Line 6 L2m

Started by scratch17, December 24, 2013, 11:29:16 AM

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scratch17

I just bought a line 6 L2m and I thought I'd pass my impressions along. IMHO Line 6 hit a home run with this product.

The L2m is the least expensive and smallest speaker in their Stagesource line. There is a more expensive model (L2t) whose configuration is identical to the L2m.
The L2t adds some DSP (EQ and acoustic guitar modeling) and two extra combi XLR / Instrument inputs. There is also a larger model (L3m, and L3t) and a sub (L3s) in the line.

By itself, the L2m is extraordinarily useful and flexible. It can be a single speaker P.A. system for small venues. It can be a stage monitor.
It can be a keyboard amp. And it can be a guitarists' Swiss army knife powered speaker. That is primarily what I bought it for.

Line 6 added a really unique feature to all of the speakers in this lineup. You can set the speaker to be FRFF (as a P.A. speaker), for music playback
(say from a CD player connected to the RCA inputs for music fill during a set break), for keyboards, for electric guitar and for acoustic guitar. 

The build quality is excellent. There is a pole mount on the bottom of the cab. There are handles built in to the top and bottom, with a third luggage style
handle on one side. The side handle makes it very easy to carry the L2m. The weight is well ballanced and the handle has a firm grip.

Built into one of the other sides is a pair of tilt feet so the cab can be used as a floor monitor. There is also a built in accelerometer and optical sensor
that automatically determines the cab's orientation (vertical, tilted as a floor monitor, or horizontal). Then the speaker chooses the appropriate speaker mode.
Of course you can override this manually.

The L2m has a single combination XLR / instrument input. I first tried the L2m with a Mackie 402VLZ3 mixer. The Mackie has 2 Mic/instrument /line inputs and
two line inputs. I plugged my Taylor 710BCE into the first instrument input, and set the L2m to act as a P.A. speaker. The Taylor's mix control was set to full microphone.
So there was no piezo output coming through to the Mackie. The sound was OK, but not as good as I expected. It turns out that my Taylor and the 402VLZ3's built-in
direct box don't play that well together.

How did I come to this conclusion? I unplugged the Mackie, and plugged the Taylor directly into the L2m. Then I set it to the acoustic guitar preset.
I started to play and heard heaven pour forth from the L2m! The result was stunning. It was as if I was hearing my Taylor with a well placed high quality
microphone through really good studio monitors.

Next I tried my Carvin NS-1, again plugged directly into the L2m. The NS-1 is a nylon string electric with a built in Ghost Acoustaphonics
preamp and Hexpander board. The NS-1 has a GK 13 pin output and a standard 1/4 inch output. I was using the 1/4 inch output for this test.

The results were the same. Clear and clean, lots of air, and no squawk, even at really loud levels.

I tried my Hamer Duotone's piezo output and got the same results. The sound quality approached that of a high end acoustic guitar played
through really good studio monitors. Even though the Duotone is a hollow body electric, there was a really full low end. The
shimmer of the natural overtones from the strings' top end never sounded shrill. Overall the sound was gorgeous. I've never heard my
Duotone's piezo output sound as good.

In all cases, my guitars plugged into the L2m blew away these same guitars through my Marshal AS-80R. By the way, the Marshal sold
for about the same price when I bought it, as the L2m. The AS-80R was a good product in its day. However, it can't play as loud, nor as
cleanly as the L2m. It is also bulkier to carry. So it goes on Ebay next week.

I next tried the L2m as the back end for my Mesa Boogie Recto Pre. According to Line 6, the L2m when set to electric guitar mode "emulates
the sound of a 212 combo amp. The 10" speaker plays full range, with the horn adding only the smallest amount of sparkle to the sound.
This mode also provides Virtual Tilt-Back, which optimizes the speaker's tuning to achieve an upward tilt to its main axis and aim the sound
towards the performer."

I didn't expect to get a great result with this setup, when compared to the sound I get with the Recto Pre driving my Mesa 20/20 power
amp and connected to two Mesa open back 10" cabs. Yes, you read that right. My cabs are single Vintage Black Shadow 10's.

I was surprised. The setup with the Recto Pre to the L2m was really good. In fact this setup is so good that it prompted me to try
my next experiment.

I connected both the L2m and the Mesa 20/20 to the Recto Pre's two 'live' outputs. The 20/20 and the Two Mesa cabs were connected
to the right output, and the L2m was connected to the left output of the Recto Pre. This in effect created a stereo setup.

