Line 6 Flextone III User Manual

Pilot’s Handbook

An in-depth exploration of the revolutionary

technologies and tonal pleasures of the Flextone III.

Electrophonic Limited Edition. Also available at www.line6.com. Revision B.

The serial number can be found on the back panel of your Flextone III. It’s the number that begins with “(21)”. Please note it here for future reference:

SERIAL NO:

WARNING:

electric shock, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.

CAUTION:

pursuant to Part 15 of FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Before using your Flextone III, carefully read the applicable items of these operating instructions and safety suggestions:

1. Obey all warnings on the Flextone III and in this Pilot’s Handbook.

2. Do not place near heat sources, such as radiators, heat registers, or appliances which produce heat.

3. Guard against objects or liquids entering the enclosure.

4. Connect only to AC power outlets rated 100-120V or 230V 47-63Hz (depending on the voltage range of the

5. Do not step on power cords. Do not place items on top of power cords so that they are pinched or leaned on.

6. Unplug your Flextone III when not in use for extended periods of time.

7. Do not perform service operations beyond those described in the Flextone III Pilot’s Handbook. In the

8. Prolonged listening at high volume levels may cause irreparable hearing loss and/or damage. Always be sure

To reduce the risk of ﬁre or

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device

The lightning symbol within a triangle means “electrical caution!” It indicates the presence of information about operating voltage and potential risks of electrical shock.

YOU

SHOULD READ THESE IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

EEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS IN A SAFE PLACE

unit; refer to the back panel). Current ratings should be 4A for the 120V range and 2 A for the 230V range.

Pay particular attention to the cord at the plug end and the point where it connects to the amp.

following circumstances, repairs should be performed only by qualified service personnel:

• liquid is spilled into the unit

• an object falls into the unit

• the unit does not operate normally or changes in performance in a significant way

• the unit is dropped or the enclosure is damaged

to practice “safe listening.”

CAUTION:

do not remove screws. No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualiﬁed service personnel.

To reduce the risk of ﬁre or electric shock,

The exclamation point within a triangle means “caution!” Please read the information next to all caution signs.

Please Note:

Line 6, Flextone, Vetta, POD, Duoverb and FBV are trademarks of Line 6, Inc. All other product names, trademarks, and artists’ names are the property of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. Product names, images, and artists’ names are used solely to identify the products whose tones and sounds were studied during Line 6’s sound model development for this product. The use of these products, trademarks, images, and artists’ names does not imply any cooperation or endorsement.

Welcome to Flextone III

Register............................................................................................................................................1•1

Connect at www.line6.com.................................................................................................1•1

Line 6 and Flextone III.............................................................................................................1•1

Working It

Quick Start Guide....................................................................... 2•1

Front Panel Features ................................................................................................................2•2

Manual Mode: What You See Is What You Get....................................................2•6

Using The Channel Memories............................................................................................2•6

Creating Amp Defaults...........................................................................................................2•7

Rear Panel Features..................................................................................................................2•8

Using Your Direct XLR Outputs......................................................................................2•9

The Amps & Cabs

Meet The Family.........................................................................................................................3•1

What’s In There..........................................................................................................................3•2

The Cabinets................................................................................................................................3•28

The Effects

About the Delay and Modulation Effects ....................................................................4•1

Delays...............................................................................................................................................4•2

Modulations...................................................................................................................................4•4

Using Your Feet

FBV Class Foot Controllers..................................................................................................5•1

Connecting an FBV...................................................................................................................5•1

So What Do All These Buttons and Pedals Do? ....................................................5•2

Saving and Naming with an FBV.......................................................................................5•4

.................................................................................................1•1

Appendices

Amp Mod.......................................................................................................................................A

Cabinet Models...........................................................................................................................B

MIDI Channel & Programs....................................................................................................C

MIDI Continuous Control.....................................................................................................D

Customer Service......................................................................................................................E

Warranty Information .............................................................................................................F

Welcome to Flextone III •

ELCOME TO

LEXTONE

III

Register

Thanks for buying a Flextone III! Please send in that included registration card or click on over to www.line6.com to get registered. We’ll wait right here...

Connect at www.line6.com

1 •

Join the thriving community at humming with Line 6ers sharing insights to get the most from their gear and the great adventure of making music. Learn what’s new from the artists that rely on Line 6, be the first to hear about new products, and tap into Customer Support via the powerful FAQTRAQ system.

www.line6.com

. The discussion boards are

Line 6 and Flextone III

You probably know Line 6 as a technological innovator in the guitar world—first to put digital software modeling technology to work in guitar combo amps, pioneering direct recording technology in POD and other products, and capturing the soul of classic pedals in modern stomp boxes. We make gear that’s packed with features and hi-tech breakthroughs, and bring new value and capabilities to guitarists.

With Flextone III, our goal was to give you everything you needed for gigging — including booty-shaking volume and simple operation—in one compact box. So it’s naturally got carefully selected premium amp models like those in our Vetta and POD

, for the versatility to go from syrupy tweed rhythm to down right massive crunch without missing a beat. And powerful, great sounding effects that are also bone-head simple to use. The 112+ and 212 models even include Line 6’s signature A.I.R. II direct outs, so you can always get your tone to its destination without compromise or complication. And, of course, it’s all ready to dazzle your audience with the tasteful look and feel of a classic tube amp.

So flip the page, you lucky devil. And let’s take your hot new tone buggy for a spin!

ORKING IT

In a rush? Well, then, just read this page and come back to the rest later:

Quick Start Guide

Working It •

Quick Start Guide

2•

POWER:

But don’t turn the power on yet.

PLUG IN:

knob (on the far right) all the way down. Locate Flextone III’s back by the power cord, and fire that bad boy up. Spin Get ready for tasty tones...

MODELS KNOB:

variations, for 32 Amp Models total.

DRIVE, BASS, MID, TREBLE, PRESENCE, VOLUME KNOBS:

what you get here—turn knobs ’til things sound good!

DELAY:

Tap in a tempo for the delay, and turn the Delay knob to get more or less of the effect.

MOD:

Turn the Mod knob to speed up or slow down the selected effect.

COMP/GATE:

will smooth out your dynamics and add sustain. The Gate will mute the inherent noise common to high gain amp tones when you’re not playing.

CHANNEL MEMORIES:

your favorite stations. Press A, B, C or D to recall one of the 4 Channel Memories. Press that button again to get back to “manual mode.” You’re in manual mode if none of the A, B, C, or D buttons are lit. And just like a car radio, hold any of the buttons for 3 seconds to save your current settings to that memory for later recall.

Connect the power cord from Flextone III’s rear panel to your power outlet.

Jack your guitar into Flextone III’s

Spin this to select from the 16 amp flavors, each with two

Press the button to the left of the Delay knob to pick one of the Delay effects.

Press the button to the left of the Mod knob to pick one of the Mod effects.

Press COMP and/or GATE to engage each effect. The Compressor

These are like the buttons on a car radio that remember

INPUT

. Turn Flextone III’s

POWER

MASTER

up to 9 o’clock or so.

switch on the

What you see is

MASTER

Working It •

Front Panel Features

2•

Front Panel Features

51 32 4

CHANNEL SELECT

ABCD

Tweed B-man Match Chief

Line 6 Insane Plexi Lead 100

Line 6 Mood Brit J-800

INPUT

1. Guitar Input:

Line 6 Clean

Plug your guitar in here.

2. Models - Amps:

MODELS

Double Verb

Class A-30Blackface Lux

Plexi 45Jazz Clean

Recto DualLine 6 Crunch

Solo 100

Gib Explorer

(PRESS TO SELECT CAB)

010 010 010 010 010

DRIVE BASS MID TREBLE PRESEN

As you turn this knob, one of the lights surrounding it will light. An AMBER (yellow) light next to one of the Model names tells you that you’ve selected that Amp Model. Turn the knob one more click to get a RED light, and you’ve chosen a second variation of that amp “ﬂavor.”

Models - Cabs:

When you select an Amp Model, your Flextone III is selecting an

Chapter 3

describes all 32 Amp Models.

appropriate Cab Model to go with it behind the scenes. To choose a different one from the 16 available Cab Models, press and hold the Model knob while turning it; you’ll see GREEN lights. The cabs run from smallest to largest, so selecting green lights from “Line 6 Crunch” through “Gib Explorer” takes you all the way from petite combo amp cabinets to ferocious 4x12s. Turn to “Line 6 Clean” to bypass the cab modeling.

Drive:

Turn this knob to set how hard you’re driving the chosen Amp Model. Similar to the input volume control on a non-master volume amp, the higher the setting, the more “dirt.”

4. Tone Controls – Bass, Mid, Treble and Presence:

These controls are made to behave like the controls of the amps that were modeled for Flextone III. Twist ’em round until things sound just the way you like. See

Chapter 3

for details.

5 76

CHANNEL SELECT

ABCD

010 010 010 010 010

MID TREBLE PRESENCE VOLUME REVERB

Working It •

Front Panel Features

2•

5. Channel Select Buttons – A, B, C, D:

Flextone III uses these buttons to remember your favorite settings—no more need to mark up the front of your amp with grease pencil to note your favorite settings! Each memory is pre-set with delicious tone when a Flextone III leaves the factory—press a button to hear the saved setting. As you do, notice that Flextone III’s lights indicate which Amp Model is used in the Channel Memory, which effects are on, etc. To get back to the “manual mode,” just press the lit button again to turn it off. Plus...

As you come across your own favorite settings that you’d like to keep, you can save them to the A, B, C and D buttons to replace the factory presets. Just hold down any of A, B, C or D buttons for about 3 seconds until all of them ﬂash and presto—Flextone III has now memorized your custom tone for easy recall! See

Memories

on page 2•6 for more detail. The Line 6 FBV class foot controllers let you

Using The Channel

select these Channel Memories with your feet—and expand the number of memories available to a total of 36.

6. Volume:

Use this to set the volume for the current channel, and get it to the right

Chapter 5

has got the details.

relative volume versus the other channels that you use.

7. Reverb:

Just turn the knob to get the amount of reverb you’d like. Turn the knob fully

counter-clockwise for no reverb.

Working It •

Front Panel Features

2•

8. Delay Select:

knob, or to turn off the Delay (all lights off).

