NAD and you will never guess

[toejam]

Nice. I still have my TM300 down in the basement... still loving that awesome hotrodded Marshall tone its got.

[jgcable]

Nice. I still have my TM300 down in the basement... still loving that awesome hotrodded Marshall tone its got.

One of the best hot rodded Marshall tones you could get. That was the best thing about that amp. Also.. the built in Sansamp.

[javert]

Even if the amp models may sometimes be lacking in some respects (note: I have no experience with the Vetta but have a Kemper Profiling Amp), the modelers may still be a good choice for many for practical reasons. You don't need to haul a full stack with you, you don't need to mic it up, you don't have to worry about the volume problem, you can have many different settings of the same amp stored, etc. I bought the Kemper to be able to play silently at home at night (due to my son) and for recording at home. Now I run a Two Notes Torpedo Live at home for that. You can simulate various cabinets and mics (including type, distance and orientation) with it and it has a built-in amp load so you can run your favorite tube amp at full volume. It's awesome, and if you have all the nice amps already, I can fully recommend it. You can use it live also (instead of, e.g., those Palmer things) for the PA and still have your cabs hooked up as well.

[jgcable]

I just picked it up and I noodled around with it for about 30 minutes. It sounds just like I remembered. Most of the factory presets are over processed with WAY too many effects and schmutz. The high gain presets have entirely too much gain and effects on them. BUT... I spent a few minutes and I stripped a few of them down to the basics and I like what I hear. My guess is it will be fine direct or mic'd into my PA system.
The cleans? They are amazing. If all a guitar player needed was a bunch of clean tones for a cover band this would be the perfect amp.
The one I picked up is beat to shit and has obviously been gigged HARD.. REAL HARD. Some missing knobs, dents, scratches etc.... That to me shows that the critics back when these amps came out were wrong. People said a complex software driven amp like this would never last the rigors of gigging. Well.... that's not true. This amp has been through the war and still works. The footswitch looks like it was in the entry way at Grand Central Station and every person walking in stepped on it for the last 7 years but it still works. It shows Version 2.03 software which means its Vetta 2. We will see tonight at band rehearsal. Should be interesting. My plan is to try to dial in a good JCM800 and Plexi sound. The factory cleans will be perfect once I remove most of the schmutz that's on them.
Marshall tone is fairly hard to dial in on a Vetta or any Line 6 product. Last time I had one I had a fairly convincing Marshall tone using a blend of a Matchless and a dialed down gain version of the 5150.

[Hellbat]

Just get an Axe-FX 2 already!

[jgcable]

Just get an Axe-FX 2 already!

To complicated. I am trying to simplify my live rig. I thought about it but I would need the Axe FX, a power amp, a speaker cab, the midi controller, cables for everything. I would also need to spend a million years learning how to use it.

With the Vetta, I already know how to use it and its just the amp, a cord to the foot controller and my wireless sitting up on top. The foot controller has all the buttons I would need including volume and wah and tuner. If I can get it to sound good I will try it for a show. Its up to how it sounds at band rehearsal tonight. If the guys don't like it.. its out. I have plenty of other amps.

[jgcable]

My other thought is this.. and this might be completely off the wall....
There are a few other very popular bands in my area where the guitar players play Line 6 products. Usually Bogner powered Spyders or Flextones. I always thought their guitar tone was ok but a little thin, lifeless and they sat back in the mix too far. Apparently.. that's what the local small bar and club owners like. They like that hi-fidelity not in your face guitar tone. I call it politically correct guitar tone. Its not in your face, its not annoying, its not really inspiring and its pretty much buried in the mix. If you make a mistake nobody will know. If you are a great soloist.. nobody will know. I will admit that its a tone that you can have a conversation over and for the average drunk person its more than fine.
That's my plan.
Nobody cares about how great of a player I am and believe me.. I am great.
I used to think they did.. but that's just my ego. I play louder than just about any other guitar player in any band. I play more solo's than any other player and I hang myself out there more than anybody else because my guitar sound is dominant in our mix.
We have a great mix.. its just guitar oriented. Kind of like Dokken or Malmsteen or Van Halen. You can hear my guitar ALL THE TIME.
I am thinking that using a Vetta will push me back in the mix and maybe the club owners will get the impression that we aren't as loud as we were. I actually get upset when people tell me to turn down. I do it.. but I don't like to. I know EXACTLY where my amp sounds good. They don't.
I wonder if the Vetta will make me a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon. Everything is better with bacon. Even music.

[jgcable]

crispy bacon. I don't like that chewy stuff.

[veemagic]

Yeah, Hellbat does bring up a good point. Have you tried an Axe-FX, and put it through its paces? An Ultra or a 2? If you want amazing, and simplicity at shows, you can't get much better than that. If you pair it with its MFC floor board, rugged like a tank, you have a pretty powerful stage set-up. Just a thought now that your walking down that dark road.

[veemagic]

To complicated. I am trying to simplify my live rig. I thought about it but I would need the Axe FX, a power amp, a speaker cab, the midi controller, cables for everything. I would also need to spend a million years learning how to use it.

