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.

Features of the amp are very nice. Effects are limited, but by using patches I can get the sound I want.

I use two PRS, and a American Strat. Sounds good with any of these guitars. The amp fits any of my music styles. I get execessive noise in some locations, probably grounding.

I have had problems with the foot pedal, and the amp itself. I am not happy with the amp reliability. If you guys read this stuff, these people bought these amps with knowledge and years of experience. By sticking us with a lemmon batch of amps, your score and my re-purchasing a line-6 will show for itself.

Snotty and unfriendly

I have been playing 20 yrs. I will not buy another product. I own Marshall, Boogie, and Fender amps. If someone wants to steal it, I'll use the insurance money for a Dual Rectifier.

This is an update of an earlier post. The amp still has all of the same features, so I won't go into it.

I am using a Schecter C-7+ (best 7-string). I was more impressed with the sound after about a month of playing. Then it slowly started changing. It isn't big enough that I can't still play it live or recording, I just wish that it still sounded like that.

This amp is making the worst buzzing sound in the world. I can't even record with it. I have to use it without a backup, because I'm not a rich momma's boy. The amp also changing volumes whenever it wants (gotta love that for live work). I also cannot use my Mesa Settings at volumes past 4 as the speakers fart. And yes I have tried turning the EQ knobs, smartass!

I can't figure out how to get ahold of them to get my questions answered. I tried the site and it just gives me a runaround.

I will give it an eight. This is not a random score, it is the average of everything else. If it were stolen, I would buy an AX2 (Brutal fucking amp). I hear that Carvin might be making a modeling amp (might be worth checking into).

Having read the other reviews, there is no need to rehash here, other than to say that they are impressive. The effects could have more control and be better (which they are in the newer version), but overall are okay.

What can I say? I can't count the number of times other players have come in when we are at the gig and just raved about the tone I'm getting. I play in a week-end group that does everything from the Temptations and James Brown to Steely Dan, George Benson and Joe Satriani. The cleans are bright and sparkling, and the "crunch" sounds, whether Santana or Hendrix, get just the right bite. I use 5 different guitars, usually 2-3 on a gig, depending on the room I have: A Stat with lace-sensors, a Peavey Wolfgang, an Ibanez 470S, a Les Paul Standard and a Yamaha AE-1200-S Jazz guitar (L5 Copy, basically, since I didn't want to lay-out 12k for the real thing). I'm able to get great tones for all of these, from BB King and Benson to Satriani and Hendrix. An interesting thing I read in the reviews is how the tone changes when the volumes go up - specifically, more "brittle" high-end. Well, having owned a variety of Fender, Marshall and various solid state amps (Yamaha, tube-preamp Fender Deluxe 85, which I could never get to sound right)over the last 30 years, this happens with all of them. I had similar experience with the Line 6 initially. I've found that when setting up the sounds, there is a tendency (probably due to ear pain in close quarters) to EQ the amps at low volumes. When I set-up an "amp" now, I do so at approximatley the same volume I use on stage, and EQ accordingly. This has helped a lot, although some tweaking at the gig is ineveitable. The other thing that is a little more complex about the Line 6 as opposed more traditional amps is that you are essentially using saved tone pre-sets for a wide variety of sounds. And, unfortunatley, each room has different accoustics (usually going from bad to worse in your average bar), and with an amp that has 2 or 3 channels, and basically one set of tones, it's fairly easy to adjust for the room during sound checks and during the first set. Obviously, this is a little more difficult when you are switching between 10-12 different saved tones. One other isssue that has been mentioned in another review, in that when you are setting up the tone you need to be aware of what the controls are doing for that particular model. You may not be getting what you want because the knob you are turning doesn't have that particular fucntion. As has been mentioned prior, does this thing sound 100% like all these great vintage amps? No. But, for the money it's pretty damn close. I like the sound quality well enough that I went out and got a POD for my home studio, and couldn't be more pleased with it for recording. The effects are okay on the version I have, and in the new release (which is in the POD)have much more control, which makes them much better than ok.

