Line 6 HD147 Head

By now you've read all of the above so I assume you know the features, if not, check out Line 6's website

I currently play through a PRS SC-150, Jackson USA KV-2, PRS Tremonti Custom and a Charvel Strat. I gravitate around the heavier side of music currently playing through a Mesa Dual Rectifier Solo Head, Dave Mustaine Signature Line 6 Head (one of four prototypes made) and now the HD-147.
For a heavy sound this amo does pretty well. If you are a rhythm player this amp will suit you well, giving you a ton of different effects to tweak and a pretty heavy sound. The amp models aren't too bad, some are really decent but you aren't going to get a Rectifier out of a solid state amp...that needs to be realized up front. This head will also sounds a TON better if you play through a decent cab. If you use this head with a $200 4X12 then you can't really expect much. I play mine through my Mesa 4X12 and it sounds good, once you turn off all of the cabinet modeling.
I'd play this live just to save space if I had to.

Don't know yet, but my DM head is a warrior having had everything spilled on it and still work

Line 6 support is pretty good, but only if you CALL them. The website sucks. I tried to get some info on my DM head and they couldn't help. Wow, you guys built it, shouldn't someone know something....

I'd give this an 8 overall, it's a pretty good piece of equipment. It piles a ton of amps into one box and this bad boy is loud. Just don't expect a Diezel to come out of this, but you can get some great sounds out of it.

I play mostly death metal and this amp has gain and distortion for days. It also has very nice cleans. The key to this head is patience dialing in your tone. This amp is basically loaded and with 300 watts you can definately piss off the neighbors.

I use an Ibanez RG3EXFM1 and play this head out of a Behringer full stack. For heavy,crunchy,chunky, distortion, the only amp that ever came close for me was a Crate 130 watt half stack i used to have. For as loud as this amp there is hardly any feedback and with noise gate on it is virtually silent when you stop playing. This amp can do it all. You can make any sound if you take a little time to dial it in. This amp at 300 watts is the loudest amp I have ever played through. It is plenty loud at 3 or 4, any louder and me dogs go running. Bottom line this is one of the best amps for under 2000 period.

I just bought this amp used so i don't know. It seems like it is built very well.

The line 6 website is very helpful. You can go online and print manuals or just about anything else. I havn't had any reason to contact them yet but there website is really good.

I have been playing for about a year and a half. Right now I only have this setup. With a Crate fxt120 2x12 for bedroom playing. I have owned a few other amps and have played just about every major brand. There is really nothing I don't like about this amp. I have compaired this amp with many others and after carefull consideration I chose this one. There are some very nice Marshalls and Randalls to name a few, but they are way overpriced. This amp was the best value for all you get. If you can get this amp for under 600 it is well worth it.

everything you need-

very crisp,unreal,modern sounding

seems tight,well built,so far so good-

theyve answered the phone if i need them

pretty sweet,,i owned the vetta 2 and ended up w/ this,very cool idea

If you are reading this then you already know about the features.

I play mostly progressive modern rock through this amp and it always sounds impressive.

The only thing I wish it did was have automatic Fletcher-Munson curve compensation so you could build your tones at low volume and have essentially the same tone at high volume.

Also, I wish it had better volume management between patches; sometimes volume levels are difficult to get 100% right.

I use a Schecter C-1 Hellraiser with EMG's and it sounds beautifull. The cleans are nice and clean with a tad bit of bite and really melds well with the effects.

The high gain amps are a bit noisy so I introduce a smidge of noise gate. By the way, be careful with the noise gate as it can change some things such as dynamics, etc.

I look at this amp for what it is; an amp with a plethora of tones. I am not trying to emulate different amps. You will never be happy if you attempt to do this. If you have the bug to get a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier sound then you need to simply buy a Mesa.

I have no problem running effects to this amp; they sound just as they should.

I also use this with the shortboard which is highly recommended for complex playing.

BTW, I also use a BBE sonic maximizer which makes it sound less compressed, more raw, and with better dynamics (similar to tube amp). I highly recommend you do the same.

I have gigged with this without a backup before with no problems. The only problem I have ever discovered was when running a two head one cabinet stereo set-up I had the HD147 on top of a B-52 AT-100 100W tube amp and almost roasted the HD147 with heat. I have since made a heat shield and haven't had anymore problems, but what was happening when it got over temp was that it was getting really quiet and "wierd".

I have owned the POD, POD2.0, DM4, PODXT, and Variax 700 Gold, and have never had a problem with my Line 6 products. I have asked questionsd and have gotten about 24hour turn-around time.

I have been playing with it for about 2 months and play show(s) every week. If it were lost or stolen I'd probably just collect the insurance money and buy another one used.

I use this with a two head set-up for a more complex set-up. Wish you could do the same with this one without going Vetta (too complicated for band use).

The other head is a tube head that takes care of the dynamics and low-end while the HD147 gives my sound the character.

Plus, with one footpress I can turn on a different amp, add compressor, noise gate, chorus, and delay. try doing that with pedals.

I play rock from prog to heavy to classic/AOR to pop to metal (http://www.myspace.com/mindwavesmusic) and I need a very versatile setup... this amp has it all: clean, crunch, rythm, lead sounds, in all possible styles, and also some good sounding effects, especially delays.

Oh, and 300 watts (stereo) of pure power...

XLR outputs for recording or getting a good sound directly in the soundboard for gigs.

Midi in and outs for using with Line 6 programs on your computer give you even more sound editing and saving possibilities.

Still, I only give a 9 though because if you want to really enjoy all the features of the amp, you'll have to buy a foot controller like the FBV shortboard.

