Line 6 Spider 112 Combo

I bought this amp after my old Marshall Valvestate gave up the ghost.
I only use it for my students to go through when I am teaching and a bit of fun myself. I use a Pod for home practice normally (see review) and Laney and Mesa Boogie amps live.

The amp has a good set of features on it for the money and just about anything I need to give my students the sound they are after for the lesson.

Comes with a very sturdy footswitch.

Ok, presets (to my ears anyway) sounded rubbish. This is an amp that needs to be tweaked - a lot.
The effects are ok but not very subtle and difficult to control. They 'morph' into one another and you can't edit much at all apart from the rate/time with the 'tap' feature. Reverb is nice sounding.
You can get some nice clean sparkley sounds out of this but it's clear that the overdive/distortion is aimed at metal.
I spent a long time trying to add more mid and get rid of that 'scooped' nu-metal sound. If that's what you're after - great. I ended up with some passable sounds.

This amp tends to have a lot of bass to it (especially in distorted sounds) that is hard to tame. The EQ reacts in a very odd way and takes a while to get used to, ie - sometimes turning down the bass actually increases it to my ears..

The 'insane' settings may be good for a teenager trying to impress their mates, but to me are totally unusable and gimmicky.

If you put a really good overdrive pedal in front of the clean channel on this amp - it can sound quite good. I have used this amp to get me out of several tight spots for rehearsals when my valve amp has been out of action. I note several others recommend using external pedals for overdrive. HOWEVER, surely the point of a modelling amp is that you DON'T have to put other pedals etc in front of it, isn't it supposed to give you those sounds anyway?! It was definately my Keeley pedal making the amp sound good, not the other way round..

Have owned it for a couple of years and have no problems so far.

Never had cause to deal with Line 6.

For the price, you get quite a versitile practice amp with a nice selection of features - some more usable than others.
For what I use it for (teaching at home)it does me well. It's far more flexible than my old 2 chanell Marshall valvestate that I bought it to replace.

The bass is very hard to tame though and this amp is definately aimed at metal players.

I would never dream of using this type of amp in a gig situation as I have my tube amps for that, but for the money and what market it's aimed at - it does a respectable job.

They have only footswitch and phone conector.

Nice,but a little to nice.The best are Clean,which is kristal clear.

Many have problem with line6 product on coold and/or humidy(water on air).The solution is:In some electrician store you can buy special spray which will protect from water.This is not a plastic spray!
Knobs are very good protected from breaking!

All Line6 product are from KOREA!The overall finish is like a s**t!
Everybody have so much to tell about Behringer from China,but they must be for example how guitar amp must be made!Exept knobs are very bad pozition for break by transport.
Maybe help if they produce Line6 in China.
Faceplate are from plastic-Behringer from metal.
Case are not very strong-Behringer they have.
Power amp don`t have aluminium radiator cooling-Behringer they have.
They don`t have line in/out,cd in,midi...
Average tolex-behringer have better one.
But it is looking nice from distance.

I'm just a hobbyist, playing mostly at home, sometimes jamming with friends, & this combo was just the ticket: it covers a lot of ground, & within minutes you can get some decent sounds - jazz, blues, rock, whatever - loud enough to compete with a drummer.

I use a Gibson 335 & a Telecaster Custom, & mostly want a clean or just-breaking-up sound: this amp delivers. Nice bluesy distortion too. If you want to make a big noise, this does the trick, though there is a lot of feedback on the heavily distorted settings. Most of the choices made for the effects are intelligent & usable - though you could quibble with the chorus (I use the phaser more). The "insane" setting is a bit silly, but then I don't play noise-metal.

The amp seems to have a life of its own: the volume settings can fluctuate wildly from one channel to another. You sometimes get a loud click when switching on the effects.

Not used it.

Been playing for nearly 3 decades now (ouch!) - till now I used a Peavey Backstage plus, a V Twin pedal & some effects. This amp is an affordable all-in-one package which I would highly recommend. Sure, there is better (& more expensive!) gear, only a valve amp is a valve amp & so on, but if you're more interested in playing than fiddling with your equipment (no gear-head I) & don't want to spend too much money, this won't disappoint.
I love the fact that now all I need to get out there & play is a guitar, a lead, & this amp.

Features as listed above.

