User Comments    VettaToolkit's

Comments on the CAB Upgrade

All the comments below are from Vetta users of the public Vetta forum  'Institute Of Noise Forum'

Comments on the DI Upgrade

I'm a firm believer in Armin's upgrades. For the longest time
I thought the D.O.'s sounded hollow and weak but now, just
like he said, it sounds like what's coming out of the speakers.
I say do it. Worh every penny. I have no idea why Line 6 hasn't
done something about it yet. They got a lot of things going on
with other products too. He also created a Cab model which
sounds very balanced too. I say go for it.

(pedritin)

Worth it? Hell, yes! Soundmen can finally leave the board's EQ flat.

Who knows why Line 6 hasn't done it or what they think about it? If we get another upgrade, don't be surprised to find something very similiar to Armin's mic sims included.

The cab is certainly a nice addition to the Vetta's arsenal, it has a sound of it's own that really extends our tonal options. With it, I was able to bring some amp models to life that I had previously written off as lost causes, partiularly the Line 6 Treadplate and post 2.0 Soldano. It does get rid of that woofiness that a lot of the other cab sims have without sounding too thin, and it has a nice midrange quality to it.

I played a gig tonight, and the soundman was a guy I work with on a fairly consistent basis. He showed me the EQ curve he uses on my DOs through the PA, and tonight, he said he was gradually adjusting it until it was almost completely flat. Not bad, eh?

(No Pride)

yes :-)

(gomez1856)

I'm finally using my Vetta II Head Marshall loaded Genz-Benz cabinets Live! The reason: Armin's models are giving me the sounds I was looking for out of the Vetta. This setup offers me a great Live sounds and FOH mix! I sure hope L6 incorporates this into there next upgrade...Well worth the effort/money!

Is it worth it? Hell yea. My brand new Vetta II Head has sit in my studio for a couple of months while I play out every weekend. the main reason is that I was real disappointed with the Direct Outs and did not want to mike my rig as I stand real close to a loud, thumppin' bass player. Now I feel I finally have the patches and the sound to take the rig out for live (or recorded) perfomance.

This patch fixes what I consider a major shortcomming on the Vetta. Although, it would be nice to emmulate mike types and positioning for recording, most live performances demand a straight forward representation of what's comming out of the cabinet...That's why most guitarists have used an SM57. I feel Armin's mod is what the SM57 - On Axis model should have been.

Cheers,
Alan

(favance)

I think the upgrade is definately worth it.

(squealie)

Do the DI's sound better? Sure seems that way, but tone's in the ear of the beholder. How does the Armin 4x12 cab sound? imho, this alone was worth the price of admission.

Does it blow up your Vetta or disable any functionality? Nope. Is it hard to install? For the "pre-L6 monkey/pre-L6 Edit users, its a snap. What if L6 releases an update that adds the same or better functionality? Revert back to the 2.03 Factory and go with the L6 update if you like it better, you're out a whopping $40. (I consider Armin's license fee a $40 investment to keep L6 in check.)

Is there some degree of risk associated with this? Try as I might, I just can't seem to think of anything worthwile in life that doesn't carry some degree of risk. For me, that's the best motivation for chewing through the leather straps and getting out of bed every morning, for others, its seems an indication that the meds aren't working...

(mumphus)

After my initial first two hours of playing through Armin's new mods I must say that it cures what ailed me. Even many of the factory preset patches sound a ton more realistic and useable when switched over to his new cab and mic models .... and be just as happy as ever because the tone is outstanding. There are amp models that I have never liked for direct recording that now sound great and flattering. Most noteable are some of the high gain and dirt tones. The Deizel's, Bogner's, and the Fender's take on a whole new level of tone. The fizziness and phasey-ness is gone. The mids are more balanced and the "oomph" that Java had an EQ fix for is addressed here as well. I would have examined more amp models but I got to enjoying the first few that I tried that I ended up loosing track of what time it was (and now I have to go to work).
Best $40 I've spent in a long time. Highly recommended.

Worth every penny (and a few more at least). This mod has totally opened up new tones to me and makes almost all of the Line6 amp models sounds 100% better. Plus the fact that Armin has continually offered buyers free upgrades speaks highly of the pride he takes in his work. Best $40 I've spent in a long long time.

One thing that hasn't been discussed here about Armin's mod (unless I've missed it somewhere along the way) is how the money transactions went. I just used a VISA and I had the mod downloaded in less than two minutes via an automated email that Armin had set-up. Couldn't have been any smoother in my mind. My wife was skeptical about doing business with a complete stranger clear on the other side of the globe but I persisted and am glad I did. "Great job" to Armin for having everything in place in such a convenient and professional manner. I am very impressed with how everything went, including how prompt Armin was to my replies when I was confused about the installation procedure.