Next, I plugged in a 1/4 inch "Y" adapter (one to two) to split the send of the Recto Pre's effects loop. One side of the send split
went to my TC Electronic G-Major, with its mono output going to the left return of the Mesa effects loop. I then connected the second out
from the send split to the right return of the Recto pre's effects loop. I set the mix knob for the effects loop to its unity position.

So the left side (routed to the L2m) had the G-Major in the effects loop and the right side bypassed the G-Major and went directly
to the 20/20 and the Mesa Cabs. The result was awesome.

Finally in this first test session, I tried my NS-1 connected to my Roland GR-33 with its output going to the L2m. Frankly, I am not at all
enamored with the sound quality of the Gr-33. I plan to sell it soon. But my Fishman Triple Play isn't installed as of now, and I didn't have
any other synth sounds to try out. Given the limitations of the GR-33, the L2m did a very good job. I look forward to testing the L2m
with the FTP. Its use at a high quality level is one of the main functions I need to get from the L2m.

I also haven't yet tried the L2m with amp simulation apps. I own the latest Guitar Rig, Amplitube, and Waves GTR programs. I'd
like to try a stereo setup with one of these programs as a front end for the L2m, and a second to add effects to the Recto Pre's loop.

Nor have I tried the L2m yet with my VG-8.

By the way, I have a Radial JVM direct box, and plan on getting a Fishman Aura direct box for my acoustics. I'll use the two direct
boxes to interface my Event EZ Bus 8 x 8 digital mixer with the L2m. Now that I know the L2m sounds as good through a mixer
with top quality direct boxes, I'll get a second L2m. Using a digital mixer with scene recall will let me reconfigure my setup with
the touch of a button. This will be as helpful in my project studio as it would be live.

That brings up another nifty feature. If you add another L2m  cab, (or any other in its line), you can connect the two cabs via an AES / EBU
cable. The two cabs become aware of one another and instantly configure themselves as a stereo pair. Again you can override this manually,
so that you can scale your P.A. setup as your wishes and needs present themselves.

Finally, I plan to get a Kemper profiling Amp in the new year. Of course one of the two L2ms will be its front end.

I am building a guitar-centric project studio. It will be based around all of this great new technology. I'll be able to mix and match analog and
digital components in an almost unlimited way.

If forum members have further interest in this, I'll post further impressions of the L2m with my other gear as I get the opportunity.

Steven.


Hamer Duotone, Brian Moore i213, Taylor 710 BCE 

VG-99, FC-300, RMC Fanout
RJM Mastermind GT10
Kemper Profiling Amp
Radial JDV Mk3, X-Amp
Mesa Recto Pre + 20/20
68 Fender Bandmaster (AB763)
Marshal AS80R

UA Apollo X6, Twin X, Logic Pro, Luna, Melodyne Studio

scratch17

Here are some pics of my setup. If you look closely in the tall rack you can see an RMC Fanout Box , the Radial JDV, a Radial X-Amp and my MOTU Traveler audio interfaces.

There is also a full set of quadraphonic audio equipment including a Tascam 44 reel to reel with Teac noise reduction , an Akai quad 8-track,  a Marantz CD4, and a Sansui SQ and QS matrix decoder. I've been into surround sound since the early quad days. I'm converting all of my analog quad media to DVD Audio discs. I also have around 800 surround albums in SACD and DVD Audio formats.



Hamer Duotone, Brian Moore i213, Taylor 710 BCE 

VG-99, FC-300, RMC Fanout
RJM Mastermind GT10
Kemper Profiling Amp
Radial JDV Mk3, X-Amp
Mesa Recto Pre + 20/20
68 Fender Bandmaster (AB763)
Marshal AS80R

UA Apollo X6, Twin X, Logic Pro, Luna, Melodyne Studio

scratch17

Well that didn't work out well. I have no idea why the pic is inverted. It also didn't attach the first two pics I added. I'll try again.
Hamer Duotone, Brian Moore i213, Taylor 710 BCE 

VG-99, FC-300, RMC Fanout
RJM Mastermind GT10
Kemper Profiling Amp
Radial JDV Mk3, X-Amp
Mesa Recto Pre + 20/20
68 Fender Bandmaster (AB763)
Marshal AS80R

UA Apollo X6, Twin X, Logic Pro, Luna, Melodyne Studio

scratch17

Here's the last pic. Sorry about the incorrect orientation.
Hamer Duotone, Brian Moore i213, Taylor 710 BCE 

