Line 6 Manta

[Mantaray]

Guys have you tried the Line 6 bass guitar?

On the section 'Manta' it emulates a StingRay and a Flea Bass.

How close is it sound wise to the 'real thing'?


Did they get a license from the San Luis Obispo crew for this?

 

[dlloyd]

Guys have you tried the Line 6 bass guitar?

On the section 'Manta' it emulates a StingRay and a Flea Bass.

How close is it sound wise to the 'real thing'?


Did they get a license from the San Luis Obispo crew for this?

It's fairly impressive when you don't A/B the real thing. Doesn't feel anything like a Stingray though, more like a middle of the road jazz bass copy.

 

[mro]

I just played one last Thursday. I agree with dlloyd. It is not a Stingray substitute. I actually hated the bass. It's neck was too thin and played like a cheap bass and not worth the $1200 price tag. All the sounds lacked what they were supposed to emulate.

 

[cgworkman]

All this "modeling" stuff just blows my mind. Stuff like this, at least I believe, will never truly catch on.

 

[kilgore777]

I think that someday the technology will exist for this to actually work well; I think the idea is interesting. Having said that, there will still be no substitute for the real thing.

Sampled strings sound a thousand times better than they used to, but they still can't touch a real cello!

 

[xHARPERx]

yeah, sounds weird, never played one, did you guys hear about the new "fully digital" les paul gibson, suposidly it picks everything up string by string, so you can put effects on one string in the cord and everything, lame eh??


what would the guys back in the 40's say when they did everything in one take?

 

[SteveB]

I'm warming up to the technology. I've been using modeling pedalboards exclusively for my preamp and effects for years now. I recently went out and played a bunch of real, all-tube heads (Marshall, Peavey, Mesa, Orange) and nothing sounded as good as my robot.. and those heads made a heck of a lot of noise, too (buzz, hum). I think we tend to romanticize the vintage sounds in our mind's ear.. but when you have played with the 'bots and then go back to the originals, the originals lose some lustre.

I haven't tried the Variax guitar yet, and I am a little wary of such a device in spite of my feelings about amp modeling.

That's all I can write for the 2-cent contribution.

 

[basadam]

I'd say modelling stuff is good to have but you still need to have your main sound. Decide what your sound is and have the real thing for that sound. And when you need to alternate use the modelling robot.

Having said that, a modelling bass/guitar is not appealing to me; I'd get a modelling preamp instead.

My 2 cents.

 

[bovinehost]

I'd hit the mixing board with a jackhammer if that's the sound I wanted.

I ain't scared of no technology.

 

[skabassist13]

modeling is alright. multi effects are annoying though. theyre fun to play with, but for live use or recording their a pain in the ass. if i was going to use effects seriously id buy a bunch of stompboxes and a pedal board.

 

[bassmonkeee]

I've used a Roland VBass for the last couple of years, and the modelling is pretty impressive, for the most part.

The amp models work well enough, and I can certainly distinguish between the different amps. Do they sound exact when soloed? Nope, but then I've played two Ampeg B15s side by side and not had them sound the same, too.

But, in a mix, they are pretty useful.

The VBass also has bass modelling. The PBass, JBass, Ric, etc all sound pretty good. Again--in a mix. The hollowbody model is particularly impressive. And, when I mix the hollowbody sound with the live Bongo sound, I get the most amazing tone I've heard in a long, long time.

I prefer the VBass technology (even with unsightly pickup) over the Variax stuff simply because I can use the bass of my choice.

I will say that the Musicman emulation is the worst of the presets. But, then, I don't really need to fake a Musicman bass....

 

[kilgore777]

Monkee,

I don't know alot about the VBass. Can you emulate pianos, strings and such? I love piano and bass mixed together... How does it sound? I have heard the guitar version (the guy from Muse gets awesome sounds with it!), but I am curious about the VBass. Especially now that prices are dropping as the technology improves. Fill me in, please.

 

[SteveB]

modeling is alright. multi effects are annoying though. theyre fun to play with, but for live use or recording their a pain in the ass. if i was going to use effects seriously id buy a bunch of stompboxes and a pedal board.

ska,

Actually.. the multi-effects in my RP-2000 work great in live situations and when recording in my home studio. But as a general rule, I tend to record my guitars without effects and add them later at mixdown via an outboard effects unit.

I used to have a bunch of stompboxes and a pedalboard, and I got rid of all of them after buying the RP. I don't miss any of the stompboxes, except my Boss Analog Delay.

 

[brewer]

The only time I'm even a remote fan of the modeling thing is when I'm putting down ideas at home in my little wanna be studio. Other than that, i'm w/ bovine. I'd set fire to a monkey's a$$ and record it if i could get the right sound i wanted.