After more time spent with the new mod voicings I am loving them all the more. I think I had more luck finding tones I liked tonight with less hassle and less tweaking than I've ever had before. I was just fooling around and re-recording some guitar parts on an unfinished band song when I came across some weird combinations. I took the Uber Bomber model along with the DC30 model (cranked the volume and put the gain @ 2:00) and used Armin's 4x12 on both and set the mic sim at the #3 stereo setting. I used stock/default post-comp and post-EQ (boosted the EQ@800HZ on the DC30), used the VettaJuice with the gain maxed, slapped on some reverb, post echo, and echo pedal #3, and it was sonic nirvana through my '72 Tele Thinline Reissue. Extremely fat, spongey, detailed, and articulate. Felt more like a pair of tube amps than I ever experienced so far on my Vetta. And that was through my studio monitors. It sounded like a mic'd pair of amps. Just for kicks I switched the mic settings back to all of the original Line6 settings for comparison -- they totally killed the tone. It made it extremely obvious that the Line6 mic sims suck in the mids department. And another thing I noticed was how I actually was able to somewhat crank the gain on the amp models without getting too fizzy. Suddenly I feel like I am able to have my cake and eat it too. I still cannot believe how good Armin's mic sims sound. Dang. It was so easy to just dial in "whatever" when I used his cab and mic sims. Seemed like it was hard to make my tones sound bad regardless of what amp model I used. I just through these settings together without much thought. They just sounded good. But as soon as I would switch back to the original Line6 mic sims I was reminded of what I've been fighting with all this time. Makes me wonder how many folks who have given up on the Vetta in the past due to not being able to find good tones would still be using their Vetta today if they had access to these mods.


Now sporting a "New and Improved" Armin-modded Vetta HD.

(Mauvehead)

Well I just bought it and it is great!
Way to go Armin!

I really hope we see more from you soon.
DI-1 and your CAB make a HUGE difference.
 
Thanks again!

(baranger1)

I got the Mod. Love It! Couple of things I learned.

If line 6 modelled, accurately, the mics and cabs used, then I believe them. But they sound buzzy compared to Armin's Mod. And if his mod is not accurate in that it models an actual mic/cab, but only sweetens the sound artificially, then so be it! I prefer his mic and cabinet over EVERY other cab on the Vetta wehther it be 2x12 or 4x12. Granted his mod is modelled to sound more like the sound you get from the Vetta, but I spend most of my time tweaking it that way and not through the DO's. Now, I can be assured my sound will translate into the house PA through the PA.

AWESOME ASWESOME AWESOME.

No doubt Line 6 is watching this and they will either pay Armin for his mod, or develop their own. Either way my Vetta has just doubled in value to me!

(redbaron)

Comments on the CAB Upgrade

Armin,
The new cabs are great. Some of my favorites for high gain usage are A05-A09, A14, A16, especially A19, and A26. These cabs are really full-out aggresive and punchy. Thrash lovers and gain hounds must get these upgrades. These cabs and DI's make the Vetta more metal sounding than anything I've ever played through before. Not to mention awesome clean and dirt/overdrive tones too. Well done. Another $40 well spent. The new number of options has just sky-rocketed thanks to you. There are so many possibilties in this amp that it is staggering to consider. Great job!

Only a few of Armin's new cabs sound like his original 4x12 that came with the DI upgrade. These new cabs really span a wide range of variances. Some are boxier. Some are very anti-boxy. But at least there is a ton of variety for Vetta's huge amount of amp models and stomp boxes. And for anyone thinking that Armin has simply reinvented his first 4x12 mod, think again. Some of the new cabs are far removed from his first offering, so there are major options here. You can get harsh sounding or spongy or sweet or dry or loose. Whatever. It is pretty impressive, either heard through your favorite guitar speakers or else through the DI's into a recorder or PA.
As far as the differences in phase, I would have to agree that I don't notice some of those differences through my G-Flex cab as much as I do through my powered studio monitors. But just like Armin's DI improvements over the original Line6 DI's, his cabs do sound more realistic and natural than Line6's cab models. So far I've found the biggest improvement when using Armin's cab models is when using higher gain amp models. Unreal. They just sound "right there". I'm sure I'll get plenty of chances here in the next few weeks to try out clean tones, but so far I've been enjoying the high gain stuff too much to pull away. It's been nice doing more playing and less tweaking. It just seems a lot easier to dial in the tones I'm after.
As for buying the cab upgrade just go for it....OPTIONS!!

(Mauvehead)

I have had my Vetta for 2+ years and have been looking for a certain sound in my head. I can make that sound now! With Armin's new cabs the amp just comes to life in a way even my wife can hear (and she was skeptical in the first place)! Instead of buzzy flat distortion it is full and smooth with every flavor of richness you could possibly imagine. I'm not even going to use the Line 6 cabs anymore, I can't they just don't sound as good.

