Line 6 Flextone III XL

I've had this for about 3 years.

You already know the features if your are reading this...
Solid state amp with many channels and some great sounding effects.

This amp can get really LOUD... However in my opinion any thing above bedroom volumes and it loses definition and sounds like a muddy mess.

It has the ability to plug into a MIDI USB interface, and you can use the free Line 6 edit software to dial in some unique sounds

I mainly run pickups like PAF Pro's and EMGs, which have great definition and makes it fairly easy to judge the clarity of an amp.

The clean channels are fantastic, especially with some reverb and chrous. It's a pretty quiet amp as well.

When I purchased this amp I made the mistake of not cranking it in the store. It sounds great at "bedroom" volumes, but crank it up and it starts to really lose definition even with the mids cranked.

If you are planning to buy this amp to play metal... Stay away.

I am not a solid state hater, my favorite amp at the moment is my Line 6 Vetta II, which sounds amazing when dialed in properly.
I just can't seem to make this Flextone work on anything other then clean sounds. It's hard to explain, but the words "lifeless" and "sterile" are the best I can come up with. When I first purchased it I thought it sounded great, but after I developed some ears for great tone I changed my mind..

I have never had any trouble with this amp.... The controls are not solid feeling, an the input jack is just cheap.

I decided to take a week to properly evaluate my new F3XL before posting a review, because frankly, after playing with it for an hour of so, I was giddy as a little school girl. I honestly can't believe somebody finally made a solid state amp that has all the best sonic characteristics of a tube amp, without the heat, hiss, noise, and general pain-in-the-*** of the real deal.

I've spent 30+ years trying, buying and selling gear, because most stuff is poorly engineered, over marketed, and under thought. Even the really high end stuff has been a let down for me, because I demand tone at low volumes. And I CANNOT STAND having to mentally climb into some rack unit just to get a usable echo or modulation.

This is the first package that puts all the real, useful musical tools a studio musician needs together to cut tracks without making it overblown or underpowered.

The delays and modulations are top notch - everything you would need to record (or replicate live) good solid guitarwork. The compression is iffy on some mods, but spectacular on others, so use with discretion.

The shortboard is an exceptional piece of gear that puts everything at your feet. God Bless Line 6 for making a footcontroller that you can easily use out the box, and for putting in a LARGE backlighted display that you can actually read on a dark stage. High marks all around. Thank you for thinking this one through...

After reading reviews year after year of gear on this HC forum, I have come to a conclusion: most players don't really like the sound of a tube amp. It's true, seriously.

I've read hundreds of reviews of good sounding tube amps that describe them as muddy, choppy, chunky, lumpy (sounds more like peanut butter after a while...) in a disdainful way.

Hate to tell you this, but this is what a good tube amp sounds like. They thump, chunk, pump and ring like a bell. I guess some guys hear the heavily doctored, harmonized and compressed tones they hear on their favorite albums and think that's what tone is supposed to sound like. If that's what you want, you're really looking for a fuzz box, that will replicate the sound you're used to. It helps to be honest with yourself about what tones you're going for. You'll be happier in the end, for sure.

That being said, the F3XL sounds very much like my old Plexi, a Mesa I played through several times, the Fender I blew up, and the third Marshall I just sold. It's very faithful to the originals, without aping the sounds in cardboard box fashion.

The delays and modulations are very good - good enough for live performance and studio work. To get better, you'd have to go rack, and then perhaps possibly Eventide and the like. That kind of money doesn't translate on to the tape, as we used to say, so why spend the money?

I have to give it a nine, though, for one reason. The amp needs an overdrive switch - something to give you a lead boost on any amp or setting. PODs have the same problem. You have to go with an outboard stomp to get this, which is a shame, considering everything else the amp can do. Line 6, take note...

Had my POD for years and never had any trouble. But will wait and see on this bird.

Never contacted.

"Know thyself". Those words are very important when selecting an amp. Play lots of gear, and make notes about what you like and don't like. Don't buy something because of the name - some of the best gear out there doesn't sell that well.

Be discriminating, and invest some time in understanding your tone preferences.

For me, the F3XL fills the bill and then some. A great, compact music machine that allows me to create without too much trouble.

I'm not sure of the year as I purchased this amp used. This amp is very versatile and feature-packed between the different amp models, cabinet models, and effects. With the FBV Shortboard, this amp allows you to save multiple presets suitable for any style of music.