I use mostly Music Man EVH and Axis guitars with DiMarzio pickups. This amp can really sound awesome, if you take a little time to work on it...because most of the factory presets don't sound that great and you'll have to read the manual and try to find your own tones. But it's really worth it!

Of course, it will probably never sound 100% like a tube amp, but it's getting sooooo close! (especially with an equalizer like the mxr KFK1 in the effects loop)

My favorite sounds:
-Fender Deluxe and Twin Reverb models for the cleans and also Line 6 clean
-Diezel and Bogner models for the Hi gain sounds (lead and rythm), Triple Rectifier for heavy rythm sounds and Line 6 Agro for nice singing lead sounds
-some of the Marshall sounds (plexi superlead) for the crunch

Nothing to say so far...(knock on wood!)

Hope I won't need it! :)

I've been playing for more than 20 years and have Marshalls (2555 Silver Jubilee head that I keep of course and JCM 2000 DSL 100 that I will probably sell), Fender (Super 60), just sold my Mesa Rectoverb combo...

I just had enough of all these things I had to plug in front of my amp and carry over everywhere and still that wasn't versatile enough for me. Now I just have one amp and one pedalboard to plug in (with an ethernet cable, so you just need ONE jack from the guitar to the amp!!!), rehearsals and gigs...and all these sounds are so nice to play! :)

I play Thrash Metal and I use the HD147 with a Line6 412S cabinet in my home and somtimes I carry the whole half stack to big rehersals. I basicly use the Smash model for my distortion chanel and the Line6 Super Clean (the red alterenate of the Line6 Clean model) model with some reverb as a clean chanel. This is one of the most versatile amps, it has 32 amp models and 16 cabinet models, you can ran up 4 cabinets with it and it also has a headphone input, not to mention the several outputs. It's really good for any style: blues (Vox models recommended), jazz (jazz clean model is for you), metal (Smash, Insane). It's also very powerfull, the 300 watts are more than enough. With the 412S cabinet I can use the whole power of the amp, because the cabinet is designed for 320 watts. That's an enormous power, I never even dared to spin the master volume knob over 3 (I always use the chanel volume on maximum), with the master on 3 your sound is perfectly loud and understandable even if your drummer plays as loud as he can.

I play on a Hamer Californian guitar with an EMG81 pickup at the bridge position. The noise gate is good it also works well on high volume and high gain, but it's not perfect. It takes away from your suistane and sometimes the power of your gain, for example pick slides doesn't sounds to good with the gate engaged in, but you can adjust the threshold of it and you can also turn it off, which is not really recommended, because without the gate, the ampo is very noisy. About the brutality of the distrotion: this thing is brutal. Very brutal. It is good for any kind of extreme metal, but if you take off the gain you can also have a nice, warm blues tone.

I never had any internal problem with it, but it's very vulnerablem because of the chrome overlay, which is looks good, but it's very easy to scratch it. Always use the shag bag for cover the amp, when you want to transport the amp for longer paths. Clean it with a dry cloth and always care about it very softly. Never put anything on the chrome parts of the amp!

Never dealt with them, I hope this won't change.

I've been playing for 3 years and this is the best amp I've ever had. I also had a Randall Warhead, tried an all tube Marshall, but HD147 smokes them. I love that this thing is digital. Digitality is very good for those, who play on a 7, or 8 string guitar, because the low string will sound very powerfull and focused with a digital amp. The only thing I don't like about the amp is that I can't turn off the gate with the FBV Shortboard, so I have to walk to the amp, to turn it off. The effects bulit in the amp are awesome. They are not as good as some hi-end stompbox, but they do anything for you.

Not sure how old the amp is - I bought it used. This is one of the most versital amplifiers on the planet - it will cover any style of music you throw at it. The only feature I wish it had was a tube power amp. I bought this as a back up to my primary rig (mesa single recto combo, line6 pod xt live, and BBE sonic stomp. This is an exceptional amplifier. I use it with a marshall 2X12 stereo cabinet. I would love to try it with a Randall 2x12x1-15 cabinet. The HD147 is capable of and amazing amount of bass (I play metal / hard rock). I typically use the Diezel as my dirty channel (sometimes the triple rec) and the Fender 65 twin reverb as my clean. I bought this amp as an impulse buy, sort of. I have had a pod xt live for a few years and I love it. I read about the HD147 quite a bit before ever plugging in (it looked good on paper). I was at the local G.C. one day and they happened to have one there used (they do not have them in stock typically) there was a guy playin blues out of it so I impatiently waited for him to leave. While waiting a sales man coaxed me into the big$ room to play a diezel VH4 - holy s%#t!! That was the best amp I ever played - period - but way to expensive. I escaped the expensive room and got my chance to try the HD147. I started with the Diezel model for obvious reasons. I am not going to tell you that the HD sounded exactly like the Diezel but it was d@#M close and about $4000.00 cheaper. I bought it right then and there - I showed the salesman how it sounded and he couldn't argue - it is as close as it could be. I realize this is a matter of opinion - its my opinion the Diezel is better but the HD147 is close enough for my wallet.

I play, as mentioned before, metal/hard rock this amp has the ability to give great joy in this style of music. I am pretty sure it would suit anyone and any style - my focus is on metal tones cause thats what I play. The sound quality is good but I still prefer my Mesa single rec w/ the pod XT live. It does not have that creamy warm tube sound. Maybe I am a tube snob. I still love this amplifier I record exclusively with it (it is great to record with) don't get me wrong about sound quality it sounds very good I just prefer the Mesa. This is not an amp I was able to "dial in" in ten minutes. It takes some time to fine tune your sound but your sound is in there, you just have to be patient and find it. I have owned the amp for 6 months and I still tweak it here and there. As a guitar player for 22 years I have gone through many phases of what type of distortion I like. This amp will allow you to change sounds as your mood desires - there are so many options. One note: get the short board or you are missing out on 75% of the enjoyment from playing this amp.

