Line6 FBV Express MKII

Using this for a few months now. This was recommended to me by one of Thomann's studio techs (kudos to them!), and i couldn't have been more happy.

Positive sides: first of all, the unit feels very sturdy and rugged, and looks like it could withstand fair amount of abuse. Also, the included software lets you map keys however you want - Hi/Lo values, CC's, notes, whatever. You can even save the mappings as presets if you use different mappings for different software. Works perfectly with DAWs and with Amplitube 3. Uses pretty standard USB connector (type B), no proprietary crap here (except for Line6 amp connector which looks like a regular Cat5 cable anyway), doesn't need any special drivers - works out of the box with Windows 7 x64. Top notch stuff, really love this thing.

There are a few small flaws with it, however. First of all, the USB cable is not included. As a IT guy i have loads of cables lying around so it wasn't a problem for me, but i think this should be clearly indicated on the product page.

The wah/volume switch takes a bit of time getting used to, but works quite well. The pedal itself, when pulled completely downwards, doesn't always rest on a zero value so if you're controlling a Whammy pedal emulation, you'd have to constantly press the pedal down to make the pedal value zero and thus NOT slightly pitch-shift the sound all the time. Not a big deal though, since you can just switch off the Whammy with a button :-)

Also, sometimes the unit stops sending MIDI signals without any apparent reason - although the problem usually solves itself after a minute or two.

Overall, a great product and well worth its asking price. I would give it five stars if it wasn't for a few small flaws.

I use mine with an Amplifi 75, and it's a godsend for that, because otherwise you're fiddling around with the app. You can save your top 4 settings as A-D on the stomp buttons and then of course make any changes via the dials on the Amplifi.

The wah-wah volume pedal is good too. The action is a bit lighter than say a real Cry Baby pedal, but it's absolutely fine, in fact some may prefer the lighter action.

You've to do a little stomp on the pedal to flip between wah-wah and volume.

If I'm nit-picking, more stomp buttons and a second swell pedal would be nice, but I guess for the price, this is more than good enough.

I have been playing for 6 years just connected to my Line 6 amp but one day I decided to accept a new adventure - use a pedal - and I just loved it!

I cannot say one thing that I don't like on it. It work perfectly with my other gears. I compared to another FBV's prices and functions but I choose this one at the end because It seemed to be the best for the price.

It is very easy to use but it's a little hard to switch from volume to wah when I'm sitting.

I plug it into my Line 6 Spider IV and my Epiphone Les Paul Custom guitar. In theory, this is not a effect pedal, but when we talk about his sound... the word is "amazing"!
The distortion is insane and the clean tone is a beauty. I just play metal and rock but we can play any kind of music on it.

It is very hard and stable. I wished that this would be a long time companion and now the proof is alive! I can definitely depend on it and would use it in a gig without any backups.

I use this pedal with a amplifi amp. The construction is solid the wah and volume pedal is solid. The only thing that disappoints me is the connectivity with the amplifi amp. The pedal wont let you bank up or down with in the presets on the amp. Also if you go to another bank on your mobile or tablet and then press ABCD it goes back to the orginal 1234 presets. Maybe line6 can fix it in an update.


That being said i boot up my four main presets and rock out what you get is a solid pedal and at under half the price of the shortboard and is a more compact package i think for the bedroom rocker its a no brainer.