I never thought that the cab models would make such a huge difference. If any of you have given it the least amount of thought go for it. $40 is nothing compared with sonic harmony....

(iclimb511b)

Ok, I bought the cab upgrade and I LOVE IT!!! The different models enable me to bring my patches more to life and take the cloak off the sound even more than the first cab upgrade did. I have so many more tonal options!!! WOW! Keep up the good work, Armin.

I, on the other hand, DO like Armins initial 4x12 cab. But with just the two patches I modified, both lead patches, I changed to Cab10 and Cab7 on one and Cab10 and Cab18 on another (his new cabs just have numbers, you'll have to make your own map...). I just cranked that puppy up and hammered some notes while changing the cabs until I got to the ones that I liked the best. They are pretty subtle as you go through the range. One thing I noticed is that the noise is gone from those two patches now. They weren't super high gain, but with the guitar on you could hear a little hiss. With the new cab models, the hiss is gone, but the full frequency range is still there....How nice!!! Now I can make the Vetta scream without any shrillness. I must say, I LOVE THIS AMP!! Most especially now that I've upgraded to Armins add-ons. I set the amp on 1/2 power the master at about 10 or 11 o'clock in my music room (maybe 12 o'clock at a gig - never more than that so far). Stereo, 2 2x12 cabinets with Carvin BR100 speakers in them. I'm going to load one of the cabinets with Celestion Black Shadows in stereo just to see how it sounds. The Vetta sounded great with a 2x12 in stereo with EV's in it. I also have 2 1x12 cabinets that I can use for smaller gigs if I like. This is a very versatile setup....oh, and did I say, I LOVE THIS AMP!?!?!?!
EQ is the name of the game, and Armins cabinets give me LOTS of options.
Mike.

(sneakermike)

Hey, Armin I love these new cabs, they totally help me fine tune my sounds. So far I have all your upgrades and can say every one of them are worth the money 100%. Thanks and keep up the great work.

(krash73)  

I just bought the cabinet upgrade....here's my take on it:

First of all I got a discount becasue I am a current customer...thx Armin.

I backed up all my patches, but they were not lost in the process....so no need to worry.

Performing the upgrade was EASY....only took about 5 minutes.

At first I thought....OMG 27 new cabinets, I'll be tweaking forever to get a good sound.

I was pleasantly surprised....the cabinets are laid out in a very logical order. It actually makes finding a good tone from any patch actually faster......a lot faster if you can believe that.

I suspect that the cabinet mods are simply EQ changes (correct me if I am wrong Armin) but they actually make the amp easier/faster to use. You can dial things in really fast. After this mod there is little need for any of the Line 6 stock cabinets IMO. This upgrade should be a godsend for live work with changing envoirnments.....you can compensate for live enviornments very fast and easy.

As Wildcat stated in another thread.....as you are twisting through the cabs...Armin 6 really hits home for the heavy stuff. I suspect it's a scooped sound with a lot of very low end gain (Armin hit paydirt on this one folks)....I'll run A6 on one amp and A4 or A5 on another.

I took all my existing patches (which I spent hours and hours making) and improved evey one of them with these cabinet upgrades in just minutes. Best $29 I ever spent IMO.

(vhfan)

All I can tell you is that Armin's cab mods turn the Vetta from Very Good into Awesome.

Especially, in many cases, Armin Cab 6.

And sometimes 14 and 25-27.

( WildCat )

Without question get the speaker and direct out sims. It's going to make a "day & night" difference in the way your Vetta can sound.
I felt the same way intially about the price. But then was having one of those days trying to direct record and getting that sizzely sound...
I'm certainly glad I went for it! Your not just getting a 2 or 3 nice cab sounds, but some where around THIRTY additional cabs or more. With the Direct out sims you get about a half dozen. More than enough to find a sound your looking for.
Being that Armin is not working for line 6 or part of some big company team. It really was a lot of work for the guy to sit down and do this, I'm sure mainly for himself, then offering it to others. Personally, I'm glad he did!! Who knows how long it's gonna take for Line 6 to release anymore Vetta updates. If you've had a chance to take a look at any of the other Line 6 product line forums, every single one of them is bitching about some type of bug fix and update. I know the Vetta is do, but Line 6 sure has a lot on thier plate. Plus George (at Line 6) said he was super short handed at the moment, so taking some of that into consideration, it may be awhile. Even then, that update may or may not sound good. Armin's mod's sound awesome, and more importantly, they sound awesome NOW, not 6 months from now. I can think of sillier ways to spend 50 quid, so go for it. You won't regret it.
:-)

( ctyelvis )

Line6 is a registered trademark of the Line6 Corporation. More Information about the Vetta can be found at the Line6 homepage http://www.line6.com
All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with  soundside.de
 These trademarks are used solely for the purpose of describing certain amplifier tones trying to produce with the Line6 Vetta