Line 6 has ruined the Flextone

[PowerTube]

Note: The following is ONLY my opinion and others may disagree.

I was in Guitar Center today (yeah, yeah, I know) because I want a small combo amp, preferably a Flextone. They had wall-to-wall Spiders, which I've never liked, but no Flextones. So, I decided to see if they had any used Flextones. Well, the guy went to the back and brought out a used Flextone III. I hooked up a Rhoads (forget which model) and checked it out.

I hated it. No matter what I did, it just wouldn't give me that warm, fully saturated feel like the Flextone, Flextone II, and POD 2.0 series. For starters, there is no "Manual" button. I felt like everything I set it on was being "colored" somewhat by presets. On the older Flextones and my POD 2.0, I can hit Manual, put it on Modern Hi-Gain (Soldano), set Bass, Middle, Treble, Drive at 3:00 or so, and bang....there's my sound within a few seconds.

Am I missing something here?

[1trussell]

You can put it on manual by double clicking one of the 4 channel select buttons. This bypasses the preset. I think that's what you're looking for.

[DumpyWumpy]

The old Flextone/Pod 2.0 software is the best. I've had a Pod XT Live for over 2 years and I've spent 100s of hours playing with it through different setups and I've never got it to sound even close to as good as my Flextone heads...

[chrisolson]

Agreed. The older Flextones are better in too many ways. I've had the Flex III XL - twice!! I have the first Flex HD now (again - third time). I've got the POD 2 to back it up. Shouldn't need any amps for a good long time!

I could get good sounds out of the III, but it took more time and effort than the older Flex's, and still didn't have the same magic.

[siggy14]

i also agree, i cant stand the new ones, I am perfectly happy with my POD's. I have two 2.0 pods, and I have a pod pro on the way.

The PODS i use for guitar lessons, one for me and one for my student. The POD Pro i have coming in will go in my rack and be used for cleans and for covers where i need to nail a tone. Other then that I will use my bogner or my recto for the dirt.

[Trypp Powell]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the latest Podxt update actually included some models from the Flextone II/Pod 2.0. I wonder if they did this since a number of users (I've read the same comments voiced here in many places) agree about the tone of the Flextone II vs. III and the Pod 2.0 vs. the xt.

I have a Podxt and I feel like it was a step backwards in the feel/tone department on some of the higher gain models-the dual rectifier and JCM 800 especially.

However, I also have a Vetta and it is in a whole different league. Hopefully the next pod incarnation will see some of the Vetta technology/programming trickle down to it.

Still, for the money (particularly if you pick up a used one off of ebay), all of the pods are great. There are usually some Flextone's (of all series) to be had as well.

For a great bargain, hunt around for a used AX2. A friend bought one used from a local store for $250.00. There a still some great tones to be had in that model as well.

[YetAnotherOne]

They're not cheap but if you want an absolutely bitchin' modeling combo I'd hit eBay for one of these. Hands down the best modeler I've ever played.

[PowerTube]

Update: I picked up a Roland Micro Cube today. It's not quite a Flextone, but it has decent sounds and it's very portable, even battery-powered.

But yeah, they need to bring back the original Modern Hi-Gain model again.

[data187]

i had an ax212 and it was a good sounding amp...however, there is a significant delay when switching channels, so beware.
it did do the best early metallica sound better than any other amp i've played.