Sadly, this is the area where this thing falls down. I've had the amp just shy of 2 years, bought it new. I do not overly abuse my gear, just the normal things that happen hauling stuff in a van and in and out of small night clubs. The cover is paper thin, and after a couple of years of giging 2-3 week-ends a month, it has nicks an tears all over. I have a Fender Deluxe 85 that I bought in '91 that has exactly one spot, and this was my own fault. I've used this quite a bit, both for practice and small gigs. My prior 100 watt combo (Yamaha GS-100-212) was on the road in a 6 night a week traveling band with me for about 12 years, and then the week-ender thing for another few. It had less dings in the cover when I sold it than my "new" amp does now. I could live with this cover issue if the electronics section were more solid, but now that is becoming problematic as well. Being a software engineer, I understand how heat, humidity, smoke, jars and shocks can effect computerized components. However, if you are going to produce an amp designed for giging musicians, then you have to take these things into account in your design. Like others, I've had my pre-sets mutate or just plain revert to factory settings several times. Also, the amp was fairly quite initially, but is now getting noiser. I have nasty buzzes where none existed before. I also currently have a problem where the pre-sets come up in "edited" mode, even though I've done no editing, and occasionly "jump" to a differnt patch. As an example, I have a "clean" and a crunch Rectifier sound side by side. While playing a song that requires a clean tone, I suddenly have super-saturated, much louder distortion, which is the adjacent patch. I have to kick the select button on the floor-board to get back. This is with-out touching anything. I can't get to the pre-set sounds anymore either.

I did use this on stage without a back-up, but after the quirky problems that have occurred recently, I don't think I will in the future.

Frankly, I don't believe this amp can hold up to an average, working musician, even if it is only week-ends or wedding receptions, over the long haul. I believe that in order to be able to sell at a lower cost than the big-boys (Mashall, Fender, Boogie) a lot of cost saving, quality cutting measures were taken. While this is okay if you are only going to use the amp at home, most of the environments where you will use the amp in a gig situation are going to be too hostile for the amp to hold up over the long haul. If you like changing amps ever couple of years, then you should be okay. Otherwise, you may want to stick with an amp that has shown it's ability to hold up over time.

I sent them an e-mail once and they responded. I do find the web-site helpful.

I've been playing for over 30 years now, and have used just about everything at one time or another. I compared this amp against the Johson and some of the Roland COSM stuff at the time, as well as considering Marshall and Mesa. As far as the tones go, I love this amp and have no complaints, and for the money, chose it over the traditional heavy-wieghts listed above. However, in my opinion, in order to keep costs low a lot of corners were cut in the quality department and the result is a product that isn't going to hold up for the long haul. I would rather have paid $2-300 more and gotten an amp that would have been good for 10 years, specifically since I was comparing against amps that were easily that much more expensive. Another thing I'm a bit ticked off about is the fact that there was a bit of hype about how the amp could be easily upgraded as new features became available. And yet, in the very next release (Flextone II), everything was so radically changed that upgrade is impossible and if you want those new features, you have to re-buy. Of course, losing money on the deal. I was seriously considering a Flextone II, to get all the upgraded features. However, given the reliabilty concerns that I'm having, I'm back to looking at Mashalls and Boogies again. Unless I can find some compelling evidence that the new release is substantially more solid than the one I have, I'm afraid I'll have to give up all the versatility for long term quality.

Great amp guys. I remember in the late 70's havin to use an A/B box driving 2 amps to get just the right sound for both clean and dirty. No more of that with this set-up. Absolutlely wonderful! I know that the people at Line 6 know how to listen because of all the neat hidden features. And using standard cat5 cable for a remote link made me laugh. Why didn't any of those other rocket scientists (amp manufacturers) figure it out?? Cause their in your own little world. Line 6 is to the bass and guitar amplification what Greg Mackie was to the audio mixer market. While everyone was fat and sleeping it off, some little guy came into town and kicked their ass....

I play all kinds of music, as well as being a recording engineer. Own a bunch of wonderful amps, BUT this one (FlextoneXL), is so darned versatile. Sounds great, gate is very dooable, Tone controls work great, FX are great, the tap entry is super. The distortion is very authentic, cause I own the other amps too.