9. Tap Tempo:

match that tempo.

10. Delay:

tone. Spin it to get more or less delay.

151312

010

TAP TEMPO

SWEEP ECHO

PING PONG

DIGITAL ANALOG TAPE ECHO TUBE ECHO

GATE COMP

ROTARY

U-VIBE

PHASER

FLANGER

CHORUS

TREMOLO

DELAY MOD MASTER

11 14

Press this to step though the Delay effects listed to the left of the Delay

Tap the button at the tempo you’d like—the delay time switches to

Dynamically adjusts multiple delay parameters, including mix, feedback and

Bonus Features: Delay Feedback

hold the

Delay Select

button and turn the

- To adjust only the Delay Feedback, press and

Delay

knob.

Note: Turning the Delay knob after tweaking the feedback will override your feedback setting. So it’s best to first get the general Delay set with the Delay knob, and then fine-tune the feedback if necessary.

Delay Time

press and hold the

- To set the delay time without having to deal with tempos and such,

Tap Tempo

button while turning the

Delay

knob. For shorter

delays dial counter-clockwise. Long delays, clockwise.

Working It •

Front Panel Features

11. Mod:

Press this to step though the Mod effects listed to the left of the Mod knob, or to

turn off the Mod (all lights off).

12. Gate:

Engages the on-board gate. The gate kicks in when your guitar signal drops below a certain “threshold,” and is intended to mute the noise that you might otherwise hear at that time. To adjust the Gate threshold, press and hold the Gate button while turning either the Delay or Mod knob. The lower the threshold (counter-clockwise), the more the sustain of your notes will tend to get chopped off.

13. Comp:

Engages the on-board Compressor. The compressor will add sustain to your guitar sound, and smooth out your dynamics. To set the amount of compression, press and hold the Comp button while turning either the Delay or Mod knob. The lower the setting, (counter-clockwise) the more your notes will sustain.

14. Mod:

Dynamically adjusts multiple modulation parameters, including rate and depth.

Bonus Feature: Modulation 2nd Function - Each modulation model can be ﬁne-

tuned by pressing and holding the Mod Button while turning the Mod Knob. The list below shows which ﬁne-tuning is available for each effect. Note: Turning the Mod knob

after fine-tuning an effect will override the fine-tuned parameter you’ve tweaked. So it’s best to first get the general Mod set with the Mod knob, and then fine-tune if necessary.

MOD Effect Fine-Tune

Rotary Tone U-Vibe Depth

Phaser Depth Flanger Feedback Chorus Depth

Tremolo Waveform (sine – square)

2•

15. Master: Sets the overall volume of your Flextone III. Adjust this to set your basic

loudness, then use the Channel Volume knob to balance the relative volume of the sounds you store with the A, B, C, D buttons.

Working It • Manual Mode: What You See Is What You Get

Manual Mode: What You See Is What You Get

When none of the A, B, C, D Buttons are lit, Flextone III is operating in Manual

2• 6

Mode, meaning that all of the controls are active and the sound of the amp is

determined by the current knob settings. Just like a regular amplifier, right?

If you are not in Manual Mode and would like to be, simply give the lit A,B, C, or D

Button a quick press.

Using The Channel Memories

Flextone III can store and recall your favorite settings using the A, B, C, D Buttons.

Save: Any time you’ve dialed up a sound that you’d like to save for later recall, all you

have to do is hold down button A, B, C or D for 3 seconds. At the end of that 3 seconds, the button you held will flash to let you know that you’ve successfully stored your present setting of all the controls to that button.

Recall: When you tap one of the A, B, C, D Buttons to light it up, Flextone III recalls the settings that were stored in that button’s Channel Memory. This includes your choice of Amp and Cab Models, the Drive, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence,

Reverb and Channel Volume settings, plus your Mod and Delay settings. Note: The Master Volume setting is not stored with each Channel, instead it acts as a global volume that controls the overall volume of all channels.

The various front panel lights will show the recalled settings, but the knobs will not. Turning any knob or operating any button will override the recalled setting for that control only. To override all the recalled settings and get the sound determined by the current setting of all the knobs, press the lit A, B, C, or D Button. You’re now back in what-you-see-is-what-you-get Manual Mode.

See Chapter 5 for details on how to store and recall a total of 36 Flextone III Channel Memories using your feet.

To reset all the Channel Memories (including all 36 available from an FBV and MIDI) to their factory state, hold the A and D Buttons while powering up your Flextone III.

Working It • Creating Amp Defaults

Creating Amp Defaults

Amp Defaults are simply snapshots of all the important Amp Model controls that are automatically recalled when you select a model via the Model knob. Every time you select a model, Flextone III loads the associated Amp Default to expedite your trip to tone nirvana.

You can edit any or all of the Amp Defaults, and pack your Flextone III with all the special amp-tweaking genius that only you possess. This brilliance will then be available instantly at the turn of the M the M

ODEL knob to load the Plexi-45 model, you’ll get your personal Plexi-45,

with all the controls set for your very own version! Here’s how it works:

Choose an Amp Model, change the cab if you like, dial in the amp controls, etc. When you’re happy with what you’ve got, press and hold the M careful not to turn it. After about 5 seconds, the light for the selected model will start to blink and you can let go. Your custom settings have been saved.

Using MIDI, you can customize a whole bunch of other controls and store them with the Amp Setup. Check out the MIDI Appendix for detail on the continuous controller messages that drive each of these parameters. After making tweaks via MIDI, you can save the result as the Amp Default.

ODEL knob. For instance, when you turn

ODEL knob being

2• 7

Amp parameters accessible via MIDI include:

Drive Compression Gain Reverb Model Bass Compression Threshold Reverb Decay Mid Comp Enable Reverb Pre-Delay Treble Gate Threshold Reverb Tone Presence Gate Decay Time A.I.R. II Model Channel Volume Noise Gate Enable Cabinet Model Reverb Level Volume Pedal Min. Position Volume PRE/POST

Working It • Rear Panel Features

Rear Panel Features

2• 8

For Plus Configuration Only:

Connect Right Speaker Output to External Cab

16. Phones: Keep it quiet around the house by connecting headphones to the Phones jack—plugging in headphones disables your speaker outputs. The Master knob sets the output level while you’re using headphones—be sure you turn the knob down as you switch between headphones and the speakers to make sure you don’t unexpectedly blast yourself with volume.

17. Pedal: Connect the RJ-45 cable supplied with your FBV or FBV Shortboard here. Chapter 5 has the full details.

SPEAKER OUTS

Class 2 Wiring

8 Ohms Only

1822

12 13 14 15 16 1716 17 18 19 20 21

EFFECTS LOOP

connect FBV Class Foot Controller here

(not compatible with Floor Board)

PHONES

LEFTRIGHT

PHONES

LEFTRIGHT

PEDAL

MIDI OUTMIDI IN

EFFECTS LOOP

SEND

(MONO) RIGHT LEFT (MONO) RIGHT

LEFT

RETURN

U.S. PATENT NO. 5,789,689

Part #41-00-1027 Rev. B

XLR OUTPUTS - PIN 2 HOT

RIGHT LEFT/MONO

LEVEL TRIM

-22dBu

+4dBu

-22dBu

+4dBu

GROUND

LIFT

18. MIDI In & MIDI Out: Connect standard MIDI cables here. Flextone III always sends and receives on MIDI Channel 1. See the MIDI appendix for more details.

19. Effects Loop: Use the Left(Mono) Send and Return for a mono rack effect. Connect stereo effects as shown. Generally, stomp boxes go before the amp, not in this loop.

Flextone III FX Loop

EFFECTS LOOP

LEFT (MONO) RIGHT LEFT (MONO) RIGHT

RETURNSEND

Rack FX unit

RIGHTLEFTRIGHTLEFT

INPUTOUTPUT

Working It • Rear Panel Features

20. Level Trim: The level of the XLR Outputs is set by the small rear panel trim, and is not affected by the Master knob.

21. XLR Balanced Outputs & Ground Lift: These versatile connections are designed

with Line 6’s exclusive A.I.R. II technology to give you the perfect pair of direct connections for live performance and studio recording sessions. See Using Your Direct XLR Outputs on page 2•10 for details. Try ﬂipping the Ground Lift switch if you are experiencing buzzing or hum when connected to other equipment via the

Direct XLR Outs.

Please Note: there can be an audible ‘pop’ on the XLR outputs when powering

Flextone III on or off. We recommend that you either disconnect the direct outputs or power down whatever the direct outs are connected to before turning your Flextone III On or Off.

22. Speaker Outs: This is where you can jack in an external cabinet or two to be powered by your Flextone III amp. Please note, the Flextone III XL and Plus are designed to be connected to 8 ohm speaker loads only.

Flextone III XL – Plugging into either the Left or Right speaker connection disconnects the internal speaker and lets you run a different 8 ohm speaker cabinet instead.

Flextone III Plus – If you have a Flextone III Plus, these jacks will be labeled Internal and External. Plugging into the Internal connection disconnects the

internal speaker and lets you run a different 8 ohm speaker cabinet instead. The External connection is designed for the Flextone Cab, and operates at the same time as the internal speaker. It supplies 50 Watts of power to the Flextone Cab, giving you a 100 Watt Stereo setup.

2• 9

Power Switch & Connector (not shown in diagram): These are on the side of the

rear panel that’s not included in the illustration. Connect the supplied power cable to your wall outlet, then ﬂick the power switch to let the electrons in to do their stuff.

Working It • Using Your Direct XLR Outputs

Using Your Direct XLR Outputs

One of the nifty features inside your Flextone III is Line 6’s exclusive A.I.R. II

2• 10

technology that enables you to get that great mic’d up sound out of your amplifier without the microphone! Your Direct outputs can be used either in the studio or as a direct feed to the house sound system for a live performance.

The Master knob on your Flextone III sets the level for the internal speakers (and any external speakers you connect), without having any effect on your Direct Output level. This is a good thing, for instance, when you’re playing live. It means you can set a low volume level for your amp on stage (maybe it’s a small venue) while still pumping out full level at the direct outs so the house sound system is getting plenty of juice. And any adjustments you make to your on-stage level during the gig don’t send the sound man scrambling to compensate on his end. This is also a good thing if you’re recording in the studio, using your amp to monitor with the other band members while your direct out is being recorded. Once again, an appropriately low master volume level that you might want for the amp doesn’t force you to have a low level signal going to tape, and adjustments you make to your level don’t interfere with the levels in the control room.

