opinnions on a Line 6 spider IV?

What type of music are you going to be playing through it? Have you audtioned one at a music store? Bring your guitar and try it out.
Some guys will say you NEVER can get a good sound from a SS amp - for them that may be true, it all depends on the sound you want.
I've got the Spider IV 75 (1x12"), and it does everything I need. I'm never going to be playing in a loud 'classic rock' or heavy metal band. I was able to exactly the sounds I needed for my Beatles tribute band - on keyboards, acoustic guitar and electric guitar. I'm able to get exactly the sounds I want when recording. That's good enough for me!
 
I have a guitar student I teach once a week, he owns a a variant of that combo and I have to say that if it were mine I'd have have dropped it off a tall building weeks ago. The problem for my student is that he has a limited understanding of the settings and once he turns the damn thing off after the lesson or moves a knob slightly it has a mind of its own. I bought an orange combo for my son a while back which cost around the same money, it knocks the line six into a cocked hat albeit it does not have the bells and whistles.

all the best

Tim
 
Thanks for the replys!

I play alot of different stuff, from metal rythms to clean pickin etc..
primarily 70`s rock, and some heavier stuff...

I have no plans on becomming a rock star..LOL, but rather just get together with a few friends and make some noise when we can..we might play a private party, or maybe a small time bar gig once in a while, but nothing real big..

I already checked with my local music stores, and as luck would have it no one has one in stock I can try out..which sucks...I`ve tore the internet up looking for reviews and have read quite a few, which seam to indicate that better then 90% of the reviews are in favor of it, but you know how that goes..who the heck is writing the reviews? paid people for line 6? kids? LOL

I`m not real into a million and one effects, but figure a few might be cool, and conveniant..I figure if need be, I`ll set er clean, and use my pedal for the distortion i like etc, if the amps version cant be dialed in to my liking...

I know it`s not a tube, but honestly dont care..been playing on a SS forever and a day as it is now. so what the heck..LOL

phrasemaker...what exact variation does he have? and other then him not being able to keep his fingures off the knobs, is bad about it in your opinnion?

have you spent time yourself atttempting to dial it in for a perticular sound, or?
 
Seems like you can get ok sound out of them (this is the practice version though)



I would rather (and I mean by a landslide) have a jet city JCA20H half stack over the line 6 though, no matter what music I was doing.
 
I think it's probably possible to get good sounds outta them.
For one thing mjb says he does and mjb knows a little bit 'bout amps.

But you'll have to learn to use it.
I had to play over one that was part of the backline at a gig and the sounds that EVERYone was getting out of it just sucked BAD!!

But by the end of the set I'd managed to make it acceptable and that was tweaking an unfamiliar amp while while playing, so I imagine if I could sit down and fool with one I could get it fairly good.
 
What Phrasemaker mentions about his student: typical of someone using the amp who doesn't understand how it works. I'm on the Line6 help forums and have seen it hundreds of times.
The Spider IV amps have two modes: manual and presets. In the manual mode, you select your amp model first (this actually changes some settings like EQ, gain, etc), then adjust all the knobs to what you want. If you want an FX, adjust those knobs to get what you want. All manual. Note that if you change the amp model while doing this, your gain, EQ, etc, will all change again - no different than if you plugged into an actual different amp.
The *good* feature is the presets. If you've been diddling around with the manual mode and get the sound you want (note that it may not sound the same at low volume as high volume - more a matter of the speakers than the amp), you can then save that whole sound setting into one of the User Preset patch locaitons (with the model 75 and up). There are 64 patch locations, arranged in 16 banks of 4.
OK, now on to using the presets.
Besides the User Preset locations (which come loaded with some of the popular artist or song presets), there are a couple of hundred other preset sounds in Artist, Decade/Song lists. Want to sound like Honey Tonk Women, Chuck Berry's Johnnny B Goode? Just select the preset. Want to be able to access it quickly, load it into one of the User Preset patch locations.

What was happening to Phrasemaker's student's amp - when you have a preset loaded, the amp knobs don't neccessarily point to what that preset's sounds are. So, for example, you have a preset with the 'Drive' (gain) set at 8, but the knob (from your previous diddling) is set at 2 - as soon as you touch that knob, the Drive setting is going to change to 2, changing the sound drastically. Same thing with the volume, EQ, etc. Once you know this, its pretty easy to work the amp.

