Line 6 AX2

The amp may not have a kitchen-sink approach like recent mult-effects pedals - they didn't throw in every effects box ever made into this eight-year-old AX2 - but they included all the standard effects you'd want. Noise gate, hum reducer, compression, distortion, wah, EQ, trem/chorus/flange/phase, delay, reverb, it's all there. The effects can be tweaked from subtle to over-the-top. The tube amp modeling is sweet & responsive and the cabinet modelling sounds great throught the two Eminence 12" full-range speakers. It's great to have 110W of clean power, even at home. I don't need to go above 3 on the master dial to sound quite load, and with so much wattage behind the signal, it never feels weak or thin even at low volumes. Nice.

Have only had it a day, but it's at least seven years old and had been used for gigging. I was careful to check that the tuner button engaged well since early models of AX2 and a predecessor amp had some problems with that. No crackling in any of the knobs on my unit, all the buttons work fine, and all the LEDs light. Seems built like a tank. The cable from Floorboard to back of the amp is a vanilla CAT5 computer ethernet cable, so it'll be easy & cheap to replace if the clip ever breaks.

I'm an oldster (mid-40s) who played in a wedding band eons ago - not that I really *enjoyed* that cover music & the standards we'd crank out. My musical tastes range from Stravinsky to Green Day, but for guitar-oriented music I really enjoy The Strokes, Rage Against The Machine, OK Go, and oldies like Talking Heads, Joe Jackson, and The Clash.

 

The AX2 is an upgrade from a early-1980's solid state 50w amp I use for home practice nowadays. I use multi-effects pedals to sweeten the sound of my two main guitars - a decent one and a beater, but wanted to use the AX2 with its great Floorboard for better control than I get with an all-in-on effects pedal. The decent one is a Carvin solid-body neck-thru electric with dual humbuckers (with coil splitters), Sperzel tuners, and a traditional Floyd Rose tremolo. The beater is an SG knockoff I picked up for about $100, with craptastic humbuckers. The AX2 sounds great whether I'm using the Carvin or my junker guitar.

 

I've seen these amps on eBay or craigslist for US$300-400, so I was really happy to get this one for just US$225.