I play a wide range of styels and consider myself a tone scientist. I am using 3 different Strats including a 68. I also own a Fender Power Chorus, a Twin reverb and a Sidekick Switcher so I have a wide range of amps to compare the Spider to. Let's just say I hate "vintage" tone snobs and SRV/Hendrix freaks. Those people will never be happy with anything because they have no voice of their own. They are not musicians, they are nothing but librarians.

I like experimenting with different combinations of equipment and there is nothing like owning a ton of equipment. I am not a retard expecting this amp to replace a wall of Marhsalls or making me sound good by hiding my shittiness. It's a 50 watt 1x12 combo and for what it is I was truly blown away. I was trying out the Schecter PT Tele when I saw the deal sitting on the floor. $140 used for this amp, I had to try it out.

I was very impressed with the tones the amp was delivering to me. I have a POD in my home studio which i use for most of my recorded guitar tones, I have always been happy with this piece of gear. I wanted a version that I could mic up for recording and this amp was it. The Schecter PT was just sterlar on every setting. My wallet fell about half out of my pocket when i played the clean tone on the amp. So clear and so crisp, I love that tone. So since I have been a Strat player for 20 years I decided to pick a used Strat off the wall to give her a go. The Strat was a complete pile of shit but the amp still sounded good in all settings. I won't go over all the settings because other people have done a great job of that already. The bottom line is I have a studio versatile amp that I can run guitars, bass and keyboards through for recording. I write dark ambient electronic music but my training is about 20 years of jazz/blues playing. I am quite sick off all the egos surrounding blues and jazz players I disowned them in favor of stuff that I find more fun to write.

I am very impressed with all the settings on this amp and I view as just one more voice I can use to my tonal advantage. I can use it for band rehersals and bedroom practicing as well as hooking it up to the studio gear and pulling new sounds from less traditional instruments. It's truly a deal that shouldn't be passed up. I feel sorry for the knuckle-walker guitar retards who couldn't find something to like about this amp or Line 6. There is nothing worse than close minded musicians.

Nothing is perfect so it gets a 9 but that is a proud 9.


My influences are: Danny Gatton, Richard Thompson, David Gilmour, Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Django Rheinhart, Rory Gallagher, Howlin' Wolf, Dj Food, Amon Tobin, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, James "Blood" Ulmer, Speedy West, Robert Ward, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Yes, The Herbalizer, Dialated Peoples, Boards of Canada, Bill Frisell, Steve Hackett, the Beatles, Peter Gabriel, the Who, the Clash, SquarePusher and GodFlesh.

My influences do not include: Eric Clapton(the man hasn't done anything good since the days he was shooting heroine), Jimi Hendrix(though I can listen to him), SRV(a funny hat does not make you a good guitarist), John Meyer(owning a bunch of coveted Strats does not make you a good guitar player), Eric Johnson(spending more time on tone than the tune), Steve Vai(having a fan on stage just for your hair to fly around is silly), Metallica(more like Washedupica), and my least favorite...Dave Mathews because he sounds like he has shoved a tumpet down his throat and up his ass.

Just so you folks can grasp the kind of stuff I have floating around my head.

No problems.

Never had to use it. The website has a good amount of resources.

It's nice to see companies thinking outside of the box. I feel there are enough SRV, Hendrix and Elvis impersonators to cover the world ten times over. It's tough to find someone who truly has their own voice. This amp only gives those who use it more options to incorporate into their voice. This amp serves as a great tool for many situations but like everything it is not a fix for shitty playing. If you are having trouble with gear and your tone you should look at yourself, the tone comes from you and your fingers so if there is any problem at all it is most likely the player at fault. I hope this amp brings me many years of enjoyment and it will fit right in with all the rest of my "orphans" that are my "aces up the sleeve". Those who don't get it...go on and keep playing others peoples music.

I just had to write in about this amp...I have had it for two years and i have to say this is the best alternative to lugging around my Marshall heads and 4 12 cabinet i have ever Played !! The effects onboard are all perfect in every way for such an inexpensive amp.
My amp is the Spider 1 12 50 watt.

I would suggest spending the extra dough to get the pedal board with it,the wah and switchable chorus and delays and power boost are worth the extra money.