Flextone III can send enough direct out level to light up the input meters for +4 dBu pro recording. For live sound systems, as well as many recording setups designed to work with lower levels, this can sometimes be overkill. The Level Trim knob on Flextone III’s rear panel lets you roll back the direct out level and keep your sound guy or lowerlevel recording system happy.

If you’re setting the levels yourself, and want to make sure you don’t overdo it, you can follow these basic steps. First, plug the hottest output level guitar you plan to use into Flextone III, switch to your hottest pickup setting, and crank the guitar’s output volume (or put it as high as you ever set it). If you plan to change sounds on your Flextone III during the gig, start by selecting the Flextone III sound that seems to have the loudest output level. You can set your Master knob on Flextone III low as you do all this so you don’t blow yourself out; it won’t affect the direct output level. Now, with this guitar and Flextone III setup, play hard (so you’re sending maximum volume out those direct outputs) and have someone adjust Flextone III’s rear panel Level Trim knob until a good healthy level is being received by the equipment you’re sending sound to. The level shouldn’t be so hot that it’s causing input distortion or clipping on that receiving equipment. If the receiving equipment has an input level adjustment, you’ll probably get your best signal-to-noise ratio by setting it as low as possible while setting your Flextone III’s Level Trim as high as possible.

The Amps & Cabs • Meet The Family

THE AMPS & CABS

Flextone III’s heart is its collection of Amp and Cab Models—resulting from Line 6’s meticulous study of a dream collection of vintage and modern amplifiers and cabinets. Each position of Flextone III’s Model knobs calls up a particular Amp/Cab combination, powered by many of the same coveted models that appear in the Line 6 Vetta series amps as well as POD

Meet The Family

Once we’ve set our sights on creating a software emulation of a particular kind of amp or cabinet here at Line 6, the first step is to get our hands on the very best example that we can find to study. We will (and have) scoured the globe in search of just the right specimen—that one, very particular unit that has the magic.

After all, amps from ’57, ’62, ’65, ’67, ’75, and 2002 may all bear the same model name, yet have totally different circuit designs, sound and response—and quite often a different look as well. Even two amps with the same circuit design, from the same era, can sound radically different, just on the basis of variance in component tolerances, as well as how the wiring harness was dressed—and maybe even what the amp assembler had for lunch that day. Plus there’s the fact that every amp has its own special way of settling in over the years and, just like people, some of them only get better with age.

XT.

3 • 1

Each of the distinguished amps and cabs that we select for modeling thus has a character and specialness as uniquely individual as a treasured friend. And we’ve included photos here of the actual amps that we selected, studied and measured so that you’ll know exactly which amp we’re talking about.

So, let’s meet the Amp and Cab Models that live inside your Flextone III, and the

original equipment that helped to make them possible....

The Amps & Cabs • What’s In There

What’s In There

Line 6 Clean

To create this Amp Model, we essentially grafted the preamp and tone stack of a JC-120 (Roland’s popular “Jazz Chorus” solid state combo) onto the power amp and transformer of a classic Marshall JTM-45 tube head, thereby giving you the crisp and

3 • 2

clear front end typical of a solid state amp, but with a rich, satisfying tube amp-style bite as you turn it up.

Line 6 Super Clean (Red alternate model for “Line 6 Clean”)

Forget what you know about how clean or how bright a guitar amplifier can go. Line 6 Super Clean goes farther, adding a lot of brightness. Caution: Because Super Clean adds so much brightness, it generally won’t work so well with distortion pedals, since they usually add lots of high frequencies, too. The combination may produce un-natural artifacts—or just rip your head off. Plug an un-distorted guitar in here, though, and we’re talking super happy shiny bright.

Line 6 Crunch

While having cousins marry is not such a good idea in real life, in the amp world, it can have a great payoff. Since the design of some early Marshall amps had a lot in common with the Fender Tweed Bassman circuitry, we wondered what it would be like if we took the preamp and tone stack of our JTM-45 and ran it into the power amp and transformer of our ’58 Tweed Bassman. Point, click, cut, paste (it would be nice if it were really that easy, huh? We’d sure be able to get more sleep). What we got was way happening, as Line 6 Crunch will attest. Great grind and nice punch. A tone that the whole family can enjoy.

Line 6 Sparkle (Red alternate model for “Line 6 Crunch”)

We love tweed Fenders. We love blackface Fenders. We love ’em both so much, we can never really decide which one we like more. Luckily, we were able to come up with the perfect way to share the love. We took the preamp and tone stack from our model based on the ’58 Tweed Bassman, and we wired (in the virtual world) our model of a blackface Bandmaster power amp and transformer onto it. Voilà! Line 6 Sparkle.

Line 6 Mood

And here we give you a fantasia tone, based on our fondest memories of grunge guitar tones we have known and loved.

The Amps & Cabs • What’s In There

Line 6 Chemical X (Red alternate model for “Line 6 Mood”)

Just like those secret ingredients that detergent companies used to crow about (Now! Contains Ingredient X-27!), the Line 6 sound design guys wouldn’t tell us anything about what the inspiration for this one was or who it might have belonged to (no matter what type of bribery we attempted). Suffice to say that it’s a very punchy hi-gain sound that also cleans up quite nicely when you roll your volume back.

Line 6 Insane

Imagine running your Soldano SLO-100 as a preamp for your Boogie Dual Rectifier, and you’ve got a pretty good picture of just how much sheer gain is involved in Line 6 Insane. It’s entirely possible to get completely out of control with this one, and we heartily encourage you to do just that.

Line 6 Fuzz (Red alternate model for “Line 6 Insane”)

Although not technically an amp, we felt that the unique tonal qualities of the classic 1960’s Arbiter Fuzz Face earned it a place among the amps modeled to create your Flextone’s Amp Models. This fuzz box used broad frequency, transistor-based clipping. The result is a buzzing kind of distortion that has become popular again with the alternative and grunge set. Jimi Hendrix was among the ﬁrst guitarists to popularize the Fuzz Face in the States, but our model is considerably dirtier than the tones found on “Are You Experienced.” Try playing “Satisfaction” by the Stones, or the lead from “American Woman” by The Guess Who. Liberal use of the Bass, Mid, and Treble controls will let you go beyond the tones that the Fuzz Face could deliver, enabling you to discover your own unique recipe for those elusive fuzz tones in your head. Just a note: when recording Purple Haze, Jimi didn’t even use an amp – he just went straight from a Fuzz Face to an Orange power amp to a 4x12 cabinet. Which is the same sort of

tone you ﬁnd here....

3 • 3

The Amps & Cabs • Jazz Clean - based on a Roland JC-120

Jazz Clean - based on a Roland JC-120

3 • 4

This Amp Model is modeled after the classic Roland JC-120.

This transistor amp was known for a strident clean sound and built-in stereo chorus. When using the JC-120 model, try cranking up the Treble for a shimmering clean sound that’ll cut through just about any mix. It’s also perfect for that 80’s “new wave” sound (after all, it was Andy Summers’ favorite amp with The Police).

You should also try setting all the tone controls at 12 o’clock for a darker jazz tone. It’ll give you an essentially flat response, providing a balanced tone across the fret board for jazz chord melodies or single-line phrasing.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Hiway 100 – based on a Hiwatt 1973 Custom 100

Hiway 100 – based on a Hiwatt 1973 Custom 100

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Jazz Clean spot on the Model knob.

Based on a Hiwatt DR-103, this model gives a great, punchy sound that will cut through almost anything and retains great definition even when cranked. That’s exactly what designer Dave Reeves was looking for when he left the Sound City division of Dallas Arbiter in 1966 to form HyLight Electronics. Though his first designs were more reminiscent of the Vox and Selmer amps of the day, it wasn’t long before Reeves had started producing the amps that ’60s Brit-Rock fans have become familiar with. Renowned for their ‘tank-like’ construction (due in part to Reeves’ hiring of ‘milspec’ wiring specialist Harry Joyce), it was small wonder this amp was the choice of Pete Townshend for so many years. In fact, many of the then-current crop of British rockers like Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Manfred Mann, and Jethro Tull were also Hiwatt endorsees. Crank this one up and you can see for miles.

3 • 5

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Blackface Lux – based on a 1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb

Blackface Lux – based on a 1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb

3 • 6

The Holy Grail for many blues, country, and “roots” players has been a blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb. The particular amp we studied for modeling was built in 1964, and is truly one of the finest examples of what a Deluxe Reverb can be.

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. The Mid knob of Flextone III’s Blackface model lets you add some post-Amp Model midrange contouring when you want to expand on the Deluxe Reverb’s capabilities for a little more flexibility. And Presence adds, well, Presence. Set the Mid knob to its 12 o’clock position and the Presence knob to 0 for the classic Deluxe sound. Tweaked up right, this tone will cut through and sing.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Small Tweed – based on a 1953 Fender Tweed Deluxe

Small Tweed – based on a 1953 Fender Tweed Deluxe

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Blackface Lux spot on the Model knob.

Modeled after a 1953 “wide panel” Fender Tweed Deluxe, this Amp Model will snarl with the best of them. The original amp had only a single tone control, essentially a Treble roll off. We set up Flextone III’s Treble knob to give you this roll off when using this Amp Model.

3 • 7

Which left us with the Bass and Mid knobs just sitting there. So we set up the Bass and Mid as post-Amp Model controls, which essentially lets you EQ up your tone as you would do on a mixing console after recording your amp. For a classic Tweed sound, try the Treble knob somewhere above halfway, set the Bass and Mid knobs at halfway to put them in “neutral,” and turn the Presence to 0 for no extra Presence.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Tweed B-man – based on a 1958 Fender Tweed Bassman

Tweed B-man – based on a 1958 Fender Tweed Bassman

3 • 8

The classic ’58 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 thanks to its fat bottom end and the Fender twang on the top.

