10 posts
Heh. This is gonna go the wrong direction here. But hey...I'm a guy with kids getting braces (2 of them actually...right now).
I learned Thursday that I do not have $650 to spend on an amp. My ex wife called me to let me know I owe $1130 (my part, after insurance) for my oldest's new braces. This just coming from spending $1140 2 weeks ago on my step-son's braces ( they are both 13...go figure).
So maybe the guy selling the Switchblade out from under me wasn't so bad a thingy. Good thing I didn't hit him...
Anyhoo....I stumbled across a Vetta II 2x12 combo at a local shop later Thursday evening. Found a few killer tones out of it in about 15 minutes. The shop wanted $800 for it and a longboard. I laughed out out loud and left.
Friday I found a MINT Vetta I with the Vetta II 2.5 software upgrade online for $375. And I bought it.
Now you know why I titled this thread as I did ;)
I do not expect it to sound just like all of the amps it models. Nor do I expect it to feel like a tube amp. But what I do expect....is to have a jolly good time going through all of the amp models one by one, then pairing them with another amp model, and running 2 different amp models to ultimately find MY tone (which is...as most of you know...is pretty much an 80's Hair tone).
I am now the blacksheep of this community (knowing where it came from ;) Hang me now.
Just the 5 minutes I had with the 'Big Bottom' patch is all I needed to know that this rig will kill any PV Classic...30 or 50. Or anybody's modeled JCM 800, 900, or 2000.
I know that is big words. But damn....that patch sounds good and has BALLS. Create 3 different patches...from very low gain to very high gain...and then one for soloing...that is just one bank. You get my drift.
$375.
I do not think there is a better amp out there for that price. These went for $2500 new.
I always liked the big bottom patch on the pods. The only problem with that patch is that it sounds great when you play it on your own, but as soon as you play with a band everything turns to mush because there is so much low end on it and you just can't cut through the mix as you are competing with the bass guitar for the same space.
I've tried many amps over the years and there is always something missing. For the past year or so now I have found my dream rig. Any tube head that you like the sound of into hotplate on load, then into effects as you like and then into a power amp (doesn't have to be valve) and then into a real guitar cab. Gives the best overall sound and options for me and so easy to tweak the sound with a graphic EQ before the power amp to suit the venue.
On the other hand, if you are satisfied with the vetta then more power to you....enjoy !
If you like it then it's good. I haven't played or priced a Vetta but seems like a good score.
I like my hd400 plugged into my Special 6 and Tweaker. They seem to have tamed the pick chirp to a large extent.
Internet gear debates are a complete waste of precious time.
Clips if ya get a chance!
grats on the amp!
only thing I can't deal with on digital guitar stuff is... firmware! heh.
I updated OSX the other day (sweet, free!) - now I need a new audio interface...
digital... sigh.
If you like it, it ain't no doggone sin amigo. Lotsa people liked those Vettas.
I've now had 2 nights with it. Gotta say....I think if Line6 wouldn't have priced these things so stupidly high, the market would be saturated with these instead of their 'affordable' Crap Spider amps (excluding the Bogner-Spider models...those are not bad at all).
I'm liking the Vetta II more and more....the more time I spend with it. It took me 15 minutes get a killer 80's tone. The Big Bottom (based on a Recto of some year...with digitally added balls to the low end) lacks those mids to punch through....like Jon said. But....it works very nicely when running along-side the JCM900 (This has the best sounding 900 tone I've heard from anything), which really fills in those lost mid-range tones.
Final tone = Smooth mid Brit tone with the crunchy highs and ballsy lows of a Recto. Kind of a best-of-both-worlds-for-geeks-like-me-who-like-80's-and-90's-music-and-want-one-tone-that-can-cover-both-ly-like.
My next sound to tackle was a lightly gritty Red Dirt/Country rythm sound. Line6 Sparkle running with the '64 Deluxe almost got me there. The special sauce on this patch is the 'Line6 Boost with EQ' pedal on both amps. Final tone = Low end of a bassman, but with the mid-richness of a driven Deluxe. A bit gritty and yet sparkly at the same time. The second position on my 5-way guitar switch has this patch quacking very nicely.
