This is a great vid, no matter how you slice it, cheers!! Yeaahh this pedal is great, the delay version of this is a must for a board...just me, rock on!!
I'm actually super impressed. The DM4 does the best a digital modeler can do against the real things, from what i hear. i actually thought the model for the mt-2 was better than the actual metal zone, but the compression that comes from digital is inevitable. the analogs sound so much more touch sensitive.
@levinjapan - You've got to be joking - Do you think pedals are 'analog'? Any pedal with an IC chip (and they used them back in the Big Muff days) is technically a digital pedal.
@cabell64: Take it easy dude!! I´m not a pro in the subject. If what you say is true who do digital e "analog" pedals sound different, which is the case with these pedals showed here and their counterparts on the line 6?
@cabell64: Take it easy dude!! I´m not a pro in the subject. If what you say is true who do digital e "analog" pedals sound different, which is the case with these pedals showed here and their counterparts on the line 6?
very nice, i'm not a fan of digital but line6 definitely does it right. as far as i can tell, it kinda fell short on the Rat and Fuzz Face. in both cases it failed to recreate the trebly "grit" and bite that both pedals have in this video. and with the metal zone, the line6 sounded a bit more clear while the boss was a bit rougher. and the tubescreamer had a bit more of a "filtered" old fashioned tone whereas the line6 was brighter and more clear. it handled the lows really well though i felt.
Wow, I've owned this pedal for years now and have never been able to compare it to the originals. I always assumed it couldn't come close to the originals. It was very nice to see how close it actually gets! Of course my opinion is that the originals stand alone the DM4 gets close enough for anyone out there! Thanks for taking the time to compare these!
jesus.....all of them were pretty much spot on. but the RAT sounded bit punchier than the line 6 version. but....in reality (to all those gear geeks and tone hunters)....when your performing....will the audience really give a shit about such minor and negligable differences? no....not really. Great video though! must have been troublesome.
After hearing these, I have to wonder if the output levels to the amp were the same. On some models it seemed that the L6 had less overall output.
I don't know if there is any way to control the comparison so that output levels are exactly the same. If you could, I bet the L6 would get pretty close on every one, with a bit less operation noise.
Not too bad, it struggled the most when trying to emulate the Fuzz Face but still, a pretty impressivebox worth consideration. Thank you for your time.
some pedals, especially those with compressed sounds by itself like big muff, sounds close. Fuzz Face puts Dm4 to shame, nowhere near close. Boss pedal also, tubescreamer sounds wobbly, rat does exactly the same. might work if you need a lot of different od/distortion sounds live, but for the studio it will not. I would say it is much better to get a good od/distortion pedal with the sound you love and work with it. and yes, i own line6 DL4 so not a fanboy nor hater.
so good ear tell me wheter is it a good great fantastic emulator or a bad one ? Does it sound better worse than original ? Different ? Just please no retarded fanboys "never will it sound that good as original hendrix fart"
The sound of the Line 6 sound much more compressed compared to all the pedals.
It would have been usefull to have also a backing track so we could hear how each sound stands in the mix with drumbs and other instruments, i feel as if the Line 6 would not cut as easy in the mix
seems like the line 6 always has less depth and detail than the originals. It looks like the originals are first in the chain. That could be effecting the performance of the line 6. Old pedals didn't often have true by pass and could be coloring or restricting the line 6. I've compared my memory man to my line 6 delay modeler and I can't tell the difference. I'm splitting hairs..overall the line 6 sounds great and close enough ...and much cheaper than finding originals.
Ive compared line 6 with analog stuff and I found I love the analog more! it just sounds better!! plus I don't need a pedal that trys to do everything?? just having your 1 or 2 fav OD's is enough I say :)
I've just won one of these on eBay,£75,already have the dl4 and mm4,up until i heard these,it was boss all the way,I had a spider 2x10,which i sold very quickly,and was convinced I didn't like line 6 stuff
I've done a similar thing with Guitar Rig 3 ( at the time 3 was new), and well comparing Big Muff, Metal Zone, Tube Screamer to their virtual counterparts, I was AMAZED how spot on they were.
Why dont you do the demo correctly? It's not representative when you put the modeler and the stomps in serial instead of putting the modeler out of the way when playing with the stomps.
I have a DM4, and what can I say that it is really great thing. May be vintage analogs sound warmer and more natural, but heavy distortions, like MT-2 for example, are even better than analog, olso there are very powerful line 6 overdrive and line 6 distortion. So with this distortion modeller I'm not getting tired of one type of sound, the diversity is great.
@ToothyGus Sure, because the Line6 is not a true bypass pedal. The buffers suck tone even in bypass mode, and the analog pedals are wired in series with the line6...
I have never understood why boss pedals are so popular, especially the metal zone. I tried it when I was looking for a metal distortion, but it just sucked... The boss metal core is already a bit better, but in the end I bought a Hardwire ('Digitech Deluxe') Metal Distortion. About the same price, but so much better.
As usual, the Line 6 stuff is great. I am a fan of their stuff, but if I were to invest in just a distortion/ overdrive pedal I would put the money into a Wampler as it is the best sounding one I have heard to date. This Modeler by Line 6 though certainly does the job of emulating these old style pedals. Thanks for the demo!
I think that it sterilizes some of the organic overtones usually associated with vintage pedals but also reduces background noise in most instances. Overall
it does a very nice job. IMHO... Thanks for the demo!
