Taking the Vetta out tonite to Panama Hattie's in St. Augustine. I got it yesterday and spent a couple hours with it cranked and dialing in various sounds. I set up the basic sounds I use at gigs, nothing crazy or out there. Just 4 tones, heavy rhythm, clean, lead, quiet lead.
So far it sounds really good with my Carvin 4x12. I wish the combo had the same fullness, but I guess that is just a physical impossibility.
So far, at louder than gig volumes (and at gig volumes), it has not disappointed me. When I get a couple days free time I will go deep, deep inside and see what it can really do.
I just found an old CD of some stuff I recorded on my old Vetta. Can't say I miss that bird. Good luck.
I posted his same opinion on the Line 6 forum this morning so any of you that read over there may experience some deja vu.
My band is most pleased with the amp, so am I. Very nice, articulate amp. During most of our tunes I tend to throw in little improvised fills, ususally very brief; an arpeggio here, a burst of palm muted scalar runs there, etc... Stuff that might very well never actually be noticed by the club patrons. But with the Vetta each little nuance really comes ringing out. Hearing my self so clearly in the stage mix really helps me play with more authority.
I ran it in mono as a 3/4 stack (combo + my 4x12). We were running with no guitar mics last night and man I was really able to come through in the mix without dominating it. With my tube setup or my TLSE + Tube power rig, often getting a volume that allowed me to hear myself so clearly meant drowning out the stage monitors. (Of course I am talking about gigs where the guitars are not mic'd, which is about 1/4 of our shows).
I do need to tweek some patch volumes for balancing purposes, but overall very happy. I absolutely love the wah setup. It is great that the wah does not occupy a stomp slot. I am anxious to create a custom wah, but for now I like the "Vetta Wah".
My only real complaint, and I guess it is my fault more than the amp's, is that in my over zealous state on stage I somehow managed to get into the wrong preset bank at least twice at very inopportune moments. We were playing "Breath" (Breaking Benjamin) and all of a sudden some ungodly loud guitar sound issued forth from my speakers... i mean very loud and obnoxious. I had to run back to the amp to put it back in "User" preset mode and then scroll with the FBV to my patch.
The baffling thing is I really don't recall hitting the bank button on the FBV, but I guess I must have.
I am having trouble figuring out why the last three Vettas I owned basically sat and collected dust. Could be just the honeymoon phase and maybe I am swooning a little over the amp, but I really did enjoy gigging with this thing. Once I get a few days free to spend deep editing, I think I am going to come up with all kinds of cool things.
In "Head Like A Hole" and "Hey Man Nice Shot" I try and pull weird, electronic non-guitar sounding sounds out of my amps. There are whole sections of those two songs that have no real guitar parts, so I try and add interesting and subtle textural elements. This is an area where I know the Vetta will really shine. Going to play with some of he effects and synth patches and see what I come up with.
Yeah, I could go on and on about it, nice amp. I am definitely hooked.
That's cool you like it Spai! Hopefully the honeymoon will last :) With the variety you guys are playing, I can't think it wouldn't be a good fit with it's versatility.
Good stuff mate....keep rockin!
I have a late-80s, early 90s gray rat fur Carvin 4x12" with the british series speakers in it (rewired for stereo-only), and when I run that as a 3/4 stack with the Vetta Combo, it's great. It's such a full, fat sound, but it has a really nice articulated top end, too because of the combination of the combo speakers and the closed-back 4x12.
I love that cab...and I got it for almost nothing ($150). I've only used it at three gigs, though, and only one with Vetta (though it was a festival stage, and it was AWESOME to be able to crank it up).
I want to get a tube head to use with the 4x12" - for fun - but I haven't figured out which one I'd like to get yet. I was actually thinking of trying to find an old X100 with the same fur to make it a complete half-stack, but I don't know.
Glad to hear it did well for you, Shawn!
Tripper
So funny, that is the exact Carvin cab i am using, and I got it for $150.
spaivxx — Oct 06, 2008So funny, that is the exact Carvin cab i am using, and I got it for $150.
That's hilarious! And I got mine in North Florida, too.
I'm just shocked at how nice it sounds even with the stock Carvin speakers in it and 15-20 years of wear and tear.
Tripper
Maybe someone down there had a full cab at one time and sold each piece separately... 8-)