XXX vs Vetta

[Lordofgain]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

I prefer to have my lasagna and eat it too. Trace modded Marshall head, soon to have an Engl Savage 120, Vetta II combo and even a Vox Brain May Special that actually sounds pretty damn cool running through a 4x12.

[Twisteramps]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Originally posted by Cleveland Metal:
If you don't have the appreciation for real tube sounding stuff, then thank the gods and buy a modeler. Your back, your pocketbook and the other tubes guys will love ya for it.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I can see your point. Hell, I build custom tube amps for people and I still like my Vetta. I probably shouldn't admit that. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I can think of many 'all tube' amps that I'd prefer my Vetta over any day of the week. The Budda, VHT and Egnater setups I had most of the time sounded as good or better than my Vetta... but the Vetta is much more versatile, easier for me to set up, and the tone doesn't change all the time. Most of my tube amps changed tonally from time to time.

Blame it on tubes, slow biasing, component drift as it gets hot in amps, whatever... but that's one thing I appreciate about the Vetta. Once I save a tone into that thing, it's there. The days of sharpie marking faceplates is over for me, at least until my high-gain head gets finished...

Pete

[Chameleonfong]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Pete,

i don't reckon i've ever heard you playing blues with the Vetta. Is it possible for you to come out with some blues licks with the Vetta? Some SRV would be great! Thanks


Fong

[Cleveland Metal]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Tetsuo, the playing certainly great without a doubt. Can't find a much I didn't like about your playing.

The tone sounds like, well, a modelling amp. No life or vitality... But, ok for demoing or garnering ideas especially as simple as they are to get to disk... And getting it to disk is what it's all about.

[Tetsuo]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

John,

While you are correct about Romeohi live tone nor his recorded tone (mainly Engl and Mesa) is very impressive. The man can play guitar like a mad man but I don't think he maximizes the tone out of any of his equipment which is the major problem with most amp users IMO.

Now is there any question that the amps modeled are inferior to the amps they are modeled after? No not at all but the Vetta is such a tool and doesn't sound bad at all IMO. Like Fretburner said it is all in the tweak though... Using the Vetta Juice is almost a requirement on most patches..

I am going to post a link of a well tweaked Vetta patch

Creeping Death

I think the tone is great IMO he has a few other metallica tracks if you want to check them out also

[PallarAndersVisa]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

XXX all the way. I was at an Iced Earth concert a couple days ago and one of the opening bands' guitarist had a XXX, but he turned the front panel a round because it was so ugly

thats my only real complaint with the XXX. its fucking dumb looking

[Tetsuo]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Sorry about that I want to clarify that isn't my clip I just thought that was a good vetta clip I actually like the tone on it... He also uses a Dual Rec three channel I thought his Rhythm playing was very tight for that track....

I do agree that although on paper you can argue the fact that a tube amp and a solid state amp can't sonicly be measured but indeed the difference is there. It is kinda like recording some people swear that the higher hz rate is unimportant because the human ear can't hear it while that is true the Human Ear can still detect the intervals and it adds depth.

Now I agree that the 2150 is without a doubt the best power amp I have ever heard and owned the rack rig got heavy and complex compared to the Vetta which sounds very good. I am kinda like Pete on this though I love the Vetta but as we have discussed on another thread I am getting back to a Rack Rig or maybe an Engl head. I am going to post a comment(from tattooed carrot if you know him) from the line 6 forums which I think sums up Modelers pretty well IMO

So I picked up a Line 6 HD147 head and the FVB foot controller. I busted it out of the box for a little while today and here’s my take. I only messed around with the stock settings and did not use the MIDI into my computer or customize any patches, just messed with what was there. I used my custom soloist with EMG’s and my PRS 22 with Dragon II pickups through my Mesa Recto 4x12.