As usual with line 6, it's close to the original, but the sound is compressed without high end, and the pedal hide guitarist touch. This kind of pedal is interesting to find the pedals you prefered and buy the original one.
the tube screamers sounded completely identical to me. With the others, there seemed to be a kind of 'curtain' in front of the sound of the line six if that makes sense lol. It sounded good enough to me, but you could tell the difference.
the originals seems to have much more top end detail and have that air and openness, personally thats what i look for in a sound. but the line 6 is convenient! and probably close enough. all your vid' s are top quality
Ok Ill describe it perfectly for yall tone hunting junkies. Its like going to see an awesome tribute band. If you drink A little and sit in the back then you may not tell much of A difference. BUT if you sit up front and only drink A little you will 100% for sure rather see the real band than A tribute band. Also A tribute band cost mabey 5 -10 bucks to see while the real band can cost 50-100bucks,but you do get what you pay for. I myself like both real bands and tribute bands.Hope this helps.
But does it replicate the Uber metal by line 6? Because that's the best distortion I've EVER found and nothing is as good, partially because of the awesome gate and scoop but mostly the thing is just VERSATILE!
even if you hear the difference, even if if the real analog pedals sound better, i'll highly doubt you still can on stage with a drunk audiece throwing beer at you, and your drummer using his cymbals...
carp about the difference all you want,I have the purple , gold and blue models and if you wanted to put their counter parts in a live set-up you would need a seperate friggin' stage for the pedals !
Only seems to cut the treble on some but overall I think it sounds pretty close and the treble can be adjusted anyway form the amp. so it seems to be a good choice...thanks for the video
@kokiri77 ´-cause it rocks madly !!!! really!!! you just need to tweak and you are in man¡)¡)) people just remain saying that analog are WAY better because their parents taught them that
Honestly, if I were listening to someone at a show, I couldn't tell the difference, and the few that I could really hear a difference, especially the rat and metal zone, sounded better than the originals. The only one I'd say was not as good as the original was the tube screamer (well the only one I'd want on my board to add to it as well.)
I am a diehard tube/analog guy when it comes to amps if I can help it, but with pedals, I like the Line 6 if you're into it for budgetary/convenience reasons, etc. The thing is, even though the tone is getting processed through a digital emulator, if the signal still gets run into a tube amp (especially a classic, straightforward hot piece of ass like a Fender Twin), one can get great tube tone.
That awesome tube warmth comes through when you're in the room with the speaker or on a recording made by an engineer who knows what the hell he's doing (it definitely does not come through on a youtube video listened to through laptop speakers.) I was really impressed with the Tube Screamer especially, as a Fender Guitar through a tube screamer into a Fender tube amp (e.g., Twin, Twin Reverb, Reverb Deluxe***) is just about my favorite guitar tone, and very simple to boot.
I would assert that one cannot tell the difference between the pedal or the line 6 if this were an actual double blind test. Especially if you were able to adjust for differences that exist more because of settings rather than analog vs. digital. Again, the amplification is still tube based, so you can still get the tube warmth even using a digital pedal.
I am a bass player, I play a '69 PBass through a 1967 Ampeg Portaflex fliptop (all tube) amp and I occasionally use the Line 6 DL4 Delay modeler (with nothing else in the loop) and I can assert that you CANNOT tell the difference in tone between the DL4 being on or off. Yes with an emulator, there will be differences in the settings and the tone because they're augmenting the signal in very different ways...
but these differences ARE NOT DUE TO Analog vs. Digital, but rather other factors. At the end of the day, it all comes down to your taste.
Also, although their pedals are great, line six amps sound like shit. emulating tube amplification is a COMPELTELY different ballpark than emulating analog effects.
I really think this is a great pedal choice if you really need the variety. That said, for most guitar players, quantity IT NOT quality.
I really think this is a great pedal choice if you really need the variety. That said, for most guitar players, quantity IT NOT quality. Picking out one or maybe two stompboxes you love and really know how to use is a solid legit way to go. If you think you need a different distortion tone for every song means you probably are overcompensating. (Maybe I could see this if you're in a cover band that plays a bunch of styles).
@PitcherIPA very true. I had the modulation version of this pedal (blue one) and while it was cool to have 16 different effects on hand, i found myself constantly returning to 2 effects, so i took it off my board to replace it with a phase and tremolo pedal
There is definitely something to be said for finding your "sound" and rolling with that.
Also, to those who are over pedals all together, I would like to mention the Fender Reverb Deluxe. It is an affordable, all tube classic that is low wattage enough that you can just crank the gain and get natural distortion which sounds nicer than probably any stomp box. But the Tube Screamer still does a damn fine job.
hmmm i def think that the original pedals are much better in tone but im just an analog guy. I think that the originals are just more dynamic and have more body and umph to them. I loved that vintage tone you got from your fuzz face i wanna get one bad! I might later on but im saving up for a new amp righ now. Im gonna try getting a mesa boogie dual rec off of guitasr center used for around 1.2k and get a cheap used marshall cab or somthin
@rp1986 Me???? Dude...OK... Digital will NEVER compete with Analog Firstly because there is sooooo much demand for analog pedals now than before. And secondly because i Will always pick analog pedal over a digital.
@MoonlightShadowlolz NO WAYYY ¡!!!!! are you being serious¡¡¡¿¿??? I got this DM4 for over a 100 bucks, and it sound like my Ibanez TS808 which costed much more, theres a very samll difference in sound, really,but not a 100 bucks difference, and just counting the TS808 what about colorsound pedal, big muff, fuzz face, etc...... more than a 1000 dollars, !!! 1000 vs 100 buck ¡??? I bet LINE 6 WINS HERE ª!!!!
@MoonlightShadowlolz trust me, LINE 6 WINS AFTER ALL¡¡¡!!!!! and i love analog pedal, but this DM4 is a complete beast for the price, theres no competence !!!!
mmm... Aún no me convence la idea de usar pedales digitales. Yo uso el DS-1 (Boss) + Bad Monkey (Digitech) + Roland Jazz Chorus 120, y es impresionante, es un sonido cálido y compacto. Les recomiendo esta combinación. Slds VIVA CHILE!!
most of them sound to me a little thinner and duller... but it's a very subtle difference.
the thing is, the sound we get is the microphone image: even with the most accurate mic you lose a little bit of the differences. and what's worse we get it trough youtube compression. you probably couldn't tell the difference between a cat's meow and a dog's bark here.
