board. It???s plenty loud enough for stage volume.
One guy below said it doesn???t sound like a tube amp. I disagree. Two of the models I use are pretty much dead-on, besides, I???ve had tube amps that sounded like solid state. There is ALWAYS too much debate on this issue, especially by people who really don???t know as much as they think they do.

My main guitar is a ???72 Les Paul Goldtop deluxe. After tweaking the models, the amp sounds great.
We play mostly old rock classics. The amp is well suited to this.
It is very quiet unless the gain turned is waaaaay up on a high gain amp model, but that is true for ANY amp. The clean amp models are dead quiet.

Have only had the amp a little over a month and played it on stage once, but I have no real concerns about reliability. I always have a backup plan anyway. Only a fool wouldn't.

Customer service? So far, for me, non-existant. The Line 6 Forum system of customer support is absolutely useless to me.

I give just the amp seven points, but I penalize the company the other three that could have added up to ten if the support system wasn't so poor.
Would I buy another if this one went away? Sure. It sounds great! It is the easiest stage setup I've ever had because of the express pedal. GOODBYE MONSTER PEDALBOARD! Another HUGE PLUS is that the settings are exactly the same each time I plug in, regardless if the knobs get moved or not. Man! That is a BIG help.

This amp is loaded with features, so I won't try to list them, just know that it's very versitile!Solid state with plenty of power,great for live use or recording.

I play a Parker nitefly guitar with two single coil pickups and one humbucker, all Semore Duncans. Iplay classic rock, blues, and a little jazz. The clean sounds are very good and very quite. My favorite is the Vox AC30, Nice warm sound with good definition. several others aregood as well, like the twin reverb and other fender sounds. There are several good distorted sounds as well.My favorite lead sound is the silver anniversery Marshal, it's distortion is BRUTAL with LOTS of low end! the Boggie sounds are very nice as well as the Soldano lead 100, and the Conford and Matchless amp models.

I have ownrd this amp for about 4 years and have not had any problems with it.I have used it live, in the studio,and in the bassment, no problems so far.

contacted Line6 once with a question, they were very helpful

I tried many differnt amps before choosing this one, fenders,crate,Peavey, and others, but none of them could match the flextone for features or versitility in this price range $500. I love it because it's light, loud, and very versitile. When you factor in the effects it has built in, the Wah/ Volume pedal, the tuner, and the ability to power a extension cab, noise gate and comprresser you just can't beat it for the price!THat said the optional foot controler is a must. YOu just can't take full advantage of the features without it. AS far as the amp models go there are some really good ones, and some O.K. ones, none of them are really bad.Do they sound exactly like the amps they set out to model? NO, but some of them are really close, for about half the cost of a tube amp.somthing that really impressed me about this amp was the way it takes on all of the characteristics of the certain amp that it's modeling, it's so much more than just a differnt tone!b each amp model has it's own distinct vibe, its as if you actually changed amplifiers.I have been playing for 30 years, and would definitley buy this amp again if I had to replace it. I also built a one 12 closed back cab for it with a 12 inch celestian speaker in it, this really makes a differnce in the low end and the volume, as at increases the power to 100 watts

Made late 2005 or early 2006.
Versatility is on the main selling points, works for all types of music.
4 channels stock, 36 channels with FBV Shortboard.
Use in my living room, 75 watts mono, 150 watts stereo with extension cab.
Solid state, models 36 amps and 18 cabinets.

No unwanted noise, superb clean and high gain models, and good bluesy/overdrive models.
Play with Fender Tele and Strat, Schecter Ultra, Ibanez Artcore, all with humbucker in bridge and Seymour Duncans (except Ultra with EMG 81/85).
Cleans and high gain rate 10/10, mild overdrive 7/10.

No problems to date.

No customer service issues yet, local shop advised authorized to work on Line 6 for warranty work.

Been playing for about 18 months, also have a Fender HRD, Vox DA5, some pedals, and the above mentioned guitars.
Compared it to numerous tube, ss, and modelling amps before purchase, actually returned a Mesa F30 to get the Flextone III, chosen for versatility and sound quality.

I'm not sure of the year since I bought it used on ebay, but it is a Flextone III Plus and I purchased a 1 x 12 cab to go along with it from Musician's Friend.

The amp itself is PACKED with features from the 36 different amp models and presets. I'm also using an FBV shortboard that I've had to go along with my Duoverb HD.

Definitely in terms of features, this amp kills the competitors.

First off, I'm not going to compare this to a tube amp. If you want a tube amp, go out and buy one...This is a modeling amp which is supposed to emulate the sounds of various amps through digital technology, so it ain't no tube amp! This is a great amp though for both home use and gigging.

As far as the sounds, I'm pleased with quite a few, specifically the twin reverb, bassman, some of the marshalls, the soldano, and the matchless.

You can get some pretty good effects out of this amp, and the distortion on some of the models is brutal. This amp can handle all areas from country, blues, rock, jazz, and metal. It is THAT versatile. I do have to say though, that the 1 x 12 combo, even with the extension cabinet, does not sound as good as my Line 6 Duoverb HD.
A number of the models on the Flextone have that "raspy" distorted sound, but still, this is a much better amp than anything out there that is solid-state.

I own several Line 6 products and never had a problem with any of them.

I've emailed Line 6 support a few times regarding my Duoverb and they've always responded. The availability of software updates on the Line 6 site, as well as customtones.com is great.