Im sure it will be reliable. Ive only had it for 6 months. Its been in the studio and church. Gonna start giggin out with the band guys later this year and Im sure it will be fine. I cant give a super high score simply because of the short service life and it living in a studio and Ive no big exiting stories to tell. Ive had not one problem to date. (Im sure if I have any problems, the nice folks at Line 6 will be there to serve me)

Wouldn't know customer service if they were standing in front of me,and probably never will.....And while warranty does have a value, dont get side tracked with numbers. The best warranty you can ever have is a well designed and built product. Warranties dont impress me, quality does. My rating for C/S is intentionally low, cause I dont know them!!!! Get it??

Ive been playing since 79. I plan on buying another for church and mabey one more for playing out. I have problems in my right shoulder (probably from dragging around all those heavy, hot, microphonic, boat anchors)

Reviewers above are quite right: many features behind a few good knobs. You can get a bunch of lovely tones from it, from creamy to crunchy. Line6 did quite well in balancing versatility with quick twiddling. I love knobs. I hate buttons. One thing others have not mentioned: the tuner on the pedal is sweet. Works great, easy to see.

Fabulous sounds, I think, once you have paid your knob-twiddling dues, and to save enough of your twiddlings and control them well, you need to pedal. OF COURSE it does not sound exactly like original amps it emulates. It comes plenty close to capturing the spirit of 16 fine amps, though, and is therefore a special beast. Line6 has successfully modeled tube-even-order-harmonic distortion using a buncha chips and clever secret geeky algorithms. I don't know how and I don't care. If you need a single tube sound, buy something with tubes in it. If you need a range of lovely tube sounds, this is your amp.

I play a way-modified 20-year-old Schecter Mercury strat copy, with a Warmoth neck and Joe Barden pickups. I play blues, blues, and blues. This amp kicks serious butt for the range of sweet-cream to growly tones that I need, at most volume levels. So far, almost every time I think I have a tonal problem that only a stomp box can fix, I woodshed and twiddle the knobs on this amp some more, and I solve the problem. The big exception is the reverb. I will end up hauling around a little rackmount reverb box, I suspect.

I would like to share a setup technique that works well for me and will make sense to those who have the pedal. Save a single amp selection to each of the four "channels," and give it a different tonal quality in each of the "banks." Now as you step through the banks for a given channel, you go from clean to dirty, or dry to wet, or soft to loud, as you need. It's easy to remember, and quick stomping on stage, without having to tango/polka in and out of the frickin "modes".

Had it a year, gigging about once a week, and so far, so good. No breakdowns yet, though reviewers' reports above scare me.

N/A

This amp is expensive and worth every penny. I get the sounds I want, I can get to them quickly, and I haul around zero stomp boxes so far (but my tonal needs are narrow compared to most reviewers here). I love the quality and range of tones, I love the knobs, I love that it's stereo (the effects are quite wide for recording), I love how loud it gets.

I compared it to Marshalls and new Fenders and music store miscellany, which is a miserable way to shop for an amp. It's entirely possible that if the full range of boo-teek kick-ass blues amps had been available for me to try, I would have gone with something else, but they were not. This is not my dream amp, or the ultimate amp. Just a damn fine, remarkably versatile amp.

Critiques: *The four preset buttons should be a single 16-preset knob. *Reviewers above are quite right about the pedal: it should be included, because it is essential. *Line6 went a bit far with amp model emulation, IMHO. If a particular amp model's eq or reverb was crappy, I really don't need to have that crappiness reproduced so slavishly. Some of the reverb sounds are unuseably because of this. *I would rather have two effect knobs instead of one, so I can choose the combinations. *I would like to be able to select which reverb to use independently of the amp (yes, I know this departs from the spirit of the amp, but reverb is a special case). *I agree with a previous reviewer: pedal presets should default to effects off, boost off. *Pedal has an infuriating mode thingy: you are either in preset bank select mode, or effect on/off mode. It's like trying to find a CTRL/ALT/SHIFT key combination with your foot. Give me enough stomp switches that I need not worry which mode I am in before I start stomping. *If I stomp out of tuner mode on the pedal too fast, I get funky crackling noises and a delay that will not go away until I reboot the amp. Yeah, it has chips, so it occasionally needs a reboot, just like any computer. *The line out is noisy for studio recording. *The compressor is noisy as hell; clean it up, guys. *Did I mention that on some nice amp presets I am locked into a crappy reverb? *No wheels? No amp stand arms? No external speaker jack? Cover is $40? WHAT? *MANUFACTURE A GIG BAG THAT THE PEDAL FITS IN, PLEASE, AND INCLUDE IT WITH THE PEDAL. It's sturdy, but not that sturdy, and frickin heavy and big and clunky, and I paid frickin $200 for it.