MAN there isn't much comparison huh? THE hand wired vintage stuff. just somethin about it. probably the reason there hasn't been a noteable guitarist since everything got shipped to japan.
Cheers for taking time to make and post this, TOP WORK LAD!! I've used one of these professionally since they first came out purely to have 4 different good quality hairy tones in the one pedal but it's interesting to see a direct AB test with the pedals it's meant to sound like, pretty damned close I'd say.
Awesome review!!! Line 6 actually sounds not bad, but from what I hear it's digital overdrive's are more smooth meaning that with "real" pedals articulation is much better.
Hmmm. The line 6 emulates every pedal very nicely, but its like a layer of sound has been sliced off. Just a tad bit thinner and not quite as responsive. Still a fantastic distortion pedal. I think I like the line 6 Rat and Metal Zone better. And the Tube Screamer is dead on!
@jesusofsuburbia57 -dude, all of those vintage pedals would be way more than just $600! Even newer reissues would be more. But I guess that just further proves your point. :P
Im amazed at how similar it sounds, im always very dubious about modelled distortions but would consider this after seeing this review. I use a boss ds-2 in conjunction with a little big muff which once set up properly together gives me some gorgeous textures from my lp, i cant help but feel that fuzz boxes always sound more effective on single coils, looks like im in the market for a new strat thanks to you g haha.
I think superficially the line 6 resembles them all but you can tell it's a digital emulator and sounds to my ears cold and clinical, the tube screamer is a beautiful pedal not heard one before.
I would have to say that the analog boxes each have a unique flavor over their Line 6 counterparts. I could hear the Line 6 sucking tone from the strat as well. I know there are no right and wrong in effects and personal taste, so if the Line 6 sounds great to you, then definately take advantage of the fact that you dont have to carry around six different distortion pedals. Personally, I gave up on pedal drives. Nothing comes close to the high gain sound of an all tube amp(Laney, Mesa, Marshall)
@79Sp3cI4L very good point, unfortunately though, not everyone has that amount of money for a huge mesa tube amp, so i guess this in that price is the next best thing!
@79Sp3cI4L Tube amps are great, but many of the great players use a combination of pedals and tube amps to get their signature sound. You can't do it with amps alone.
Coloursound- more or less the same sound, RAT- not really the same sound, Big Muff- a more cleaned up version, Fuzz Face- more or less spot on, Metal Zone- more rougher and grittier than the original, Tubescreamer- spot on
i think the line 6 does quite a good job, its not going to do everything perfect but it does most of it quite true to the originals
It definitely doesn't do the Muff justice, although I'm not sure that your tone controls were set identically? If so, then the Line 6 doesn't do it for me, The RAT also, it sounds less edgey... Fuzz Face the same really, Metal Zone is very close, Tube Screamer isn't done justice, but again are your settings identical? The Color Sound is pretty close as well. All that said, the Line 6 is a lovely bit of kit if you're not really anal about sounds and just want to get close. what do you think?
It sounds "cleaner" in some way and in my opinion better... does it have some noise gate on board, like other "smaller" line 6 distortion effects and amps (spider series)?
i noticed the drop in noise too, it must have something built in, i own the little big muff and it can get noisy to the extent that you cant hear your notes above the hum if you dont take care to set it right. This thing looks as close as youll get digitally.
a good guitarist can make almost anything sound good.. but the facts are ..you are listening to slices of tone as apposed to true linear tone.. the line six always sounds like the edges have been rounded off.. no good really.. just convenient.. if you want convenience..give up and put a cd on.
Perfect for me, considering i built a few filters to run in line with my signal to chop even more of the edges off. I love a round sound. Analog and tubes sound too harsh, to much top end, and there's no way to cut that until you get in the studio. I want it gone before it ever hits the cone.
tubes sound harsh? if you say so so buddy. but, that's flying in the face of over 50 years of great guitar amp tone... i guess that's what i get for listening to someone into jazz fusion.
There's just too much high end for my liking. The 'good tone' that you hear on every album has been studio processed to remove that. I'm not saying that tubes are bad, i'm just saying they don't fit my taste.
i love the pedal i use it everyday , the noise gate is a great feature , i would recomend it to anyone , even if you dont get all the sounds of the pedals it still pretty good on its own .
Big Muff always kick ass
7inutero 2 weeks ago
This is a great vid, no matter how you slice it, cheers!! Yeaahh this pedal is great, the delay version of this is a must for a board...just me, rock on!!
thebanginlucyband 4 weeks ago
I'm actually super impressed. The DM4 does the best a digital modeler can do against the real things, from what i hear. i actually thought the model for the mt-2 was better than the actual metal zone, but the compression that comes from digital is inevitable. the analogs sound so much more touch sensitive.
geoffcabforcutie 2 months ago
Excellent video!! LIne 6 did a good job but a digital pedal is just a digital pedal...it will never match an analog pedal...
levinjapan 2 months ago
@levinjapan - You've got to be joking - Do you think pedals are 'analog'? Any pedal with an IC chip (and they used them back in the Big Muff days) is technically a digital pedal.
cabell64 1 month ago
@cabell64: Take it easy dude!! I´m not a pro in the subject. If what you say is true who do digital e "analog" pedals sound different, which is the case with these pedals showed here and their counterparts on the line 6?
levinjapan 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@cabell64: Take it easy dude!! I´m not a pro in the subject. If what you say is true who do digital e "analog" pedals sound different, which is the case with these pedals showed here and their counterparts on the line 6?