VG-99, FC-300, RMC Fanout
RJM Mastermind GT10
Kemper Profiling Amp
Radial JDV Mk3, X-Amp
Mesa Recto Pre + 20/20
68 Fender Bandmaster (AB763)
Marshal AS80R

UA Apollo X6, Twin X, Logic Pro, Luna, Melodyne Studio

tomtheguitarguy

Nice review.  Did you add the 2nd L2m?  I'm looking at the L2t units - and seeing how they will integrate with my Bose L1 units...
http://www.tomtheguitarguy.com ~ http://www.tomcatsband.com
CIJ Blue Floral w/ McVay G Bender
G & L Will Ray Signature ASAT w/ Hipshot B Bender
JTV-69 James Tyler Variax
Fishman TriplePlay ~ Roland GR-55
Dr. Z RxES 2x12
Quilter MicroPro200 10" ~ Quilter Aviator 8" ~ Quilter Steelaire
Bose L1 Classic

Big Jim

I too have integrated a L2m into my setup. Found one on ebay for $625 with the rolling case.  This is the best sound I have gotten from my VG-99.
Everything is crystal clear. I am looking for a second unit for big gigs and to go back to stereo effects again. But I am happy to give up the stereo for the sound.
FRFR is the way to go!

scratch17

I've been really busy, so I haven't checked this thread in a while.

Tom, I have not added a second L2M yet. I will be buying it in the next 4 weeks.

I have, however just purchased a used Mackie Onyx 1620 analog mixer on Ebay to act as a mixer and patch bay for my guitar gear. My primary use for the L2M is as a monitor in studio for my guitars and their ancillary equipment. I almost never play live. The mixer arrives on Tuesday next week.

By the way, the Onyx 1620 is the first generation of Mackie's Onyx mixers. It doesn't have a Firewire interface, and I don't want the optional card. For some strange reason, Mackie hasn't upgraded the drivers for the interface to support Mountain Lion or Mavericks, so the recording interface is useless to me. If they ever do upgrade the drivers, I'll consider buying an expansion card.

In my setup, the mixer makes the need for the L2T moot.

I get the L2M's for $635 (tax included). Let's just say I have a buddy at a retail outlet . He gets me great deals. An L2T would cost me about $800. So I am saving $330 by going with the L2M. I paid $272 for the Onyx 1620, which has 16 balanced inputs, and 4 aux sends with stereo returns. Two L2T's have a total of four balanced mic/ instrument inputs, and two line level balanced inputs.

It is true that by using the mixer as a front end to the L2M's I lose the DSP that is built into the speakers. I must set the L2M's to the "Reference / PA" setting. I lose the other settings. However, in my case, I have a Radial JDV for electric guitar, and a Fishman Aura for acoustic guitar, so for me, those DSP settings are redundant.

The JDV has a direct recording XLR output that goes to a DAW input. It also has a through and two aux outputs for connection to different guitar preamps and head / combo amps. The Fishman Aura has what most consider cutting edge quality acoustic guitar modeling. It is also a top notch acoustical instrument direct box. 

The 1620 also has 8 Onyx mic pre-amps, which are close to boutique quality. They will be patched directly through the channel 1 through 8  (DB-25 to TRS) recording out on the mixer to my MOTU Traveler interfaces for studio work. These mic preamps are also excellent for miking guitar speaker cabs. So you could consider consider these mic preamps as a bonus.

The 1620 includes some really musical EQ designed by Cal Perkins. The EQ is four bands with frequency for the hi and low mids. It is said to sound like classic british console EQ (think Neve). So the 1620 can even function as an analog hardware EQ.

For the guitar front end, I have 8 line level input channels. These, and the four aux sends and returns will be used to connect and control my guitar gear for both monitor mixing and direct recording to the DAW. The channel 9 through 16 recording outs will also go to my MOTU Traveler interfaces.

Here's an example of how I'll use the Mackie mixer in the studio with my DAW. The DAW gets the signal from the recording outs post gain control, but pre everything else. So I can make any changes to an input channel I want, and it won't affect the buss that's sent to the DAW. By the way, this would also be true in a live situation, where you want to record a live show with all of the channels dry. Your live mix would not affect the channels you were recording.

So what do I want to monitor in the studio on the L2M that's different from what I'm tracking in the DAW? Here's an example of that.

