Members monoXstereo Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Have any of you actually played on the new Line 6 Spider III 150-watt stereo head? I have indeed. I'm not a hater of Line 6. I have a Flextone III combo for practice in my room. I've played the new Spiders. And while they are good for what they are, its no tube amp. Not close. While I like my Flextone for practicing in my room, I would NEVER gig out with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cibyl Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 A bit of advice. Tube amps are just like anything else you buy. There are good ones and bad ones. And ones you'll like and others you'll dislike. It's really that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarHitman Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Who cares? IMO opinion this thread is a complete success, and so is my amp choice. I was out listening to a band the other night and the guy had a similar setup to my old rig (Marshall JCM2000 and Boss multi-effects). His rig sounded digital like my old one did. I asked the guy to come over and hear my amp, and he agreed that it sounded much better than his. He is now looking to buy one like mine. Multi-Effects -------> Tube Amp = Fail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Absolutely not!And, it's ridiculous to generalize all tube amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members glenecho Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 No wonder they are making fun of this entire forum over at The Gear Page. This thread = utter failure. The last few days of HCAF being down certainly has changed your attitude about HCAF hasn't it? For the record, I could a {censored} what TGP thinks of HCAF. They are two completely different places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kinggeoff Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 For several years I owned a Marshall JCM2000 TSL60 tube head ... i stopped reading here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Awake77 Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 For several years I owned a Marshall JCM2000 TSL60 tube head with a Marshall 1960A speaker cabinet. For effects I used a Boss GT-8. That's your problem right there. The GT-8 sucked the life out of the tone from my Mesa Quad and didnt perform much better with my Carvin V3. Then I picked up an older Rocktron Intelliverb and put that in the FX loop - problem solved. If you are going to use digital FX with analog gear, you have to make damn sure that 1.)Your amp has a good FX loop to begin with and 2.)Your digital FX gear doesnt suck. The GT-8 is a fine unit as far as multiFX modellers go - but as an FX box for a tube amp it fails miserably, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeathMonkey Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I see where you are going with this, and I actually don't disagree. I would take a Vetta II head over most of the tube amps that I knew of (barring vintage stuff) 4 or 5 years ago. Part of that was also because I am a lot more experienced with tube amps now, and I am EMBARRASSED by how I used to run my own DSL rig. It wasn't until I started playing some real quality amps and recording them that my ears and taste got better. And it will continue to evolve. We're fairly spoiled here, in that we have the context (word of the day apparently) provided by clips, vids, and description of a {censored} ton of top notch gear. In the face of the lower end Marshalls, Peaveys, B-52s and Crates of the world, the Spider III is certainly a valid choice. Being tube doesn't mean an amp is automatically fabulous, nor does being solid sate or digital make an amp automatically suck. However. A well designed and built tube amp will crush your Line 6 every time. But you'll learn, as I had to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VanHalen Posted September 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 In the face of the lower end Marshalls, Peaveys, B-52s and Crates of the world, the Spider III is certainly a valid choice. Being tube doesn't mean an amp is automatically fabulous, nor does being solid sate or digital make an amp automatically suck. Good post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hulston Prickle Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I say play through the amp you like that makes the sound you want. An amp with tubes does not automatically make it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rear Naked Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 ur doin it wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bro Blue Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 No. Tube amps are better. You're doing it wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 If your happy I'm happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheEsupremacy Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 The last few days of HCAF being down certainly has changed your attitude about HCAF hasn't it? For the record, I could a {censored} what TGP thinks of HCAF. They are two completely different places. I'm not sure if your post was directed as me personally, or you were just stating that in general, either way I was just joking around. I'm just confused why we are discussing a Spider III head and tube amps in the same thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zachman Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I'm really not trying to convince anyone. I just stated my experience and my opinion, and I opened it up for others to share their opinions. So far it looks likem I am out-voted, and I kind of figured that would happen. But like you said, the main thing to consider when you buy a piece of gear is if YOU are happy with it (well, it helps if your audience likes it too). All I can say is that when I put the two rigs next to each other, IMO the Line 6 sounds better. Plus the effects are all built into the amp, and there are hundreds of them. I can go from playing authentic-sounding U2 to Pink Floyd to Metallica to Rush to Ozzy to The Police to The Scorpions without having to dial in dozens of effects changes. It's obvious that for most of you, tube amps are not overrated. But in my experience, I am much happier with this solid state rig than the tube rig that I had before. Sounds to me like your amp needed fresh tubes and a proper biasing, but... Glad you dig your new setup. It's been my experience that the "proper" routing of signal can/will make or break the efforts one puts into getting