Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

[JiMoSiTY]

OK Guys, I've got a potential deal worked out here and I'd like to get some opinions on what you all think I should do.

First of all, I have TWO Line6 Flextone HD heads -- One of them, I'm working out a trade deal with a friend to obtain a Mesa Quad Preamp.

Do you guys think this is a fair deal?
My Line6 Flextone HD head for the Quad preamp?
The Quad has the footcontroller, but my line6 does not.
Ultimately, what I would then end up with is a Quad preamp and a Mesa 50/50 power amp instead of one of my Line6 heads.

[jgcable]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

Jim, I am back from Mickey town and I can answer your question! I have owned both the Mesa Quad and a Flextone 2XL. I currently own the Carvin Quad which is EXTREMELY similar to the Mesa. It is so close that Carvin stopped making them because of a potential lawsuit from Mesa I was told. You will not get the Back for the Attack tone from the Mesa Quad. A Soldano SLO100 will do that for you. So will the new Laney VH100R and even the Randall Warhead. The Mesa sounds more like a cross between a Marshall JCM900 and a Peavey 5150. It doesn't have as much gain as you would think. I would thing that your Flextone HD's could nail the Lynch sound better than a quad. The deal sounds good though because a Mesa Quad with fresh tubes and the footswitch is certainly worth more than a Flextone HD without the footswitch. I would suggest that you sell the Flextone HD and by a Carvin Quad X with the footswitch. They appear on Ebay all the time for around $400-$450.00. Mine is great. It has 5 effects loops, a noise gate, long tail reverb, 9 preamp tubes, smart assignable memory switching etc... It is a monster but just don't expect to get Lynch Back from the Attack tone and gain out of it. I am sure he probably used Bogners and Soldano's for that recording session.

[JiMoSiTY]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

Well, now that I think about it, the Line6 head does give me a similar tone to what I'm looking for, but doesn't seem as tight as I'd prefer.
If I could get that tight distortion that you hear some of the european metal guys get, I'd like that, then I can a/b the two if needed.
The Carvin Quad-X is of interest to me, especially because of the Midi stuff, which my friends Quad does not have. Hmm. What to do, what to do... Anybody wanna trade a Carvin Quad-X for a Flextone HD? [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Twisteramps]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

A Quad isn't a real tight super-metal preamp... I'd say a Soldano SP77 will get you closer to that type of tone. The Quad clean channels are very fendery, and the leads are well, Mark series boogie. About the heaviest you'll coax out of one is the 'Whitesnake' tone from say Still of the Night, but you'll need a really good poweramp and cab, and possbly a BBE to do that well.

Pete

[jgcable]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

That is a pretty good comparison from Twister. Here is a suggestion Jim. Run a Pod Pro through a tube power amp. Now you will get the punch from the tubes and the tone from the POD. The pre-midi Carvin quad x's have more gain than the midi later versions. Also, tubes make a huge difference. I have mine totally stoked up and it screams. I play really heavy stuff and my channel 4 gain is only on 4. I would trade you but you would have to include the footswitch. Try the POD pro and the tube power amp. I bet that will do the trick.

[JiMoSiTY]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

Well, I'm looking for either a TUBE preamp and power amp or a tube amp period.
If I was going to stick with a non-tube preamp, I'll just keep the Flextone HD, but since I have two of them, I wanted one of those and one tube amp/power amp.

[JiMoSiTY]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

So the tone situation aside, do you think that's a fair trade deal, considering the value of both units?? I'm kind of thinking the Flextone HD is worth more than the Quad, but I may be able to get a Rane Parametric EQ and a Sabine tuner out of the deal as well.

[jgcable]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

It sounds like a fair deal to me for sure. Especially with the add ons!!

[jgcable]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

I think having both a Flextone HD and either a Carvin Quad or a Mesa Quad with a good all tube power amp (I use a Peavey sixty/sixty) would be a great set of amps with completely different sounds. You could cover anything from the Beatles to Disturbed.

[JiMoSiTY]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

I just got the best killer damn deal EVER.
A friend that owes me some favors and money is giving me the best offer I've ever heard of!
My Line6 Flextone HD and an Ibanez RG570 for an Engl Savage Special Edition with the footswitch!!!
He's bringing it over tomorrow for the swap -- I'll get pics tomorrow!! This rules, disregard my plan for a Quad - 50/50 trade! ROCK ON!!

[Twisteramps]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

I had a quad for awhile... what tones are you looking for? It's basically a pair of Mk IIs - a B and a C preamp. NO, it doesn't sound like a MK IIC+. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Pete

[rodrigo_echeverri]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

All I know is Mesas are supposed to match very nicely among themselves...

[JiMoSiTY]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

As far as tone, I'd love to be able to get a Dokken - Back for the Attack kind of tone, but still be able to get a very tight sound.

[jgcable]

Re: Line6 / Mesa - What do you guys think of this?

Now that is a GREAT deal. That amp is the king of the hill. Nice!!!!!!I got a feeling your other Flex HD will be going soon too.