The ability to have 4 or 5 different sounding amps in one tiny package is wonderful to say the least.The clean and twang can be tweeked to sound like a good old fender tweed, Crunch is just ok, but the recto and insane have nice solid sound with a low end bass sound that is hard to believe.The recto for example sounds just like my 1980 2204 50 watt marshall head, and the insane sounds just like my 1991 JCM 900 of course it takes a little tweeking of the knobs and the subtle use of my OCD fulltone overdrive pedal....But man can this amp cook when you have it in the zone.I use Gibson les paul pro& SG guitars, Fender Stratocaster& Tele (american)And the sound with single coil or double make no difference..very little hiss and feedback.
You can even get a Brian May Queen sound like the little vox 10 watt i have through this amp using the recto and overdrive pedals.

Have not had one single problem..

N/A never had to talk to them or use the repair service.

I should mention that i tried the Spider 2 amp at home with all my gear and was sorely dissapointed that is partly why i did this review.The spider 2 was no where near the standards of the first.Buy the original not the new version Trust me the Marshall modeling on the 2 is pure crap compared to the recto and insane settings on my amp.
I use mostly boss pedals DD2 delay, super chorus,OD1,DS1,OCD Fulltone,NS1.(Power soak 1983).Marshall Cab's celestion 4/12 2204/JCM900 Marshall Heads.
Have played 25 years(rock) allways used Marshall amps. And thats why i like the Spider amp it is the closest thing to a Marshall sound you will find in a small inexpensive amp!

I bought it the first year they came in production (5 years ago?) This is a very versatile amps it nails the vintage fender type sound perfectly (i owned a fender deluxe reverb 1974 at the same time) i could match the deluxe reverb sound pretty close. You have two vintage marshall model. and two mesa type souds. Effects Chorus /flange/ tremolo(who use tremollo?) delay+pingpong (mono amp not good for ping pong)/reverb. 1 12" speaker. 4 chanels
If you buy the pedalboard you have 12 chanels + tuner + wha + volume.
+hidden function (tap button + another button) Boost + dist Boost +noise gate+ presence.

You really have to read the manual to understand alle the feature.
I gave a nine cos there is 2 feature missing (fx loop) if you want to bypass the built in FX + speaker out (you can not put an extension cab on this one

I used with that amp : aria fl10-gibsons SG-fender strat-epiphone les paul-ibanez studio-godin SD et XTSA yamaha RGX-AEX etc...
The trick is to program a sound for each of your guitar. EXP (bank 1 for humbuker guitars Bank 2 for Single coil) etc. Tube vs Solid state. I had a 1974 deluxe reverb and i sold it. I think the real question is do you like the sound? the answer is yes! This amp sound really good but you have to learn to use the hidden fonctions and the controls to bring it to its full potential. I can get much better sounds now than 5 years ago. The only sound i never get was the marshalls from the eighties i never found a setting that convinced me. One cool thing it always sound the same (my old fender sounded good some day but some other day it sounded crap) (you can put overdrive pedal in the front end it sound good)

I had it for 5 year nothing broke. i used it for recording only.
Once i tough the tune was broken (my fault you can not go to the tuner when in edit mode)
If you think you have a problem reset the factory preset!

I don not know

I started playing in 1988. I mostly do home recording. This amp is perfect for home use or small gig (Plug in the P.A.) this amp is ideal for what it is built for versatility and reliability. If you think it needs more headroom or it is not loud enough buy a bigger amp. I bought a lot of gear in the past, i always managed to make good sounds of of the cheapest junk. you just have to work at it. If you are not sure about a product do not buy it!

I really love this amp (i gave nine because the missing FX loop and no speaker out socket)

Bought it new in 2002. It's fairly versatile and loud enough for rehearsal or a small venue if you run it through the PA. You already know about the rest of the features.

Have a Fender Tele and an Aria LP Copy rigged with Gibson "57 Classics. Can get a good sound with all but the Crunch and Recto models.

Have used this amp out and about since I bought it, but with great care. It totally smoked during sound check at our last gig. Volume was set at half way, channel was on Clean and I switched to Blues and the smoke poured out and filled the room. I had just enough time to call a good friend and get a back-up. Line 6 says it will send(get this) a "refurbished board" for $150.00 and the local service tech. wants to charge $ 50.00 to install. New Spider 2 112's are selling for $299.00 in the MUSIC CATALOUGES. Go figure.

My tech would know more about this. He did mention that it took a while to get a response. He sounded totally frustrated with the whole deal.

