The 1×12 Powercab speaker systems combine the choice of neutral-sounding Flat Mode or Speaker Modeling with custom drivers to give a real amp-in-the-room feel for modellers.
Today LINE 6 introduced the Powercab 112 and Powercab 112 Plus active guitar speaker systems, which deliver an authentic “amp-in-the-room” look, sound, and feel when paired with any amp modeller, preamp, or amp-simulation pedal.
Ever since the first HELIX was released there has always been this underlying question in the back of our heads, Why hasn’t LINE 6 released a dedicated amp/speaker that I can use? or at least provide us with a HELIX power amp?! Well, the time has come and LINE 6 has answered our questions with the exact product we were after.
The Powercab 112 and 112 Plus systems are made for gigging and are constructed to withstand the rigours of the road while weighing a mere 35 pounds (16 kgs), and their highly efficient amplifiers produce up to 125dB Peak SPL—enough volume to fill a small club or medium-sized venue. Their uniquely curved plywood construction provides a rigid structure, while foldout kickstands facilitate angled backline placement or use as an angled floor monitor. They also have XLR outputs featuring optimized microphone emulation for direct connection to a P.A.
The Powercab 112 was engineered to deliver superb results with any modeller, but, as one would expect, it is the perfect sonic complement to Line 6 Helix guitar processors, completing the chain—from guitar input to guitar speaker.
Guitarists can use Flat Mode to reproduce the sound of their modeller’s presets with a wide frequency range and the punch of a real guitar speaker, or bypass their modeller’s speaker cabinet emulation and use Line 6’s new Speaker Modeling technology to swap in models of any of six classic and boutique loudspeaker drivers. The speaker models range from the hard-rocking Green (based on the Celestion Greenback speaker) to the funky Bayou (based on the Eminence Swamp Thang).
The Powercab 112 Plus adds many advanced features, such as a 2-inch LCD, 128 user preset locations, MIDI In/Out, AES/EBU digital I/O, an L6 LINKTM, a USB audio interface, and a multipurpose second input. Users can select the type and distance of a virtual mic on the speaker model. Loading up to 128 third-party speaker cabinet impulse responses (IRs) is also an option, allowing users even greater tone-crafting flexibility.
Here’s what LINE 6 have to say about the Powercab – “Guitarists love the flexibility and tone of modellers, but many also want to keep the visceral experience, sound, and physicality of playing through an authentic guitar cabinet with a 12-inch speaker rather than plug into a P.A.,” explains Line 6 founder and co-president Marcus Ryle. “Powercab speaker systems offer guitarists the best of all worlds: modelling technology played through an actual amp, plus a selection of several classic guitar speakers to choose from.”