It sounds pretty good, I can’t say that any of the sounds (based on presets) actually sounded like the boutique amps they’re supposed to emulate, but in their own right they were pretty cool. It has lots of easy to use sounds and effects. I thought the cleans sounded the best, but I found a couple pretty killer high gainers too. The high gain can get a bit mucky sounding, but then again so do my tube amps because I have all hardwood floors and vaulted ceilings, so it’s like playing in a hall with the reverb on 12. I did notice that no matter how cool and thick the rhythm playing was, the higher strings/notes were on the thin side when shredding. That was fixed with some tone pot adjustments or incorporating the neck pup as well. THIS THING IS DEAD SILENT. Even with passive pups on high gain, when I stopped playing and held the strings, you could hear a mouse fart. Very quiet.

The power on the Line 6 is rated at 300 watts, but my 50-watt recto head blows it away. The Line 6 gets loud, but it’s like turning up a stereo. The Mesa moves the room and you can feel the umph behind it. I guess that’s what people ***** about when they say there’s something lacking. It’s like the Line 6 is a TV, it looks like the real thing, but its not really. It sounds like playing a CD vs. the tube head is actually being there. Not that that’s a bad thing really, just how it is and you can figure that into your needs/wants.

Line 6 is good for having a variety of less than perfect tones, cool features such as MIDI, recording direct, lots of sounds going from Jazz one second and death metal the next, headphones, no need to have a cab hooked up if you don’t want. It’s a great toy for playing around at home, recording, or playing out if you cover a lot of different sounds and take the time to tweak it right. 90% of my playing is for fun at home often with headphones and going from Hendrix one riff and then Godsmack the next. I rarely actually play out other than to occasionally jam with other not-so-talented friends as myself. So I’m the kind of person that would do OK with the Line 6. If you’re very anal about your tone, or you play in a band that has a specific sound without a lot of variety then I would say pass on the Line 6 and get the real deal that will give you that sound you need. If money isn’t a big hurdle for you, then maybe get both using the tube for your gigging needs and the Line 6 for fun at home, recording, experimenting, and just playing around with.

With that said, I will be getting rid of my rectoverb head and my Orange AD30H head. They are bitchin, but more than I need for what I do. In the future I can always go back to tubes in which case I’ll just pick something else up, maybe a Mesa Stiletto, Bogner Uberschall, Framus Cobra or something. I even like the Mojave Coyote and Bad Cats for blues-rock stuff. But for now I’m ok with the Line 6 (we’ll see how long that lasts, LOL).

And the Line 6 does look cool with the chrome chasis and purple black light illumination.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

[HeWhoIs]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Thanks for all the replys guys! Looks like I'm keeping the Vetta 2x12 combo. Just got off the phone and my cousin said it was to complicated for him.

Now I have another question: Would it be a good idea to build a panel that would close the back of the Vetta combo? I think this would tighten the sound for the distortion tones a bit. Has anyone tried this?

[Tetsuo]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Honestly I had the combo and now ahve the head... The open back sucks IMO... Don't know about closing it if it will make that sound better but I like that amp with a closed back cab

[chrisolson]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Originally posted by Joe:
Thanks for all the replys guys! Looks like I'm keeping the Vetta 2x12 combo. Just got off the phone and my cousin said it was to complicated for him.

Now I have another question: Would it be a good idea to build a panel that would close the back of the Vetta combo? I think this would tighten the sound for the distortion tones a bit. Has anyone tried this?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">YES. Especially if you're playing high gain amp models. I had a friend who did that with his first generation Flextone Plus (+ ext. cab), and it immediately made a difference - that and he gave it Celestion speakers...

[HeWhoIs]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

How did he close it off?

