Line 6 Flextone XL

150 watts
2X12 solid state combo
32 amp models
16 cabinet models
3 reverb models
6 delay models
6 modulation effects
Midi in/out (very cool)
XLR stereo outs (even cooler)

In my opinion there is no perfect amp that can do every style out of the box perfectly. This amp is no exception. I think that these amps really excel in high gain, soundscape, and effects driven tones. If you want a very warm clean and warm classic rock amp I don't think you'll like this one but if your into the previously mentioned styles this could be a good choice. The high gain tones are great. Very controlled and dynamic if tweaked! Don't expect to get it right in five minutes, but not a lifetime, read the manuel and find out how to adjust all the parameters of the amp.

Outstanding
Mine has been played outside in temperatures ranging from 20 to 100 degrees, beaten, slammed and turned literally all the way up and has not given me any trouble except for the comp button is sticking. That aside I have been very happy with this amp and I never worry if its going to work when I play, I KNOW it.

I like to talk to a person if I have a pressing question not email.

Reliability is crucial to me, I would even sacrifice a little tone for it and this thing has plenty of features and has never let me down.

I bought this amp used off of ebay at a very good price and in pristine condition....my hat goes off to the seller for taking care of his gear. No need for me to review the features, as they have been covered extensively in previous reviews. I will say that this is one versatile amp, covering all styles from country clean, to bluesy crunch, to all out balls to the wall distortion. The fact that this amp has 2 12" speakers, can be cranked for gigs as well as played at home levels without losing sound, as well as the variety of features makes this an all out winner.

I use strats with 3 single coils, and teles with dual duncans through this amp, and it does not discriminate against the type of pickup you use. You can find great sounds out of this amp no matter what kind of guitar or playing style. If you can't get a great sound out of this amp, then something is seriously wrong...enough said there. I play blues and rock through this amp, and this amp suits my styles very well.
Again, with all the different amp models available, the sounds are very good once you learn to tweak the knobs. The built-in compressor makes leads/solos absolutely sing and growl. Mind you, this is not a tube amp, so I'm not going to make the comparison. If you want a tube amp, go buy one. If you want very good tones, versatility, and bang for the buck, this is an excellent amp. The effects on this amp are MORE than useable, although I use stompboxes. Some of the models may at first appear noisy, but then again, once you learn to tweak the knobs and use all the features, the problem is eliminated. This amp holds its own against my Duoverb HD and has a better sound IMHO than my Flextone III Plus which is now on ebay.

I own alot of Line 6 products: a POD XT, A Duoverb HD played through a Line 6 Vetta 212 cab, and Flextone III Plus, and now this amp. Never had a problem with the quality of Line 6 products. Very well built.

I've had to deal with Line 6 in the past to answer questions and they responded promptly. Plus, their website is excellent.

This amp is a monster. Again, if you can't get a good sound out of it, then look at some other factors, like your guitar, effects, or hey, how about you?? I own 2 American Series strats, two Fender FMT teles, and a Line 6 Duoverb. I've been playing for 34 years and have owned alot of equipment over the years. I love this amp and it measures up with tube amps I've owned in the past, as well as other modeling amps. Not much more that I can say other than this is an excellent amp.

This amp all in all sucks, yeah great effects and there are a lot to choose from, anyways its a line 6. Ive usd this amp in a band that played spooky/punk/metal for shows and practice every week and gets plenty of power out of the 2x12. Now i mostly play blues,rockabilly,psychobilly, and some punk so the features are almost endless at times

i play an Ibanez with humbuckers and an Epiphone Wildcat hollow body and use a korg multi effects board and now i use a Boss OS-2 Overdrive/Distortion, great pedal by the way. The amp sounds really bad and its quite noisy on whatever settings I have. the amp makes a load of different distortions and what not but everything just goes downhill at about 3-4 like someone else stated here. When I use distortion either on the pedal or the amp the lower notes seem to make a crackel and a very deep humm type vibration, especially in palm muting. Ive checked into this and tried to fix the circuit board by looking for any cracks in some solderings, and ive tried it on a smaller crate that i know the speakers didnt make any sound.....and you know what......it was the amp. You can buy another circuit board for about..mmmm....lets see....400+ bucks...yeah rediculous.