Next, I wanted to tackle some staple U2. Note...I'm good at dialing in and playing the Edge's delay stuff. Got that. But I've never had a rig that could come close to his actual tone. Worked on that for about an hour tonight. Both sides the Vox AC30TB...one amp set with gain at 6 and the second at 3 with a tad higher highs. Again...added the special sauce pedal (written about above), a touch of chorus, along with the ever-present-delay-set-right-ly....BOOM. I had 'Pride' sounding like I have never had it. Within 4 minutes and a few tweaks...I had 'Streets' done.
I'm quickly learning that the 'Line6 Boost with EQ' pedal might be the secret sauce to a lot of things on this amp. It is a clean boost with gain and EQ....simple as that. But it can make a big difference in how any channel sounds and feels.
Sorry for rambling on. But for what I paid for it, I have a LOT of pretty decent tones and effects at my disposal to create...well.....whatever.
I do like this thing. A lot. Was a good find. Happy camper here :)
I certainly liked both of the Vetta II's I had (started with a combo then sold it and got a head and cab). :)
Hardly the blacksheep for buying a Vetta--we've got a couple hours of me and FB trading back and forth on Little Wing on a Vetta from WHS I or II. It was badass, expecially at volume. Of course, I look at $375 and see 2+ amps I could build from old Hammond etc chassis...
Well Charger...I might have to end up thinking about what you said about building something. Last night at the same time the sound went out, I got all green screens of death on the thing. Was playing along at bedroom volume...then boom....nothing. No sound, and all screens are just green. Nothing responds. Rebooted many times...nothing. And yes, the seller has a clause that all 'used' gear has been tested, and is sold as-is with no return possibility. I will give the seller this...It was working fine when I received it. So return is not an option.
I got online to find a diagnosis and cure. Main thing I learned is that there is an internal battery that when dies, throws thingies way off. Found a good step by step process on how to change the battery out. Did it this afternoon. Still have the same green screens 'o death and no sound.
I did find a local shop that is registered to work on Line 6 stuff. Taking it in Monday to see what they can find. The guy told me as long as the part(s) they find that they need to fix it is (are) still available from Line 6, they can fix it (he sounded like he was very versed with Line 6 stuff). But as a legacy amp, he said there is a chance they can't get whatever part(s) anymore. So I will know Tuesday if it can be fixed, or if it is dead in the water.
Obviously, I hope it can be fixed. But if not, I'm looking forward. I have a KILLER 2x12 cab that it came in (it is a 2x12 combo) that I can re-wire for a head. The one thing I will say about this Vetta combo, the Celestions are super smooth, and the cab has a LOT of low end thump for a 2x12. So at least I can use the cab part if the amp is dead.
Charger, or anybody else here....can you build a mid-to-high gain amp head with 3 channels (clean, crunch, solo) using EL-34's? Would love to know what you would charge to build such. I'm leaning to more of a Marshall tone than a Boogie tone. Listen to Green Day's 'When I come Around'. That is the simple Marshall tone/chug I'm looking for.
The short answer is no, the longer answer is, not affordably. It's very easy to build something that sounds totally awesome and has one channel very cheaply. We are just repurposing Hammond etc. tube amps from old tube organs... they make the perfect platform for a Supro, Fender Deluxe style, or 18-watt Marshall style, without having to add tube sockets. That's a couple hundred bucks in parts. Think Dr. Z--he built his first line of amps on old Hammond chassis. We've got two totally killer amps, one is bright and Fendery, with reverb, tremolo, and has an adjustable boost that sounds amazing (but lowers the reverb way out of the signal). The other is brown and Marshally, with reverb. Lots of great tones in both. But these are not the kind of amps you look for if you want a three-channel, modern amp, they are get a great tone, and then add a pedal if you need more gain, etc.