Confession of a Modeled Amp user

[hgsmith]

Well, just returned from the dark side of modeled amps. A few years back I got rid of every tube amp I had for the convenience and size of a modeled amp. Just couldn’t get that punch through the mix and recordings just didn’t have the warmth. So, I confessed my sins to the tube gods and brought home a new Mesa single rectifier 50. Man, those 6l6’s sound great and the clean channel is great. Hell modern channel kicks butt too. Anybody else have the same experience? I'm back in tube heaven.

I think I'll be going through the bigger is better syndrome soon. Look out triple rectifier.

Harrison

[jgcable]

Well, just returned from the dark side of modeled amps. A few years back I got rid of every tube amp I had for the convenience and size of a modeled amp. Just couldn’t get that punch through the mix and recordings just didn’t have the warmth. So, I confessed my sins to the tube gods and brought home a new Mesa single rectifier 50. Man, those 6l6’s sound great and the clean channel is great. Hell modern channel kicks butt too. Anybody else have the same experience? I'm back in tube heaven.

I think I'll be going through the bigger is better syndrome soon. Look out triple rectifier.

Harrison

You obviously have never visited Vettaville.
I love tube amps too but I am 100% convinced that the only players who actually sell a Vetta after owning one are the ones who..#1. never figured out how to use it and #2. never figured out how to use it.
I have a Vetta HD with 2.5 software and a Soldano (along with several other tube and modeling amp). I prefer my Vetta because it punches through the live mix with ease and it sounds fantastic recorded. Does that make me a sinner?

[quakana]

I have to agree with Mr Jgcable (whats up man!) I have a vetta I with the vetta 2 upgrade (the 2X12 combo) I thought I had been missing the tube sound until I went to the GC and tried every boogie (I am an old boogie Quad preamp 295 amp and Mark III user) and every Marshall tube amp in the closed room and came home and apologized to my Vetta for thinking the grass was greener on the other side

[hgsmith]

I like the Vetta. But, I’m not the “tweak every knob and know every feature of my amp” player. I like to have rig that is #1: reliable. #2: reliable #3: worth more than I paid for it 10 years from now #4: easy to use. Everybody has their opinion about modeled amps, some good and bad. Just didn’t work well for me.

Harrison

[jgcable]

I have to agree with Mr Jgcable (whats up man!) I have a vetta I with the vetta 2 upgrade (the 2X12 combo) I thought I had been missing the tube sound until I went to the GC and tried every boogie (I am an old boogie Quad preamp 295 amp and Mark III user) and every Marshall tube amp in the closed room and came home and apologized to my Vetta for thinking the grass was greener on the other side

I am right with you. Everytime I think I might be missing something using the Vetta I pull out one of my tube amps and wail on it. I then put it away and apologize to my Vetta too.
GET THE 2.5 upgrade!!!! Oh me oh my.
Since 2.5... I don't even miss my Soldano (its in our studio in NJ).

[jgcable]

I like the Vetta. But, I’m not the “tweak every knob and know every feature of my amp” player. I like to have rig that is #1: reliable. #2: reliable #3: worth more than I paid for it 10 years from now #4: easy to use. Everybody has their opinion about modeled amps, some good and bad. Just didn’t work well for me.

Harrison

I hear what your saying Harrison but remember, you called modeling amps... "the dark side". I'll tell you what, I have several high end tube amps and a Vetta HD. I prefer the Vetta and its pretty sunny around here.
Regarding reliability... currently, the Vetta is one of the most reliable amps on the planet. No upkeep or maintenance at all and FREE upgrades. Did I forget to mention 300 watts?? They also addressed the Fletcher-Munson principle and added a loudness and a presence control along with a ton more great features with version 2.5. How much did it cost? NADA.
I had a single recto, a dual and a triple. The triple is about as loud as the Vetta but the single and the dual aren't even close.

[Learn Guitars]

I suffered the same fate a few years ago after stumbling into a guitar center and buying a line 6 rig. I had a Mesa Nomad and it was practically living in a repair shop. GC offered to give me my money back as it was obvious there was a problem after 3 months of continued repair. Took the line 6 home. It was great to catch a buzz an sit and jam your ass off. But in the mix live and recording it was like a wet fart. I just got the new Fender Supersonic and am totally enjoying playing again. That amp rocks. 60watts all tube no frills kick ass power. The only pedal im using with it is a Buddha Wah and tube screamer for leads. Try one out sometime if you get a chance.

[jgcable]

I suffered the same fate a few years ago after stumbling into a guitar center and buying a line 6 rig. I had a Mesa Nomad and it was practically living in a repair shop. GC offered to give me my money back as it was obvious there was a problem after 3 months of continued repair. Took the line 6 home. It was great to catch a buzz an sit and jam your ass off. But in the mix live and recording it was like a wet fart. I just got the new Fender Supersonic and am totally enjoying playing again. That amp rocks. 60watts all tube no frills kick ass power. The only pedal im using with it is a Buddha Wah and tube screamer for leads. Try one out sometime if you get a chance.

