Line 6 Spider Valve - my first impressions

[Kazrog]

Tried out the Line 6 Spider Valve 2x12 combo the other day at the local music shop. Here's what I noticed, with an EMG loaded ESP guitar in front:

• The presets, even ones designed by Killswitch Engage and As I Lay Dying, sound like crap.
• The amp sounds pretty awful at low volumes, and even worse at high volumes.
• Line 6's digital amps all sound better than the Spider Valve - even the Flextone I and AxSys 212!
• The Spider Valve is incredibly noisy, with no obvious place to adjust the noise gate (is there one? I honestly don't know.)
• It sounds nothing like a Bogner.
• It sounds nothing like a tube amp. Ironically, Line 6 got closer to a tube sound with every digital amp they've made. Go figure...
• The effects sound terrible. I love Line 6's effects normally, but on the Spider Valve I find I can never get the delays loud or rich enough. The tape delay effect comes nowhere near what you'd get on a Pod XT, or even the Echo Park pedal! WTF?
• A couple of the clean sounds are almost usable.
• Don't buy one.

Just in case anyone was wondering...

 

[Glenn Fricker]

+1 on all points.

 

[Sloan]

:danceboy::danceboy: HILARIOUS :danceboy::danceboy:

 

[nwright]

I've heard from a bunch of tube fiends that they actually REALLY like this amp. A lot of the HCAF'ers think it sounds really good.

I'd love to play the head version.

 

[Pot]

Man those are deadly first and last impressions!!!!
Although i´de never get the spider valve.......
Line6 should stick with what they do better - modelling -
Thx for your input Kazrog

 

[t-rave]

I thought it was garbage myself...and the price of a tube version offers hardly anything over the cheap SS spider III..

I have a vetta I use for a cover band and the spider valve is not even in the same league tonewise....

 

[Razorjack]

The 2x12 is a POS, the 1x12 on the other hand is much nicer. Not amazing but definately better than the digital Spiders, and I make this judgement after over a month of comparing the two, 5 days a week. My store has the whole Line 6 range in and once you've broken in the speaker and realised the presets are shit (like all L6 gear) you can get some amazing tones out of it. Running the crunch channel with a TS in front you can get an amazing 800-esque tone.

 

[LSD-Studio]

HaH! I Knew It !!!!

 

[cobrahead1030]

i played the 1x12 and thought it was a good amp for the price, wasn't blown away by it but i don't think it sucked either

 

[Manicompression]

Yeah, I played it at guitar center and didnt like it very much at all either, the tubes didnt really stop it from sounding like open ass at loud volumes.

 

[Phase]

The gauge for modeling amps usually lies in the users talent to hear and adjust sounds

Sorry..but I heard a comparison done by an excellent guitarist and no one could identify the real amps verses the SV. That doesnt means the M amp is as good---but it does mean that the user matters greatly. So its important to understand that fact when *reading that something is crap. Because all it takes is *hearing its not crap, just once, to debunk that.

 

[cobrahead1030]

are you talking about the one that Ed D posted?

 

[Metaltastic]

The 2x12 is a POS, the 1x12 on the other hand is much nicer.

That doesn't seem to make much sense; much nicer in what way?

 

[Razorjack]

That doesn't seem to make much sense; much nicer in what way?

The 2x12 and 1x12 are the same power, pushing the single V30 with 40 watts gives a nice break-up in the speaker that you can't get when running that same 40 watts into 2 V30's.

Even the guys from Line 6 UK agree that the 1x12 is a nicer sounding combo.

Remember though, this is a personal taste thing.

 

[Axl Torn]

I tried it out yesterday and I loved it.
Crank up the presence knob and the amp sounded great at low volumes.
The amp does have noise gate and gain boost hidden functions. But only the manual tells you how to activate them.
All the presets suck of course, but who would want to use another musicians presets anyways?

Also I have to agree 100% with phases comment above.

 

[Kazrog]

The gauge for modeling amps usually lies in the users talent to hear and adjust sounds

Sorry..but I heard a comparison done by an excellent guitarist and no one could identify the real amps verses the SV. That doesnt means the M amp is as good---but it does mean that the user matters greatly. So its important to understand that fact when *reading that something is crap. Because all it takes is *hearing its not crap, just once, to debunk that.

You're telling me I don't know how to adjust tones? Hahaha... OK then man, whatever. I agree with you in general principle, but I have over a decade of experience with Line 6 amps, having owned almost every amp and Pod they've made at one point or another. I'm very experienced at getting the sounds I want out of amps.

I'm willing to believe, in hindsight, that something may have been wrong with the unit that I was testing, as it did some very nasty things at moderate to high volumes. I'd also be willing to believe that some "deep diving" using Line 6's software may bring out the really great sounds out of the unit (as is the case with their other products.) But - I'm evaluating this amp as a tube amp for tube amp users who want simplicity with the benefits of presets and some fx. It should be as immediate to use as a 5150 or Mesa Boogie, as that's what they're positioned against in the tube world.

 

[KeithRT99]

i tried one out at Gc a few hours ago. on first impression I thought it was a decent amp, the cleans weren't that great, but it thought it had nice lead tone for metal. I also played an AC30CC, and damn i want one now.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I also played an AC30CC, and damn i want one now.

I really want one too