Line 6 Flextone Cab 212S user manual Modeled Amps Which Amps are MODELED?

Flextone Manual Rev E; bookfile Page 18 Tuesday, September 8, 1998 10:31 AM

MODELED AMPS: WHICH AMPS ARE MODELED?

Tweed Blues - The classic Fender Bassman 4x10 combo was the amp that started it all – instant rock and roll tone. Originally a bass guitar amp, the Bassman became a Blues staple for 6-string guitarists. It has the fat bottom end you’d expect from a bass amp but also has the Fender twang on the top. The Bassman was the “blueprint” for the Flextone’s Tweed Blues. Incidentally, when Jim Marshall built his first amps with Ken Bran they were heavily influenced by

3 • 2 the early Bassman. One of the interesting things about the Bassman is just how interactive the Mid and Treble controls are. The Mid control isn’t a bandpass, as in most tone control setups. Instead, it’s almost like a second treble control. The two are additive, so if you’re running the Mid knob higher than halfway up, you’ll find that the Treble Control might give you more bright than you really want. On the other hand, when you turn the Mid knob down, you’ll probably want to boost the Treble.

The Bassman, like many of the amps modeled for the Flextone, didn’t have a master volume. So to get the kind of tone that the Bassman can deliver at higher gain settings, you had to crank it up loud enough to do some serious damage to anyone who might be standing close by. With the Flextone, you can get that kind of tone at a bedroom or studio level – or through your headphones even! Try a drive setting of about 4 or 5 – it’s guaranteed to dredge up the best R&B licks you know.

Black Panel - The Holy Grail for many blues, country, and “roots” players has been a blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb (Of course, now that the Flextone’s here, that may all change). After listening to quite a few candidates for modeling, we stumbled upon an extremely cool ’64 Deluxe. Most players love a Deluxe when it’s turned up to about 7 for a nice gritty sound that cleans up when you back off your guitar’s volume knob just a little. Notice how the tone control response changes as this Amp Model’s Drive is changed; clean settings are crisp and present, while more driven settings will mellow the high end. This is typical of what you get from a Deluxe, and is nicely captured here.

The Deluxe itself has only Bass and Treble controls. Leaving us, once again, with the prospect of a knob with nothing to say for itself. But fear not; in this case, we’ve set up the Mid knob so you can add some post-Tubetone Midrange contouring for a little more flexibility. Once again, set the Mid knob to its “neutral” 12 o’clock position for the classic Deluxe sound. Tweaked up right, this tone will cut through and sing.