If it were stolen, I would make say some very very bad words, and probably go through the Amp Evaluation Hell all over again. If I found nothing as versatile and good sounding for the money, then sure I would buy it again.



Let's see, I'm this old, minus when I started playing, so I've playing for -- no way -- um, 37 years. I have owned several amps since (ahem) 1970, including a few of the ones modeled by the Flextone. I have gobs of studio gear, and have learned about sound quality through recording and engineering, in addition to all the playing. To my ears, this thing sounds great on tape and on stage.

If you have a Flextone, keep twiddling those knobs, twiddle at stage volumes, and save regularly and often: your twiddling will be rewarded.

I bought this amp 12/99. I play folk, rock, punkish, Hendrixian, metalish types of rhythms. This amp can do any, all, and more.

The only features I wish it had were multiple effects capabilities, wheels (!), amp cover ($40!?), acoustic guitar amp capabilities (I get "the hum" on even the cleanest setting at high volumes).

I play a Strat, Les Paul, even my hollow-body Mosrite sounds great. They all sound very good. When there is no guitar plugged in, it does have a buzz, slight, but it's there. It reminds me I left my amp on. Maybe it's an unknown feature ! While playing, it's quiet, nothing but strings. It can be very clean and very dirty.

I have had no problems in the past year. I take it out 3-4 times a month for jams. It's just plain heavy (am I whining?).

Sent an email and got a response.

I've been plaing 15 years. I have had crappy amps: Peavey Backstage Plus was my first, Marhall 1x10/80w. I have graduated to this one. I am in awe. I bought the $213.00 floorboard too.

Got this amp used at guitar center.Think it was made in 1999.Has 17 amp models with compressor chorus flang delay reverb independant channel volume also has hidden featues like drive-eq-vol & presance boost.Its 100watts stereo with 2x12's line out stereo & head phone jack.Give it a 8. If it had ext cab & midi I would give it a 10!!

I have a Ibanez Jem & a les paul copy.They both sound awsome with this amp! I was very plaesed with it.I play rock/metal and some softer stuff as well and this amp is great!I tested a pod with a stereo power amp and my 4x12 cab and it sounded good but I think the flextone with the line 6 speakers in it sounded better.The pod has more amp models in it but the fextone has the ones I will use anyway.I dont like tweakin all that much and I like turning a knob instead of pushing bottons, plus I dont record a whole hell of alot so Im sticking with the amp.P.S VERY LOUD ! ! ! !

No poblems here so far.I have heard good things about line 6 service.

Awsome amp! loud enugh to play out with plus has a line out to go to a pa board and us the amp for stage monitor.Good sustain & the amp modeling is very good!Effects are nice too. Im pleased with my new amp and I will hug him and sqeeze him and call him george:-)

I got this amp in 1999 and as far as versatility goes, it can cover any type of music you'd want. It may not match up to each original amp exactly, but most of us wouldn't really hear the subtle differences and anyway, who could afford to own all those differnent amp that the Line 6 emulates (as well as having the space to store 'em all)? The Flextone has an input for one guitar and stores up to four different settings unless you shell out the $200 + for the floorboard (which I would recommend because it opens up a bunch more settings). There is an effects loop located on the back panel as well as a headphone out (which doubles as a hook up to a recorder or mixer. The Flextone XL has 2 12 inch speakers and has 100 watts of power so it has more than enough power for me in any situation. You do have to spend time tweaking the amp settings and the effects some but that's no big deal. If you're not that type of player then go for something less complicated. Still, it's not difficult to get the hang of. The effects are nice to have on board and most are good sounding but I still like to use outboard gear. I'm happy with the variety of tones I can get with just one amp. Like I said before, it may not be the exact copy of a Marshall, Mesa, Fender, or Vox, but it's close enough for government work, so I don't think I need another amp.