Its solid state and built like a brick s#$t house. I am pretty sure this could be used to stop an RPG and still work. I would have no reason to believe you would need a back up but anything could happen be prepared.

Never needed it - I have no opinion

I have been playing for 22 years. I am not the greatest guitar player to grace the planet but I play regularly and love to play. I do have 22 years of experience with gear and I've got to tell you this is a great piece of gear. If you play in a cover band you should give this amp a long hard look it is perfect for achieving any sound you can dream of - but it will take some time. If you are looking to create "your own sound" this is a great stepping stone it will give you a chance to intimately discover the sonic possibilities of many expensive amps. Then when you have the money to pony up to a Diezel VH4 (or whatever your holy grail is)you will truly know what you will get from that expensive amp. In my opinion it takes more than an hour of playing this piece of equipment to make a decision. It is not for everyone, it has a lot of adjustments on it - it is not a simple amp. It does not have that creamy tube sound it is a bit harsh (acceptable but a bit harsh) - I still love this amp and when mixed in with a band it is awesome sounding. It is not the best money can buy - but you would be hard pressed to find all the stuff this amp has to offer (effects, models, in/out options)in any other amp on the market. This could be the best bang for the buck in the world of guitar amps.

I play in 3 bands doing a very wide variety of music, country, classic rock, oldschool and newschool metal - this amp does it all - with the floorboard you have everything available - effects - volume - wha - boost - you name it. It is great for the gigging I do - no pedalboard to mess with - 1 head - 1 cabinet - run line outs to the PA and it rocks!!! plenty of volume if you need it - still sounds great at low volumes unlike tube amps.

I use this with high end PRS's - Les Pauls - I use Randall cabinets, a top with 4 12" speakers and the bottom with 2 12" and a 15" speaker. This amp can RUMBLE. It has great clean tones and crushing distortion if you need it, everything in between. All 300 watts of power to cut through - no noise (it has a gate) - unlike tube amps you can get the same great sounds at low volumes - also great for recording - the line outs are phenominal - I set up a bank for standard - clean, crunchy, heavy, and lead, - and then from there set up the rest of the banks for any specialized songs that have specific sounds and effects - I can cover so much ground with this setup - if you need to tweek something, hold the channel button and it is saved forever!!

Have had over 2 years - no issues yet - No tubes to fail

I have this side by side with my other guitarists Marshall 30th anniversary TSL100 - both of us are amazed at the sound quality of the line 6. I dont pay too much attention to the names of the models I use. I listen to the sounds and set up patches that sound good - I am so happy with this amp - I have had a lot of great amps and I have a ton of equipment that I no longer need as this amp has it all. I do wish you did not need to hook to a computer to do some of the advanced sound editing (such as putting the volume pedal pre or post amp).

loads of features to mold sound, and 4 built in channels to store your sounds...

every feature i need, but you cant choose the TYPE of reverb, i think the default one is spring but its OK, does the job!

Right... everyone's opinion here is different... just to clarify..

i play this kind of music.. (myspace.com/xerath) - orchestral groove metal we call it... and i'm into stuff like devin townsend, symphony x, opeth, nevermore, etc..

anyways, for that kind of stuff this amp RULES... i think its the treadplate patch i use, i got the perfect rythm sound within minutes, sparkling clean is gorgeous and i had a nice sound within 2 mins and lead took 10 mins and i used insane.

its rediculously loud as everyone says, i have 3 sweet sounds and a channel to spare and it took minutes.

I'm not easy to please, some of the stuff on this is more high-fizz instead of high gain if that makes sense... but you CAN get the sound you want if you mess with it

its tight as hell, and completely quiet

its lighter than a valve amp, does'nt get nearly as hot, does'nt have glass inside it

not gone wrong yet, but havent gigged it yet!

n/a

overall i'm extreamely glad i bought this amp, i'm sick of people ranting on for hours about the science of tone because they are always the ones who have cr@p p*ssy tone.

i'm lazy, i'm just a guitarist who wanted the best sounds and wanted them ASAP.. and thats what i got, for cheap too!

my last amp wa an engl powerball, i would say this is 95% as good for half the price.

Well well well... First things first. I don't own this piece of rig, I only tried it a couple of times at my local store. The fact that I'm writing a review is to explain you why I didn't buy it. So take my opinions carefully.
It was love at first sight. Some of the most gorgeous piece of sh*t I've ever seen, cool chrome plate, cooler blue leds glowing behind the grills.
I was looking for a head-cabinet, dreaming a high gain valve like Mesa, Orange or a JCM800, but that's it, dreaming. I love to play some genres, like metal, stoner, hard rock and some blues, but I'm going to gig with some blokes who play alt rock with no more than crunch rythms and some clean-delay stuff. In addiction, as I improve and grow old as a guitar player, I'm developing an interest in spacing through all genres and styles, and sounds as a consequence.
This should be 'the' piece of rig for 360 degrees of playing, it has pretty much everything from jazzy cleans to ball to the wall aggressive low end chug-chug distortions. A bunch of built in fx, programmable banks, gate and compressor... The only thing that lacks is a tuner (only on the optional pedalboard) and a frappuccino machine. Ok, let's give it a try!