An interesting thing about the Bassman—and Flextone III’s Tweed 410 model—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 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 by Flextone III, didn’t have a master volume, and you had to really crank it up to get the great tone it delivers at high volume. With Flextone III, you can get that kind of tone at a bedroom or studio level— or through your headphones even—by cranking up the Drive knob. Give your best R&B licks a try with Drive set to about 4 or 5.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Tweed Vibro – based on a 1963 Fender Vibroverb 6G16

Tweed Vibro – based on a 1963 Fender Vibroverb 6G16

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Tweed B-man spot on the Model knob.

In early 1963 the Fender 2x10 brown tolex Vibroverb was introduced and later that same year it was replaced by the 1x15 blackface Vibroverb made famous by SRV only to be discontinued in 1964. The Vibroverb was introduced right before Fender decided to change the look of the entire amp line to what guitarists now call “Blackface Fenders”. The Vibroverb we studied to create this model has the two 10-inch speakers and transitional cosmetics. There’s black tolex, a dark brown numbered faceplate and brown barrel knobs. Like other Vibroverb 2x10 amps, it’s 40 watts of pure heaven. These were the first guitar amps with on-board reverb and also utilized a vibrato circuit that modulates the bias of the power tubes for creamy smooth tremolo sounds. It all added up to great tone with the latest guitar effects built-in... sort of like your Flextone III! The electronically-inclined will also appreciate the fact that this version of the Vibroverb also used a tapped treble control and a 7025 phase inverter (as opposed to a 12AT7). The Vibroverb had no Mid or Presence controls, so these are both “extras” on our Tweed Vibro model. You can set Mid to 12 o’clock and Presence to minimum for the unadulterated Vibroverb-style sound.

3 • 9

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Double Verb – based on a 1965 Fender Twin Reverb

Double Verb – based on a 1965 Fender Twin Reverb

3 • 10

The classic blackface Fender Twin (in this case, a 1965 Twin) was a real workhorse. Everybody used it, from jazz and country players to serious rockers. I myself remember seeing Johnny Winter at a concert where both he and Rick Derringer—am I dating myself or what?—were using six Twins stacked in a pyramid. Each. We were in the second balcony and it was REALLY loud even all the way back there. The Twin has a lot of tonal flexibility and is at home in a great many different situations. It never gets extremely overdriven and dirty, mostly just louder—a lot louder.

With Flextone III’s killer spring reverb model, this is a great choice for the classic surf sound. Goose the reverb, crank up the volume, and get ready to party with Annette Funicello and the rest of the gang!

One quick note: Twins are generally regarded a really loud and fairly clean amplifiers. Most people find that running the channel volume on a Twin at about 3 is quite adequate for gigs and startling small children. To get the real Twin experience on your Flextone III, try setting the Master Volume and Channel Volume to max, then bring up the Drive control to set your level.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Zen Master – based on a 2001 Budda Twinmaster

Zen Master – based on a 2001 Budda Twinmaster

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Double Verb spot on the Model knob.

This model is based on a Budda Twinmaster 2x12 combo. The Budda has a great, warm, Class A/B, sound. The Budda philosophy is all about power tube distortion. Simplicity is the key. With relatively low front end gain, highly interactive tone controls, and tube rectifier “sag,” it’s great at getting a classic cranked sound for small gigs and recording (it’s all of 18 watts).

3 • 11

Since the original Twinmaster has no mid control, we’ve added a little bonus to our model in the form of some post-Amp Model mid contouring available via Flextone III‘s Mid control. Set this control to 12 o’clock to get groovy with the unadorned Buddastyle vibe. The Presence knob is also an “extra”—set it to 0 for no added Presence.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Match Chief - based on a Matchless Chieftain

Match Chief - based on a Matchless Chieftain

3 • 12

We crafted this model from our studies of the Matchless Chieftain.

The Chieftain was designed by Mark Sampson at Matchless to blend a Fender/Marshall type front end with a classic ‘spongy’ and very reactive Class A power section.

With its fairly high gain preamp section, the Chieftain is a great roots-music amp. It also features the incredibly sexy feature of a light up front logo name plate, which may not affect tone, but it sure does look cool.

When, sad to say, Matchless went out of business the Chieftain became highly collectable pieces of gear, with used ones often fetching up to a thousand dollars more than their original price. We’re happy to do our part to keep the Matchless legacy alive with the Matchless models in your Flextone III.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Connor 50 – based on a Cornford mk50h

Connor 50 – based on a Cornford mk50h

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Match Chief spot on the Model knob.

The Cornford mk50h is a fine, British-made boutique amplifier that our very own Line 6 UK lads tipped us onto. The Cornford has a fair amount of gain and breaks up like a Marshall Plexi, but retains a certain clarity that is more typical of Vox amplifiers.

One odd thing about the Cornford is the fact that it actually runs its drive channel in series with the Clean channel. This provides for some unique interaction that we captured during our modeling process by sweeping both controls though their range at the same time, and tying all of this to your Flextone III’s Drive knob. Lower Drive settings give you a tone dominated by the clean channel tonalities. As you turn the knob up past noon, you’ll be moving into it more progressive high gain territory.

3 • 13

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Class A-30 TB – based on a 1967 Vox AC-30 Top Boost

Class A-30 TB – based on a 1967 Vox AC-30 Top Boost

3 • 14

Music was changing in the early ’60s and guitarists were asking for more brilliance & twang. So the Jennings Company, makers of Vox amps, decided to add Treble and Bass controls (and an extra 12AX7 gain stage, incidentally) in addition to the Treble Cut knob it already had (which in actuality was a sliding bandpass filter); this additional circuit became known as Top Boost.

The AC 30 with Top Boost was the amp made famous by many British invasion bands. Much of the unique character of the Vox sound can be attributed to the Class A circuitry—Class A amps overdrive in a very different way than Class AB. Brian May of Queen, Mike Campbell of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, and The Edge of U2 have all used classic AC 30s to make their music. Although often played fairly clean, a cranked AC 30 has a great saturated lead tone, a la Brian May on early Queen albums.

On this Amp Model, Flextone III’s Mid control acts like the original Cut knob on the AC 30. We also turned the Bass and Treble controls around, unlike the design of the Top Boost electronics, which has the bass and treble turned all the way down when the knob was all the way up. Go figure.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Class A-15 – based on a 1961 Vox AC-15

Class A-15 – based on a 1961 Vox AC-15

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Class AC-30 TB spot on the Model knob.

This model is based on a wonderful 1961 Vox AC-15. The sound is similar to the Vox AC-30 that was the inspiration for the Class A-30 model, but this is a smaller amp (only one 12-inch speaker instead of two) with a warmer, more “woody” sound.

3 • 15

Once again, the original amp had only a single tone control—a treble cut. We faithfully modeled that and then slipped in some post-Amp Model Bass and Mid contouring. Set Bass and Mid in neutral (which is 12 o’clock, or halfway up), Presence to 0, and play with the Treble control to get yourself some of those classic British invasion sounds.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Plexi 45 – based on a 1965 Marshall JTM-45

Plexi 45 – based on a 1965 Marshall JTM-45

3 • 16

When the royal agents that we had dispatched to the UK found this particular amp, we instantly fell in love. The amp even has the original KT-66 tubes in it, still in great shape! It’s one of the finest examples of a JTM-45 we’ve ever heard, and it’s a constant battle at Line 6 to see who gets to take it home for the weekend.

Those interested in the genealogy of tone will be interested to note that the JTM-45 marked the beginning of Marshall’s transition from a mellower Fender-like tone to the distinctive, bright “crunchy” sound of the later Marshalls.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Plexi Bass 100 - Marshall 1968 Super Bass

Plexi Bass 100 - Marshall 1968 Super Bass

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Plexi 45 spot on the Model knob.

3 • 17

Based on a ’68 Super Bass Plexi head, the principal differences between the ’68 Super Bass and the ’68 Super Lead are some small changes in the tone stack. What look like minor differences in a schematic, though, can add up to larger differences in actual tone (like a bass control that actually seems to do something at higher levels). A number of ’60s British rock icons actually preferred the Super Bass to the Super Lead for these exact reasons. Check it out for yourself. You may find this is the bottom end you’ve been searching for.

Input I was the one we connected our high tech modeling tools to.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Plexi Lead 100 - based on “Jumped”1968 Marshall Super Lead

Plexi Lead 100 - based on “Jumped”1968 Marshall Super Lead

3 • 18

We literally scoured the world for this particular amp, finally finding a great example of a Super Lead languishing (we like to think fate preserved it for us) in Holland. you can do with a Plexi is take a short guitar cable and jumper channel I and channel II (as they’re frequently numbered) together for a little extra saturation. Some guys loved this sound so much that they pulled the chassis and permanently wired a jumper into the amp. We modeled the Super Lead this way.

One of the fun things

Hendrix used a Super Lead with the ‘lay down’ transformer unique to the 68 models, and Van Halen’s first two records also owed their “brown sound” to a ’68 Plexi. To get a nice crunch sound out of a Plexi, you crank all the volume and tone controls to 10. In keeping with our “make-it-sound-a-whole-lot-like-the-original” concept, diming all your knobs with Flextone III’s Plexi Lead gets you pretty darned near the same thing.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Brit Silver – based on 1985 Marshall Silver Jubilee

Brit Silver – based on 1985 Marshall Silver Jubilee

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Plexi Lead 100 spot on the Model knob.

3 • 19

In 1987, to commemorate 25 years in the amp business, Jim Marshall introduced a limited edition collection of tube amps based on the 2203 and 2204 master volume designs. They were very distinctive products, with silver vinyl covering and chrome panels, known simply as the “25/50 Silver Jubilee” Series models. The Silver Jubilee models used a unique diode clipping stage for extra gain and a redesigned tone block to offer much more tonal variation than previous Marshalls.

Guns N’ Roses’ lead guitarist, Slash, is way into this amp. So much so, in fact, that Marshall reintroduced the 100 watt model as the “Slash Limited Edition Signature Amplifier” in 1996.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Brit J- 800 – based on a 1987 Marshall JCM 800

Brit J- 800 – based on a 1987 Marshall JCM 800

3 • 20

Turn to this Amp Model to conjure up tones of the coveted JCM 800, one of Marshall’s most universally-acclaimed modern amps. This updated version of the Plexi continued Marshall’s heritage with added gain and edge for a new generation of rock guitarists. One of the biggest differences here is that the tone controls are located after the preamp tubes, giving them more tone-sculpting effect at high gain settings. Some versions of the JCM 800, by the way, get their distortion by clipping a diode. The amp we modeled uses a tube for distortion.