As far as trying an amp out yourself - you don't need to try the HD150 with cabinet, try the 150 or 120 combo, or even the 75 - this will still give you a good idea of the sound.
 
I'm pretty sure it's a 75 and I also appreciate that the sound of an amp is fairly subjective as we all have a varying taste for sound. The guy I teach is not technically minded and yes I can dial in some reasonable sounds but never really get what I personally consider to be a good clean tone. The chorus also sounds pretty awful to my ear, but again that's me and my own opinion. I am not a fan of controls which muti-task either. Bass, Mid, Treble, Gain, Master and maybe Reverb with perhaps a push button to send the gain over the edge seems adequate to me, utilising plain old pots and push push switches. Maybe I'm a dinosaur? If a user has some pedals already my leaning would be towards the best quality simple combo for the budget and add more bells and whistles as required along the way. Something that does the fandango by virtue of software and soft controls doesn't fill me with confidence. You might love the sound when you play through one and if that's the case after trying a selection of combos within the budget it'll be the right choice for you, and that's the bottom line.

Regards

Tim
 
Thanks for the reply MJ!!...

And thanks to you also phrase..nothing wrong with an honest opinnion!!..duely apreciated...and I do comepletly understand where your comming from..

I just got back from GC with my new line 6 spider IV!!!..yeeehaww!!

I went over there for a couple speaker cords I need for a PA, and it turns out they had a floor model setting there..looked to be in perfect condition, still had the stickers on it and all, so I went for it!! (they knocked off $50 and threw in a set of 3ft speaker cords for the amp to cab etc.)
now i need to join that message board so I can figure the dang thing out..LOL

suppose to get together with a few buddies this sat to mess around for a while..nothing serious, just a bass player, a newbie guitarest (not that I`m much better..LOL) and a drummer..just a for fun kinda setup..

here she is...so far I have learned that the volume knob is more sensitive then the ole lady is at certain times of the month if ya catch my drift..LOL
p3130119k.jpg
 
MJ...quick question if ya dont mind me askin...

should i use two speaker cables from the head to the cab, or just one?..does it really matter? i see this amp has them labled left-right..and so does the cab..
 
AL P said:
MJ...quick question if ya dont mind me askin...

should i use two speaker cables from the head to the cab, or just one?..does it really matter? i see this amp has them labled left-right..and so does the cab..
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Yes!! Never run the head with only one side plugged in, you'll eventually fry an output transformer or something in the amp section. Download the manual from line6.com.

On the volume sensitivity - remember there are 2 volume controls - channel volume and main volume. If your channel volume is cranked all the way (and the gain, too), then, YES, the main volume control will be super-sensitive!

If you plan on using this live, get yourself a FBV MkII Shortboard controller - it lets you scroll through the banks of user presets as well as select the 4 channels in each band AND also gives you individual on/off control of various functions like boost, distortion, etc. And a volume/wah pedal.
The FBV MkII Express will let you change between channels on theamp-selected user bank, and has a wah/vol pedal and is only $99. Both FBV MkIIs will let you plug the amp into a computer for updating software, downloading more preset sounds (and FX), and you are able to save your all created (or just saved) user presets to the computer for 'safekeeping'.

Note there are FBV Mk1 controllers out there that are not compatible with the Spider IV, so beware of buying an old one used.
 
I bought one of these to use in church. I wanted an amp that had built in effects, reverb and chourus with digital delay, mostly. I use it on the clean channel and had to install a line out for the p.a. The line out/headphone jack killed the speaker which I wanted as a monitor so I went in and installed a separate jack on the back of the amp that allows a min watt output for the p.a. This amp works really well for me. Not my first choice for a gig set up, though. I paid $125.00 for it off Kijiji and it was in new condition.
 
mjbphotos said:
Yes!! Never run the head with only one side plugged in, you'll eventually fry an output transformer or something in the amp section. Download the manual from line6.com.

On the volume sensitivity - remember there are 2 volume controls - channel volume and main volume. If your channel volume is cranked all the way (and the gain, too), then, YES, the main volume control will be super-sensitive!