I was higly impressed when the guy plugged in and shredded from a preset to another through a Line6 4x12 dedicate cabinet and a Strat.
The Mesa sounded like hell, the Diezel models kicked my hat off... Then I got back home and began thinking about actually buy the beast, but before I wanted to try it myself.
Today I plugged in with my axe (Epiphone LP Custom Zakk Wylde, stock passive EMG-HZ pu's) and tryed it in a different room in the back of the store.
I was strangely and sadly disappointed. No matter how many models I switched to, I sensed a lack of texture, of room, of breath. Even the fully cranked JCM800 was disappointing, with the eq settings properly wyldish and the gate off it was impossible to get a decent pinch harmonic, just some crappy 'wink'...no squeal no deal.
Good cleans, ok, but otherwise nothing impressed me for the good. The so globally appreciated distorted models gave an awful 'ooomph' on the low palm muting typical of budget, practice mosfet amps, and through a 4x12 this is absolutely rubbish!
I know the presets aren't the best, I know my experience is partial, but frankly I can't afford to spend 1000 euros and 400 for the cab to write a brilliant and competent review about how this head 'really' sucked.
I just tryed a Laney VC30 (30 watts, class A all valve combo 2x12 celestion) and it smoked the 300w,obscenely loud, headroom for days bullsh*t! (300w means it should be, if maths is on my side, ten-friggin-times louder on the card!). It filled the space with solid, punching and rich tone, leaving my ears bleeding but in a kinda pleasant way. I know, it will never be as versatile as the HD147, at least in intentions, but I'm talking about sound quality.
I'm not a valve-head, but I have to admit that the dream of a digital revolution remains, like, a dream... for now.

How the hell am I supposed to know??? ^^

It was like being told Santa doesn't exist.
I believed so badly that this head could have dethroned the high gain, high price, high weight and high trouble valve heads. But hands on, I had to drop any hope. For someone it could be ok, maybe for a studio situation (with a couple of months tweaking). But for my needs and taste, it is mediocre. Remember, I didn't go in depth as I owned it and played it for weeks, so give it a try, maybe try other cabs, and rely on your ears and hands before deciding.

Tonnes of features, after all, its a Line 6 product. All in one sort of package which makes it especially useful in gig situations. The amp is very user friendly but to really get the most out of the amp, get a Line 6 FBV Shortboard and also plug the head into your computer to use the Line 6 Edit software. For fuller details about the amp go on the website, but the sounds available give you an extremely wide pallet to fit most genres.

Good. Not excellent, but quite close to the real amps that it tries to emulate. The tonality that this amp creates gives a good impression in terms of the amps, cabs, effects and microphones here on offer. However, a tube amp is superior because of the dense texture which is added to your original guitar's timbre. (crap explanation i know haha, just play a tube amp and you'll understand). The HD 147 sounds more like a giant, loud hi-fi that you can play through.

Again good. I have had trouble with the power switch on the front of the amp, and occasionally needs a wiggle to get going. At the end of the day, this amp is more like a computer than a traditional amplifier and due to the nature of solid state technology it makes this amp far more reliable than any tube amp.

No problems here. Great website and customer support.

Ive been playing for about 12 years. I play a PRS Custom 22 NAMM special edition and a customised Fender Bad Boy strat. I play all sorts of music and genres but im loving my jazz at the mo! I bought this amp because I was looking for 'my' sound. I felt that having an amp with such a wide variety of sounds would be a great starting point and it worked! I now know what amp I want to buy to really own 'my' sound - Cornford all the way. Beautiful, beautiful amps. Now however, Im kind of stuck with the Line 6. For me its really too big for my halls at uni and for gigs its difficult to move around without a car. My advice is if you are considering buying this amp, I would recommend that you buy a basic cheapish tube amp - like marshall or fender or whatever, and buy a Pod XT. These sound fantastic and are more flexible that the HD 147.

This amp is very versatile,I mean come on you have so many amps to choose from!I would say that the gain models are geared towards metal but the it has an outstanding options of clean and lower gain options also.You have 4 channels w/out the shortboard,but with the short board you have like 32 options.It also has 2 stereo effects loops. I use this amp for live and recording,plus it is 300 watts for enough power to kill somebody.

This amp does alot of you newer and higher gain amp models from rectifiers to 5150's.Plus it has Bogners,deizels,and Marshalls.With the gate, it is dead silent

I have two of these and I tour 3 months of the year on average plus three days a week of practice for 4 hours at a time,and I live in florida so it is very warm here and I have yet to have a problem,

never needed them!!

I am not going to lie to anyone about this amp,b/c I feel if you come here for a opinion you should get an honest review.I own 2 peavey 5150 block letters ,a dual rec,madison divinity,and two triple rectifiers and I admit when I first tried this amp I thought it sucked,but after some tweaking and reading the manual I a/b'd this amp with the rectifiers and the 5150's and I got 99% of the sound out of both of the amps.I even got my other guitar player to tell me the one he liked best without him knowing which amp I was using ,and he chose the HD147 both times!! I am a tube amp freak,but with patience and the right cab(standard mesa or avatar) This amp will beat your chest in no doubt!!!Tube snobs beware!!

hey hey my name is jacob ive been playing guitar for 12 years now im in a band called wisdoms call..and i just bought this amp because jim from soul joy records said hey check in to it!! so i wen out and bought it....its awesome and its loud...lisen i know sound and tone...guys its not a tube head..but its the closesest youll ever get unless you own a tube head..but this head is mead for expensive celestion speakers..im running 2x12 celestion ventage 30...and i have a 199$ marshall cab,,please lisen if you get this head later on down the road get a really good cab...or your never be 100% happy with this...i haad a genzbenz el deablo head it rocked but not as much as this head...just ask my band members!! guys get it..it rocks!

dude the delay rocks...and all the effects..at high volumes the clean does not destort..the distortion can be too much...i play metal and hard rock and dude some times it can be too much destortion..i play on the crunch because the rest had to much drive and bass..this one is perfect for zack wyld and metallica sounds!i use all emg active pick ups...

i do gig with this amp without a back up.never broken thank god..had line 6 befor and its all good..

never called customer service.

i play through my messa cab and you need a expensive cab with this head it even says that in the maniual...