The JCM 800 is, of course, the metal sound Marshall made famous. And although not many people play Marshalls clean, it is a great tone, so you should also be sure to check out this model with a low Drive setting. Of course, you can always pump up the drive

and rage....

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Brit J-2000 – based on a Marshall JCM2000

Brit J-2000 – based on a Marshall JCM2000

3 • 21

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Brit J-800 spot on the Model knob.

The JCM2000 captures the modern Marshall tone, by refining the JCM series into a multi-channel power house. Our recreation captures the OD2 channel, with the Deep switch kicked in on a 60W TSL. The JCM200 uses a quartet of ECC83 pre-amp tubes and a pair of EL34 output tubes.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Recto Dual – based on a 2001 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectiﬁer

Recto Dual – based on a 2001 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier

3 • 22

This Amp Model is based on a 2001 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head.

The Dual Rectifier was part of Boogie’s more modern, high gain approach. In contrast to the earlier Boogies, the Dual Rectifier’s tone controls have more influence at high gain settings, so you can scoop the mids and increase the bottom end. This is a great model to try if you’re looking for the aggressively high gain sound of much of today’s modern rock.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Recto Triple – based on a Mesa Boogie 2001 Triple

Recto Triple – based on a Mesa Boogie 2001 Triple Rectifier

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Recto Dual spot on the Model knob.

3 • 23

This model is based on the Channel 3 ‘Modern’ setting of a 2001 Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier Solo Head. Rock and roll is all about excess, now, innit? If two are good, three have got to be better, especially if you like the spongy feel of sagging rectifier tubes. No need to be bashful. Plug in, dial up some volume, and have some fun.

As with the Dual Rectifier model, we used Channel 3 in its Modern mode, with the rear switches set to Bold and Tube for this.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Solo 100 – based on a Soldano SLO-100

Solo 100 – based on a Soldano SLO-100

3 • 24

This model is based on a Soldano SLO-100 head.

Mike Soldano first came to fame as the guy who could do all the really cool mods to your Marshall. It wasn’t long before he started building his own ‘hot-rod’ amps— sporting chromed transformers and chassis, no less. Mike’s amps are also famous for their bullet-proof construction and military spec wiring and components.

While primarily known for its high gain personality, the SLO-100 has a great clean tone as well. Eric Clapton put Soldano on the map when he played “Saturday Night Live” with his Soldano SLO-100.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Bomber X-TC – based on a Bogner Extacy

Bomber X-TC – based on a Bogner Extacy

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Solo 100 spot on the Model knob.

Reinhold Bogner was good enough to personally select and deliver a Bogner Extacy for use in crafting this model. Reinhold was designing and building amplifiers long before he left Germany in 1989 to move to Los Angeles. Once in the US, he quickly gained the trust of many influential players including Steve Stevens, Dan Huff, Allan Holdsworth, Mike Landau and Steve Vai. They all sought out his skill at modifying and custom-building their amps. Eddie Van Halen entrusted Reinhold to overhaul and revitalize Eddie’s #1 Marshall Plexi. We hear that Eddie was pleased.

The Ecstasy covers a wide range of tone, and you’ll find that your Flextone III’s Bomber X-TC model lets you do much the same as you work the Drive knob, as well as your guitar’s volume knob. On the top end, this one’ll bark like a Plexi, or you can take it down through swampy crunch and finally arrive in the realm of lush clean tone. The Extacy is a really versatile amp from a really great guy, and we’re pleased that he helped us model it for your Flextone III.

3 • 25

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Gib Explorer – based on a 1960 Gibson Explorer

Gib Explorer – based on a 1960 Gibson Explorer

3 • 26

This Amp Model is based on a 1960 Gibson Model GA-18T Explorer (little brother to the Gibson “Les Paul” GA40T).

The particular amp we modeled originally belonged to the father of one of the high school buddies of Line 6’s Artist Relations guru, Tim Godwin. It was sitting in a crawlspace for years, until Tim happened to ask his friend if he still had the amp, and whether he was interested in selling it. When Tim finally got his hands on it, the amp still had the original Gibson branded tubes in it!

Some time passed, and Tim brought his little treasure into the office one day. Once a few of us played through it, we cried out as one voice, “We’ve got to model this one!”

Working from codes found on the pots and speaker, we were able to date this amp’s build to the week of May 21, 1960. 14 watts, with a 10-inch Jensen speaker, the amp runs Class A with 6SJ7 preamp tubes, 6V6 Power tubes, and a 5Y3 rectifier—just in case you were interested.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • Super 0 – based on a Supro 1960’s 6x9 S6616

Super 0 – based on a Supro 1960’s 6x9 S6616

This is the alternate, “red light” model at the Gib Explorer spot on the Model knob.

Here we have yet more of the stuff of legend. Jimmy Page has admitted to using his ’58 Tele and a Supro amp to record most of the first two Led Zeppelin albums. The only problem is, he’s never really copped to which Supro model he used, since his simply saying the word ‘Supro’ caused a run on pawnshops and music stores everywhere, making it virtually impossible to find another one of whichever model it was that he used. The one we studied for Flextone III has got a 6x9-inch speaker, just like in your car stereo.

3 • 27

We went so far as to impose on our friendship with people we know who were actually present during the recording of “Led Zeppelin II” to see if they remembered anything about that particular amp. They didn’t recall the specific model number, only that it was “a grey and silver tiny little bastard.” Other sources have claimed that it was the 1x12-inch version. Until Pagey speaks, the mystery remains. But whatever the truth of those Zep sessions may be, we’re confident that this model can be a fine entrance ticket to the Houses of the Holy.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Amps & Cabs • The Cabinets

The Cabinets

Here’s the list of speaker Cabinet Models you’ve got in Flextone III:

Cab

3 • 28

Size

0 Cabinet Modeling Bypass

1x6 Supro S6616 1X10 Gibson Explorer 1x12 ‘53 Celestion Blue Bell 1x12 Fender '64 Deluxe 2x10 Fender '63 Vibroverb 2x12 Fender ‘65 Twin 2x12 Matchless Chieﬁan 2x12 Roland JC-120 2x12 Vox '67 AC-30 4x10 Fender '58 Bassman 4x12 Marshall '67 with Greenbacks 20’s 4x12 Marshall '68 with Greenback 25’s 4x12 Marshall with Celestion T75’s 4x12 Marshall with Celestion V30’s 4x12 Mesa Boogie with Celestion V30’s

The model was created

through careful study of

this actual cabinet:

Model Knob

Position

Line 6 Clean Line 6 Crunch Line 6 Mood Line 6 Insane Jazz Clean Blackface Lux Tweed B-Man Double Verb Match Chief Class A-30 TB Plexi 45 Plexi Lead 100 Brit J-800 Recto Dual Solo 100 Gib Explorer

As described in Chapter 2, you can select a Cab Model by pressing and holding the Model knob. A green light will come on in the ring around the knob to show you what cab is currently selected. Turning the knob while still pressing and holding it will change the cabinet selection. The cabinets are organized from small to large. It all starts out small with the cab at the “Line 6 Crunch” position and gets bigger as you go clockwise to the “Gib Explorer” spot. Turn the knob to “Line 6 Clean” to disable the cab modeling. As you select Amp Models via the Model knob, Flextone III is loading an appropriate cab for each amp in the background so you don’t have to. See Creating Amp Defaults on page 2•7 to learn how to change which cab will load with a particular Amp Model.

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associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Effects • About the Delay and Modulation Effects

THE EFFECTS

About the Delay and Modulation Effects

Welcome to the Effects section of our manual. Against our accountant’s better judgement, we took the liberty of adapting a bunch of great stomp box models from Line 6’s MM4 Modulation Modeler and DL4 Delay Modeler pedals, and stuffed them all into your Flextone III.

Now you may be wondering, how it is that we were able to take all of the controls associated with cool effects like a Flanger or an Analog Delay and distill it all down to a single Delay or Mod control? Well, we asked around and discovered that a lot of people like to run their effects in similar ways. For example, it’s common when setting up a slap echo to turn the feedback down, while long delay times usually are accompanied by increased feedback. Similarly, with modulation its generally accepted that as the rate is increased, the depth needs to decrease in order for the perceived intensity of the effect to remain the same.

We used this knowledge to make the Delay and Mod knobs ‘smart,’ with each controlling a number of parameters as needed to give you a full range of usable sounds via just one control. Then, as described on page 2•4 and page 2•5, we threw in the ability to further fine-tune Delay Feedback as well as various aspects of the Mod effects. The result is great sounding effects that are also really easy to use!

4 • 1

So, why don’t we learn about each of the effects in detail...

The Effects • Delays

Delays

As detailed on page 2•4, you’ve got these controls for Delay:

Delay Select Button chooses from the Delay Models or turns Delay off Delay Knob gives you more/less of the selected delay effect Tap Tempo Button sets the delay time when you tap it Or press and hold Tap Tempo and turn the Delay Knob to set delay time

4 • 2

For extra tweakability, press and hold the Delay Select Button and turn the Delay Knob to fine-tune just the Delay Feedback

Tube Echo - Maestro EP-1 Echoplex

The classic 1963 Maestro EP-1 was the first of a series of “Echoplex” designs distributed by the company, and made by Harris-Teller in Chicago. As touted in a Maestro advertisement, the Echoplex’s “...special effects range all the way from a controlled high speed reverberation to a full, throbbing echo”!

The main feature of the Echoplex design is a special cartridge of looped 1/4-inch audio tape that wraps past separate record and playback heads. The position of the playback head can be moved to adjust the delay time from 60 to 650 milliseconds.

If you listen closely, you can hear some wow and flutter in the delay sound of this model, just like you’d get on the wonderfully organic-sounding original.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Effects • Delays

Tape Echo - Roland RE-101 Space Echo

Long before Boss pedals, the Space Echo was Roland’s first venture into the world of effects processing. Rather than the single movable playback head of the Echoplex, this machine

has multiple stationary heads that can all play back at the same time to create its signature multi-tap delay effects. The Tape Echo in your Flextone III recreates this classic sound.