If you plan on using this live, get yourself a FBV MkII Shortboard controller - it lets you scroll through the banks of user presets as well as select the 4 channels in each band AND also gives you individual on/off control of various functions like boost, distortion, etc. And a volume/wah pedal.
The FBV MkII Express will let you change between channels on theamp-selected user bank, and has a wah/vol pedal and is only $99. Both FBV MkIIs will let you plug the amp into a computer for updating software, downloading more preset sounds (and FX), and you are able to save your all created (or just saved) user presets to the computer for 'safekeeping'.

Note there are FBV Mk1 controllers out there that are not compatible with the Spider IV, so beware of buying an old one used.
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okay cool, thanks man!

now if i may ask one more question...

what cab was intended to be sold with the spider IV hd150?

I got the floor model they had, and until last night, I did`nt notice that the cab reads "150WATTS maximun per side"..
yet when i look up the cab listed on the line 6 site, it says it comes with a 320W cab? did I get the wrong cab?

P.S..I`ve downloaded the manual, and working my way through it..thanks again!
 
That's the only cabinet Line 6 offers, (slant and straight models), so you gor the right one. The different wattage reports are probably different type of watts (RMS vs peak, or something), or just a typo.





Guitargodgt said:
The spider head has to be run in stereo?

I find that hard to believe.
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Believe it. Actually, I would not be surprised if ANY SS stereo amp does not have the same condition.



ocnor said:
The sound of buzzing bees and ice picks stabbing your eardrums is always better in stereo.
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AS I posted on page 1 of this thread, the Spider IV does make some good sounds, but if you want only warm oversaturated tube sound, then its not the amp for you. Wouldn't life be boring if every guitarist only wanted the Marshall JCM sound?
 
AL P said:
I got the floor model they had, and until last night, I did`nt notice that the cab reads "150WATTS maximun per side"..
yet when i look up the cab listed on the line 6 site, it says it comes with a 320W cab? did I get the wrong cab?

!
Click to expand...
150+150=300. They just totaled the wattage the entire cab can take for the advert blurb. 300 watts sounds better and is easier to grasp than 150 a side.
 
mjbphotos said:
That's the only cabinet Line 6 offers, (slant and straight models), so you gor the right one. The different wattage reports are probably different type of watts (RMS vs peak, or something), or just a typo.







Believe it. Actually, I would not be surprised if ANY SS stereo amp does not have the same condition.





AS I posted on page 1 of this thread, the Spider IV does make some good sounds, but if you want only warm oversaturated tube sound, then its not the amp for you. Wouldn't life be boring if every guitarist only wanted the Marshall JCM sound?
Click to expand...

okay, thanks for the rely!!

the thing that confused me, was looking here..
http://line6.com/

if ya point @ "amps" then drop down and scroll to the right, it list a couple different 4X12 cabs, and the one listed that says "spider 412cab"...says 320Watt, not 300..(I could see if it said 300, and was reffering to both sides-each being 150..but the "320" is what confused me and got me wondering?
 
AL P said:
okay, thanks for the rely!!

the thing that confused me, was looking here..
http://line6.com/

if ya point @ "amps" then drop down and scroll to the right, it list a couple different 4X12 cabs, and the one listed that says "spider 412cab"...says 320Watt, not 300..(I could see if it said 300, and was reffering to both sides-each being 150..but the "320" is what confused me and got me wondering?
Click to expand...
well .... there's essentially no practical difference between 320 and 300. Who knows? Maybe it used to be different speakers or maybe it's just a typo.
Either way it's insignificant.
 
Lt. Bob said:
well .... there's essentially no practical difference between 320 and 300. Who knows? Maybe it used to be different speakers or maybe it's just a typo.
Either way it's insignificant.
Click to expand...

well yeah i agree in that 20watts is`nt much to think about, but was more less wondering if perhaps the older versions were 300, and the newer ones 320 or something like that, as again, I got their floor model, so I was just wanting to be sure I did`nt end up with an older cab, then what I paid for..
ya just never know what odd posibley un-matched combo`s GC may have on the floor is all..

so I just wanted to check to see if this is the correct/typical matching combo advertised for the spider IV HD150...
 
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