the sound "right". As Cobra said... "if you wanna get great quality effects with a nice tube amp, you're gonna spend big money on the amp and effects unit(s)", I'll add: AND... routing the signal in a W/D, or W/D/W setup will allow you to preserve your pure amp tone when running effects... and not all effects, switchers, amps etc... are equal. Finding the right combination of things is indeed a process that leads to self-discovery. but the Cons are: It can get expensive, too big, and be more than you're willing/able to deal with. The pros are: the Tone, Control, Versatility, and Flexibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VanHalen Posted September 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I'm just confused why we are discussing a Spider III head and tube amps in the same thread? Because the Spider III head sounds much better to me than my Marshall TSL60 tube head sounded. Like others have said, just because it's a tube amp doesn't automatically make it better than a non-tube amp. While it's true that some tube amps are better than others, the opposite can also be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ron Burgandy Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Glad you found a rig that works for ya. Personally I hate the TSL line, and the TSL60 is the worst of said line. Add in a {censored}ty processor and I can see why you didn't like the sound. There are lots of {censored}ty tube amps out there, so to make a long story short don't judge an entire amplifier line on one sub par amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mark7171 Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 the gear page are fools. most people havent been playing for 3-4 years , and cant tell exactly what to listen for. people like multi colore lights and knobs. they like packed in features ,and anaograms like DSP, VST, and QWERTY yoU I Owe P. who's qwerty? and give me back my P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wolfspider Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Because the Spider III head sounds much better to me than my Marshall TSL60 tube head sounded. Like others have said, just because it's a tube amp doesn't automatically make it better than a non-tube amp. While it's true that some tube amps are better than others, the opposite can also be true. I totally understand what you're saying, IMHO tube amps are overpriced but not overrated as someone said, Marshall TSL are in a cheapo category against other amps. Maybe one of the reasons You're happy with your actual rig is because you have all in one amp and cheaper than the Marshall and that's cool but you definately need to try some other amps and better effect devices, so you can understand why must of all are in with our tube rigs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VanHalen Posted September 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Personally I hate the TSL line, and the TSL60 is the worst of said line. Add in a {censored}ty processor and I can see why you didn't like the sound. Well, it's the only tube amp I have ever owned - and the only Marshall I have ever owned, so maybe that explains why I like the Line 6 amp better. I have to agree with you, that Marshall TSL60 was a dog. Even the construction was crap. When it needed repaired, the tech unscrewed the cover. When he went to put it back on, the screw holes were stripped out. I have nothing good to say about that amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ron Burgandy Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Well, it's the only tube amp I have ever owned - and the only Marshall I have ever owned, so maybe that explains why I like the Line 6 amp better. I have to agree with you, that Marshall TSL60 was a dog. Even the construction was crap. When it needed repaired, the tech unscrewed the cover. When he went to put it back on, the screw holes were stripped out. I have nothing good to say about that amp. I've never taken one apart, nor have I owned one. They came out when I was shopping for a multi-channel Marshall and I went with a rackmount setup after hearing the TSL junk. The DSL's on the other hand are superior. 2 good channels vs 3 {censored}ty ones on the TSL. Anyway, if you're happy with your current rig I don't really see the point of this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VanHalen Posted September 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I totally understand what you're saying, IMHO tube amps are overpriced but not overrated as someone said, Marshall TSL are in a cheapo category against other amps. $1,595.00 is not cheap in my book. I would expect a killer amp for that price. But you're right, the TSL60 was very overpriced. I could have bought two of the Line 6 Spider III HD 150 stacks for the price I paid for the Marshall head alone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ron Burgandy Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 $1,595.00 is not cheap in my book. I would expect a killer amp for that price. But you're right, the TSL60 was very overpriced. I could have bought two of the Line 6 Spider III HD 150 stacks for the price I paid for the Marshall head alone! Why did you buy it in the first place? Why did you further add to the suck by buying a GT8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members VanHalen Posted September 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Anyway, if you're happy with your current rig I don't really see the point of this thread. The point of the thread was to ask all of you if tube amps are really superior to solid state amps. In my experience I did not find that to be the case. After reading all of your replies, I am hearing that there are tube amps that sound better than solid state amps. Maybe next time I will be a Line 6 tube amp. Does anyone have any experience with those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Musicscotty Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I had a Marshall TSL601 until recently and I experimented with putting a Boss GT-6 through it. I actually gave it a bit of time to try and dial in a decent tone but all that happened was they combined to make a sterile, lifeless tone. That combination of TSL60 and GT-8 would have been very similar and would never have sounded even half decent in a million years. I'm not getting at you here. It's just an opinion. If you're happy with your new rig then that's fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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