Guitar Amps Our Top 10: How to Choose Your First Guitar Amp The Ultimate Beginner's Guide
Buying your first guitar amp? Find the best affordable amps for beginners, from tube to solid-state and modeling.
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Line 6
Susan Wolf, Marcus Ryle and Michel Doidic founded Line 6 in Calabasas, California, in 1996, launching straight in with the AxSys 212 — one of the first digital modelling amplifiers on the market. The POD followed in 1998 and put amp and cab modelling into home studios that had never had access to it before, and the Helix platform, launched in 2015, became the brand's flagship modeller for stage and studio alike. Yamaha has owned Line 6 since 2014, folding it into the first Guitar Division it ever created. Helix updates, POD Express releases and amp-modeler comparisons make up most of what we cover. Here's what we've written.
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Limited Edition Line 6 HX One White
Line 6 drops a stunning limited-edition white HX One—250+ effects in a compact pedalboard stompbox. Thomann exclusive.
Founded1996
Based inCalabasas, California, USA
FounderMarcus Ryle, Michel Doidic and Susan Wolf
Parent companyYamaha Corporation
Articles here36
Makes
- Modelling amplifiers
- Multi effects
- Electric guitars
- Wireless systems
- Software
Known for
- Helix
- POD
- DL4
- Variax
- Spider
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Line 6 FAQ4 questions
What is the Line 6 Helix?
It is Line 6's flagship modelling and multi effects platform, covering amp models, cabinets, effects and routing in one unit. It is the product most of our Line 6 coverage revolves around, including the Helix Stadium and the Native plugin version that runs in a DAW.
Is Line 6 owned by Yamaha?
Yes. Yamaha acquired Line 6 in 2013. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Calabasas, California.
What was the Line 6 POD?
The kidney shaped desktop amp modeller from 1998 that made amp modelling mainstream for home recording. It is the direct ancestor of everything Line 6 makes now, and of much of the modelling market generally.
Is modelling good enough to replace a real amp?
For recording and for most live use, the honest answer now is yes, and the argument has largely moved on to which modeller rather than whether. Our coverage tracks that, including where free options such as NAM captures are closing the gap on paid platforms.