What Line 6 did you take home? I will take a guess and say it wasn't a Vetta.

[lefty]

Very similar experience here. I started using modeling gear for
the convenience, and just kind of got lulled to sleep...

A couple weeks ago, our drummer demanded we do some
all-out high volume blasting, no studio recording, just go-for-
it jamming. So I switched over to my ENGL pre into a Boogie
20:20. Instant bliss! First thing I asked myself was "what
the f@#$ were you thinking? The richness in sound, esp.
when chording was night and day...

tj

[jgcable]

Very similar experience here. I started using modeling gear for
the convenience, and just kind of got lulled to sleep...

A couple weeks ago, our drummer demanded we do some
all-out high volume blasting, no studio recording, just go-for-
it jamming. So I switched over to my ENGL pre into a Boogie
20:20. Instant bliss! First thing I asked myself was "what
the f@#$ were you thinking? The richness in sound, esp.
when chording was night and day...

tj

Be specific before you bash modelling amps. What amp were you lulled to sleep using?

[hgsmith]

I hear what your saying Harrison but remember, you called modeling amps... "the dark side". I'll tell you what, I have several high end tube amps and a Vetta HD. I prefer the Vetta and its pretty sunny around here.
Regarding reliability... currently, the Vetta is one of the most reliable amps on the planet. No upkeep or maintenance at all and FREE upgrades. Did I forget to mention 300 watts?? They also addressed the Fletcher-Munson principle and added a loudness and a presence control along with a ton more great features with version 2.5. How much did it cost? NADA.
I had a single recto, a dual and a triple. The triple is about as loud as the Vetta but the single and the dual aren't even close.

JG, I played a Vetta and it seemed to sound like all the rest of the Line 6 product. The demo didn’t include playing through a live mix and the salesman didn’t really care for the product. (That’s a whole different issue with the stores bias to different products) I haven’t seen a Vetta in a live performance in person. Maybe I should have come to the the board and obtained some opinions before I made my purchase. I have owned Line 6 products from the beginning and it seemed to be the same old thing with updates (although not bad). It’s just not my thing to do updates all the time. I like to plug and play. I don’t need the “bells and whistles” just a good solid tone. It always bit me in the asss every time I got complicated with my rig. I feel I should kick myself for getting rid of my old amps for the AX2 and Flextones. And I’ll retract my “darkside” statement. Maybe I was already on the bright and sunny side. Now I have digressed and gone over to the “darkside”, albeit lighted with glowing tubes. Maybe, in the future, I’ll get the opportunity to spend some quality time with a vetta.

[~K~]

1st rule of thumb with the Vetta.. factory presets will leave you stale ... you need to tweak it to your own liking to get what you are after .. just like a tube amp ..out of the box might sound good to one and addtional pedals for others ...

[hammer84]

Vetta user here !!! I have the vetta I HD upgraded to 2.5 (all for free ).

A word about "not being a knob tweaker........"

A big problem with players new to Line6 stuff is they waaayyy over do it ( I was in this boat too ). Hey I got a good amp sound, lets add some delay, oooh how about some verb, kool now add some flange, ok change the cab, now lets hit the eq......

The the other problem is the volume at which you tweak. The Vetta sonds great at a low volume because it "models" a marshall plexi that is cranked so you tend to build patches at low volume. They you drag it to practice and crank it up and bang , it sounds wrong. Would you tweak a boogie or xxxxx at bedroom volumes ?? Nope.

You get my point. I did this and I got a sound that was great in my headphones or alone but would get lost in the mix, You need to approach the Vetta the same way you would any other amp. You get you sound with theh basics first. Then add the other stuff as needed. Most of my patchs are on the dry side with a virtual effect set up to be turn on when needed.

JG, I played a Vetta and it seemed to sound like all the rest of the Line 6 product

Unless you comparing a pod xt to a vetta at the amp model level you have not spent enuff time with them.

I have owned every line6 series since the AX2 and I can tell you that the Vetta is by far the cream of the crop. The POD XT has the same models just lacks some of the features.

Every new series has been a great leap forward.

[jgcable]

JG, I played a Vetta and it seemed to sound like all the rest of the Line 6 product. The demo didn’t include playing through a live mix and the salesman didn’t really care for the product. (That’s a whole different issue with the stores bias to different products) I haven’t seen a Vetta in a live performance in person. Maybe I should have come to the the board and obtained some opinions before I made my purchase. I have owned Line 6 products from the beginning and it seemed to be the same old thing with updates (although not bad). It’s just not my thing to do updates all the time. I like to plug and play. I don’t need the “bells and whistles” just a good solid tone. It always bit me in the asss every time I got complicated with my rig. I feel I should kick myself for getting rid of my old amps for the AX2 and Flextones. And I’ll retract my “darkside” statement. Maybe I was already on the bright and sunny side. Now I have digressed and gone over to the “darkside”, albeit lighted with glowing tubes. Maybe, in the future, I’ll get the opportunity to spend some quality time with a vetta.

