Line 6 Flextone III XL

This is one of several Line 6 amps I own/ have owned and must say, I was very disappointed is the sound quality. It has tons of great features and sounds but not quite geared for metal as most of their others are. It is very loud for an open back combo. I cant think of anything they missed as far as features go. Its a huge guitar rig in a nice small 65lb box.

I am mainly a humbucker player who likes high gain but not muddy mid-scooped sound many people get sucked into. I love the warm full body of tube sound without the grit yet with a reasonable amount of saturation. This amp excelled at clean tones and what I consider mild gain tone ala AC/DC & classic rock. But, trying to get a great high gain sound left it very compressed and lacking any sort of feel. Felt very much like I was playing with a stomp box distortion like a metal zone or something. After not getting a good sound via the combo, I hooked it up to my 4 X 12 with Celestion GT12-75's and started over but to no avail. Again great clean and mild gain tones but the metal sound just didn't cut it so I went back to my old friend Line6 Flextone II HD.

I have had many Line6 amps and most of them held up really well. Some have had issues but NOTHING works forever without a little tlc.

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I have been playing for 24 years. Classic rock to metal. I feel Line6 is the leader in modeling technology but missed the mark with this one.

All features of this amp have already been listed and there is a lot of them. One thing I find very practical for me is the MIDI functions, which allows connection to the computer to modify more deeply the channels and the patches.
On the other hand, I find a little bit deceiving we cannot use more than one modulation effect at a time.
Generally speaking, this amp can content anyone searching for versatility and choices in tones.

I mainly use a Fat Strat guitar (HSS) which I customed and a Les Paul Custom. Previously, I tried many amps, Fender Hot Rodes, Marshall MGs, JVM, Line 6 Spiders, Orange amps, obscure companies amps, and they all have their own particuliarities. When I tried the Flextone, sure it is not the pure sound of each of the amp modelized, but still, they are great. The tones I could get on it are incredible, as long as I take the time to tweak around.
It is not a noisy amp, but in special case like high gain line6 Fuzz (one of the tone you can get), the noise gate do a great job. In some amps I tried, I experienced the definition loss at high volume. On the F3XL, this is not a problem. It is a 150 watts amp, so before you lose any definition, you have blown the mic used in micing your amp on a stage (or in studio) or your have no ears at all... I tried it...
I'm a alternative-soft-rock-punk-metal guitarist, and each of the songs I play needs different tones, so in a way, this is the best amp I could get with its versatility and the tones I get of it.

Here is the problem. I got this amp new with a new FBV Shortboard, in order to have full control of the amp. The first time I used them out of the box, the pedal didn't work properly. So, I tried another pedal (one of my friend did get an FBV Shortboard that worked) and the same problem appeared. The channel switches didn't reacted normally. I continue to use the amp and the pedal and get used to the problem, and after a while, the problem disappeared. A month and a half ago, the problem reappeared and nowhere I can find an answer why the amp is doing so.
In gigs, I wouldn't trust it as much as I trust my effect pedals and any other "normal" amps.

I never dealt with the company, even for the problem I had, since I live in Canada, and the company is in the US. Still, the walkthrough guide of the amp is really helpful and makes the amp really easy to use.

I'm playing guitar since 5 years now, and electric guitar for 4. I've personally own three different amps and the F3XL is the best I ever got. Though, I've played through many other amps and the F3XL surpass them easily, even if its "models" aren't the exact replica of the original amp. Previously, I used to use a Boss MT2 distortion pedal with a Zoom G1X multi-effects pedal in order to have the tone I wanted, through a mixer (during shows) and directly in the computer in studio-working. Once again, the F3XL beats up the combination of effect pedals I used.

I purchased this amp 1 month ago, all the features have been mentioned already, suffice to say there are quite a few, it's a very versatile amp as you would imagine however you really need an FBV pedal to make the most of it, with that it's an amp for any occasion and serves people in covers bands especialy well, more than enough grunt for all but the most demanding player too.

I use a Maverick F1 special edition and a Yamaha AES620, the amp is quiet and with the noise gate on silent, as mentioned plenty of times it takes quite a bit of tweaking to get 'your' sound but it is well worth the effort, you can get clean and slightly dirty sounds that are wonderful and have surprising warmth to them, and i'm a huge fan of the lead tones availiable, punchy and articulate, where i had some trouble was with higher gain rythm sounds, but i am generally happy with what i've got, i may play some more with it but as i said, you need to mix & match amp/cab/effects/tone to get the sound your after, push the volume past 11'o'clock and the sound fills out nicely, overall i'm happy.

So far, no issues, it's second hand (about 2 years old) and is working just fine, it feels very solid

Never dealt with them, but the Line 6 website covers most of the bases well.

It's an interesting amp this, many people with dismiss it instantly, but it would be their loss, it's a great amp with some truly wonderful sounds, take your time with it and you'll have an amp for all occasions, recording, gigging and with genuine all round versatility, it's a firm favourite of mine.

I purchased this amp new 2 years ago (it was built in 2006) and have gone through a love/hate relationship ever since. I'm back on the love train right now (more on that in a moment).

You can read the other reviews to find the info about features.

I play in a cover band and this amp basically gives me everything I need to get the job done. Our band plays Eagles, Beatles, CCR, Petty, etc.

I agree with almost every reviewer who has said..." you have to read the manual, you have to use deep editing on the computer and you have to be patient if you want to get any satisfaction with this amp." So...after 2 years I finally took everybody's advice and now I'm finally happy. Not 100% all the time but almost always 85-90% happy.

Make sure you get the Shortboard or you're really going to be limited with your options.

I use an American Deluxe Fender Strat. The amp is pretty quiet, even at high volumes and even when using one of the single coil pickups. I always set the master at "11 o'clock" and control my volume with the foot pedal. Running it at 11 o'clock makes it plenty loud and it also opens up the tone.

The clean sounds are absolutely fantastic. My main clean tone is the Matchless Chieftain with a 2x12 cabinet. I add a little reverb and chorus and I'm good to go. By manipulating the tone and pickup controls on the Strat I can cover Skynrd or CCR or Petty. Pretty easy.

Where I had problems was with: 1) getting leads to punch through the mix and 2) getting distorted tones that sounded worth a damn. Both problems were recently fixed via the addition of a Boss Blues Driver. That unit warms up the tone, adds punch for leads without having to add a lot of volume AND brings several of my distorted/rock patches to life. This unit was the missing link.

I've used this amp consistently for 2 years with no problems.

No experience

Your satisfiaction with this amp will be 100% linked to: a) your expectations and b) your willingness to do your homework.

If you want a small amp, with plenty of power, basic on-board effects and enough flexbility to handle lots of musical styles (not 100% dead-on but close enough) then this amp's for you.

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