Analog - Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man

This model is based on the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man and its classic analog echo “bucket brigade” electronics. This classic effect also has a chorus circuit that is applied to the echoes only, leaving the direct sound unaffected. The resulting warm, distorted tone and swimming echoes of the Memory Man appealed to many guitarists, and were an essential part of the guitar sounds for the first U2 album.

Digital

Straight up mono digital delay here, for basic echo-cho-cho-cho.

Ping-Pong

Ping pong Delay bounces the delays all around the stereo field. Our Ping Pong delay has two modes: when the Delay Knob is turned counter-clockwise past noon, your delay time is set to quarter notes on the left and straight eighth notes on the right for a more traditional stereo ping pong delay. Turning the delay Knob past noon gives you quarter notes on the left and dotted-eighths on the right for a classic U2 Edge sound.

4 • 3

Sweep Echo

Sweep Echo is a Line 6 original. It first appeared on our DL4 Delay Modeler and has turned out to be a special favorite amongst the many DL4 users that we’ve spoken to. It’s kind of like a garden variety digital delay line with the unique addition of a sweeping resonant filter applied to the delayed signal. The Filter’s Sweep rate is tied to Tap Tempo and will complete a cycle every two bars. “Warp speed, Scotty!”

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

The Effects • Modulations

Modulations

As detailed on page 2•5, you’ve got these controls for Mod:

Mod Select Button chooses from the Mod Models or turns Mod off Mod Knob gives you more/less of the selected mod effect For extra tweakability, press and hold the Mod Select Button and turn the Mod

Knob to fine-tune a Modulation 2nd Function

4 • 4

Tremolo

This is based on the smooth, even-sounding tremolo circuits of blackface Fender amps like the ’64 Deluxe and ’65 Twin Reverb. They have a light bulb and a photo-resistor: when the light gets brighter, the tremolo gets louder. Adjusting the Mod Knob will change the speed and depth of the Tremolo from a smooth Fender sound to Ginsu knife-style chopping. The Mod 2nd Function adjusts the Waveform.

Chorus

Here’s big, beefy, extra wide, stereo sine wave modulated-chorus. This custom bad boy take cues from the greats like the Roland CE-1 and the TC Electronic SCF. Adjusting the Mod knob will change the chorus rate, and scale the depth appropriately. Use the

Mod 2nd function to adjust the Chorus Depth independently.

Flanger - A/DA Flanger

This is our model of the A/DA Flanger. Introduced in 1977, this stomp box’s 35-to-1 sweep range and built-in compressor work together with the tone circuitry to create a signature jet-like sweep. It can be very dramatic with its unique wave shape and ability to create almost ring modulator-like effects

at extreme settings. The Mod knob changes rate and scales depth and feedback though the range of subtle to extreme. Use the Mod 2nd function to adjust the Feedback level independently.

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Phaser - MXR Phase 90

The unassuming metal box pictured here is the phaser that changed the world—the MXR Phase 90. The Phase 90 is relatively subtle compared to other phasers, and when you use it, it becomes part of the overall guitar tone rather than trying to grab the spotlight all to itself. Its lush, organic, and groovy swirl can be heard all over the first two Van Halen albums, as well as Jimmy Page’s work on Physical Graffiti. The Mod knob adjusts the rate, and since this is a one knob effect, there is no 2nd function.

U-Vibe - Uni-Vibe

The now-legendary Uni-Vibe was put on the map in 1969 by Jimi Hendrix. Essentially a four-stage phase shifter, the Uni-Vibe is best known for its watery texture and sultry tones. One listen to “Machine Gun” and you’ll know what we mean. Adjusting the Mod knob changes the rate. Use the MOD 2nd function to adjust the Depth independently.

Rotary - Leslie 145

Fine furniture and cool tones—the Leslie 145 gave you both at once. This tube-driven behemoth (you definitely don’t want to try picking one up on your own) features a belt-drive rotating high frequency horn along with a downwards facing 15-inch speaker that had a segmented drum spinning over it to disperse the sound. It was originally designed to be used with electric organs like the Hammond B3, but once guitarists (and even vocalists!) heard it, they just had to get in on the rotate-o-rama. The Leslie’s sole control is a fast/ slow switch labeled Tremolo/Chorale. Setting the Mod knob below 12 O’Clock selects the slow setting, above noon, the fast. The 2nd function adjusts the Tone.

The Effects • Modulations

4 • 5

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way

associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images

are provided for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were

studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Using Your Feet • FBV Class Foot Controllers

USING YOUR FEET

FBV Class Foot Controllers

The optional FBV series foot controllers gives you Wah and Volume pedal control plus the ability to name, store and recall 36 Flextone III Channel Memories.

The FBV series of foot controllers includes the original FBV—with its extensive effects controls for the Line 6 Vetta amps—and the more-compact FBV Shortboard, which includes all the controls needed for the Flextone III. The Shortboard comes with a sticker that re-labels some of the controls that are used for non-Flextone III functions on other Line 6 products. We’ll assume you’ve got that in place as we describe the Shortboard’s functions here.

Note that the Line 6 Floor Board and FB4 foot controllers will not work with Flextone III.

Connecting an FBV

Your FBV comes with an included RJ-45 cable. Connect this cable between the rear panel of the Flextone III and the rear panel of the FBV. The cable supplies power as well as communication, so there’s no separate power supply required for the pedal.

5 • 1

If you ever need a replacement cable, look for a Category 5, 10 Base-T or RJ-45 cable with male connectors on both ends.

• “Category 5” refers to a 1 to 5 grading system for cable quality, with 5 being the highest quality. Get the good one.

• “10 Base-T” is a kind of computer network that uses these same cables.

• “RJ-45” is what you call the connectors on the ends of the cable.

If you’re unsure if you’ve got the right thing, note that RJ-45 connectors basically look like a wide version of standard US telephone line connectors, with eight contacts instead of four.

Using Your Feet • So What Do All These Buttons and Pedals Do?

So What Do All These Buttons and Pedals Do?

5 • 2

FX LOOP

COMP

CHANNEL BCHANNEL A CHANNEL DCHANNEL C

FX LOOP STOMP BOX 1 STOMP BOX 2 STOMP BOX 3

CHANNEL A CHANNEL B CHANNEL C CHANNEL D FAVORITE CHANNELBANK DOWN BANK UP

FBV SHORTBOARD

MODULATION

DELAY

DELAYMODULATIONTREMOLOREVERB TAP TEMP OAMP 2AMP 1

REVERB

TAP

HOLD FOR TUNER

CUSTOM FOOT CONTROLLER

HOLD FOR TUNER

VOLUME WAH

WAH PEDAL 1 PEDAL 2VOLUME

FACTORY/USER

1 2

Using Your Feet • So What Do All These Buttons and Pedals Do?

1. Bank Up - Bank Down: Use these two switches to choose any of the 9 Banks of

Flextone III Channel Memories. Bank 1 is the same four memories you get from the front panel A, B, C, D Buttons when no FBV is connected.

2. Channel A, B, C & D: Select from the four Channel Memories in the current Bank.

3. COMP/MOD/DELAY/REVERB: You guessed it! These switch the Flextone III

effects COMP, MOD, DELAY and REVERB on and off kinda like they were stomp boxes on a pedal board.

4. TREMOLO (FBV only): The Tremolo button on the FBV will turn Flextone III’s Compressor on/off. Contact our Customer Service department if you’d like a handy dandy sticker to re-label your FBV.

5. Tap/Tuner: Tap a couple beats to set the tempo. Or press and hold this switch until you see the tuner on the pedal’s display. Press it again to exit tuner mode.

6. FX Loop: Turns Flextone III’s Effects Loop on or off.

7. Wah and Volume Lights: These light to show that a pedal is ready to control Wah

or Volume.

8. FBV Shortboard Pedal: Press the pedal fully forward to click the toe-switch, switching the pedal to control Wah or Volume. If a separate expression pedal is connected to the Shortboard’s rear panel 1/4-inch jack, the Shortboard pedal controls Wah only, with the toe switch toggling the Wah on/off.

9. External Pedal Jack: You can connect an expression pedal (such as the Line 6 EX-1) to the Shortboard’s rear panel 1/4-inch jack, and the connected pedal will control Volume, while the Shortboard pedal controls Wah only.

5 • 3

10. FBV Pedals: Press a pedal forward to click the toe-switch, turning the pedal on/off.

11. Favorite Channel (FBV only): Recalls a channel of your choice no matter what

bank you are currently using. To make a channel your favorite, select that channel, then press and hold the favorite switch until the display shows

“SAVING”—that’s it!

Note: Any switches not being used by your Flextone III do send MIDI messages and

can be used to control other devices. See the MIDI Appendix for details.

Flip the page for details on saving and naming Flextone III sounds with your FBV....

Using Your Feet • Saving and Naming with an FBV

Saving and Naming with an FBV

To prepare for saving, it’s a good idea to browse through the various factory-stored preset sounds to decide which you can do without. Make a note of their Bank number and Channel letter so you can save your own sounds there instead.

5 • 4

1. Save: Step on the FX LOOP switch until

“NAME EDIT” is displayed.

2. FBV SHORTBOARD users - Name: The Shortboard’s COMP and MOD

switches (labeled Cursor in small text) select one of the characters of the channel name so you can edit it. The DELAY and REVERB switches (labeled Character in small text) choose from the available letters, numbers and symbols. Once you’ve got a name you’re happy with, jump ahead to step 3.

2. FBV Users - Name: The REVERB and TREMOLO switches select which character of the channel name you would like to edit. The MODULATION and DELAY switches choose from the available letters, numbers and symbols. Once you’ve got a name you’re happy with...

3. Pick a Bank: Bank Up and Bank Down switches pick a Bank you’d like to save to.

4. Complete the Save: Press the A, B, C or D switch to store to that Channel Memory in the chosen Bank. The display will show

“SAVING”.

Congratulations, you’re all done!

