Line6 vs. Vox

[RMC206]

In Guitar Player Sept 2003, page 56. Jeff Beck (look him up, he's pretty good) "I used a Line 6 POD ... because the sound of it was so good." That Cd was a mixture of Marshall JCM2000DSL head, one 4x12 cab and a Line 2x12 combo. Pete Anderson, guitar player for Dwight Yokum and others and multi platinum producer says he hasn't used an amp in years. He goes direct and then uses Amp Farm. Are these guys unable to mic an amp? ...or what are the rest of the "amp modeler rejecters" doing wrong? I could't get the POD to work for me but I like the Line 6 Gearbox through an amp and miced at low volume. I think we get a little myopically microscopic about our sacred tone. Can't play your best without your "tone"? Bill Frisell said the airlines lost his pedals right befor a gig. He didn't think he could go on. Guess what? He was able to play. If we applied that same standard to songwriting, feel etc we'd be better off. Free yourself. Simplify.

[James Steele]

Yes... we all know who Jeff Beck is.

What makes life great is we all have different tastes in things. If Jeff Beck thinks the POD sounds great that's fine for him. I note that he is still using amps though. You mentioned a Marshall JCM2000 and a Line 6 2x12 combo. You mention that you're running through a mic'd amp also. So I don't get your point. As far as Dwight Yokum's guitarist, much of it may depend on genre.

Oh... and yeah, if you're equipment breaks, you make do with what you must. That's just part of being a professional and many of us have had to improvise. The show must go on.

Yes, Jeff Beck is an icon. I would kill to play guitar 1/2 as good as he. Yet, to disgree with him on something that's a matter of personal taste and preference, is not to disrpespect him. He may have good reasons for liking the JMC2000 for example. It would not be my first choice. I think the single channel JMP Master Volume heads from the late 70s as well as the early JCM800s (single channel no reverb) are both vastly superior. JCM2000s are being *dumped* on Craigslist. I'm selling one now and I'll be happy if I get $600 for it. Here's my ad:

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/msg/411861384.html

Hopefully I'll sell it soon as I paid $800 for a second 1979 JMP 100-watt head a couple of weeks ago.

[James Steele]

If we applied that same standard to songwriting, feel etc we'd be better off. Free yourself. Simplify.

What's simpler than plugging a guitar into a single channel tube amp?

[RMC206]

... for every player that just can't make the line 6 stuff work there is another who can, not just beginers who don't know any better or can't afford a Marshall half stack, but top pros that could have whatever they want. I knew that you knew who Jeff Beck is. He did that "Odelay" album, right I just don't understand the "It doen't work for me , therefore its crap." syndrom. For me, simplify means what can I record with in a 6x10 room for less $ and still be happy. James' studio would be way beyond my means but I'm sure it's a ton of fun. Sun Studios in Memphis doesn't come close. I'm hoping I can stear anyone away from "gear minutia" and get back to the recording. I appreciate everyone elses counsel and contributions to this forum , especially James Steele's. I'd be stuck without it.

[chrispick]

Here's my take. And this is coming from a guy who's recording something almost every day now.

I use amp sims. I have a Tonelab, Guitar Rig 2 and a Fender Cyber Deluxe amp. And they all get some use for different applications and situations.

But none of them are inspiring tools. I never plug into them just to play.

Give me a good guitar and a good tube amp, though, I get excited by the act of playing. It's visceral. I'm moving my fingers and creating an organic sound that sounds like me.

My guitar through my 5-watt Class-A amp -- you can't get technology simpler. And they're pretty inexpensive as well (you can get tube low-watters for under $200). Throw a 57 in front of it (another $80; point and shoot). Move some real air while recording (not some phase-unalignment sim). The simplicity-to-quality ratio can't be beat right now.

[Kind Of Loud]

Well, one thing is for certain,!! With all the options available today, it sure is a great time to be a member of the "six string community"...!!!

From hardware modellers, to software modellers,to tube amps, to the abundance of mic pre's and mics.......Yowza...!!! If there is a "tone" we have in our heads, it's not to far of a stretch, to obtain it.