OK for the money . I just wish it would have lasted longer. Time to spend a few more bucks on a " real" amp. I just bought the floorboard for this thing too, and now it is useless. Lesson learned I guess. I may sell "as is" on E-BAY for cheap, so keep an eye out if you need the spare parts. Ciao!

This amp is supposed to be top of the line in versitility, but I think it lacks in features. Sure it has the 6 amp models, effects, and a whole bunch of cool toys, but it's lacking in usefull features. It has no external Speaker jacks, a slave output would be nice, and so would an effects loop. Using any type of effects pedal is useless, especially distiortion pedals.

The effects need more controll, they are nice, sound decent (yes I like the flanger too), but the effects in themselves arent all that versitile.

The amp is pretty loud, I used to play at band practice and did a few gigs with it, it has quite a lot of power. Just remember, loudness is measured in decibels, not watts, I've seen louder 30 watts, and quieter 65 watts's.

The programable channels are pretty nice, VERY handy, so you dont hafta worry about your setting getting screwed up when the knobs get turned around in transporting.

I play metal, some blues, and it fits my style very nicely, My favorite amp models are Recto, Crunch, and Clean.

I play a hamer slammer explorer with an EMG-81 and a Dean ML-X with an EMG-81 in the bridge and an EMG-60 in the neck.

On all the models the tone controlls really dont effect stuff much, you'd never notice if the treble was all of a sudden turned half-way down.

Clean - I like the clean sounds, you can hear how it mimics a tube amp, and at high volumes it doesn't distort.

Twang - Supposed to model a fender blackface and bassman, I've never played either so I can't compare, but on it's own it's a nice tone, not very interesting to me, but good for country n stuff.

Blues - Based on a '65 Marshall JTM-45 Bluesbreaker. I like this setting a lot, at higher gain settings it sounds nice n grungy. It lacks soul though, needs more punch.

Crunch - Based on the '68 50 watt Marshall Plexi. This is one of my favorite models on this amp. Has a nice punch and a very crunchy difinitive tone, reminds me of Corrosion of Conformity.

Recto - My personal favorite setting, Based on the infamous Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, I own a Dual rectifier, you really can't compare this setting to a Dual Rectifier running through a 4x12 cabinet, the handbook describes this setting: "sort of like a 4x12 that'll fit in a volkswagen". While it IS reminiscent of a rectifier, it lacks the warmth and headroom of a real rectifier. Though it has an awsome tone to it, it is NOT comparable to a half stack.

Insane - I do NOT like this setting, I play metal and I think this setting is horrible. The handbook describes it as "sort of like the rectifier with a distortion pedal" but a rectifier with a distortion pedal would still have TONE, it lacks bottom end, theres no headroom, it sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Gain is nice, but this is just crap.

Now the effects:
Flanger - Weak, or subtle, depends how you look at it, it's nice for a bit of background effect, but has no real versitility.

Chorus - a strong chorus, sounds nice, but it'd be better if it had a level controll.

Tremelol - again, it's lacking versitility as a stand alone effect

Delay, Tape Echo and Ping Pong - 3 different delays, the tap tempo is nice on the foot switch, thats handy, I had wished instead of 3 different delays they would of focused on fewer effects with more control.

Reverb - Yuck, sounds so digital, enough said.

Overall it's a very versitile sounding amp, and the models on there own are pretty nice, but they all mimic other amps, it's like Elvis impersonators, although they may sound good, they'll never be the real Elvis. I gave this amps sound a 6, because it's lacking real Professional sound, but it mimics it decently.

I originally bought a spider 210, but I had a problem with the amp, it would make a loud crackling sound, So it got fixed and it happened again, so I took home the 112 after that and didn't have a problem for many years, and that was in 99.

Fast foreward to 2005 at band practice, amps drop on ground (had it leaning up against the wall) and it dies, no fancy lights, no sound, nothing. Because it's warrenty had expired I opened it up, found a lil black thingy next to the power chord and disconnected, I re-soldered it and it was all fine, until it went again, same type of thingy, same PC board, different thingy, soldered that, all go again. That was just last week, if it happeneds again I won't be surprised.

The soldering inside the amp could be better, This amp took 6 years of abuse, and took it well. If I had a new or semi-new one, I'd gig without back up(and have) but I wouldn't with whats happened to it now, I have a feeling it's had all it can take and I'm just keeping it on life support by re-soldering stuff inside.