I'm not sure why so many people bash these amps or Line 6 products in general. I use this amp with my American strats and Les Pauls and can get everything from shimmering clean, to a nice crunch, to all out distortion capable of heavier styles of music. I play mostly blues and classic rock, and this amp is MORE than versatile. I'm not going to make any comparison to this amp and a tube amp...this amp was designed to emulate or "model" certain amps, and for being digital it does an excellent job. You have to be patient and learn how to EQ this amp, as the EQ takes on a different personality with each amp model. In other words, the EQ will take the same shape as the EQ on the original amp that it models. Once you figure that out, you can get some awesome tones from this amp. Anyone who can't get a good tone from this amp either doesn't know how to EQ the amp, or simply can't get past the fact that this isn't a tube amp. This amp can get LOUD but can also be used at home at reasonable volumes. I get a nice volume with GOOD tones with the master set at 11:00 and the channel volumes set at around the same. This amp provides both sparkling cleans and a nice bass response.

I've owned several Line 6 products and have never had a problem with them.

There is alot of good information on the Line 6 forums for support. I've never had to deal directly with the company, but use the forums on the Line 6 site for alot of information.

I've been playing guitar for 38 years, and have owned solid state amps, tube amps, boutique amps, and modelers. I currently own an 18-watt PTP hand-wired amp, as well as a Vox AD50VT. I love the versatility of this amp as well as the tones. Again, it's not a tube amp, but that being said, I've heard some tube amps that sound AWFUL.

I rated this low on features BECAUSE, You buy the amp, and then realize that all the control functionality(already in a Vetta) is "outboard" and built into the floorboard, so you have to pay another $300 to get this 2nd "part". I like the 2 12" speakers, effects loop is ok but bascially not used much by ANYONE these days. The midi stuff is good.

This amp is better than MANY tube amps. And more versatile than ALL tube amps. No noise. It can make great sounds with tons of variety. The clean channel is great and the distorion capabilities...legendary. This is a modern day classic and in a few years people will be looking for them used.
As far as it sounding like tubes?? It sounds better and you do not have to worry about cold or warm tubes, tube type, old tubes, bad tubes, etc. Tubes "opened" the door to the sound guitarist want.....And modeling kicked the door in and walked all over tubes.

never a problem. Beutifully constructed.
Needs no regular servicing like a tube amp needs. No biasing or flaky tubes to change out.

Warranty is good. Never needed customer service. If it dies after warranty I can buy another. Way less expensive than what music dealers ransom the tube amps for.

I love this amp because it is THE perfect PC based platform for recording, ...just plug the headphone out into a PC card, and use Cubase and "Roomworks" reverb(included in Cubase SX3) and then enjoy. Foor live just use the 2 12"" speakers and add extension cabs if you want.
What I don't like..is not about the amp...but about the tube morons that don't give this artwork the credit it deserves. HEY!, If you are young, or on a budget, or home guitarist, or small venue live player, this is the amp for you. Enough said.

Have had several 150W 2X12 Combo's (this is not good! Read on.). Use the Shortboard with it. Very versatile. Shortboard allows patch switching and simultaneous turning off and on the effects, better for live work than any multieffect unit or a bunch of stomp boxes strung together.

Versatile, loud, easy to use. Shortboard makes it the best live unit matched against ANYTHING.

Here we go! Am on my 4th Flextone III and going for my 5th. Have bought all of these in the last 3 years NEW and ALL have failed in less than a year. Each failed differently. No smoky environments, no bouncing around in a trailer, not rained on, etc. Never played above volume level 5. Customer support has been fantastic. They have come to the rescue each time but I would like to know if anyone else has seen this failure rate.

Great. See above

Wish it would stay working. If you depend on this amp, order a backup now!!!

i like the features but i'm only going to talk about something i tried that people might find interesting.

i have many tube amps and always felt ss amps lacked any defining charactor. this amp is ok with it's ability to tweek it but i did some experimenting and found a way to make this thing sound like a really great tube amp. i happen to have a hughes an kettner blues master lying around (hard to find these and they are expensive). for those of you who know what they are (a 5 watt tube amp) and have heard them you can appreciate their abilities. anyway, i put hk in the effects loop and...holy crap!!!! the possibilities are endless. i havn't touched my tube amps since. i'm sure there are other tube driven stomp boxes (not as good as hk) that would do the same thing. just thought i would throw that out there.

seems ok but there is something large that moves around in the amp. i did check everything i could but cannot find anything loose.

don't know. however they did keep me waiting on line for a long time before i decided to hang up.

great with my modification

Nice feature-set for variety and experimentation. Overall easy to use, but the reverb, modulation and delay sections require a button+dial combination for additional tweaking, which is a minor inconvenience. Excellent choice of speakers; and the cab is tuned well for the models. These days, i've been using this amp at home; BUT ... it's an good giging amp too, IF you crank it. This amp NEEDS to be played loud to get the most out of it, and your guitar.

These days, i'm playing this amp, and a class-A all-tube Genz-Benz Black Pearl 2x12" combo. My guitars are a Fender production Strat mod'ed with Joe Barden pup's, a PRS Mira, and a Reverend Club King HB. My favorite OD pedals are an Xotic BB Preamp & RC Booster; Barber LTD and Barb-B-Q (not an OD really); and a Maxon OD-9. I run a FT ChoralFlange with the Genz when i need modulation.

