 WE HAVE COME TO EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM LINE 6 OVER THE YEARS, AND UNBOXING THE HD 147
upped the anticipation factor considerably, because this is just a great looking amp. Before
even
plugging it in, we were knocked out by the gleaming chrome housing. When we turned it on, the
purple glow that emanated from it was just plain sexy. Like so many Line 6 products, the HD 147
does a ton of stuff—way more than can be covered here, but here are the main points.
With the EMG-loaded Schecter in hand, I spun the Models knob to audition the 32 amp
simulations.
The usual suspects—brands F, M, V, and M/B—were all there, along with Diezel, Bogner,
Cornford and several Line 6 originals. My fave clean and semi-gritty sounds came from the Vox
and Fender models, especially when they were up loud, which really brought out their complexity.
You can gussy them up with the killer onboard digital effects—the chorus and the rotary being
particularly juicy.
Being that this is a metal amp roundup, however, I put my metal face on by calling up the
Treadplate model, which is based on a Boogie Dual Rectifier. This is a great tribute to that
great
amp, and packs ungodly amounts of distortion, plus huge lows and biting highs. To my ears, this
was one of the HD’s best models for disemboweling chugs. Other great heavy models include
Line 6’s own Insane, which has so much gain it’s crazy! The Marshall tones, such as the JCM800
and Silver Jubilee, sound great but, just like the real deals, don’t have absurd amounts of
gain.
They really excel at medium grind and have a ton of touch-sensitive detail. Props to Line 6 for
not making cartoonish caricatures of these great amps. The only thing I can ding this amp for is
that, while plenty loud enough to keep up with almost any band, it doesn’t deliver the punishing
volume I would expect from an amp rated at 300 watts. Side by side with other amps in this
roundup it was noticeably softer.
So—the HD 147 can obviously give you a slew of different tones, many of which are
lardaceously
heavy. But it does much more than that. It’ll store four presets on the front panel and 36
with the optional Floorboard. It has time-saving editing features like Amp Default, where every
time you call up, say, the Plexi 45 model, it’ll remember your settings for that amp,
irrespective
of the front panel presets. You can use the mic- and speaker-simulated XLR outs with no speaker
cabinet hooked up (don’t try that with a tube amp!). The list goes on and on. This is a deep,
multi-faceted tone machine from the folks who wrote the book on amp and effect modeling.
—Matt Blackett
SPECS
Line 6
(818) 575-3600; line6.com
MODEL HD 147
PRICE $1,750 retail;
$1,250 street
CHANNELS Four (on front panel,
36 with optional
Floorboard)
CONTROLS Front panel: Select
(Jazz Clean, Blackface
Lux, Double Verb, Plexi
Jump Lead, Brit-800,
Connor 50, Treadplate,
Bomber Uber, Deity,
Line 6 Clean, Super
Sparkle, Crunch,
Insane, Smash, Octone,
Treadplate), Drive,
Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence,
Channel Select
buttons, Volume,
Reverb, Delay Select
button (Sweep Echo,
Ping Pong, Digital,
Analog, Tape Echo,
Tube Echo), Delay, Tap
Tempo, Mod Select
button (Rotary, U-Vibe,
Flanger, Phaser, Chorus,
Tremolo), Mod,
Gate, Compressor,
Master Volume. Rear
panel: Effects send
and return controls,
XLR Level Trim, Output
Impedance selector
(4Ω, 8Ω, 16Ω)
POWER 300 watts
TUBES N/A
EXTRAS MIDI compatibility,
headphones jack, pedal
jack, XLR outputs,
Ground Lift, speaker
outs (2 right, 2 left)
SPEAKER Line 6 4x12 w/custom
Celestion speakers
MAXIMUM MEASURED VOLUME
122dB
WEIGHT 30.7 lbs (head)
KUDOS Plethora of tones.
Digital effects are
cool.
CONCERNS Complicated. Might be
underpowered for
some situations.
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