I play a Gibson Nighthawk which is in itself a versatile sounding guitar (mine has 2 humbuckers) and this amp can get most any sound I'd ever need. I play jam-based, Dead, Floyd, classic rock, traditional folk, and original stuff and I keep finding new tones to layer in (I use the Line 6 Delay modeler as a looper). It is somewhat noisy, especially in the higher gain settings and the compresser is too noisy for my tastes. There is also a little amp hum/fuzz eminating from it if there's no music coming through which is a little annoying, but that becomes unnoticeable when you start cranking. The effects are good overall, especially the rotary speaker, chorus, tremelo, and delays. I'm disappointed with the flangers (they just don't seem to have as smooth a sweep as I like and they tend to modulate in a dissonant sort of way at the bottom of the sweep as it starts to go back up) and the compressor is overly noisy. I can get as much distortion as I need although that may not be the case for everyone. The floorboard also has a distortion and a boost switch in case you need to add a little more in the heat of an inspired jam, which is cool. I'd actually give this an 8.5 over an 8, but it's not quite a 9 on the rating scale. Still, the Flextone sounds pretty damn good (better then the Johnsons in my opinion).

Had it over a year and no problems so far. I did have to have a switch in the floorboard resoldered and it's been fine ever since. I am very careful when I carry it around (it weighs a ton and I don't want to jar it too severely since it is basically a computer in an amp).

Haven't needed to deal with 'em but they are pretty easy to correspond with via the internet.

I've been playing for 20 + years and I have a lot of gear (Line 6 Modulation and Delay Modelers hooked up in the amp's loop, Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron and Micro Synth thru the front end, and I also have Lexicon stuff and Boss pedals in an acoustic rig). I've previously had a Peavey amp, Roland Blues Cube, Roland Jazz Chorus for my electric set up and the Line 6 easily duplicates my previous amps. If I somehow lost this (?!?!) or if it was stolen I'd most likely replace it after comparing it to a Tech 21 Trademark 60. I love the fact that the Flextone can be so many different amp personalities but it's too heavey to be lugging around all the time. Also some effects thrugh the front end add to more noise so you have to be careful what you add and how much you use (my Q-Tron and Micro Synth don't negatively affect the amp's tone which is why they are there). If you're looking for a good sounding, versatile, all-purpose amp, definitely check out the Flextone XL (or any others in the series). If you don't need effects in your amp, check out the Trademark 60 (it weighs a lot less and sounds as good).

Overall this is a very versatile amp and can suit many styles. If you didn't already know (i'm sure you did) this amp is one of those new digital tube-simulaters. It has features galore, a bunch of basic efects (tremolo, chorus, flanger, delay, compression, swell, rotary speaker) and 16 amp models all of which sound pretty good, though i rarely use them all. 4 programable channels to save your favorite settings, which is nice. It also has an effects loop and the option for 2 different floorboards. I think it's kind of poor that they didn't at least include the cheaper channel swithching pedal along with the amp. oh well

Like i said this amp sounds pretty good, if you're into blues or even country (hee-haw) this amp will hook you up. Personally i don't play much blues and no country, but i still think this amp is pretty cool. The distortion on most channels is pretty weak, except for the rectified, brit hi-gain, and modern hi-gain, which can get pretty crunchy. I found that the equalizer on this amp kinda sux so i run a boss ge-7 through the effects loop (do not hook it up straight into the amp like most pedals, use the effects loop) i highly suggest doing this (especially if your into metal and anything that needs kick ass distortion) it really improves the sound from this amp making everything sound alot clearer and crisp. Based on the amp without the equalizer pedal i'd probably give it a 7 in the sound department, but with the ge-7 it's definately a 9.