levinjapan 1 month ago
owww I wanna the color sound... mmm line six is bad :(
paulomirko 2 months ago
very nice, i'm not a fan of digital but line6 definitely does it right. as far as i can tell, it kinda fell short on the Rat and Fuzz Face. in both cases it failed to recreate the trebly "grit" and bite that both pedals have in this video. and with the metal zone, the line6 sounded a bit more clear while the boss was a bit rougher. and the tubescreamer had a bit more of a "filtered" old fashioned tone whereas the line6 was brighter and more clear. it handled the lows really well though i felt.
hoboslullabies 2 months ago
I'm not a Line 6 fan, but they got it right with this one.
jfr04 2 months ago
Wow, I've owned this pedal for years now and have never been able to compare it to the originals. I always assumed it couldn't come close to the originals. It was very nice to see how close it actually gets! Of course my opinion is that the originals stand alone the DM4 gets close enough for anyone out there! Thanks for taking the time to compare these!
dghalbr 2 months ago
jesus.....all of them were pretty much spot on. but the RAT sounded bit punchier than the line 6 version. but....in reality (to all those gear geeks and tone hunters)....when your performing....will the audience really give a shit about such minor and negligable differences? no....not really. Great video though! must have been troublesome.
afy300 3 months ago
Big Muff undefeated!
Sleeckx 3 months ago 2
Great demo. Thanks for going to all the trouble you must have
trumarksurfnut 4 months ago
Wow...okay the line 6 modeller sounds indistinguishable from the ibanez tube screamer. That is awesome.
TomPark1986 5 months ago
the rat has richer harmonics othrs ok with lime 6
frans688 5 months ago
Pretty close, but the Line 6 models have slightly more compression and lower mids, or it could just be YT:D
FreakExcess 6 months ago
w w w .coollivesound.c o m /
Cool!!! For Sale
MrCharnnava 6 months ago
After hearing these, I have to wonder if the output levels to the amp were the same. On some models it seemed that the L6 had less overall output.
I don't know if there is any way to control the comparison so that output levels are exactly the same. If you could, I bet the L6 would get pretty close on every one, with a bit less operation noise.
disfrontman 7 months ago
It gets close the metal zone and color sound (better then the metal zone in my opinion!) but that's all.
Strayv1989 7 months ago
I found the Line 6 Rat was more pleasant that the original...
MrScotty219 7 months ago
Not too bad, it struggled the most when trying to emulate the Fuzz Face but still, a pretty impressivebox worth consideration. Thank you for your time.
Mr8mileshigh1 7 months ago
should i buy it for 80 dollars used?
Escapethehawthorne 7 months ago
You should do this kind of comparison with the other Line 6 stompbox modelers, that would be great!
MrMorelloJr 8 months ago
EHX IS STILL KING L6 IS TOO BASSY
IAMYOUFUKENTUBE 8 months ago
some pedals, especially those with compressed sounds by itself like big muff, sounds close. Fuzz Face puts Dm4 to shame, nowhere near close. Boss pedal also, tubescreamer sounds wobbly, rat does exactly the same. might work if you need a lot of different od/distortion sounds live, but for the studio it will not. I would say it is much better to get a good od/distortion pedal with the sound you love and work with it. and yes, i own line6 DL4 so not a fanboy nor hater.
vekkth 8 months ago
I play the Dm4 with a sonic maximizer and it's just awesome
DanielPumpkins 8 months ago
That is an impressive distortion modeler. I wonder how their other modelers compare.
Leesherwood 8 months ago
cool demo......they're close......nailed the tube screamer.....i like the bigmuff.......preciate it,.,
MrGodam29 9 months ago
The analog pedals sounds much clearer
WTig3r 9 months ago
so good ear tell me wheter is it a good great fantastic emulator or a bad one ? Does it sound better worse than original ? Different ? Just please no retarded fanboys "never will it sound that good as original hendrix fart"
smoku46 10 months ago
The sound of the Line 6 sound much more compressed compared to all the pedals.
It would have been usefull to have also a backing track so we could hear how each sound stands in the mix with drumbs and other instruments, i feel as if the Line 6 would not cut as easy in the mix
tarfin 10 months ago
@tarfin ...coming from a guy who spells drums as "drumbs"
MaximusArcher 10 months ago
@MaximusArcher Ye man like spelling was the topic of this video :). This is my opinion let's argue about it if you want, not spelling.
tarfin 10 months ago
thank you for playing fender twin, even a strat sounds amazing! awesome
piratpojken 10 months ago
great vid, cheers!
CHARrrrrrrrr 10 months ago
seems like the line 6 always has less depth and detail than the originals. It looks like the originals are first in the chain. That could be effecting the performance of the line 6. Old pedals didn't often have true by pass and could be coloring or restricting the line 6. I've compared my memory man to my line 6 delay modeler and I can't tell the difference. I'm splitting hairs..overall the line 6 sounds great and close enough ...and much cheaper than finding originals.
mixmastermonte 10 months ago
what's the name of the song?¿?
sebuzero 11 months ago
james hetfield used this lol
TheNameIsOZZY 11 months ago
Ive compared line 6 with analog stuff and I found I love the analog more! it just sounds better!! plus I don't need a pedal that trys to do everything?? just having your 1 or 2 fav OD's is enough I say :)
Fender1976uk 11 months ago
Would it be possible to use an EQ pedal to brighten/air up the Line 6?
meadish 1 year ago
I've just won one of these on eBay,£75,already have the dl4 and mm4,up until i heard these,it was boss all the way,I had a spider 2x10,which i sold very quickly,and was convinced I didn't like line 6 stuff
terrysteward 1 year ago
I've done a similar thing with Guitar Rig 3 ( at the time 3 was new), and well comparing Big Muff, Metal Zone, Tube Screamer to their virtual counterparts, I was AMAZED how spot on they were.
bradtwo 1 year ago
▋▋84.817 Tones POD XT LIVE line6 2.0 Pocket X3 STUDIO▋▋
web --- > myworld.ebay.es/paradisses/
line6download 1 year ago
Why dont you do the demo correctly? It's not representative when you put the modeler and the stomps in serial instead of putting the modeler out of the way when playing with the stomps.