Although the clean channel does sound decent......key word....decent.. but there is nothing special here. I also own a Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10 all tube and this amp just leaves it in the dust like a hot rod would. This line 6 model is probly the worst ever made just like well most of all models that have been made before 2003. Ive talked to many people about this sound issue and they seemed to have a problem with their early line 6 aswell, especially the Flextone XL

Since this amp sound like well......sh*t but the clean is ooookkk.... ill give it a 2 to be nice but never buy this amp....its the worst of its kind

Reliability is really not that bad. Its pretty solid exept for the circuit board or so say the actual amp for it. atleast a good job here.....somewhat

Customer Support was actually pretty fast and got my answer in about 10 min on the phone....Ive never had to order anything from them but you can buy the knobs and things at you locl sam ash or guitar center if you have one. This amp just sucks all around and i would not recommend this to anyone.....and if your reading this, I went through the samething when I bought mine. I went here and read about it and it got bad ratings but I bought it anyways cause there was just something about it.........I wish I would have listened to these reviews cause they are a good source.

Ive been playing guitar for about 2 yrs now but ive played bass before that for about 4 yrs. I pretty much know what a good sound is and this amp does everything but that. Im not just some 20 yr old who just plays a bunch of music and doesnt know what im talkin about cause ive plany many amps in my time and line 6 has always been a favorite....and yeah they re good exept for the older ones. This amp just sucks all around and I would not recommend this to anyone nor an older line 6.....and if your reading this, I went through the samething when I bought mine. I went here and read about it and it got bad ratings but I bought it anyways cause there was just something about it.........I wish I would have listened to these reviews cause they are a good source. Now since the amp is a pile of doggydoo I use this now as an extended cabinet if I ever need to cause the speaker are still quite well. If you see one....dont buy it, and if this amp was stolen....NO I WOULDNT BUY IT AGAIN.....but I would be pretty pissed off if someone did because i still use the speakers and the box but they can have the amp.

this is all-in-all the worst amp ive ever owned and played and dont buy it cause it sounds good at low volumes but when you crank it, it sounds like a car wreck.

And if you are willing to get a Flextone XL make sure you turn that sucker up when you try it out because it will bite you in the tooter.
my advice........dont get it.....buy a fender, peavy, marhall...anything else but this amp

IMPORTANT TIP FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!! We all complain the distortion on the amp sounds crappy and fake at high gain settings Right? And the distortion doesnt respond to picking like tube amps right?? here is how to FIX IT. The AMP has a NOISE GATE that is always on.. turn it off and the shit rocks!!!! step one. HOLD THE TAP TEMPO BUTTON AND switch the effects knob to bypass !!!important to keep the effects tweek knob all the way down of the amp makes shitty noises. THERE YOU GO. you will find you can now roll off your volume knob and the distortion responds right and your plam mutes have chung. hell yeah people.

I've had the orignal Flextone XL for a while now and am very happy with it. Feature wise, it's sort of a pain in the ass though. I was pissed that it doen't have a dedicated line out for direct recording, as the headphone/DI defeats the speakers. You can use the effects send as a direct line, but this prevents you from using the effects loop, and it doen't have a cabinet simulator. No MIDI functionality and no additional line out for external speakers also sucks big ass. It's like the back panel of the amp was a total after thought. I also don't like the fact that you can't control the feedback on the included digital delays, but this hasn't proven to be a problem, even when playing U2. I also find it sorta sleazy that the only way you can access the different memory banks and have effect on/off capabilities is by shelling out big bucks for the expanded floor board. However, all the added features that the floor board brings to the amp nullifies this to some extent.

I play Les Paul copies, Fender Strats, a vintage Ibanez Artist and a Carvin DC-127, and all respond as you would expect them to with the actual amps that are modeled. I can't believe how good these models sound - I nearly shit myself with the Fender models. I think anyone you can't get a good sound out of this amp is 1) retarded 2) didn't read the manual 3) doesn't know how to tweak it properly. The tone controls can add considerable gain to the various models (as on the actual amps). It's better using them as boost/cuts than actual 0-10 tone knobs. There's also a hidden presence function which adds a lot of sparkle on the top end - you just have to know how to use it. The Vox and JC-120 models have been ripped pretty bad in comparison to the originals, but I was able to get a great sounds out of them too. ADVICE: don't use a lot of high tech effects shit with this thing, it sounds much better without it. Also, I've found that it sounds a lot better sitting on the floor than elevated.

Although I haven't had any problems thus far, the build quality doesn't inspire tremendous amount of confidence. Treat it like a porcelain mouse and you should be fine indefinitely. The software can get quirky on occassion too - sort of like there are gremlins living inside the amp that like changing the amp channels on you.