I've heard that alot of people have had problems with this amp but mine has worked perfect since i got it. I really don't play out anywhere (except ocasionally with a couple of my friends) so the amp hasn't been under a lot of stress. if i had a backup i would probably take it,just for the hell of it. This amp is basically a computer so just be careful with it and you should be alright.

haven't had to talk to them

I've been playing for about four years and have had to put up with a shitty crate 20 watt and a peavey strat rip-off most of those four years. I'm finally getting myself some decent equipment, including this amp and an ibanez s470 which i am in the process of having a dimarzio x2n dropped in. If somebody stole my flextone, which seems kinda unlikely, i would probably check out the new flextone 2's that line 6 just came out with (just a month after i got mine, damn that pissed me off) or look into something with tubes. This is still a great amp though, especially if you play a wide variety of styles.

WISH IT HAD LINE OUT FOR EXTRA CABINET. I USE THIS AMP IN MEDIUM TO LARGE CLUBS. I LIKE IT'S VERSATILITY, MY BAND JUMPS FROM 70'S DISCO TO
BONE CRUSHING METAL TOONS THAT I HAVE TO SHRED ON. SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T SEEM TO CUT THROUGH LIKE MY MARSHALLS BUT I REALLY LIKE THE AMPS OVERALL SOUNDS

I LOVE THE BOOGIE RECTIFIER AND THE FENDER BLACKFACE. I PLAY NOTHING BUT GIBSON LES PAULS AND THEY SOUND GREAT THROUGH IT. ALTHOUGH I HAVE NOTICED THE CLEAN CHANNELS DISTORTING AT HIGH VOLUMES.WITH THE PROPER
SETTINGS YOU CAN ACHIEVE MONSTER SHREDABILITY WITH THE DIRTY CHANNELS.

MY OPINION VARIES ON THIS SUBJECT, I PLAY FOUR TO FIVE NIGHTS A WEEK AND NEED SOMETHING THAT I CAN COMPLETELY RELY ON, THIS AMP HAS NOT YET ACHIEVED MY FEELING OF COMPLETELY RELIABLE. A COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER PURCHASING THE AMP IT BLEW UP AT A REHEARSAL, SMOKE, FIRE THE WHOLE THING. I DECRIBED WHAT HAPPENED TO ONE OF THE TECH SUPPORT GUYS OVER THE PHONE AND HE SAID, FAR OUT MAN....A LIGHT SHOW. I WAS NOT VERY HAPPY WITH HIS RELAXED ATTITUDE! I SENT IT BACK TO CALIFORNIA AND GOT IT BACK ABOUT A WEEK LATER. ON I GO AGAIN....A MONTH OR SO LATER I BLOW A SPEAKER..NOT HAPPY. THE CREW FOR MY BAND IS NOT VERY HAPPY HAVING TO HAVE TWO AMP RIGS AROUND TO WORRY ABOUT. OUT COME THE MARSHALLS AGAIN........AFTER TWO DAYS ON THE PHONE WITH LINE 6 I CALL A VERY LARGE LOCAL MUSIC STORE, SAM ASH. TALK TO ONE OF MY BOYS DOWN THERE, HE HOOKS ME UP WITH A SPEAKER AND HE HAS LINE 6 SEND MY REPLACEMENT TO THEM SO I CAN HAVE A FUNCTIONAL AMP. THANKS MIKE!I GUESS LINE 6 HAS NEVER HEARD OF FEDERAL EXPRESS? LATELY I'VE HEARD THE AMP CUTTING IN AND OUT AT GIGS SO I'M TRYING TO TRACK THIS PROBLEM DOWN, SEEMS A LITTLE GHOST IS LURKING IN MY FLEXTONE. I LOVE THE VERSATILITY OF THE AMP, IT'S COMPACT SIZE, COMPARED TO MARSHALL HALF STACKS AND PEDAL BOARDS ECT. BUT.....I DON'T HAVE TOTAL FAITH IN IT.