Okay, so here's my take on the Flextone: EXCELLENT variety of Cleans (as others have mentioned); can be overdriven well in some circumstances, not so well in others. Takes pedals pretty well, for a SS amp. On-board effects are good to have, convenience-wise; they sound okay but nothing exceptional here. "Tips" -- What I do to get the most out of this amp: (1) Play a GOOD guitar through it. Luckily, this base in covered. (2) Play it LOUD when possible. The softer you play it, the thinner it gets, and the more you'll have to tweak to get at good-quality sounds/tones. (3) I run a booster/EQ box in the FX Loop, with the gain kicked up a bit. This IMO makes a HUGE difference in the sound quality. (4) Use the CAB Models alot. For any Amp model you choose, dial through the Cab Models to find several good timbre's. Functionally, I use the Cab models as a sort of global EQ device, and just run from there. You can further tweak the setting with the tone dials if you feel you need to, but the Cab models themselves are an excellent way of landing on a tone quickly, in order to find something that works with the guitar you're playing.

That's basically it. This is a SS amp, no question about it. It WON'T play like a (GOOD) tube amp. BUT .... here's the kicker ... this amp is a good value anyway, since it can open up a wide range of usable cleans for experimenting with recording ideas, as well as a nice complement to live play, esp. when running in a stereo-amp setup. The cleans are very articulate, and these models, i'll tell you honestly, really let a good guitar shine through. You CAN push many cleans with the Drive knob into some gritty overdriven tones, but personally, i like to stay clean with this amp, as the Amp & Cab models can get very loud and full-bodied without breakup, to enhance your GUITAR'S character. To me, this is the best use of this amp, but you'll have to be your own boss here.

Good so far. It's got some vibration internally when moved, though; not sure why, as i've tightened everything up as best i could find. It hasn't effected its playing, but i'm being very careful when i lift it & put it down. I'll leave this rating at "No Opinion" .... for now.

No opinion.

For MY uses, this amp works well. When i want dirty, gritty, overdriven sounds i tend to go to my tube amp, with various flavours of OD pedals. "Tubes Rule" in this area, as far as harmonics and playability goes. BUT, a single amp, even a multi-channel one, is built & voiced for a relatively narrow range of tonal flavour. I've found that this Flextone is great for opening up the palette for clean playing, with a wide variation of EQ textures available. You CAN get "heavy" with this amp, and the metal / "shredder" no doubt can get to some usable over-the-top tones here; but i'd really say that the cleans are where it's at with the Flextone. I don't think any serious player would be disappointed in this regard, as long as you consider my "tips" in the "Sound Quality" section.

Tons of features, tons of tones, tons of power. This amp covers all the bases.

For those of you who trash this amp and write if off, I have to ask...do you know how to edit the sounds or are you just going by the presets??? Before you slam a product, spend some time with it. There is every sound imaginable in this amplifier, but if you stick with the crappy factory presets, you can't give it a proper rating. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way this amp sound!!! It absolutely rocks!

I've had mine for years...practiced with it, gigged with it, lugged it around the area for a while now. It's never even hiccupped on me once. I would and do use this without a backup. Line 6 builds their stuff like tanks!

I've never dealt with them. I bought my Flextone III XL used off of Ebay, and I've never had a single problem with it.

For a gigging or studio musician, you cannot go wrong with this amp. Combine it with the long floorboard, and the possibilities are limitless. I know, it sounds like I'm selling the damn things, but I've owned a LOT of gear over the years, and I'm a guitaraholic (I've probably owned, traded, played, bought and sold every brand of guitar out there at one time or another!) My guitar collection comes and goes, but this amp has and will remain a constant in my collection!

- seemed to have everything you need

- cleans work well , roland setting is great .I have a problem with the overdrive settings , they stink .Many are useless

Seems reliable - I used it for a while with no problems , but my buddies tell me the sound stinks , so it's up for sale

no opinion

Playing for 30 years , some recording rock acts , if it were lost , i would leave it that way , I thought the versisility would make up for some tone problems , but i cannot listen to this anymore ,

I've had this Flextone III since January '07 or so. SS, lots of effects, lots of amp models. Stereo xlr outs are great for recording.

Very quiet over all. Awesome cleans, no gain to high gain. Effects are very good all around. It doesn't replicate any of the amp sounds it tries to emulate, but it does get close.

Very reliable, no issues at all.

I'm a fairly new player and this was my first amp. If you like lots of sounds it's a great option. I, however, ended up using the vox ac30 model all of the time. So, I decided to get that amp. The flextone is still around for playing quietly, and recording. And from what I've seen I never have to worry about it breaking down...