I've replaced the amp now, so for the problems in the begining with the spider series, and at the end, I gave it a 7, it gave me many years of reliable service, and it took lots of abuse.

I only ever dealt with the company I bought it from, long and McQuade, but they were helpfull and covered my original problems, and many MANY other problems all under warrenty.

After it broke again this year I didn't even bother with going to the company. But I gave customer support 10 because L&M was(as is) awsome

I've been playing 7 years now, and played this thing for 6 of those years, I played with it in a few bands with a few gigs, on stage it lacks presence, but it can cut it when needed.
Since it broke down I decided to upgrade, I went with a mesa dual rectifer, I went with an amp I wont need to replace every 5-6 years. If it were stolen I'd cut my loss. As of now it's a backup to my mesa, I might sell it for a few hundred if someone doesnt mind it's small history of defects.
One thing I love about this amp is the programable presets, I only need 3 sounds for the music I play, Clean, Overdrivin, and Over-gained, and in the end it meets those needs decently.
I hate the way the amp is so self-contained, Effects are uselss with it, no external slave or speaker jacks, sound wise it's pretty versitile, but when it comes down to other things it's not,
I'd like too see line 6 stick tubes in an amp like this, I'd also like too rig this thing up to a 4x12, Especially my rectifier 4x12.

Overall I give the Line 6 Spider 112 a 7, and thats being extremely critical. I can't see Metallica taking this thing into the studio, but I can see a metallica cover band taking it on stage. and in the end, that's all this amp is, a 'cover amp'

Features can be frustrating to use. You have to hold the D channel button down during startup to keep the FX functions from automatically coming on when you change amp models. It sucks the way the tone knobs work too. No line out sucks too.

I use a 2 year old stock Strat and a mid 90s Samick LP copy with Seymour duncan Invader and Jazz pickups. I have always liked the clean sounds of this amp, but the OD/distortion never really seemed to cut it. Not real loud for 50 watts either.
I am in the process of going through the transition from SS to tube amps and I needed to decide which amp to get rid of (I also have a '93 Bandit 112) I had decided that the Spider was going to be the first amp to go, but then.
NOW COMES THE GOOD PART
I just purchased an Ibanez TS7 Tubescreamer on Ebay for $25 (thanks to the reviews on this site). I tried it on the Bandit and wasn't impressed. I tried it on the Spider amp and couldn't believe my ears. I was totally amazed with the sounds that now came out of it.
According to which guitar I'm using and which song I'm playing, I use only the first 3 amp models, clean, twang and blues. I can now get just about any sound I want out of it. It has a lot more punch too. The chorus finally is useful for something other than clean playing.
I can get anything from Boston to AC/DC to Metallica out of it now. And with a stomp on the TS7 I go right back to clean sound.
Looks like I'll be keeping this thing for a while now.
I can't wait to compare it to the vintage tweed tube amp that's on it's way from Ebay.

I've had it for about 4 years and haven't had any problems with it. It's only left the house maybe 4 times. It's very lightweight.

Emailed them when I first got the amp to see if they had any more info on the settings because the manual is so vague. I got no response whatsoever.

Been plaing anything and everything that suits my ears for 15 years.
I will keep it but, I wouldn't get another if it were stolen or lost.
I am basing this rating on using the TS7 pedal with it. If you have this amp you have got to try it with a quality pedal. You won't believe the tonal quality. And tonal quality is the thing that is lacking on the distorted amp models on this amp.

Best bang for the buck!!!! Features are covered a plenty!!!!

I don`t know what Line 6 did different but these first series Spider amps sound much,much better then the Spider II. I don`t know if its the different speaker or what but the newer Spiders are no where near as good in my opinion which led me to this review. I had this amp about a year and although i am completely satisfied with it i was thinking about trading it in for a Spider II. After checking them out in local music stores i was shocked to find out they don`t sound as good as the first ones!!! Which brings to mind that saying....leave well enough alone! Line 6 should have done that so thats exactly what i did!! I`m not getting rid of this great little amp!!!

Solid as a rock,1 year and counting!!!!!

Great company!

Although i think the Spider`s are better then the newer ones, they are a great company with quality stuff and definitely the best combo amps for the money!!!!