OH BOY, I HAVE HAD GOOD EXPERIANCES WITH A COUPLE GUYS THERE, AND ALSO HAVE HAD SOME GUYS THAT I THINK WERE TOO WORRIED ABOUT WHEN THE SURF WAS GOING TO BE UP.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING GUITAR FOR 26 YEARS, I STILL LOVE MY MARSHALLS BUT WISH I COULD GET COMFORTABLE WITH THIS AMP WHOLE HEARTEDLY, IT REALLY CAN KICK SOME SERIOUS BOOTY.I THINK THEY'VE GOT AS CLOSE TO TUBES AS YOU'LL EVER SEE WITHOUT USING TUBES BUT........WILL THEY SURVIVE THE TEST OF TIME? I COMPARE MINE TO EVERYTHING OUT THERE, AND IT SOUNDS GREAT LIVE AND ON LIVE RECORDINGS, I'VE NEVER USED IT IN THE STUDIO. IF IT GOT LOST OR STOLEN OR IF I...I MEAN SOMEONE HAPPENED TO TOSS IT OFF OF A CLIFF OR LARGE BUILDING, I THINK I WOULD JUST GIVE UP ON MODERN TECHNOLOGY, PLUG IN TO A MARSHALL, 5150, MESA DUAL RECTIFIER OR TONEMASTER AND ROCK ON.

This amp offers up a versatile variety of tonal possibilities. It's claim to fame is truly its distortion/overdrive section, offering up about 16 amp emulations. The ultimate quality of possible sounds is somewhat dependent upon the ear and creativity of the user. There are a multitute of possible clean and overdriven tones. The effects section is adequate with minimal programmability. It has the ability to be very loud! It could easily fill any room. It has only one channel input which is a compromise you make if this is the amp you want. It has an effects loop which is a necessity for anyone who wants to loop in rack or stomp-box effects. The stereo direct out/headphone jack is a great feature for either recording or listening through phones while bypassing the speakers(so as not to disturb anyone else). Although it is a stereo amp, stereo separation is there but not particularly obvious (although the difference is there if you compare it sided by side with a 1 speaker amp.)

What this amp lacks...An extension speaker out jack to utilize the amps stereo capabilities to its fullest. The speakers are very weak in the bottom end! I use an EQ in my effects loop to get the fuller, deeper tonal end. I would like to have a MIDI section with in/out/thru ports, especially for future Line6 changes in available tones, or to add/delete custom/user created tones.
I find it rather disappointing that to use this amp to its fullest capabilities you have to invest another $200+ dollars to get the floorboard foot pedal which allows access to so many other features, ie. 16 presets, tap tempo, tuner, wah-wah, vol pedal, and a number of other tonal accentuators.

I play a variety of guitars: Telecaster, Stratocaster, Rickenbacker 360/12, Gibson 330, Rickenbacker 370/6, and several acoustics. Electric guitars sound great through this amp but I have yet to find really exceptional tones for my Acoustic/electric guitars (Takamine, Gibson). I play mostly country, blues and rock music and this amp is certainly suited for these styles. The distortion/overdrive possibilities are endless. To me they sound great. Anything seems possible with this section from just a little dirt added to a clean tone to full on heavy metal assault tones. Fantastic tones can be achieved for Blues guitar. Clean tones take a little patience to get a really nice tone. Distortions seem to improve as the volume increases.
Overall, the amp produces less noise than my 66' Bandmaster and 80s Twin Reverb.
The wah-wah pedal is excellent sounding!

I use this amp at home mostly, though I go out to jam at much louder volumes about 3 times a month. So this amp is certainly not being put through any heavy testing. But it has been reliable for me so far; I've had it about 7 months.

I have had a number of email interactions with one of the technicians at Line6. He has gotten back to every time within a day or two. He has promised to send materials via snail mail to me as well, and he has gotten those items to me within a couple days as well. So I can only attest to good customer service based on this.