This is a decent amp. I've been playing guitar for 34 years now and have gone through a bunch of amps both solid-state and tube. This amp beats any solid-state amp out there, and the best part is you can crank it at both bedroom levels or all out and it sounds great either way.

*My original review is under Flextone III, I'm putting one here where it belongs*

Solid state, mucho modelling, 36 amps, 16 cabs, tons of effects, 75 watts mono, 150 watts stereo with external cab connected. Adding and FBV shortboard makes all the options switchable with your feet, and gives you 36 instead of 4 channels in which to store your settings.

I think it sounds absolutely great, I've owned a few tube amps, a few solid state, have played everything I could in every store I go to, this has been my favorite. Great cleans, lots of headroom, and you will find a distortion model that you like.

No problems to date.

See my original review for all the details, I love it.

This amp has tons of features... Definately its strongest point. Coupled with Line6 edit (a free program you can use to program your flextone from your computer) you can edit everything from which type of reverb it uses (i believe there are 3) to microphone type and placement. I suggest you go look up all the features if you dont know them already, as this amp has a lot more going for it than the control panel suggests.

Honestly, this is a very weak point of this amp. Some of the models are way off, like most of the marshalls (the silver jubilee, however, is excellent) and they just dont have that warm tube punch that a real tube amp has.

However, I am still very happy with the way this amp sounds. Go try one in the store and I guarantee you will find at least one model that will surprise you with how good it sounds. This is a solid state amp, not a tube amp, so it will sound like a solid state amp. But for a solid state amp, it sounds great.

My favourite tones are the crunch ones (vox AC30, HiWatt, Cornford are all great). I disagree with what previous reviews say about the metal channel: I think they sound pretty good, the noise level with this amp is excellent and the compressor and noise gate really add to its metal credibility. The line6 super clean also sounds great, by far my favourite of the clean channels and its not even an amp model! Extremely versatile. If you dont believe me, go try one out.

The effects sound great, with deep editing available using line6 edit.

I have only had it for a bit over a month, so Im not going to give it a rating.

I did send them an email about 3 weeks before I bought the amp asking about one of the features, but they never replied (to their creditI did send it as "low priority"). I ended up going to the store and figuring it out my self. Apparently their phone support is good, but I have never used it so I wont factor that into the rating.

One thing I really like about their customer support is how they make upgrades available for the amp. Check out the FT3's update history to see how important this stuff really is.

Ok, now I understand exactly what a lot of the people here are saying about the sound compared to a real tube amp: in the right conditions, with the right gear (including things like compressors and noisegates), through a 4x12 and cooking, this amp does not hold a candle to the amps it is modelling - but I still love this amp.

See the thing is, to get all those amps to sound good, you gotta play em running hot as hell, especially the ones like the AC30 and the plexis. Also this amp has a lot of things built in such as effects, wah & volume pedal if you get the floorboard (and I strongly suggest you do), compressor, noise gate, reverb, delays. For someone who is not really at the professional stage of their career yet, this amp is, in my opinion, their best bet ESPECIALLY if they have not decided what kind of music they want to get into.

This is an important point: with tube amps (and yes I have/do own/ed some - I used to have a crate blue voodoo half stack and a genz benz el diablo, and I still own a fender hot rod deville 4x10) before you buy the amp and spend a ton of dough (way more than you would pay for this incidentally) you kind of have to make a choice with what kind of music you are going to play. This is because tube amps are not, in my experience, flexible at all unless you want to start getting into distortion pedals and things like that.


Also, it is very simple to use and set up. This is the main reason why I bought it because I just wanted an amp that I could plug into and play at reasonable volumes, just using a single floorboard to control everything. Those of you that have complicated effects loops can appreciate the fact that for this amp you will only need one cable from your guitar to amp, and one from amp to floorboard.

In my opinion, there is no better amp at this price point with this kind of versatility anywhere. I intend to keep this amp for ever as a practise and casual rehearsal amp, because this amp is perfect for that kind of application.

You all know the features by now im sure. On paper it sound good but for some of the individual effects; wah, chorus, flanger, delay...etc i find a lack of flexebility when shaping the effect. This can be helped with the line6 midi controller available to download from their website, but still i think they have tried to pack to many options into this amp. Also not all the amp models are true to the original. I've owned Marshalls, a Fender and Mesa/Boogies before and simply the line6 comes nowhere near their original sounds, it barely scratches their surfaces. Also with so many sounds it does get confusing which sound you really want. After a while of so many different options you get sick of it. I've had the Flextone3+ for about a year and a half, its convenient for someone gigging very often and long distances because of its light compact shell. But realistically it is a digital copy of stand alone, tube, masterpieces.

It may have these effects and all these amp and cab models but features are nothing without sound. I have a kramer nightswan as my primary guitar and when the coil tapping function is used on the guitar a beautiful array of clean tones can be accessed through the amp, especially on line6's own 'clean' and 'super clean' amps. This with some chorus to add some spice and a slight hint of delay can sound magical. also the bluesy and early rock n' roll tones are quite good. I myself, however, am a hard rock/metal type of guy. Rythmn playing like powerchords and riffs down at the lower end can be quite powerful and set up quite easily, its good and meaty. However it is the top end that i do not like in this amp. it is too thin and sounds like a bee stuck in a bean can! its hollow and does not have a good sound. it also lacks orignality for a player looking for their own unique sound.

Had to reset it a few times which was annoying. its been fairly rugged though.

n/a

overall its good for travelling light from gig to gig. the sound lacks for me a bit. too much in the amp.