Why did Line6 stick it to their customers?

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GearGasms

GearGasms

Doctor Love
The Line6 Amplifi - the biggest product failure in Line6's history? Why did they release such a forward thinking, way ahead of it's time, smart app enabled practice amp only to discontinue production and support in less than 4 years? Why did they sit on the sidelines and watch Yamaha and Positive Grid eat their lunch with their SUCCESSFUL smart practice amps? The Amplifi was so much better than both of those in a bunch of ways. They didn't even stabilize the Bluetooth before they turned their backs on us, their customers.
I was a Line6 guy for years - the AX2, POD, Spider IV's, Gearbox and Podfarm - always defended them against the haters. But no more. I can't find a recent parallel where another company stuck it to their customers the way Line6 did with the Amplifi.
Regardless, here's a good look at what still could be a successful product for them, but no, they think they can beat Boss Katana and release the dreadful Catalyst instead. An amp, by the way, that is not selling well at all after the initial spate of YouTube shills cleared out.
You all have a happy Friday!

 
I felt a bit stitched up years ago with Line 6 just plain abandoning some of their plugins and not even offering an upgrade/crossgrade to the newer versions (it was impossible for me to move from a v2 to v2.5 or something like that). I didn't fancy spending another penny with them after that, but I gave in finally last year on an HX Stomp and Helix Native and they're both brilliant and great value. Their support is also excellent these days.
I think the company has changed a lot since that period, lots of different people there, and I think a lot of older staff leaving and the company changing is why lots of these products got abandoned. Its a shame, but I don't think theyre the same company now
 
easstudios said:
I felt a bit stitched up years ago with Line 6 just plain abandoning some of their plugins and not even offering an upgrade/crossgrade to the newer versions (it was impossible for me to move from a v2 to v2.5 or something like that). I didn't fancy spending another penny with them after that, but I gave in finally last year on an HX Stomp and Helix Native and they're both brilliant and great value. Their support is also excellent these days.
I think the company has changed a lot since that period, lots of different people there, and I think a lot of older staff leaving and the company changing is why lots of these products got abandoned. Its a shame, but I don't think theyre the same company now
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Yeah I think all of their floor stuff is great. Don't love Helix Native on the PC though. I'm just so frustrated as to why they won't at least do a firmware update to stabilize the bluetooth. This line was really really good and it's a shame that they dropkicked it so fast!
 
I remember when those Amplifi's came out - they seem to have came and went in an instant with no one caring

The Firehawk amp was another one that seemed cool on paper that I've never even seen in person
 
The biggest failure ever by LINE 6 was their FLEXTONE II amp. I had two new ones break on me within hours of purchase. I used to love the LINE 6 stuff but was so disappointed after those amps too a nosedive. Just horrible.
 
Was not a fan of the Spider series but I did own and use PodFarm.

Although I never got to try Amplifi - it was def ahead of its time.
 
I can't stand the Helix but many people love them for some reason. Fractal eats their lunch. I also had a Spyder V that sucked. I'm done with Line 6 too.
 
GearGasms said:
The Line6 Amplifi - the biggest product failure in Line6's history? Why did they release such a forward thinking, way ahead of it's time, smart app enabled practice amp only to discontinue production and support in less than 4 years? Why did they sit on the sidelines and watch Yamaha and Positive Grid eat their lunch with their SUCCESSFUL smart practice amps? The Amplifi was so much better than both of those in a bunch of ways. They didn't even stabilize the Bluetooth before they turned their backs on us, their customers.
I was a Line6 guy for years - the AX2, POD, Spider IV's, Gearbox and Podfarm - always defended them against the haters. But no more. I can't find a recent parallel where another company stuck it to their customers the way Line6 did with the Amplifi.
Regardless, here's a good look at what still could be a successful product for them, but no, they think they can beat Boss Katana and release the dreadful Catalyst instead. An amp, by the way, that is not selling well at all after the initial spate of YouTube shills cleared out.
You all have a happy Friday!

Click to expand...

As with anything software based, it’s antiquated almost immediately. Even the axefx, you loose your money as soon as the next revision comes out. To buy anything software based and to expect longevity is not being realistic.
 
The horrid tone emanating from any Linesucks product can be construed as sticking it to not only their direct customers, but to all their customer’s listeners as well.
 
scottosan said:
As with anything software based, it’s antiquated almost immediately. Even the axefx, you loose your money as soon as the next revision comes out. To buy anything software based and to expect longevity is not being realistic.
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I expect more than three years. It's not like it got moved to an upgraded platform. They didn't even finish stabilizing the bluetooth and just walked away. There's no Amplifi2. Your overall point is correct in a broader, long term sense, but doesn't apply here.
 
romanianreaper said:
The biggest failure ever by LINE 6 was their FLEXTONE II amp. I had two new ones break on me within hours of purchase. I used to love the LINE 6 stuff but was so disappointed after those amps too a nosedive. Just horrible.
Click to expand...
That's funny (to me at least) because I think the Flextone II is one of my favorite amps from them. I owned a couple of them for a few years and never had issue with them. I understand reliability is why you hate them, but what did you think of the sound?
 
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