Never had too deal with them for a problem. I've always gotten e-mails back within a day whenever I've had a question.

Like I said, I have no regrets about this thing. If you know how to work it, there's an absolute goldmine of great tones waiting for you. Subtle tweaks go a long, long way.

Bought new in 1999 with Floorboard.I play many styles of music, from jazz to country to rock, etc. 100 watt 2 12" combo. Decent features- headphone out, effects, 16 amps. Been playing 25 years semi pro but mostly for fun now. Plenty of power.

I use old real American Kramers, Les Pauls, ES 335 types of guitars. The amp sounds decent but uninspiring on most settings. The clean settings just don't seem to have any personality and are not as clean as my old Crate TD 70. The Gain sounds are ok but once again are nothing that inspire more than just plunkin' through the tune. Overall the models are flat compared to there real counterparts. The effects are limited but sound no better or worse than any of the stompboxes that are less than $150 on the market. I think this thing sounds better through headphones than speakers. The amp starts to sound thin and lifeless at volumes over 3. With that said I don't think the sounds are bad, just not meaty.The amp is pretty quiet overall. I give it a 6 because it doesn't suck.

As with just about every other Flextone, I had to fix the damned power switch the first time I put it in my van to go to a gig. Thank God for Krazy glue. On more than one occasion I had to re enter all of my presets because the amp reset itself to factory and/ or wiped out my tones.That sucks. Amp chassis rattles with any semblance of lower range Bass tones. I don't feel that this amp should be used without a backup and actually because of the chassis rattle I will probably use the line out instead of a mike from now on. Hell I think I may just use my Behringer V Amp 2... or buy a new amp for live work.

One year Warranty I believe. That's pretty lame for a $1000 bucks worth of gear. Have not dealt with Customer Support. I'll give this a 4 due to the lame Warranty.

Been playing 25 years. Have owned a Silvertone Twin 12( nice amp burned up), Laney Pro Tube 50( shopuld have kept that one), Crate TD 70, Behringer V Amp 2, Line 6 Flextone XL. 1983- 1986 Kramer Electrics, Les Paul, ES 335. I like the concept of this amp as being an all in one box with 16 amps, effects, foot controllable presets but it falls short on character, durability, quality and warranty. I'm sorry that I bought this amp and footswitch for a thousand bucks. It would have been a better value at $500. I should have bought a Fender, Marshall, Mesa or other tube amp for a few hundred more. If it's stolen I'll buy a new amp with the insurance money.

very featureful, of course, since its a digital amp. The eq sucks tho. U can turn a knob all the way and it wont make too much sound difference.

Used with many different Guitars, including PRS, Fender, Gibson, Dillion, and Schecter. It sounds decent (only decent) at low volumes, but turns to SHIT when u turn it past 4. Like a lot of other people are saying, it fluxuates with volume. And i had the shitty piece of shit button snap off too. And it is the most directional amp i've ever played with, and i mean that in a bad way. You the sound changes VERY dramatically if you move around it.

SUCKS. When buttons snap off and u cant get good tones at loud volumes, then its worthless. I would never gig with it again. ever. It shuts off sometimes during a song and then u have to turn it off then back on for it to work.

CRAPPY. They took 3 months just to send out the crappy on/off switch, so it sat in the shop for all that time. I also had to pay 20 bucks for the switch, plus 35 bucks since it was a shitty warranty and it ran out.

I've been playing 4 years, i own a gibson, dillion and have owned fenders. If it were stolen, i'd laugh my ass off at the dumbass who would actually want it! I'm about to buy a rectoverb, which actually sounds good.

This amp, in my opinion, is the most versatile amp I've ever owned!
My band plays everything from pop/blues to hard rock. And I get every sound that I'm looking for. The only other features I wish it had are
Phaser & Octive. other than that... I couldn't ask for anything more!