Appendix A: Amp Models

APPENDIX A: AMP MODELS

# Amp Model Based On Cab Model Mic MIDI CC

1a Line 6 Clean Line 6 21st Century Clean No Cab SM-57 Off Axis 0 1b Line6 Super Clean Line6 Super Clean No Cab SM-57 Off Axis 16 2a Line 6 Crunch Line 6 Crunch 4x12 Green 25’s SM-57 Off Axis 1 2b Line 6 Sparkle Line 6 Sparkle 2x12 Match SM-57 Off Axis 17 3a Line 6 Mood Line 6 Mood 2x12 Match SM-57 Off Axis 2 3b Line 6 Chem X Line 6 Chemical X 4x12 Celest T75 SM-57 Off Axis 18 4a Line 6 Insane Line 6 Insane 4x12 Recto SM-57 Off Axis 3 4b Line 6 Fuzz Line 6 Fuzz 4x12 Green 25’s SM-57 Off Axis 19 5a Jazz Clean ’87 Roland JC-120 2x12 Jazz U-67 4 5b Hiway 100 Hiwatt DR-103 4x12 Green 25’s SM-57 Off Axis 20 6a Blackface Lux ’64 Fender Deluxe 1x12 Blackface SM-57 On Axis 5 6b Small Tweed ’53 Fender Deluxe 1x12 Blue Bell MD-421 21 7a Tweed B-Man ’58 Fender Bassman 4x10 Tweed SM-57 On Axis 6 7b Tweed Vibro ‘63 Fender Vibroverb 2x10 Brown SM-57 Off Axis 22 8a Double Verb ’65 Blackface Fender Twin 2x12 Blackface SM-57 Off Axis 7 8b Zen Master Budda Twinmaster 2x12 Combo 2x12 Line 6 SM-57 On Axis 23 9a Match Chief ’96 Matchless Chieftain 2x12 Match SM-57 On Axis 8 9b Connor 50 ‘02 Cornford mk50h 4x12 Celest V30 SM-57 Off Axis 24

10a Class A-30 TB ’63 Vox AC 30 with Top Boost 2x12 Class A SM-57 On Axis 9 10b Class A-15 ’61 Vox AC 15 1x12 Blue Bell SM-57 Off Axis 25 11a Plexi 45 ’65 Marshall JTM-45 4x12 Green 20’s SM-57 Off Axis 10 11b Plexi Bass 100 ’68 Marshall Super Bass 4x12 Green 25’s MD-421 26 12a Plexi Lead 100 ’68 Marshall ‘Plexi’ Super Lead 4x12 Green 25’s SM-57 On Axis 11 12b Brit Silver ‘85 Marshall Silver Jubilee 4x12 Celest V30 SM-57 Off Axis 27 13a Brit J-800 ’90 Marshall JCM-800 4x12 Celest T-75 MD-421 12 13b Brit J-2000 ‘00 Marshall TSL100 4x12 Celest T75 SM-57 Off Axis 28 14a Recto Dual ’01 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectiﬁer 4x12 Recto SM-57 Off Axis 13 14b Recto Triple ‘02 Mesa Boogie Triple Rectiﬁer 4x12 Recto SM-57 Off Axis 29 15a Solo 100 Soldano SLO-100 Head 4x12 Celest V30 SM-57 On Axis 14 15b Bomber X-TC Bogner Extacy 4x12 Celest V30 SM-57 Off Axis 30 16a Gib Explorer Gibson Explorer 1X10 Gibson U-67 15 16b Super O Supro S6616 1x6 Super O SM-57 On Axis 31

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Appendix B: Cabinet Models

# Cab Model Based On MIDI CC

1 No Cab Cabinet Modeling Bypass 0 2 1x6 Super O 1 x 6" Supro S6616 1 3 1X10 Gibson 1 x 10" Gibson Explorer 2 4 1x12 Tweed 1 x 12" '53 Celestion Blue Bell 3 5 1x12 Blackface 1 x 12" Fender '64 Deluxe 4 6 2x10 Brown 2 x 10" Fender '63 Vibroverb 5 7 2x12 Blackface 2 x 12" Fender ‘65 Twin 6 8 2x12 Match 2 x 12" Matchless Chieftain 7 9 2x12 Jazz 2 x 12" Roland JC-120 8 10 2x12 Class A 2 x 12" Vox '67 AC-30 9 11 4x10 Tweed 4 x 10" Fender '58 Bassman 10 12 4x12 Green 20’s 4 x 12" Marshall '67 with Greenbacks 20’s 11 13 4x12 Green 25’s 4 x 12" Marshall '68 with Greenbacks 25’s 12 14 4x12 Celest T75 4 x 12" Marshall with Celestion T75’s 13 15 4x12 Celest V30 4 x 12" Marshall with Celestion V30’s 14 16 4x12 Recto 4 x 12" Mesa Boogie with Celestion V30’s 15

APPENDIX B: CABINET MODELS

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or

affiliated with Line 6. These product names, descriptions and images are provided for the sole purpose

of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Appendix C: MIDI Channel & Programs

APPENDIX C: MIDI CHANNEL & PROGRAMS

MIDI Channel

Flextone III always communicates on MIDI Channel 1.

MIDI Program Changes

MIDI Program Change Messages 0-36 can be used to select Flextone III’s Channel Memories or Manual Mode, and are sent by Flextone III to control MIDI effects, etc.:

MIDI

Program Change

0 Manual Mode 19 5C 11A 20 5D 21B 21 6A 31C 22 6B 41D 23 6C 52A 24 6D 62B 25 7A 72C 26 7B 82D 27 7C

93A 28 7D 10 3B 29 8A 11 3C 30 8B 12 3D 31 8C 13 4A 32 8D 14 4B 33 9A 15 4C 34 9B 16 4D 35 9C 17 5A 36 9D 18 5B 37 Tuner

Notes:

MIDI PC 0 puts the Flextone in Manual mode. (See Chapter 2 for a description of Manual Mode). MIDI PC37 toggles tuner mode on and off. This is only useful if you have a FBV series controller attached to your Flextone.

Flextone III

Channel Memory

MIDI

Program Change

Channel Memory

Flextone III

Appendix D: MIDI Continuous Control

Off, 1=Sh

421

APPENDIX D: MIDI CONTINUOUS CONTROL

Amp Parameter MIDI MIDI CC Range Notes

Amp Model Select √ √ 12 0 31 Loads Amp Model without Amp

Amp Select √ 11 0 31 Loads Amp with Amp Defaults. Drive √√13 0 127

Bass √√14 0 127 Mid √√15 0 127 Treble √√16 0 127 Presence √√21 0 127 Channel Volume √√17 0 127 Reverb Level √√18 0 127

Cabinet Model √ √ 71 0 15 Cab Model list gives CC numbers. A.I.R. II Model √ 70 0 127 Range = 0~6. See Note 1

Compression Gain √ 5 0 127 0 to +31dB Compression Threshold √ √ 9 0 127 -63dB to 0dB Comp Enable √√ 26 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On

Gate Threshold √√ 23 0 96 0 to -96dB Gate Decay Time √ 24 0 127 0=.1msecs; 127=3000msecs Noise Gate Enable √√ 22 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On

Modulation Model √√ 58 0 5 See note 2 Mod Tweak √√ 3 0 127 Same as adjusting the Mod knob Mod Param 1 (Speed) √ 29 0 127 Mod Speed Mod Param 1 Dbl Precision √ 61 0 127 Mod Speed, Double Precision Mod Param 1 Note value √ 51 1 13 See note 3 Mod Param 2 √ 52 0 127 See note 4 Mod Param 3 √ 53 0 127 See note 4 Mod Param 4 √ 54 0 127 See note 4 Mod Volume/Mix √ 56 0 127 0 to 100% Mod Pre/Post √ 57 0 127 0-63=Pre, 64-127=Post Mod Enable √√ 50 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On

ote 1 - A.I.R. II Models: 0=A.I.R. II

4=MD4210 off axis, 5=U-67 on axis, 6= U-67 off axis

Note 2 - Modulation Models: 0= Tremolo, 1= Chorus, 2= Flanger, 3= Phaser, 4= U-Vibe, 5= Rotary Note 3 - Note Values: 1 = Whole, 2=Dotted Half, 3 =Half, 4=Half Triplet, 5=Dotted Quarter, 6 =Quarter,

7 =Quarter Triplet, 8 =Dotted Eighth, 9 =Eighth, 10 =Eighth Triplet, 11 =Dotted Sixteenth, 12=Sixteenth, 13=Sixteenth Triplet Note 4 - Modulation Parameters: Some Mod models have unique parameters. All use P1(parameter) for Speed. For Tremolo P2= Waveform; Chorus P2= Depth, P3= Bass, P4= Treble; Flanger P2= Depth, P3= Feedback, P4= Manual; Phaser P2= Feedback; U-Vibe P2= Depth; Rotary P2= Tone.

TX RX CC# Min Max

Amp Settings

A.I.R. Settings

Compressor

Noise Gate

Modulation

ure SM 57on axis, 2=Shure SM 57off axis, 3=MD

Model Defaults. Amp Models list gives CC values.

