The Line 6 Flextone II is a solid-state modeling amp. Which means that it emulates other amps. I have a Flextone II half stack and I love it. The amp doesn't come with any software as you mentioned... maybe you're thinking of a Vetta II HD?? But the amp is pretty self explanitory. You turn the knobs to select your amp and your effects... then if you want to save it to one of the four channels you press the channel button and hold it. You can buy the 4 channel footswitch like I did to make your life a little easier and more convenient... It's a great sounding amp with high quality Celestions in it. And for 150 dollars, consider yourself lucky to have it.