This amp is great. Many dif sounds and tones. I bought it used about 4 months ago and I am not sure I have even scratched the surface of what this amp is able to do.

The other guitar player in my band plays a Triple REC, I was able to match his tone easy. This is not a boogie so it will never match exactly but it is not a tube amp, to Line6's credit it sounds awsome everytime I turn it on where as the boogies I have heard and played are very hot and cold. That goes for any tube amp. If you are looking for a constant great sound this is the amp for you.

Have had no problems.

Line6 needs much help with support. But the other users are very helpful with any ?s so if you have a question use the line6 HD147 support forum but dont wait for help from line6.

Could not be happier with this amp, its loud sounds brutal and it stands tall againts all the other amps out there dispite the gay purple led's built in it thats why I changed mine to wicked RED led's.

I bought my HD147 at my local guitar center, together with the Line 6 412S-T cabinet and the FBV ShortBoard, for ???2500. When I came in the shop, I immediately noticed the amp, with it's chrome chassis and glowing blacklights!

It has a lot features, wich are very easy to use. It has 32 amp models, 16 cabinet models, 6 types of delay and 6 types of modulation, reverb, noise gate (wich makes the amp quiet as hell...I love it!), compressor, 4 programmeble channels (36 with the FBV ShortBoard), MIDI section, AIR II XLR section, 300 watts stereo, the possibility to drive four cabinets, effects loop, headphones, ... I mostly play punk and this amp has a lot of gain, so it suits me very well. I mostly use it at home and at gigs and I allways think it sounds great and it really cuts thru the mix.

I gave it a 9, because I think they should add an ENGL or an ORANGE or something else, just for more versatility between the amp models, because I think 5 Marshalls or 2 Rectifiers are to much (just an opinion). Also I think that Line 6 should include the FBV ShortBoard for this price. But still...it's a great amp!

The amp has a lot of features and that also means it has a lot of sounds. I don't say they are all good, the Bogner ??bershall is perfect for distortion and the Roland JC-120 perfect for clean. But I think the Marshall JCM800 and JCM2000 are very weak. I once owned a TSL100 and it sounded very different... But the Bogner models are vey good modeled, they sound as good as my ??bershall, and that says a lot! I don't know if all the amps are modeled like the original, for example: I have never owned a Diezel, so I don't know if the Deity Lead and Deity Son models sound the same as the original, but I don't care, they still sound good! You can go from sparkly, bright clean (and it stays clean, even at high volumes) to high-gain chunk with one press on a button. And when I stop playing, the amp is as quiet as hell thanks to the build-in noise gate (thank you for that amazing feature, Line 6!)

I use this amp (and all my other amps) with a Gibson Les Paul Special (with 2 Seymour Duncan SH-5 Custom humbuckers), a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop '56, a Gibson Les Paul Junior '57 and a Fender '52 Vintage Telecaster (with Seymour Duncan STR-1 Vintage pickups). They all sound great with the HD147, except the Telecaster sounds a bit weak, I don't know why...

The first weeks that I owned this amp, I was constantly tweaking my sound, because I allways wanted to have a better sound than I allready had. It was more turning knobs than playing. But when I found the right sound and I saved it, it was worth all the hours of tweaking!

I wanted this amp because it has it all and it's easy to setup on stage. I'll never get rid of my ENGL Savage, Marshall 1959HW, Hughes & Kettner TriAmp MkII or my Bogner ??bershall and off course, I like tubes! But I'm not a tube freak, I know great tone when I hear it and it came from this amp, tube or solid state.

I have it for four months now and it allways been reliable, it hasn't broken down or something yet. The fact that it has no tubes, makes it more reliable than any other of my gear.This think is build like a tank! It allready had some serious bangs against the chassis, but it still works fine.

But I do have a friend who owned a Flextone II combo, wich has broken down allready 16 times in one year! It even broke down, just because I sat on it! After a few repairings this problem allways came back and was driving my friend crazy! He tried to sell it but when the guy who wanted to buy the amp, came by, the Flextone broke down again! My friend threw it away... But I think it was just that amp and all other Line 6 gear is very reliable, in my way.

There was only one problem that I have been thru, was in the beginning that I owned this amp. Before I bought it I tried it in the store and it sounded awesome! I bought it and set it up at home and the sound just suckt! I noticed that the only difference between the setup in the store and the setup at home, was the guitar cable... So I tried a few other cables and the amp still sounded like crap. I was beginning to think that there was something wrong with the amp, not the guitar cable! So I went to the store and bought the same cable that I used earlier in the store (a Vox Vintage cable). I took it home, plugged it in and it sounded awesome! I don't know if anyone else had this problem also, but I was very pist off, because I think Line 6 should make the amp sound great with any guitar cable!

I could gig with this amp without a backup, because I trust it. But I allways bring another amp, just in case to the amp would break down, because any amp could.

I have never dealt with Line 6, because I had never a problem with the HD147 (except the guitar cable problem, but that was easely fixed). My friend with the Flextone II combo did deal with them and they didn't anwer any e-mails, but on the phone they were very friendly.

I have been playing for 15 years now. And what other kind of gear I own you can read above. If the amp was stolen or lost, I would probably buy the Line 6 Vetta II HD, because of the more features. I love the fact that the amp has it all and that it's easy to use and set up. This is really a great amp with lots of power and distortion, but still with magnificent clean sounds. If you want an amp with lots of features and great sounds, try this one!