Amp Models list gives CC values.

on axis,

Appendix D: MIDI Continuous Control

Amp Parameter MIDI MIDI CC Range Notes

TX RX CC# Min Max

Delay

Delay Model √√ 88 0 5 See Note 5

Delay Tweak √√ 2 0 127 Same as adjusting the Delay knob Delay Param 1 (Time) √ 30 0 127 Delay time Delay Param 1 Dbl Prec √ 62 0 127 Delay time, double-precision Delay Param 1 Note value √ 31 1 13 See note 3 Delay Param 2 (Feedback) √ 33 0 127 See note 6 Delay Param 3 √ 35 0 127 See note 6 Delay Param 4 √ 85 0 127 See note 6 Delay Volume/Mix √ 34 0 127 0 to 100% Delay Pre/Post √ 87 0 127 0-63=Pre, 64-127=Post Delay Enable √ √ 28 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On

Tempo Settings

Tap Tempo MSB √√ 89 0 127 30.0-240.0 BPM Tap Tempo LSB √√ 90 0 127 Ta p √√ 64 0 127 64-127= a Tap

Reverb

Reverb Enable √√36 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On Reverb Model √ 37 0 15 Range = 0~15, see note 7 Reverb Decay √ 38 0 127 0.1 to 9.0sec Reverb Pre-Delay √ 40 0 127 0 to 100ms Reverb Tone √ 39 0 127 0 to 100%

Performance Controllers

FX Loop √√107 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On Tuner Enable √√69 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On Wah Enable √√43 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On Wah Position √√4 0 127 Vol Pedal Position √√7 0 127 Volume Pedal Min Position √ √ 46 0 127 Volume PRE/POST √√47 0 127 0~63 = Pre, 64~127 = Post

FBV Series Foot Controllers

(FBV) Stomp Box 1 √ 25 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Stomp Box 2 √ 109 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Stomp Box 3 √ 110 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Amp 1 √ 111 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Amp 2 √ 112 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Pitch/Tremolo √ 113 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Modulation √ 50 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Delay √ 28 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Reverb √ 36 0 127 0-63=Off, 64-127=On (FBV) Tap √ 64 0 127 TX127

Note 5 - Delay Models: 0= Tube Echo, 1= Tape Echo, 2=Analog, 3=Digital, 4=Ping Pong, 5=Sweep Echo Note 6 - Delay Parameters: All use P1 for Delay Time, P2 for Feedback..Tube Echo P3=Flutter, P4= Drive; Tape Echo P3=

Heads, P4= Flutter; Analog & Digital P3= Bass, P4= Treble; Ping Pong P3= Offset, P4= Spread; Sweep Echo P4= Sweep Depth Note 7- Reverb Models: 0= Deluxe Spring, 1= Twin Spring, 2= King Spring, 3= Small Room 1, 4= Tiled Room 1, 5= Bright Room 1, 6= Dark Hall 1, 7= Medium Hall, 8= Really Large Hall, 9= Rich Chamber 1, 10= Rich Chamber 2, 11= Cavernous Chamber, 12= Slap Plate 1, 13= Plate, 14= Large Plate 1

Appendix E: Customer Service

Before contacting the Line 6 Customer Service team, please take the time to look through this publication to see if it can answer your questions. Additional helpful information is on the Support page of the Line 6 web site (www.line6.com), including the searchable FAQTRAQ system which is often the fastest and easiest way to go answers.

Need to talk to an actual human on the Line 6 Customer Service team by phone? Have your serial number handy and take some notes for yourself before you call, so you remember everything you want to ask about. In the USA or Canada, you can contact Line 6 at (818) 575-3600, 8AM to 5PM Monday through Friday (Pacific Time). Outside the USA and Canada, please contact your distributor directly to arrange service. The list of Line 6 distributors is available on the Internet at www.line6.com.

To obtain factory service:

If a member of the Line 6 Customer Service Team determines that your Flextone III needs to be sent to Line 6 for service, you will be given a return authorization (RA) number. Products returned without an RA number will be returned to you at your sole expense. Pack the product in its original shipping carton and attach a description of the problem along with your name and a phone number where Line 6 can contact you if necessary. Ship the product insured and freight prepaid to Line 6 Customer Service, 6033 De Soto Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91367.

APPENDIX E: CUSTOMER SERVICE

Appendix F: Warranty Information

APPENDIX F: WARRANTY INFORMATION

Sending in your registration card allows us to register key information so that we may handle problems faster and inform you of advance information, upgrades and other news. Thanks in advance for ﬁlling out your registration card and sending it to us. And good luck in your music!

Line 6, Inc. (hereinafter “Line 6”) warrants that your new Line 6 product, when purchased at an authorized Line 6 dealer in the United States of America (“USA”) or Canada, shall be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the original date of purchase. Please contact your dealer for information on warranty and service outside of the USA and Canada.

During the warranty period, Line 6 shall, at its sole option, either repair or replace any product that proves to be defective upon inspection by Line 6.

Line 6 reserves the right to update any unit returned for repair and to change or improve the design of the product at any time without notice. Line 6 reserves the right to use reconditioned parts and assemblies as warranty replacements for authorized repairs.

This warranty is extended to the original retail purchaser. This warranty can be transferred to anyone who may subsequently purchase this product provided that such transfer is made within the applicable warranty period and Line 6 is provided with all of the following items: (i) all warranty registration information (as set forth on the registration card) for the new owner, (ii) proof of the transfer within thirty (30) days of the transfer purchase, and (iii) a photocopy of the original sales receipt. Warranty coverage shall be determined by Line 6 in its sole discretion.

This is your sole warranty. Line 6 does not authorize any third party, including any dealer or sales representative, to assume any liability on behalf of Line 6 or to make any warranty for Line 6.

Line 6 may, at it’s option, require proof of original purchase date in the form of a dated copy of original authorized dealer’s invoice or sales receipt.

Service and repairs of Line 6 products are to be performed only at the Line 6 factory or a Line 6 authorized service center. Line 6 may require advanced authorization of repairs to authorized service centers. Unauthorized service, repair or modiﬁcation will void this warranty.

Sending in your registration card allows us to register key information so that we may handle problems faster and inform you of advance information, upgrades, and other news. Thanks in advance for ﬁlling out your registration card and sending it to us. And good luck in your music!

Line 6, Inc., warrants this product when purchased at an Authorized Line 6 Dealer in the United States of America or Canada, to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of original purchase only upon completion and return of the Line 6 Warranty Registration form within 30 days from date of purchase. Please contact your distributor for information on warranty and service outside the USA and Canada. During the warranty period Line 6 shall, at its option, either repair or replace any product that proves to be defective upon inspection by Line 6. Line 6 reserves the right to update any unit returned for repair, and reserves the right to change or improve the design of the product at any time without notice. This warranty is extended to the original retail purchaser. This warranty can be transferred to anyone who may subsequently purchase this product within the applicable warranty period by providing Line 6 with all Warranty Registration information for the new owner and proof of transfer within 30 days of the purchase. Final determination of warranty coverage lies solely with Line 6. This is your sole warranty. Line 6 does not authorize any third party, including any dealer or sales representative, to assume any liability on behalf of Line 6 or to make any warranty for Line 6. Line 6 may, at its option, require proof of the original date of purchase in the form of a dated copy of the original authorized dealer’s invoice or sales receipt. Service and repairs of Line 6 products are to be performed only at the factory (see below) unless otherwise authorized in advance by the Line 6 Service Department. Unauthorized service, repair or modiﬁcation will void this warranty.

LINE 6 LIMITED WARRANTY INFORMATION

THE FOREGOING WARRANTY IS THE ONLY WARRANTY GIVEN BY LINE 6 AND IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES. ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, EXCEEDING THE SPECIFIC PROVISIONS OF THIS WARRANTY ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED AND EXCLUDED FROM THIS WARRANTY. UPON EXPIRATION OF THE APPLICABLE EXPRESS WARRANTY PERIOD (1 YEAR), LINE 6 SHALL HAVE NO FURTHER WARRANTY OBLIGATION OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. LINE 6 SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SUFFERED BY THE PURCHASER OR ANY THIRD PARTY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS OR BUSINESS, OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCT, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR IN TORT. LINE 6 SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY EXPENSES, CLAIMS, OR SUITS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO ANY OF THE FOREGOING. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties so some of the above limitations and exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights, which vary, from state to state. This warranty only applies to products sold and used in the USA and Canada. Line 6 shall not be liable for damages or loss resulting from the negligent or intentional acts of the shipper or its contracted affiliates. You should contact the shipper for proper claims procedures in the event of damage or loss resulting from shipment.

DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF WARRANTY

Line 6 Flextone III User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Pilot’s Handbook

Register

Connect at www.line6.com

Line 6 and Flextone III

Quick Start Guide

Front Panel Features

Manual Mode: What You See Is What You Get

Using The Channel Memories

Creating Amp Defaults

Rear Panel Features

Using Your Direct XLR Outputs

THE AMPS & CABS

Meet The Family

What’s In There

Line 6 Clean

Line 6 Super Clean (Red alternate model for “Line 6 Clean”)

Line 6 Crunch

Line 6 Sparkle (Red alternate model for “Line 6 Crunch”)

Line 6 Mood

Line 6 Chemical X (Red alternate model for “Line 6 Mood”)

Line 6 Insane

Line 6 Fuzz (Red alternate model for “Line 6 Insane”)

Jazz Clean - based on a Roland JC-120

Hiway 100 – based on a Hiwatt 1973 Custom 100

Blackface Lux – based on a 1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb

Small Tweed – based on a 1953 Fender Tweed Deluxe

Tweed B-man – based on a 1958 Fender Tweed Bassman

Tweed Vibro – based on a 1963 Fender Vibroverb 6G16

Double Verb – based on a 1965 Fender Twin Reverb

Zen Master – based on a 2001 Budda Twinmaster

Match Chief - based on a Matchless Chieftain

Connor 50 – based on a Cornford mk50h

Class A-30 TB – based on a 1967 Vox AC-30 Top Boost

Class A-15 – based on a 1961 Vox AC-15

Plexi 45 – based on a 1965 Marshall JTM-45

Plexi Bass 100 - Marshall 1968 Super Bass

Plexi Lead 100 - based on “Jumped”1968 Marshall Super Lead

Brit Silver – based on 1985 Marshall Silver Jubilee

Brit J- 800 – based on a 1987 Marshall JCM 800

Brit J-2000 – based on a Marshall JCM2000

Recto Dual – based on a 2001 Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier

Recto Triple – based on a Mesa Boogie 2001 Triple Rectifier

Solo 100 – based on a Soldano SLO-100

Bomber X-TC – based on a Bogner Extacy

Gib Explorer – based on a 1960 Gibson Explorer

Super 0 – based on a Supro 1960’s 6x9 S6616

The Cabinets

THE EFFECTS

About the Delay and Modulation Effects

Delays

Tube Echo - Maestro EP-1 Echoplex

Analog - Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man

Digital

Ping-Pong

Sweep Echo

Modulations

Tremolo

Chorus

USING YOUR FEET

FBV Class Foot Controllers

Connecting an FBV

So What Do All These Buttons and Pedals Do?

Saving and Naming with an FBV

Appendix A: Amp Models

Appendix B: Cabinet Models

Appendix C: MIDI Channel & Programs

MIDI Channel

MIDI Program Changes

Appendix D: MIDI Continuous Control

Appendix E: Customer Service

To obtain factory service:

Appendix F: Warranty Information