Stahlross 1 year ago
now that is a great comparison. pretty close in my old ears and alot easier to caarry around. thanx dude
bobert247 1 year ago
I have a DM4, and what can I say that it is really great thing. May be vintage analogs sound warmer and more natural, but heavy distortions, like MT-2 for example, are even better than analog, olso there are very powerful line 6 overdrive and line 6 distortion. So with this distortion modeller I'm not getting tired of one type of sound, the diversity is great.
Volthrone 1 year ago
All the models sound a little dull compared to the originals and lacking an emotional quality except the MT-2 the line 6 was more dynamic
JM$.02
RickSpyder 1 year ago
sounds very similar
ToothyGus 1 year ago
@ToothyGus Sure, because the Line6 is not a true bypass pedal. The buffers suck tone even in bypass mode, and the analog pedals are wired in series with the line6...
Linsenpuppe 1 year ago
thanks man , great video.
and the original fuzz face kicks ass, never seen it before.
cucuk666 1 year ago
Bit of "Summer Breeze" in there? Lovely !! :-)
mathowlett 1 year ago
this pedal, or a TC Electronic Nova Drive ??
digupherbones 1 year ago
AWESOME DEMO. thanks.
4NXCHANGE 1 year ago
HAHA, this video was in my "recommended for you" box an it said "Line 6 Distortion Modeler v Anal..." xD
fridgeslayer94 1 year ago 34
@fridgeslayer94 SAME!
Zorlak108 1 year ago
@fridgeslayer94 And you still clicked on the video? :D
Yanniepenguin 9 months ago
the line 6 metal zone sounds better than the original.
AnalDan 1 year ago
@AnalDan
I have never understood why boss pedals are so popular, especially the metal zone. I tried it when I was looking for a metal distortion, but it just sucked... The boss metal core is already a bit better, but in the end I bought a Hardwire ('Digitech Deluxe') Metal Distortion. About the same price, but so much better.
Arcenicum 1 year ago
The best emulations are the medium gain pedals (Tube Screamer and Colorsound). But Pro Co Rat emulation works, too.
PabloKleinMusic 1 year ago
Comment removed
PabloKleinMusic 1 year ago
I thought the tubescreamer emulation was pretty spot on, otherwise not so much.
CaptainWampum 1 year ago
I think the Tube Screamer is emulated really well.
loetkolben31 1 year ago
As usual, the Line 6 stuff is great. I am a fan of their stuff, but if I were to invest in just a distortion/ overdrive pedal I would put the money into a Wampler as it is the best sounding one I have heard to date. This Modeler by Line 6 though certainly does the job of emulating these old style pedals. Thanks for the demo!
wonekawa 1 year ago
I think that it sterilizes some of the organic overtones usually associated with vintage pedals but also reduces background noise in most instances. Overall
it does a very nice job. IMHO... Thanks for the demo!
joeschmoe411 1 year ago
As usual with line 6, it's close to the original, but the sound is compressed without high end, and the pedal hide guitarist touch. This kind of pedal is interesting to find the pedals you prefered and buy the original one.
lastWhiteKingdom 1 year ago
@bumsex4me i would still buy the Rocktron Gainiac2 tube preamp (~$250US) before this
0yex 1 year ago
Wake up call for me. Had no idea that pedal could do that. Now if i could just get used to the idea of modeling.
gibsonrd1 1 year ago
Pretty good
radomu1 1 year ago
did u have to make adjustments to the dm4 or are those the original presets from factory?
mrkyt77 1 year ago 4
The DM4 is stock.
blondegraemey 1 year ago
@blondegraemey I'm sorry, I was asking if u had to tweak the presets to match the other pedals
mrkyt77 1 year ago
Yes I dialed the line 6 as close as I could to the boxes. G
blondegraemey 1 year ago
the tube screamers sounded completely identical to me. With the others, there seemed to be a kind of 'curtain' in front of the sound of the line six if that makes sense lol. It sounded good enough to me, but you could tell the difference.
jamesjonesrocket 1 year ago
I hate your demos. I'm now thinking of ways to afford all these boxes... LOL
Seriously, thanks a lot for your insightful reviews of these effects units. They tell me all I need to know about them.
nickeax 1 year ago
the originals seems to have much more top end detail and have that air and openness, personally thats what i look for in a sound. but the line 6 is convenient! and probably close enough. all your vid' s are top quality
thinwire 1 year ago
The line 6 m0deled Tube screamer is the 0nly 0ne that even s0unds rem0tely cl0se t0 the real Tube Screamer the 0thers s0und n0t quite right
scottd1984 1 year ago
Ok Ill describe it perfectly for yall tone hunting junkies. Its like going to see an awesome tribute band. If you drink A little and sit in the back then you may not tell much of A difference. BUT if you sit up front and only drink A little you will 100% for sure rather see the real band than A tribute band. Also A tribute band cost mabey 5 -10 bucks to see while the real band can cost 50-100bucks,but you do get what you pay for. I myself like both real bands and tribute bands.Hope this helps.
caincolesr 1 year ago
But does it replicate the Uber metal by line 6? Because that's the best distortion I've EVER found and nothing is as good, partially because of the awesome gate and scoop but mostly the thing is just VERSATILE!
potp5150 1 year ago
even if you hear the difference, even if if the real analog pedals sound better, i'll highly doubt you still can on stage with a drunk audiece throwing beer at you, and your drummer using his cymbals...