I remember the good ole' days, where the closest I was going to get to my "Electric Ladyland" tone, consisted of two Radio Shack simulations of an SM57, going straight into my Pioneer cassette deck..!! HA! HA! The only engineering skills needed, were adjusting the volume of my Marshall half stack..
I'd sit there for days afterwards, listening through my stereo, to my" sonic masterpiece". HA! HA!

Nowadays, I sit there and worry about the buzzyness at 8khz, or the low end buildup at 80hz. Only to scrap that, and reamp something else.
The tones are a lot better today for me, but not as much fun, as rigging up that ole' casstte deck, and playing back what I thought was "sonic bliss"...!!! HA! HA!

[monkey man]

The tones are a lot better today for me, but not as much fun, as rigging up that ole' casstte deck, and playing back what I thought was "sonic bliss"...!!! HA! HA!

LOL, KOL!

Yeah, it's that ampey, tapey, cabinety, valvey, glowey, warmth and grit thing.

[janglyrecords]

I have the VOX table top model and I love it. One thing to keep in mind is that you must use your ears and not trust you old familiar settings. If you are using the settings you've always used it will not meet your expectations. This might be an area where the POD excels, but once you break that mental barrier I believe the VOX delivers. Do not be afraid to use your stomp boxes with the VOX. I use my BOSS and MXR pedals pre-VOX and they add a lot of tone. I also use the VOx as an attenuator prior to my real amps and can mic an amp at more neighbor-pleasing leveal but get a screaming tone. Give that a try.

If I am not mistaken the Line and Amp selector in the back is the changing of the impedence. If you are going right into your recorder always use the Line level. Don't forget that the little black knob on the bak controls a smidge of overdrive when cranked up. It just can't help itself. Good lick with your tone.

[HCMarkus]

I never understood what was so cool all those years about Jan Hammer playing a keyboard like it was a guitar? It's an interesting exercise and cool that he could cop guitar licks and make it somewhat convincing, but WHY?

Keyboardists want to be guitar heros, too.

[James Steele]

I never understood what was so cool all those years about Jan Hammer playing a keyboard like it was a guitar? It's an interesting exercise and cool that he could cop guitar licks and make it somewhat convincing, but WHY?

Keyboardists want to be guitar heros, too.

Why not just be Jon Lord?

[Resonant Alien]

I never understood what was so cool all those years about Jan Hammer playing a keyboard like it was a guitar? It's an interesting exercise and cool that he could cop guitar licks and make it somewhat convincing, but WHY?

Keyboardists want to be guitar heros, too.

Why not just be Jon Lord?

[HCMarkus]

I use overdrive on organ all the time, and it makes a huge difference when performing in an ensemble with guitars. And when I am playing with guitarists, (like tonight at the Belly Up) I am usually filling the traditional keyboardist's role on piano, EP and organ. But there is something really satisfying about bending notes like a guitar player, or like Jan Hammer. And while we're on the subject of Mr. Hammer, was he going for strict guitar emulations, or just adopting some of the performance and timbral characteristics historically available to our six string playing musical bretheren? He brought a fresh perspective to the keys, and opened many eyes, ears and minds along the way.

[James Steele]

I like Jan... and I don't mean to be flippant. I can't remember the texture and whether or not he was attempting to "pretend" to be a guitar. I remember him doing some stuff with Jeff Beck (?) or another high profile guitarist, and he seemed to be making a study of copping guitar licks down to playing pentatonic scales and bending the appropriate notes as a guitarist would. Which is interesting. Seems though that certain instruments have their strengths and simulating a guitar solo on a keyboard is an interesting exercise, but one that sort of made wonder why. I guess the answer is just for the heck of it... why not?

Also reminds me of Allan Holdsworth and reading somewhere how he had taken interest in studying saxophonists and using the type of runs and phrasing that they would use.

[Kind Of Loud]

Hammer played on the Billy Cobham album, "Spectrum". Tommy Bolin was the guitarist.
Needless to say, the chops displayed on this album, are beyond sick...!!!

When I first heard the opening track, "Quadrant", it took a bit of a listen, to realize that it was Hammer on keys. Not Bolin, on guitar.
That was pretty wild to hear that, back then...!!!!

[monkey man]

Hey KOL, I've had that album for 20 years, and it's a classic, IMHO.

Unique album, and how 'bout that stormy weather vibe Billy conjures up wit' his stix?
Sweet, classic stuff, I reckon.