[jgcable]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

I hate to put the flame to anybody and I know that tone is "subjective" but I just can't and will never understand how any guitar player on the planet could not be impressed by the Vetta. I am convinced that the people with the negative comments have never actuall put a Vetta through its paces. My Mesa Boogie only (tube snob) bandmate was one of those "modeling amps don't sound real" type people. Here is what we did:
My bandmate (and childhood friend) put a Vetta 2 through a heavy workout side by side with a 1st year Mesa Dual Recifier, a brand new Mesa Triple Rectifier and a 5150 block letter head. We used the same 4 x 12 Mesa Boogie cabinets loaded with vintage 30's. We both have been shredding and playing metal for over 27 years. Combined we have had probably every amp on the planet it seems. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] We figured that these amps best represented the heavy metal sound we were looking for and also be affordable for most people (especially us).
The Vetta 2 destroyed them all. There was no friggin contest. It was almost unfair. We weren't even stacking the amp models or using the double tracker or the effects. The 5150 patch on the Vetta is everything a 5150 should sound like. Let me put it this way... I gigged with a 5150 for 2 years. It was a great amp but it didn't sound great at every show and I had to use a GE7, CH-5, Wah pedal a DD-3 and an AC-2 (some in the effects loop and some not)to get what I needed. The Vetta patch straight out of the box sounded better than the best my 5150 ever sounded. The Marshall Jubilee?? Un-friggin believable. The Ubershall and the Diesel Herbert? We stacked them together and came to the conclusion that it was the heaviest sound we have ever heard. Want a killer patch? Use the Ubershall for rhythm and stack a Soldano SLO on top of it for solo's. Now... regarding volume. Please bro's... If you need more volume than a Vetta can give you I would suggest you fire your sound man and upgrade your PA system. On 4 the Vetta is so loud that it would suffice for a moderate stage and a club of 300 people. Crank it to 5 (thats just 1 number!!) and it is too loud for anywhere most of us would play. Were the Mesa's and the 5150 louder?? Yes, on 7 they were way louder than the Vetta on 10. With that said.. the largest club I ever played was L'amour's in Brooklyn NY back in the 80's I held at least 1000 people I think. It was a huge club. I also played an outdoor gig once opening up for Zebra at Pelham Bay Park in Queens. 5000 people were there. I never had my Dual rectifier past 5.. ever. If I did, the sound man would have cut me down to size for sure. This quest for unuseable high volume is insane (and not practical or useable). In a nutshell, a Triple X amp at a useable loud stage volume (around 3-4) is frankly a waste of wattage. Your stage amps are not supposed to be primarily what the crwod is hearing. There is a fine balance between stage volume and PA volume. A Vetta is perfect for achieving that balance. I am now going to get off my soapbox and go back to playing my 20 watt Soldano Astroverb head cranked to 9. Now that is tube saturation by bro's..

[PallarAndersVisa]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

I dunno. Ive played it quite a bit. its neat. But just usually sounds like a POD with a thousand gadgets built in to jack up the price

i would like to have like a 30 watt, 1x12 vetta combo for just messing around on, but It doesnt seem to hold on to a good sound when you crank it to drum volume

[Twisteramps]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Originally posted by PallarAndersVisa:
I dunno. Ive played it quite a bit. its neat. But just usually sounds like a POD with a thousand gadgets built in to jack up the price

i would like to have like a 30 watt, 1x12 vetta combo for just messing around on, but It doesnt seem to hold on to a good sound when you crank it to drum volume

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have to disagree - mine actually sounds better when you crank it, which was the last thing I figured it would do. OklaStar here on the JCF let me borrow his Vetta for a weekend and check it out at a band rehearsal. With the same band, I used a VHT 50/CL, an Egnater TOL 100, and a really good sounding Mesa single rectifier head. Ask Chuck, his singer bought the mesa from me - it sounded great.

Anyways, The Vetta punched through just as well as any of the tube amps, and I never had it past three. Ever. Same cab with all amps too - a Marshall Celestion 75watt loaded slant cab.

Pete

[jgcable]

Re: XXX vs Vetta

Us too Pete. The Vetta on 3 was louder and punched through the mix better than either of the Mesa's or the 5150 and it absolutely sounds better as you turn it up. That "it doesn't cut through the mix" or "it sounds like ass when you crank it" comments are 100% false. Tone is subjective. Volume,clarity and presence are not and the Vetta 2 is a friggin monster with more volume, clarity and presence than most players will ever need on 4.