Many cabinet simulator, amp simulators ... built in effects like chorus, delay, reverb .. It is designed for trash, heavy, dead metal users but you can also get some old school sounds.

Bought it a month ago for $1200 together with line6 4x12 spider II cabinet.

At first I was surprised with some good demo's on their official HD147 site. When you get it at home , you realize that demo tracks are soooo tweaked and fake. At least they could've post sound patches and setup used for those demo tracks. Of course they didn't because they mixed it and used some other stuff to make it sound amazing.... liars

There are so many sounds that you can get. It is not bad amp at all for that money but it doesn't sound too real at the end. You just have to use it on a really good and expensive 4 x 12 box with vintage speakers. Otherwise it will sound like crap.
In general I am satisfied with the sound. You have to spent hours and hours to make something good and when setting the sound, you have to play it loud. You get a really good PC software for editing hidden options and making your sound better.

I am giving a rate of 5 only because after playing engl fireball and similar tube amps, this HD147 sounds a little plastic and unreal. You just can't get real tube sound with digital head ... sorry

I will give it more time. Usually it takes time to get what you want from the amp. A month in my posession is maybe too short so if I still don't get what I want after a few months, I'll sell it.

It is reliable. Not too heavy.
Looks really cool .. silver metal case, cool blue lights when on =o)

Ahhhh, support sucks.
I have waited for 3 weeks to get 1 single answer and that answer was telling me to visit forums because maybe some of the users might help me. Geez , that sucks. If you are the creators of HD147 then at least you could give me some basic info that cant be found on the web site.
HD147 is not much supported on their forums and site.

I've been playing for 16 years now as a studio musician and support guitar player for many various artists on the scene.
I also have Engl fireball and little Marshall valvstate that sounds amazing =)

If it gets stolen or lost I would definetely NOT buy HD again. I would stick to the fireball instead and G force for the effects.

I love the look but hate the plastic sound.

Many built in effects chorus,noise gate, compressor and others.
300 watts ? or so they claim. Well thought out amp. Check out line 6
and get manual for more info.

Got this amp two years ago from GC during a close out sale for $399.
knowing what they went for I pick one up thinking If I didnt like it
I would resale it on Ebay. took it home plug in with my guitar scrolled thru the factory presets for @ 1 HR.It actually took me approx. 2 weeks to get used to the amp and all the built in effects. downloaded Line 6 edit from their web site downloaded a few patches.
then I started to like the way it sounded more. Im still not to good
at setting the tones on it. the preset are ok, the clean and the insane are very good. You can replace the one you dont like with new ones you download or set yourself. I kept it and play it regular. Im giving it a 6 because it was hard for me to get the tone I like. would be higher ( 8-9 )It was easier to program it.

heavy for solid state amp. very well built

N/A

I been playing for 15 years. this is My only solid state amp.I own two
marshall TLS 100, JTM60, Mesa stilletto,Framus cobra. I play thru it
a 50th aniversary fender strat., charvel model 2, ibanez destroyer,
PRS custom 22, 2 les paul coopies. Not all guitars sound good thru the amp. I have to reset all the tones depending on the guitar im using. but Im glad I pick up this amp.

You can stay locked in your room for months and you`ll still find new options of sounds.. cabinets... effects....

The stereo efects gives you depth and sooo much presence to fill any gig just with a simple ping pong delay... i love those effects

Sooooo much different sounds to play with...
I play my hd 147 most of the time with an ltd viper with emg 85 on the neck and the emg hz in the bridge.. and its so much different sounds... for example if you are soloing and you are using the 85 you can have a heavy sound and by just changing the hz you can instantly have a blues sound... and plus convining all that versatility with many different cabinets sounds and equalization range its just... amazing...
Just to finish with the sound... i love all the presets ive stored but i wouldnt trade my clean sound for anything on earth... you gotta hear how bright you can get or how CRISTAL CLEAN can be possible ... plus add a little reverb .. you just have to hear all of them

never had troubles....
the amp itself is ... lets say .. smaller than average... so thats a great advantage... i just couldnt believe it when i carried a friend`s 5150 oh men... so heavy...

never had to depend on it

For musicians seeking an amp specially for gigs... the versatility and sound are just amazing !!! like... you dont need anything more after setting up your effects and having some pedal board to control so many options

For musicians seeking an amp for studio... you have to try the XLR outputs on the amp.... not only they won the best recording outputs but you stay out of trouble with so many interferience and feedback problems... stuff like that... and since this is a very stereo approaching amp.... recording with both outputs gives you extreme control and so much more ideas than you would usually come up with a mono amp...
So much more things to mention... the midi functions, the technology the amaaazing power and loudness... the beautiful design ! everything....

Built in effects including a noise gate and compressor, 4 on board programmable channels (36 with the optional fbv shortboard), dual XLR out, STEREO, 300 Watts of sweetness, High Gain Heaven! This thing is one mean, very versatile machine.

First off someone compared the online video clips of the Peavey XXX and the Line 6 HD 147. Owning the HD, having played the XXX, and having a degree in multimedia and much experience in video editing I can attest to this. The XXX sounds better online for one simple reason...it sounds like line 6 recorded the Ben Moody demonstration with the camera mics and same mic they were track his voice with. That and their compression methods made it sound digital. That said, Peavey tracked the guy playing with a seperate recording and layered it over later. So there, a professional explanation.

The HD 147 sounds fantastic! I cannot attest to the accuracy of the modeled sounds, and neither do I really care. My favorites are the line 6 customs such as big bottom, smash and insane. This is also not a plug and play amp, you have to tweak everything and all the presets suck. READ the MANUAL! You can save the default model settings too, just read how.