I'm using all fender strats with standard single coil pickups.
My strats are not the expensive ones either! (87'squire & a Mexican)
I've owned $1400.00 guitars and with this amp you can't tell the difference. "The sound is amazing!!!"
I gig every weekend and host a few open jams a week. we have a fender amp, a peavy amp, and my Line6 out for people to choose from. and every guitar player that comes through the door begs me to play my Line6. I made a small copy of the amp model page that comes in the manual, and when people plug in, I say... what sound are you looking for? and I just dial it in. I get it right every time. One guy came to my open jam and heard my amp, he said... Is all that sound coming from that combo alone? "Or are you using some rack gear or something???
I said No! That's the amp alone.
He said your getting all that tone and gain from single coil pickups and this amp? I said that's it! He said, I was going to buy a Messa Boogie "but where can I get one of these???" The next day he called me on the phone and said "I just bought a Pod Pro with a floorboard, And Holy Shit!!!
I want to thank you for selling me on this amp!!! Since then I've had 2 other guys go out and buy Line6 as well.
"I should work for Line6 in sales." I don't pitch something I don't beleive in. I will not buy another brand of amp again. As a matter of fact I just purchased a (Pod) today!!! If that doesn't say how much ass this company kicks, I don't know what does. And as for these people who gave it bad reveiws...
I don't think they spent the time to learn it's true potential.
When I first told people I was going to buy this amp. I got some negative responses. But I still bought it anyway. And since then, all of those people that were negative said... Oh! maybe I was wrong!!!
They now beleive!

This amp is very reliable! Not like a tube amp.
My friend has a Revera (Tube) amp, and it's been in the shop so many times that he now uses it for a night stand. no lie!
This amp has never given me a problem. I play out so many times a week that I just leave it in the trunk of my car for days at a time. (winter & summer) I live in Chicago "we know how winter is here!"
And it always fires up. Try that with a tube amp. "Not"

Customer service??? I don't need no stinking customer service!!!
I've never had to contact them.
One day I just might call just to say Hi!

I've been playing since I was 8yrs old.
That would make it 25 years now. I've owned everything from Marshall stacks to rack gear, Rolland and even fender.
If it were stolen, I would hunt down the dirty bastard and kill'em!
If he wants a Line6, let him get his own!!!
When I was shopping for a new amp. I was leaning toward a fender hot rod deville. I went back and forth between the Fender & the Line6.
I did that twice & ended up playing the Line6 for an hour. "I was hooked!" I said... gee let me see" Hot Rod Deville 2 channels, reverb.
and.......that's it? or Line6. 36 channels,16 amps,16 effects,tube tone. 2x12, great looks! bla bla bla, The list goes on! You do the math. It's mine!!!!!
The only downfall to this amp is... Five minutes after buying it I was loading it into my car and snap! Off went the on/off switch. I got it home and super glued it back on and it's fine now. Now when I load it I push it in before going in my car. Two weeks later...
While loading it into my car again, Snap! off went the headphone jack.
I Super glued that back on. that lasted for awhile until recently when Snap! I broke the headphone jack again! this is due to the amp head
being even with the back of the cabinet. not a good thing. But not that hard to re-design. Small adjustment will do it Line6!
All in all, I stand behind this product 100% and will always brag about this amp! I want every guitarist to stop bitching about their sound, and try a line6. They'll be glad they did! "I am!!!"

100 ss stereo watts. My wife liked the fact that it had a headphone out...so guess how I had to play?...

I tried to like this amp, but any time I gigged with it, I hated it: poor sound at high volumes (a common complaint I see here), the FB-4 footswitch was a joke (don't get me started: big DELAY/volume cut-out going between channels. Useless. They had balls selling a piece of sh1t like that.) Clean channels/amps sounded like poor solid state stuff to me, so I never used them.

Like the other posters here, I had to pay to repair the cheap, flimsy on/off button that snapped off. No other malfunctions in one year of ownership.

Very friendly, easy to get ahold of; sent out a new switch for free right away.

Playing for almost ten years now. I use humbucker guitars. OTher gear: Sovtek mig 60, classic 30, Legacy 2x12 cab. I shudder to think that I went out and bought a Flex XL. The Flextone XL could not compare to the richness and complexity that I hear out of the many other tube amps I own/have used. My dirt cheap Sovtek mig 60 head sounds so much better. Other tube amps I play (such as a Music Man HD) have (comparatively) beautiful, shimmery cleans that the Flex XL didn't come close to.

The Flex XL was "fun" to play in a store, but when I got it home and get to know it (they call it "tweaking" - doesn't that sound so fun?!), well, the novelty factor quickly wore off for me. Thank god for ebay! Don't buy the hype.

Lots o features

Love the sounds and models but it kinda sucks at high volumes

Chalk up another one for one of Line 6's finest.

Had it a couple weeks and its buzzing, making all kinds of noise at low volumes on the distortion models. Speakers sound like they are going to blow at any volume over 1/4. Channel Volume doesn't even work now.

Over all reliability = P O S!

They Suck

This is a great amp for recording and home practice as long as you don't breath on it cause it will topple over. High volume sound sucks.