line 6 did a great job in my opinion.
wideman0008 1 year ago
blondegraemey what it is your opinion about this DM4, does it get closer to the real deal? or at least it captures de escence?
cheers
sebace 1 year ago
I think it does a great job and is an excellent alternative to hunting down all the originals if you don't have the money to buy vintage effects. G
blondegraemey 1 year ago 11
close but not enough- lacks punchiness imho
sergeramic 1 year ago
what is the song at 0:01 ?
thank
LILKUNFRI 1 year ago
Pretzel Cable. Awesome. Lol
LegoBen 1 year ago
FUCK YES! I AM SO BUYING ONE A SAP! =)
ElectricLadyT 1 year ago
one must be incredibly picky (or have dog ears) to find any differences between the modeled and the real effects.
mtsn 1 year ago
the big muff setting sounded nothin like the pedal like all the life was out of it
KClock3r 1 year ago
honestly man 48 pedals or 3 which sounds better now ? HMMMMMMM?
autoharp101 1 year ago
carp about the difference all you want,I have the purple , gold and blue models and if you wanted to put their counter parts in a live set-up you would need a seperate friggin' stage for the pedals !
autoharp101 1 year ago
The Fuzz face and the Big Muff sounded darker as models.
bigfish0886 1 year ago
i have a feeling the line 6 would have serious issues cutting through a mix
Playasarus92 1 year ago
Lin6 sounds better than the Rat. The Big Muff model does not seem to breath as much, definately not as alive.
GuitarLessonSarasota 1 year ago
Only seems to cut the treble on some but overall I think it sounds pretty close and the treble can be adjusted anyway form the amp. so it seems to be a good choice...thanks for the video
stevoe1000 1 year ago
i saw joe perry (aerosmith) in Bercy (Paris) with that stomp instead of his distos collection!!! 0.0
kokiri77 1 year ago
@kokiri77 James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of 'Tallica use this too.
Langtw 1 year ago
@kokiri77 ´-cause it rocks madly !!!! really!!! you just need to tweak and you are in man¡)¡)) people just remain saying that analog are WAY better because their parents taught them that
rockandroller007 10 months ago
Honestly, if I were listening to someone at a show, I couldn't tell the difference, and the few that I could really hear a difference, especially the rat and metal zone, sounded better than the originals. The only one I'd say was not as good as the original was the tube screamer (well the only one I'd want on my board to add to it as well.)
iloveGod90 1 year ago
DM4 seems extremely compressed when compared to the originals. It's like you can almost hear the 1's and 0's coming through the speaker
dci100 1 year ago
Great work with the A/B comparison.
I am a diehard tube/analog guy when it comes to amps if I can help it, but with pedals, I like the Line 6 if you're into it for budgetary/convenience reasons, etc. The thing is, even though the tone is getting processed through a digital emulator, if the signal still gets run into a tube amp (especially a classic, straightforward hot piece of ass like a Fender Twin), one can get great tube tone.
PitcherIPA 1 year ago
That awesome tube warmth comes through when you're in the room with the speaker or on a recording made by an engineer who knows what the hell he's doing (it definitely does not come through on a youtube video listened to through laptop speakers.) I was really impressed with the Tube Screamer especially, as a Fender Guitar through a tube screamer into a Fender tube amp (e.g., Twin, Twin Reverb, Reverb Deluxe***) is just about my favorite guitar tone, and very simple to boot.
PitcherIPA 1 year ago
I would assert that one cannot tell the difference between the pedal or the line 6 if this were an actual double blind test. Especially if you were able to adjust for differences that exist more because of settings rather than analog vs. digital. Again, the amplification is still tube based, so you can still get the tube warmth even using a digital pedal.
PitcherIPA 1 year ago
I am a bass player, I play a '69 PBass through a 1967 Ampeg Portaflex fliptop (all tube) amp and I occasionally use the Line 6 DL4 Delay modeler (with nothing else in the loop) and I can assert that you CANNOT tell the difference in tone between the DL4 being on or off. Yes with an emulator, there will be differences in the settings and the tone because they're augmenting the signal in very different ways...
PitcherIPA 1 year ago
but these differences ARE NOT DUE TO Analog vs. Digital, but rather other factors. At the end of the day, it all comes down to your taste.
Also, although their pedals are great, line six amps sound like shit. emulating tube amplification is a COMPELTELY different ballpark than emulating analog effects.
I really think this is a great pedal choice if you really need the variety. That said, for most guitar players, quantity IT NOT quality.
PitcherIPA 1 year ago
I really think this is a great pedal choice if you really need the variety. That said, for most guitar players, quantity IT NOT quality. Picking out one or maybe two stompboxes you love and really know how to use is a solid legit way to go. If you think you need a different distortion tone for every song means you probably are overcompensating. (Maybe I could see this if you're in a cover band that plays a bunch of styles).
PitcherIPA 1 year ago
@PitcherIPA very true. I had the modulation version of this pedal (blue one) and while it was cool to have 16 different effects on hand, i found myself constantly returning to 2 effects, so i took it off my board to replace it with a phase and tremolo pedal
BradSpead7 1 year ago
There is definitely something to be said for finding your "sound" and rolling with that.
Also, to those who are over pedals all together, I would like to mention the Fender Reverb Deluxe. It is an affordable, all tube classic that is low wattage enough that you can just crank the gain and get natural distortion which sounds nicer than probably any stomp box. But the Tube Screamer still does a damn fine job.
Ok, I'm done geeking out over guitar tone.
Great video, thanks for the work.