On another note, this is not a tube amp and it reacts more like a solid state. With the noise gate its quiet as all hell and has a precise attack so your playing is neat and clean. I love that. I dislike the sloppy loose feel of some tube amps. The cleans on this amp are wonderful, and the high gain sounds you can get are just plain mean. I play with a schecter c1-elite with a Duncan JB in the bridge and an older Ibanez RG7-string with floyd rose. I can make this thing do anything I want it to and it sounds heavenly.

A side note is it might be best to get the matching cab, or soemthing with speakers designed for modeling. The line 6 cab has custom celestions and you can get any sound with it along with some crazy bottom end. The virtual cab simulator on this amp helps you color your sound freely and having a colorless cab really helps you tweak things better.

Can't afford a backup so cross your fingers and knock on wood. This thing seems like its built like a tank. I ordered it from musicians friend and the first one I got was missing 2 pieces of styrofoam out of the box. So needless to say when UPS came it was beat up. This wasn't line 6's fault but musicians friends, and I got a new one because of that. Point is though, as beat up as this was, it still played flawlessly. I will lower the score on this because Line 6's lower Spider models have some quality issues at times, but you get what you pay for with music gear and that is why this is price above a grand and that stuff is around $500.

Emailing is iffy at best. Sometimes they are helpful and sometimes they are worthless. I heard calling them is the best. I have dealt with them in the past and have been aggravated, but nothing for this amp so far.

This is not a tube amp. I do not go rating Tube amps saying man this thing is noisey, or bashing them. You have to know what you want and are getting. If you are a tube purist, buy and play tube amps and do not try to convert open minded musicians to your narrow minded ways. This things sounds great. I played a Peavey XXX and JSX, along with a Mesa Dual Rec and this is what I bought. What you get with this amp is great tone, and versatility, along with the ability to change your tone whenever you desire. I can pretty much achieve whatever tone I like with the exception of small tube characteristics that I don't like any way. Its all preference and what works best for you. I need a good clean, a precise but mean high gain, built in effects and programmable channels. I can do what would take a tap dance act with 2-3 stomp pedals with this beast. Give this a try, If you are commited to tubes, then stay with them and stop ruining trying to ruin the choice for others.

This is a great amp for metal. Great effects, several options, and great tone. Plenty of Power. Check out the line 6 webpage for the many features.

I use an Ernie Ball John Petrucci model 6 string, an Ibanez Universe (7 string), and two 2x12 Genz-Benz G-flex cabinets. I play metal and instrumental music (Dream Theater, Metallica, Racer X, Ozzy, etc.).

You can get really great clean sounds and excellent distorted sounds from this head. I have owned a Peavey XXX and 5150 and the distorted tones were great, but I had a difficult time getting great clean sounds from these two amps. Both the XXX and 5150 were noisy. The Peavey amps I used would probably sound wonderful with the right rack gear, but I don't have the money for that. So the HD147 appears to be a great fit for me; there are some incredible distorted and clean tones, and it's easy to customize each of the channels to your preference with effects: chorus, delay, noise gate, etc.

Of all of the HD147 amp models, I prefer the Mesa Triple Rectifier model and the Bogner models. I have never owned a Bogner, so I cannot attest to the authenticity of the modeled tones, but I don't really care if the model I use sounds like the original. All I care about is getting great tone, and I get it with this amp. The selection of the cabinet model is crucial for great tone.

Some people have complained that the HD147 doens't sound good at high volumes. This rumor is false. The EQ settings need to be altered when playing at high volumes and with a band. The bass guitar, drums, and cymbals occupy the high and low frequecies. Since the guitar is a midrange instrument, the amp will sound best with a band when mids are pushed a little higher. Also, back off of the treble and bass when you play a higher volumes. The low volume settings don't sound as good when you crank the volume, so adjust the eq settings; then it sounds great.

The XLR outputs are wonderful. This amp sounds great when it's connected to the PA system. Furthermore, the XLR outputs are great for recording.

I have had it for over a year and have had no problems.

I've been playing guitar nearly every day for 15 years. I love great players like Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert, Jeff Loomis, Joe Satriani, etc. Overall I think the HD147 is great for the style of music I love to play. Don't listen to what other people say about line 6 amplifiers, try them out and decide for yourself. Also, the audio samples that are available on the Line 6 website are NOT, in my opinion, representative of what great sounds can be achieved with this amp. Moreover, the factory presets didn't sound good to my ears either. Those audio samples turned me off too, but after trying the HD147 out, I was pleasantly surprised.

-Solid state
-Crap
-Lots of power
-Made by monkeys
-Wish it didn't sound like pants

Listen to the HD147 video at line 6.com
then listen to the triple xxx video at peavey.com
Notice the difference?

I was listening to this amp on the line 6 website with the guy from evanescence. If this is the actual sound that it produces then it sounds pants. It sounds like a classic example of tube modelling which actually sounds worse than solid state! This thing can't emulate the chararistics of a tube amp. So what does a tube amp sound like? Well just look on the peavey web site, and see the sound sample of the triple xxx head (www.peavey.com) and I hope you will see the difference. In other words this amp is a waste of money if you are looking for sound quality, but if you are looking for sound veritility this is proberbly the crap you are looking for.

Yeah its solid state- highly reliable (no tubes)

Not bad- have a custom tone section on their website

I've played the electic guitar for two years and have played the spanish classical guitar for 5 years and have got a grade 5 with a merit. I one a tube amp and you can really hear a difference. It doesn't take a master to tell the difference.

Too many to keep count, check www.line6.com and other reviews.