Hey Harrison, you are entitled to your opinion. Tone is so subjective.
The problem with trying a Vetta in the store is it has been messed with by a million kids who haven't a clue. Also, in my experience, the Vetta doesn't sound good until you learn how to use it.
I love the Single Rectifier. Its my favorite of any of the Rectifier series along with the Tremoverb.
The AX2 and the Flextone amps are LIGHTYEARS away from the current Vetta.
When you find a great tone, keep it for as long as you can. My favorite tone is Soldano. I also really like the Mesa Mark III (purple stripe) and IV. For basic metal or rock tone I like Marshall based tone the best.
For clean, I like the JC120 and the Fender Super and Twin Reverb.
The Vetta does a great job on all of the above.
Before my best friend and myself bought Vetta's we a/b'd them against a 1st year Mesa Dual Recto and a brand new Triple (my buddy owns both of them). We used the Mesa oversized 4 x 12 cabs for the comparison.
The Vetta absolutely smoked the Mesa's to our ears.
Live.. I flop between a Soldano based rack system that consists of:
Soldano SP77 USA
Carvin T100 modded to run 5881's
TC Electronics G-Major
Rane SP15 parametric EQ
Furman
Shure Wireless
DMC Control 1 midi controller
Morley Bad Horsie 2
I run this rig through 2 Randall 2 x 12 slant cabs. 1 is open with 300w Altec Lansing White frames. The other is closed with Celestion Vintage 30's.
I only get 2 basic tones. Clean and high gain. The clean is decent and totally useable. The high gain is the best tone I ever heard in my 30 years of playing. The G-Major gives me solo boost and studio quality effects but basically it is a 2 channel rig (with solo boost)

My Vetta rig consists of:
Vetta HD upgraded with 2.5 software
Line 6 FBV longboard
2 Randall cabinets
It is a true stereo rig. All of my delays and choruses are panning or ping pong. I also use the double tracker and I route many of my cabs or amp models specifically left or right.
The Vetta 2.5 does everything I could ever want in an amp. There isn't a single thing I would change or need to add. Its basically perfect.

I have a back up live rig consisting of:
Marshall 8004
Ross 31 band EQ
Middle Atlantic power conditioner
Boss GT-6
I run this with a Mesa 3/4 back cab

IMHO, the Boss GT-6 is one of the best floor processors/modelers on the market. Simple to set up, bulletproof and sounds great.


For home use I have a vintage Carvin X60 1 x 12 combo with a 75w Celestion running Ruby EL34's and either Telefunken's or Ruby preamp tubes
I use a Ibanez TS9DX tube screamer with it.
I love playing out of tube amps but I think that my modeling amps actually sound better live.

The Carvin X60 is basically a boutique 1 x 12 combo at a fraction of the price of a real boutique amp. Its crazy loud, it has a fantastic clean channel, the gain channel is perfectly suited to throw a tube screamer in front of, it has a footswitchable (non adjustable) 6db solo boost and channel switching. It also has outstanding reverb and is extremely well made. I use it for my SRV stuff. Its my favorite amp to noodle on because although I am a neo-classical shredder, my favorite style of music to play is Texas blues. Give me my strat and my Carvin and I am happy as a clam.

I guess that proves that tone is subjective. If you find a good amp tone you have taken a major step towards winning the battle.

[jgcable]

Vetta user here !!! I have the vetta I HD upgraded to 2.5 (all for free ).

A word about "not being a knob tweaker........"

A big problem with players new to Line6 stuff is they waaayyy over do it ( I was in this boat too ). Hey I got a good amp sound, lets add some delay, oooh how about some verb, kool now add some flange, ok change the cab, now lets hit the eq......

The the other problem is the volume at which you tweak. The Vetta sonds great at a low volume because it "models" a marshall plexi that is cranked so you tend to build patches at low volume. They you drag it to practice and crank it up and bang , it sounds wrong. Would you tweak a boogie or xxxxx at bedroom volumes ?? Nope.

You get my point. I did this and I got a sound that was great in my headphones or alone but would get lost in the mix, You need to approach the Vetta the same way you would any other amp. You get you sound with theh basics first. Then add the other stuff as needed. Most of my patchs are on the dry side with a virtual effect set up to be turn on when needed.



Unless you comparing a pod xt to a vetta at the amp model level you have not spent enuff time with them.

I have owned every line6 series since the AX2 and I can tell you that the Vetta is by far the cream of the crop. The POD XT has the same models just lacks some of the features.

Every new series has been a great leap forward.

To expand on this a little. When we first got our Vetta's we were using Vetta Juice, and if you looked at our pedal boards you would see MANY lights lit up! Now, after a year, the only lights lit up on our boards are amp 1 and 2, reverb and gate. All our stomp boxes and effects are all set up and ready to go but we don't use them unless we need them. We have found that the tone is so good we hardly use anything except solo boost which we assign to the Favorite button. The clean patches are the only ones that we leave a little delay, chorus and maybe some compression on.
Less is more in regards to the Vetta.
Go to the local store. Dial up Satch's Alien. It sounds really good for a factory patch but it is just a scratch in the surface of what a Vetta can really do.