Re: Line 6

[S V G <vsyevolod@yahoo.com>]

>  And while we're on the topic of Line 6 effects,
>  anyone tried the distortion modeler? How is it?
>  That's the only one of the four stompbox modelers
>  I don't have, but I'm thinking about getting one
>  (though I'm also thinking about getting a Z Vex
>  Fuzz Factory). 


     Chris,

     I have owned all 4 colours, (though now there is a 5th, the red amp 
modeller), and I have to
say that I was rather unimpressed at all of them except the modulation 
modeller.  Even that may go
the way of eBay soon.  If you like the sound and feel of the others, you 
will probably enjoy the
DM-4.  It has a wide and varied palette of sounds.  The expression pedal 
is a nice addition,
though it shows up the flaws even more readily.

     One of my beefs with the Line 6 gear is a certain "hollowness" or 
"lack of life".  This is a
very personal and subjective opinion to be sure.  I don't have a lot of 
experience with the pedals
that they are trying to model, so my opinion must be taken with a heap of 
salt (as all must). 
That being said, I have used my experience with the Line 6 gear to spur me 
on to greater heights. 
For example, my dissatisfaction with the DL-4 prompted me to buy the 
Hughes and Kettner Replex for
warm tube delay and reverb (this is the shizzit, kids), and the Repeater 
for looping (at only 4
times the cost!)

     Another thing to look out for when you link several Line 6 modellers 
together is that it
becomes difficult to maintain your levels when switching things in and 
out.  Some experimenting
with the order of the units (which box to put first...) will help, though 
I never got all four up
and running with any degree of satisfaction.  Even with the wet/dry mix 
levels turned mostly dry. 
As a stand alone box, the MM-4 is pretty good.  Combine it with other 
pedals and I started to run
into problems that I couldn't find a way around.

     The expression pedal does an okay job of morphing from one set of 
knob positions to another
set.  Some of the problems that come up are the lack of smoothness in the 
sound from toe position
to heel position.  And then some of the knobs will switch from one setting 
to another in discreet
jumps, not a fun thing to bump into with a smooth pedal sweep.

     All in all, I found the Line 6 stomp boxes to be an invaluable part 
of my education in effect
boxes.  And seeing how I bought them used on eBay and then resold them for 
around the same price,
the education didn't come at a high price.  If you are interested in the 
DM-4, by all means go for
it, it's less than $200 on eBay used (get the power supply, don't even 
think about using batteries
alone) and you can resell it in the future when you are ready to move on. 

          SVG






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