I use an ESP Horizon NT-II with this head going through an Orange 4x12 cab.
This thing really does sound good. I spose a large amount of people buying this and criticising it are Valve-heads, who believe valve amps are the only way, and who expect the amp models to perfectly replica the origionals, well, that ain't gonna happen here. But who cares? They still sound great, I like to think of them as just general "sounds" you can get out of the amp, rather than "models".
The clean tones on this amp are very very clean, provided you dont put too much gain on them. The reverb, delay and modulation effects are amazing, the best I have ever heard. The distortion is brilliant, thought I expected more gain out of the mesa models, I find the 5150 model to be my favorite, really brutal distortion, as are the Deizel models. On here, you have to have a bit of give or take, not all the models will sound the best, but theyr all fairly good, theres just ones that stand out more than others. Oh and when you crank this thing loud, the models sound just amazing.

This amp seems reliable even though I've only had it a day and have been fiddling with it all afernoon.

Haven't had to deal with Line6 support.

To really get the most out of this amp you NEED the shortboard controller, otherwise you are going to have to fiddle with the knobs and everything when you want a new sound, and you won't be able to access any presets. Overall this is a brilliant amp, pricey, but heck I swapped my jcm900 with someone for it, I was very disappointed with the jcm900 and wanted a change, so I found someone on ebay who wanted to trade. You can basically get any sound you are looking for in this amp and the MIDI functions sound great, but I need to get MIDI cables..etc to set that up.
This is a great amp and if you have the money or see it second-hand, I suggest you get it right away. Though it is very limited without the expensive foot controller (the guy who traded with me gave me a deal) it is worth it and will pretty much make the amp limitless. You can play around forever on this amp, there's so much to do.
Before I got this amp I thought Line6 were crap, this really has changed my opinion about them.
I hope this review is of some help.

Features:More than you'd ever need!
Versatile: Erm yeah just a bit, I play thrash metal , blues , classical bits it can do it all as long as you can program a good sound many cantso they get frustrated but hey there loss.
Channels: Well again more than youd ever need
I use this amp on tour and in the studio it delievers and saves me having to dragg my boogie around.

Ok here we go:
I play in a melodic death metal band, we use line 6 , mesa boogie, and peavey 5150's the sounds on the amp are killer, it can suit any music style but you do have to edit the presets to get a awesome sound, the stock sounds are average i would say.

The clean channel stays clean even at 250 watts!

The distortion is .. well silly amounts of gain prolly too much in some cases, i use through a mesa cab and my other guitarist uses a 5150 and a dual rec and believe me it can put out with em and then some, only thing you miss is a real valve rumble but hey the sound is soo good and it is so practical who cares!

Fine never a problem more reliable than tube amps so far

Dunno never had any trounble with it

I have been playing for 6 years As i said i own a boogie aswell but this is just so practical and easy is a joy to gig with if it were stolen id find the dude and give him a good old stone cold stunner.
I would ask but another one yes if it were to go walk abouts.

I guess i wish it had a beer dispensing unit built in but that is very rare lol

Many features but lack tweaking. Better to spend the money on individual units.

Really sucks. A few good tones for some styles but overall its just shit. Money is better spend on something that you will actually enjoy in the long run.

Not sure, haven't had it long... going to take it back ASAP.

I've been playing about 10 years and have looked for that bluesy rock tone that I can't seem to find. This amp definately doesn't have it though and its probably only good for those no brained metalists that only play power chords. (though again, there are some decent sounds but they are definately not worth the money for this amp... you can get those sounds by buying a proper tube amp and adding some effects.). You would expect a little more tweaking ability on this amp for the cost. With only one reverb selection and only one paramter to change on the delay and mod it really sucks ass. Since I didn't get a manual with this I don't know if other prameters are changable but I assume they are since it has a midi port on it. Although all the tweaking in the world isn't going to get you that tube amp sound because only tubes can make them... modeling amps will never be able to compete with the real thing because its always an approximation(so might as well get you the real thing).

Save your money for something good and just pratice with what you've got.

This amp has every thing!! u can switch between a heavy mesa boogie to a raw fender twin to a sparkly clean amp just by twiddling a few knobs! it has 4 channels and i think it has 32 0r 36 footswitchable channels?!?!? it is very verstile i use it in a heavy metal band, a modern punk band, classic rock and a early blues band and i also use it to play vai,malsmsteen stuff aswell as funk. it is alot easier than using loads of amp heads to get yours sounds quikly. not only does it have amp models it also models on famous effects and delays!!! 300watts aint bad either you only need one cab and you can blow away every one in a venue!you dont have to play load(although to be a rockstar there is only one option and that is to play at 11!!) there is a headphone jack so you can keep the neibours happy.

I use alot of guitars through this and it still sounds amazing! it is quiet with the noise gate on but with it off you can get the ultimate harmonic feedback ever. You can have the amp blasting 300watts on just the clean amp setting and it wont distort unlike other amps. but if u want distortion it can go extremly heavy to thrash and classic rock tones with not much hassle.some of the amp models do not sound too accurate and some a bit too simular. if you want a marshall tone you wont find it here but you will find something a little closer.

i can always depend on this amp. no need for a back up amp. the best thing about this amp is that you dont need to replace tubes or valves. i use this amp nearly everyweek when i finish work it is awsome!

no problems so far hopefully never will be. it is built like a tank.

I have been playing guitar for six years. i own 11 other guitars including an epiphone les paul with emg 81 and 85 and a in-built roland gk2. i own 3 other combos and various multi fx and stomp boxes. if this was stolen or broke i'll work as many hours to get another one( i'm only 17 and have payed for all my gear myself by working!just so you know)
the cool chrome finish and the fact that it lights up is a added bonus especially when playing live. i wish the pedal board was cheaper so i could explore and save more channels on it!!!