PitcherIPA 1 year ago
hmmm i def think that the original pedals are much better in tone but im just an analog guy. I think that the originals are just more dynamic and have more body and umph to them. I loved that vintage tone you got from your fuzz face i wanna get one bad! I might later on but im saving up for a new amp righ now. Im gonna try getting a mesa boogie dual rec off of guitasr center used for around 1.2k and get a cheap used marshall cab or somthin
hiian123 1 year ago
Im am metal zone owner myself and i know when my baby is being copied and when i heard that my alarm just went CRAZY!!!!!
ChrisONGuitar1 1 year ago
@ChrisONGuitar1 Lol. Your baby? Learn a thing or two about tone.
rp1986 1 year ago
@rp1986 Me???? Dude...OK... Digital will NEVER compete with Analog Firstly because there is sooooo much demand for analog pedals now than before. And secondly because i Will always pick analog pedal over a digital.
ChrisONGuitar1 1 year ago
Line 6 VS colorsound : colorsound wins
Line 6 VS ProCo Rat : Line 6 wins
Line 6 VS SHX Big Muff: Big Muff wins (but line 6 is a lot cleaner)
Line 6 VS Fuzz Face: Fuzz Face wins (though I don't like em both)
Line 6 VS Boss Metal Zone: Line 6 wins (both suck but line 6 sucked a little bit less)
Line 6 VS Ibanez Tubescreamer: Tubescreamer wins
Overall winner: Analog Originals!
MoonlightShadowlolz 1 year ago
@MoonlightShadowlolz NO WAYYY ¡!!!!! are you being serious¡¡¡¿¿??? I got this DM4 for over a 100 bucks, and it sound like my Ibanez TS808 which costed much more, theres a very samll difference in sound, really,but not a 100 bucks difference, and just counting the TS808 what about colorsound pedal, big muff, fuzz face, etc...... more than a 1000 dollars, !!! 1000 vs 100 buck ¡??? I bet LINE 6 WINS HERE ª!!!!
rockandroller007 10 months ago
@rockandroller007 No it doesn't, you'll see when you play a bit longer and get older
GuidoJeurissenAV 10 months ago
@MoonlightShadowlolz trust me, LINE 6 WINS AFTER ALL¡¡¡!!!!! and i love analog pedal, but this DM4 is a complete beast for the price, theres no competence !!!!
rockandroller007 10 months ago
mmm... Aún no me convence la idea de usar pedales digitales. Yo uso el DS-1 (Boss) + Bad Monkey (Digitech) + Roland Jazz Chorus 120, y es impresionante, es un sonido cálido y compacto. Les recomiendo esta combinación. Slds VIVA CHILE!!
JUANKA2909 1 year ago
i was wondering how does the twin amp sound clean and drive because im looking to buy one. Thanks and hello from Mexico :)
dragonboy2992 1 year ago
Sounds great. I've gigged that Twin for more than 10 years. G
blondegraemey 1 year ago
@blondegraemey could you do a review please? Im thinking of buying one but cant find a good demo
dragonboy2992 1 year ago
no exacly the same but ther pretty darn good
glubibobi 1 year ago
most of them sound to me a little thinner and duller... but it's a very subtle difference.
the thing is, the sound we get is the microphone image: even with the most accurate mic you lose a little bit of the differences. and what's worse we get it trough youtube compression. you probably couldn't tell the difference between a cat's meow and a dog's bark here.
useless987 1 year ago
the fuzz face modeler is a bit off
KaossPadGuitars 1 year ago
MAN there isn't much comparison huh? THE hand wired vintage stuff. just somethin about it. probably the reason there hasn't been a noteable guitarist since everything got shipped to japan.
sjctuber 1 year ago
Cheers for taking time to make and post this, TOP WORK LAD!! I've used one of these professionally since they first came out purely to have 4 different good quality hairy tones in the one pedal but it's interesting to see a direct AB test with the pedals it's meant to sound like, pretty damned close I'd say.
sixstring58 1 year ago
Awesome review!!! Line 6 actually sounds not bad, but from what I hear it's digital overdrive's are more smooth meaning that with "real" pedals articulation is much better.
tomeklawreszuk 1 year ago
Hmmm. The line 6 emulates every pedal very nicely, but its like a layer of sound has been sliced off. Just a tad bit thinner and not quite as responsive. Still a fantastic distortion pedal. I think I like the line 6 Rat and Metal Zone better. And the Tube Screamer is dead on!
guitardude1230 1 year ago
Pretty , dang close. I'd like to see how many of these digital haters could tell in a double blind comparison.
DJAMAYAOFFICIAL 1 year ago
For the demo be ok, analog pedals should not be connected to line 6, in serie. Because they are in a series the digital influence the other.
Basic rule, don´t mix analogue with digital.
Analog and digital are two good options, depending upon the purpose and budget.
necasdevaladares 1 year ago
yes, the analog pedals by themselves sound a little better, but it's 250 for the Line 6 and would be 600 for all those pedals.
jesusofsuburbia57 1 year ago
@jesusofsuburbia57 -dude, all of those vintage pedals would be way more than just $600! Even newer reissues would be more. But I guess that just further proves your point. :P
StevesGuitars 1 year ago
Personally I think I'll go ahead and stick with my fuzz face
Dw5653 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
the line 6 sounds like overpriced garbage.
rockfreak611 1 year ago
@rockfreak611 HAVING OWNED THE REAL PEDALS AND THE LINE 6
ITS HARD TO TELL MY 68 FUZZ FACE SOUNDS JUST AS GOOD AS THE LINE 6 BUT NOT BETTER
rogerthehat 1 year ago
cool vid, but it's a bit hard to tell with the you tube video quality.
rnfr 1 year ago
the originals sound louder. imo.
andy92811 2 years ago
Comment removed
jazzfusionforall 2 years ago
How can I listen to the full version of Candleman song that takes place on the intro it is so beautifull????
