JD1 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Has anyone had any experience of the Line 6 Lowdown heads yet? I'm toying with getting a valve amp for rock gigs - something I can drive hard and clip (nicely). However I've had an SVT in the past and I think I'm looking through rose coloured glasses regarding the weight. Looking at alternatives I arrived at the Line 6 website. Do these things sound like that in real life? And if they do, how easy are they to use? I remain to be convinced I could call up that synth sound from the website audio tour at a gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraktal Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Have you considered a bass pod XT live or X3 live? Because they will give you the overdriven valve sound no matter wich amp you plug into while being much more versatile. I can confirm it is possible to get several overdriven valve tones from those 2 multi-fx and the emulation is good enough to fool my ears as if it was a real valve amp, though I have to admit you may need several hours of knob tweaking if you are as picky as I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nash Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 amp sim is rubbish in imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I had a go with the Lowdown LD400 2x10" combo a couple of weeks back. Extremely versatile, loads of sounds and tweakability, but, as a former Ampeg owner, never quite nails the SVT tone. Which is weird, as my Bass POD XT Live does a bloody good job of it. Overall, a solid bit of kit, but not an SVT replacement. Then again, very few things are. Ampeg need to get on the lightweight bandwagon. I'd love Ampeg's take on the Little Mark type of amp. Speaking of which, I also had a go with the new valve version of the Little Mark the other week, and that was ridiculously good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD1 Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Cheers folks. As usual for BC different ends of the spectrum represented! Must admit in the past I've been a bit old school and sceptical of modelling - and despite the demo on the Line 6 site (which is very impressive) I remain somewhat sceptical. Basspod XT is a curveball - food for thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 I am seriously considering one of these heads, they seem to good to be true (although not tried it yet) I am also not sure about modeling, but 2 guitar players I know now have their versions, they seem great and both of them are very pleased (and not easily) I have been using the LM2 for a while whilst searching for an orange head 2nd hand, strangely now I think both will go when I settle on something new to play with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munkonthehill Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 i use the lowdown 15watt for practice, although dont really rate the effects on it, i do like the amp sim options, nice easy method of changing sound without the fuss of knob twiddeling (oh er) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Only heard our guitarist use one but I feel it lack the weight of his old tube head, in terms of sound. He is going to stick with it and try a Line tube gtr amp..as the effects box is a good idea and better than seperates, he thinks. For me, the jury is still out so I'll see how his latest trick goes.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 [quote name='JTUK' post='677380' date='Dec 8 2009, 12:00 AM']Only heard our guitarist use one but I feel it lack the weight of his old tube head, in terms of sound. He is going to stick with it and try a Line tube gtr amp..as the effects box is a good idea and better than seperates, he thinks. For me, the jury is still out so I'll see how his latest trick goes..[/quote] Yeah, a real tube is not easily replicated Although one guitarist I know says his marshall tube does not sound good at low volumes! even during a practice? there's a tube draw back for you, or is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 [quote name='lojo' post='677457' date='Dec 8 2009, 07:09 AM']Yeah, a real tube is not easily replicated Although one guitarist I know says his marshall tube does not sound good at low volumes! even during a practice? there's a tube draw back for you, or is it?[/quote] That is another reason why most gtrs I know use a tiny head and overdrive it. They do decent size rooms with 18watts and if they need more, they add a second cab. If you have a Marshall, then power-soak it, but why would you lug that big amp and a 4x12 to bleed off its wattage..?? Anyway, I think these simulators seem to sound ok on their own but not so good if you AB them with a tube amp. I noticed his sound drain away with a Line over a tube...I forget the name, but they are small custons makers, something like XYZ... Now, some of that might be the amp is new and needs the EQ tweaking somewhat, but I have a suspicion that it just not have the balls. Wait and see if things improve.. Don't get me wrong, his sound isn't in any way offensive, just that it is noticeable what is lacking from what he had before...and this is a new line-up so his sound wasn't that ingrained on me.. just my 2p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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