I've been playing for 35 years. I own, or have owned, alot of different gear over the years. For me this amp offers a number of advantages. It is portable, although I wish it came with caster wheels on it. It weighs about 56 pounds (like a big bag of dog food). It has onboard effects eliminating the need to drag along other gear such as tuner, rack gear, stomp boxes, etc, which decreases set-up time and eliminates cords and connections. I do, however, use it with other gear but bottom line is you can take this amp all by itself and be fully armed and loaded. I like its distortion section better than my Digitech 2112, which I'm going to sell; I'm sick of all the programming it needs to get the right sounds. However, I use a Rocktron Intellifex On-Line in the effects loop to expand and enhance the effects section, especially Reverbs and Chorus. However, I don't always lug this stuff with me to a gig. But, another advantage here is usability without any extensive digital programming.
I wish it had MIDI in/out/thru ports and an extension cabinet. And for its rather steep price, I believe the floorboard ought to come with it; especially because the floorboard is so integral to using the expanded capabilities of the amp. It feels like price gouging by Line6 charging another $299 list price for this floorboard. Somehow I just don't think they cost that much to make, though they are of solid construction.
If this amp was lost or stolen I would consider buying it again, but I would shop and compare other amps as many other similar featured amps are out there now. Hopefully the competition will help adjust the price to greater affordibility.
I bought this model rather than the Flextone Duo because the 12 inch speakers gave it a fuller, richer sound. I would like to see different speakers in this amp; speakers with an expanded bandwidth, especially a deeper bottom end.
They really ought to put caster wheels and tilt back arms on this amp.

number of cool amps, effects distortions are great at low volumes,cleans are little harder to tweak but when used with effects sound really good.The amp as in quality was built like crap they could have done better, But for ease of use the controls real easy to use. Excellent practice amp good sounds at low volumes.

Well i am not gonna compare it to a tube amp but the sounds are very good.The clean sounds are hard to get right but if you add a little dirt they sound pretty good.The chorus is excellent rotary is ok and effects sound good enough. the harder amp models sound excellent.

haven't had it long enough

there webb page is great can get any info you need.

a real nice practice amp that you could gig with great sounds and very easy to operate.I had a different dsp amp and it was very hard to adjust just took to dam long(rocktron)I really like the sounds it is fun to use,line6 is really catering to guitarist.I like there fb4 idea for setting and a tap tempo very important when playing with the band.The only sound which really doesn't hit it is reverb that is pretty lame.but then again i have heard reverb swallow up some real good tones.the constuction could be better in the cabinet department.the best feature is be able to get cool tones at low volumes can't do that with a tube amp.

This amp has more feature than I would need, I was looking for a 3-channel combo, I looked at a Mesa Boogie Nomad 55 and a Marshall JCM2000 TSL (2X12 combo). The Mesa Boogie sounded really muddy on the low end (I play metal, so I need a good distortion sound for palm muting on the low strings), the Marhsall sounded awesome but costed twice the price. Then I plugged in the Flextone XL and discover that it could nearly emulate the JCM on the brit high gain setting with drive boost engaged, but it could also provide me with wonderful Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier sound, and killer clean sound, it also had nice effects (I have a RP-7 so I didn't need the effet, now I don't need my RP-7 anymore :o). Technically you could call this amp a 4-channel amp (I got the FB4), but you have to resave your preset everytime you need to modify one of your sounds for a particular sound, which is a big hassle since you only have one set of button for all 4 channels. I was a bit disappointed to find out I had to shell out 90$CA extra to get the footswitch, sure it has 4 buttons and a really long RJ45 cord, but other amp came with the footswitch.

You can get any sound you want, clean, smooth, heavy, blues, you name it you got it. However the speakers are really bad. It's a good thing I still have my peavey half-stack for gigging duties, because this amp can't cut it. I really like the Recto model, but the speakers can't handle the bass I throw at them, so I can't play loud enough for my own taste, so I line-out to my solid-state Peavey 160W half-stack when I need more power. At "reasonable" volumes it sounds perfect, but I would use just this amp for gigging.

For recording duties, it worked ok for distortion sound, but I can't use it for clean sounds, way too much hiss. The sound coming out of the speaker is clean (with noise-gate engaged) but the sound sent through the recording-out is dirty as hell. I wasn't all that impressed by the speaker emulation, but since I wasn't looking for an amp that would allow direct recording (I was simply looking for a small combo that I could mic easily) I don't really care.

The compressor is unusable, the most you can use is a 2:1 setting, after that the noise floor gets boosted in an horrible way and I can't stand it. The chorus and delay effects are perfect. You can't control them as much as with my RP-7, but I don't have to scratch my head trying to find a good sound, I select Chorus 1 (or 2) with the knob and it sound good with playing with settings, that's all I'm asking for.

Had it for 2 weeks only, no problem yet, but it looks so fragile... or maybe it's just me, at 999$ I don,t want to break it :o)