MAVERICKALP 2 years ago
I have uploaded the full song with a video of pedal photos. See my other videos.
blondegraemey 2 years ago
@blondegraemey Thank you~
MAVERICKALP 2 years ago
Im amazed at how similar it sounds, im always very dubious about modelled distortions but would consider this after seeing this review. I use a boss ds-2 in conjunction with a little big muff which once set up properly together gives me some gorgeous textures from my lp, i cant help but feel that fuzz boxes always sound more effective on single coils, looks like im in the market for a new strat thanks to you g haha.
TheDonge77 2 years ago
:) Another believer. finally i'm not alone!
jazzfusionforall 2 years ago
I think superficially the line 6 resembles them all but you can tell it's a digital emulator and sounds to my ears cold and clinical, the tube screamer is a beautiful pedal not heard one before.
vamtim 2 years ago 2
Great test! It's sounds very nice and quite close to orginals :)
Siergiejl 2 years ago
...so now hook ALL of them up!
MUAHAHAHAHAHHA
FuriousGopher 2 years ago 14
I would have to say that the analog boxes each have a unique flavor over their Line 6 counterparts. I could hear the Line 6 sucking tone from the strat as well. I know there are no right and wrong in effects and personal taste, so if the Line 6 sounds great to you, then definately take advantage of the fact that you dont have to carry around six different distortion pedals. Personally, I gave up on pedal drives. Nothing comes close to the high gain sound of an all tube amp(Laney, Mesa, Marshall)
79Sp3cI4L 2 years ago 15
You're right. Nothing could be so loud and obnoxiously fizzy without being all tubes all the time.
jazzfusionforall 2 years ago
@79Sp3cI4L so true you dont need distortion pedals when you have a great tube amp
drivingsidewayz1 1 year ago
@79Sp3cI4L very good point, unfortunately though, not everyone has that amount of money for a huge mesa tube amp, so i guess this in that price is the next best thing!
bumsex4me 1 year ago
@79Sp3cI4L Tube amps are great, but many of the great players use a combination of pedals and tube amps to get their signature sound. You can't do it with amps alone.
bealemoment 1 year ago
This is basically what my ears hear:
Coloursound- more or less the same sound, RAT- not really the same sound, Big Muff- a more cleaned up version, Fuzz Face- more or less spot on, Metal Zone- more rougher and grittier than the original, Tubescreamer- spot on
i think the line 6 does quite a good job, its not going to do everything perfect but it does most of it quite true to the originals
thirdynumberone 2 years ago
It definitely doesn't do the Muff justice, although I'm not sure that your tone controls were set identically? If so, then the Line 6 doesn't do it for me, The RAT also, it sounds less edgey... Fuzz Face the same really, Metal Zone is very close, Tube Screamer isn't done justice, but again are your settings identical? The Color Sound is pretty close as well. All that said, the Line 6 is a lovely bit of kit if you're not really anal about sounds and just want to get close. what do you think?
thetraincatcher 2 years ago
I tried one of these Line6 units, and maybe it was just me...(disclaimer)... but i didn't get that "response" I get with the actual analog pedals.
Again...maybe it's just me. :)
ravenslaves 2 years ago
Very close. sounds good
PutItAway101 2 years ago
Line 6 has a better defined response in my opinion.
ogunhe 2 years ago
It sounds "cleaner" in some way and in my opinion better... does it have some noise gate on board, like other "smaller" line 6 distortion effects and amps (spider series)?
MiHnik9988 2 years ago
Yes, it has the noise gate, I just choose to turn it off as I don't like gates but it does have one. G
blondegraemey 2 years ago
i noticed the drop in noise too, it must have something built in, i own the little big muff and it can get noisy to the extent that you cant hear your notes above the hum if you dont take care to set it right. This thing looks as close as youll get digitally.
TheDonge77 2 years ago
line 6 is a pretty good choice among modelers, you only have to know how to use it.
welcometo86 2 years ago
more digital*
plxplxkthx 2 years ago
I thought the LIne 6 did a very good job! Just think how much all those pedals would cost! Plus how much room they would take up!
1992YR 2 years ago
Was that a reference to Type O Negative's cover of "Summer Breeze" starting at 4:56 ?
PaulBarte 2 years ago
....yeah but these go up to eleven...
aenima187 2 years ago 2
a good guitarist can make almost anything sound good.. but the facts are ..you are listening to slices of tone as apposed to true linear tone.. the line six always sounds like the edges have been rounded off.. no good really.. just convenient.. if you want convenience..give up and put a cd on.
dumalucky 2 years ago
Perfect for me, considering i built a few filters to run in line with my signal to chop even more of the edges off. I love a round sound. Analog and tubes sound too harsh, to much top end, and there's no way to cut that until you get in the studio. I want it gone before it ever hits the cone.
jazzfusionforall 2 years ago
tubes sound harsh? if you say so so buddy. but, that's flying in the face of over 50 years of great guitar amp tone... i guess that's what i get for listening to someone into jazz fusion.
rnfr 1 year ago
There's just too much high end for my liking. The 'good tone' that you hear on every album has been studio processed to remove that. I'm not saying that tubes are bad, i'm just saying they don't fit my taste.
jazzfusionforall 1 year ago
i love the pedal i use it everyday , the noise gate is a great feature , i would recomend it to anyone , even if you dont get all the sounds of the pedals it still pretty good on its own .
elioyzenaida5150 2 years ago
the big muff was way off too:S
jamesstone123 2 years ago
i wouldnt care what it sounds like if im honest.... it's bright fucking gold.
come and take a look at liberace's pedalboard kids
jamesstone123 2 years ago
the fuzz face is off, but he screamer was identical... if you boght this there is no need for another distortion pedal ever
BaconBradlee 2 years ago
@BaconBradlee but it would be a pain to adjust during a show.
popomczowzow 2 years ago