I have an RMC Fanout box. When I play my Carvin NS-1, I connect a GK 13 pin cable to the Fanout Box. The Fanout Box sends six separate busses (one per string) into my DAW for recording onto six separate instrument channels. The recording is excellent as I have all six channels routed through the mic / instrument channels on my MOTU interfaces.

My VG-8 is connected to an output of the Fanout Box. I send the two outputs from the VG-8 into channels 11 and 12 on the Mackie. These channels get sent via the recording outs directly to my DAW. They also get mixed to the main mix and I can monitor the sound of the VG-8 on the L2m's. I can adjust the sound of the monitor mix with the on board EQ or add any effect I want to insert via a send and return.

Once I'm satisfied with the track, I play one channel back. This is a recording of one string on the NS-1. The channel is routed back into the Fanout Box. That Fanout Box's channel output is patched to an input channel on the 1620. I can route the signal through any effect I want, and then send that wet signal back to the DAW. Since the Fanout is also connected to the VG-8 via a GK cable, I can apply a VG patch to that same single string. In fact, that single string will turn into a stereo buss if the VG patch is stereo. I can even do both of these operations simultaneously to add effect to the string's acoustical output and it's VG output.

I repeat the operations for as many of the dry string recordings as I want. With this technique I can build up an incredibly lush sound with different tones on each string. You could also create stereo or even surround guitar patches.

Here's an example of how I use the mixer to quickly insert effects into the effects loop of my Mesa Recto Recording Preamp.

I will use channel 9, to receive the Recto Pre's effects loop send. Then I can use an aux send (on the mixer) to buss the loop to any pedal(s) or multi-effect box I desire. The mixer is entirely analog, and its built in EQ can be fully bypassed. I've owned two Mackie  mixers. When Mackie's unity gain procedures are followed, they are transparent. So I don't fear signal to noise degradation.

Of course I'll return the wet signal to the Recto Pre's effects loop return inputs. In some cases I may only return a mono wet send to the left return of the effects loop. Since the Recto Pre is stereo after the effects loop, I'll have a dry side and a wet side.

I may also use different effects on each side and return stereo to the effects loop. By having the mixer, I can try all sorts of different setups with ease.

By adding the mixer I can do quick routing changes so that effects can be patched in or removed with ease. The L2M's will be on top of a riser on my mixing desk. I won't have access to their back sides, so patch changes would be problematic for me.

By the way, my VG-8 has never had a better quality sound than through the L2M. While I'm selling my VG-8 to cover some of the cost of a new MPA, I will eventually add a VG-99.

I'm really looking forward to having the second L2M. I want to explore stereo output of the NS-1. The guitar doesn't have a stereo output, but the Fanout Box has a string select function and a stereo buss output. The NS-1 sounds glorious through a single L2M. I can only imagine how it will sound in stereo.

Since my first post, I have used the L2M in a live role.  I do the live sound  setup mix for a group of musicians that do a musical service for my Synagogue. There are six vocalists, three acoustic guitars, a flute, and a Harp.

I used the single L2M and an Event EZ Bus digital mixer at practice on Wednesday. The L2M was not pole mounted. It just sat on the dias. The guitars and flute weren't amplified (except through bleeding into the vocalist's mics). Also, I only had three mics.

The room is cavernous. At least 120 by 80 feet by 40 feet high. So I didn't expect much.

The L2M totally filled the room. We were all astonished.

So for those of you who are considering this speaker as a live monitor for your V-guitars, Kemper Profiling Amp, etc., I can give it my highest recommendation. A single L2M or L2T should have enough volume to keep up in an electric band setup. Certainly two of them will do the trick. In fact, two with the L3S sub should be more than adequate to be a primary PA for a club band.

Do you get an L2M or an L2T? That depends on your needs and the way you expect to use the speaker(s).

Remember that the L2M and L2T are the same speaker. The L2T just adds 2 more inputs, EQ and acoustic guitar modeling.

If you expect to use an L2M or L2T in a live setup, I think a quality small format analog mixer with two L2M's, (or one L2M and one L2T) makes more sense than two L2T's. Of course, that's just my opinion.

Steven.

Hamer Duotone, Brian Moore i213, Taylor 710 BCE 

VG-99, FC-300, RMC Fanout
RJM Mastermind GT10
Kemper Profiling Amp
Radial JDV Mk3, X-Amp
Mesa Recto Pre + 20/20
68 Fender Bandmaster (AB763)
Marshal AS80R

UA Apollo X6, Twin X, Logic Pro, Luna, Melodyne Studio