With the Vetta, I already know how to use it and its just the amp, a cord to the foot controller and my wireless sitting up on top. The foot controller has all the buttons I would need including volume and wah and tuner. If I can get it to sound good I will try it for a show. Its up to how it sounds at band rehearsal tonight. If the guys don't like it.. its out. I have plenty of other amps.

Its no more complicated than a Vetta. Its as complicated as you want it to be. Have you tried one?

[jgcable]

I haven't tried one but I already know how to use a Vetta. I owed 3 of them not including this one. I just know the Axe FX will get out of hand for me.

[roodyrocker]

Well, now that other things such as the Axe Fx and the Bogner/L6 have been brought up I think the Bogner name on there is a marketing thing. Its like L6 is using it to claim some kind of legitimacy or something. The thing still sounds more L6 than Bogner to me. A couple local bands use the L6 stuff and its a misconception that they don't sound loud. They do, just not in a good way. Their tone is always awash in a ton of delay and lost in the mix and yes, it sounds thin. On the Axe Fx, you don't have to buy one John but you're making it sound more complicated than it is. You don't need a power amp and tons of cables and expensive midi controller. Mine is in a rack with a power conditioner. I run one XLR cable to FOH and one to a powered monitor and to switch channels I use a cheap Behringer FCB1010 foot controller which can be had on E-Bay for $100 used. It takes less time to set up than turning on a L6 product and watching their swirly light show about the knobs and lighter too programming it is another matter. That can get pretty involved which is why I only took a few factory presets and tweaked a few parameters on my Axe Fx Ultra. The tone is better than the L6 stuff I've heard. Anyway, I wish you luck with your L6 now that you have it. But just from your history on here it will eventually move on and be replaced by yet another amp, can't wait to hear what's next in line for you

[jgcable]

Well, now that other things such as the Axe Fx and the Bogner/L6 have been brought up I think the Bogner name on there is a marketing thing. Its like L6 is using it to claim some kind of legitimacy or something. The thing still sounds more L6 than Bogner to me. A couple local bands use the L6 stuff and its a misconception that they don't sound loud. They do, just not in a good way. Their tone is always awash in a ton of delay and lost in the mix and yes, it sounds thin. On the Axe Fx, you don't have to buy one John but you're making it sound more complicated than it is. You don't need a power amp and tons of cables and expensive midi controller. Mine is in a rack with a power conditioner. I run one XLR cable to FOH and one to a powered monitor and to switch channels I use a cheap Behringer FCB1010 foot controller which can be had on E-Bay for $100 used. It takes less time to set up than turning on a L6 product and watching their swirly light show about the knobs and lighter too programming it is another matter. That can get pretty involved which is why I only took a few factory presets and tweaked a few parameters on my Axe Fx Ultra. The tone is better than the L6 stuff I've heard. Anyway, I wish you luck with your L6 now that you have it. But just from your history on here it will eventually move on and be replaced by yet another amp, can't wait to hear what's next in line for you

That's the misconception with me and amps. I don't switch amps much. For the last 10 years of playing live constantly I have played through a Randall MTS, a Peavey 5150-II which I still have and a Mesa Single Rectifier which I also still have and use. I have owned a Peavey Triple X and have played it live at small shows for years now.
There are some JCF members that have been through 20 amps in the last few years and they don't even play live.
I don't disagree that Axe FX, that Eleven thing and probably several other modeling rigs sound better than the Vetta which is 10 year old technology.
I am not even sure I am going to use the Vetta live. I did use it at rehearsal last night and it sounds really good. I had to build a few patches from scratch which took me about 30 minutes tops. All Marshall based.
I paid $350 for the Vetta combo (upgraded to Vetta 2 2.03) and the FBX longboard. If I could get an Ax FX, midi controller and a powered monitor for around that price I would have went that route but considering I am not even sure I want to use a modeling rig live I didn't want to lay out $1400+ to find out.
The Vetta sounds good enough and I need to find out if good enough is indeed good enough. Next small show I am going to try it out. I will bring a high gain tube rig as a back up just in case I don't like how it sits in the mix live in a club. My guess is its going to sound fine.
My bandmates comments were the amp sits in the mix very well. Its not IN YOUR FACE which is what all my other amps are. Its actually pleasing sounding. There are no rough edges. It sounds like recorded guitar in a studio. That's what I always thought the Vetta sounded like. It doesn't sound live. It sounds like recorded live. That may be ok for most of the clubs I play at.
Anyway.. I just wanted to clear up that fact that I don't switch amps every week. In regards to guitars.. I have been playing the same ones live, at rehearsal, and at home for several years now. I own a lot of them but I only play a few all the time.

[jgcable]

I just bought the M-Audio Uno Midi-USB converter so that I can deep edit and save my patches outboard. The reason I need to do this is I am going to replace the internal battery. The Vetta is 10 years old. The internal battery life is between 6-10 years. I was able to find one on Ebay that has the 3 carrier and 3 pins already soldered to it. I just need to unsolder the old one and solder in the new one and it will be good for another 10 years.

[Hellbat]

Here's a nice recent example of the Engl Savage model in the latest firmware. Pretty decent metal tone IMO.

Because I typically play pop covers in my band I don't use much of the high gain stuff, mostly clean and light breakup type tones. I also don't use as much delay as a lot of the youtube players.