Line 6 Spider 112 Combo

2001 model - 6 (digital) amp models from Fender clean to beyond Mesa type distortion, adjustable chorus/flanger/tremolo/delay section, shared headphones/line out, 50 watts, 4 user presets (should have been more given the amount of possible settings)

I was running my lefty Am Std strat with original p/u's through it, playing blues, rock, jazz etc. The first couple of days I was impressed with the sound - I couldn't imagine the thin sounding standard strat bridge p/u would sound so fat when using the Spider's Mesa settings. However, I soon got disappointed by the sterile sounds I got from the Spider. For rhythm it was fairly ok, it's just that I couldn't find any usable lead sounds, which I think is not due to the rather neutral stock p/u's I'm using (will be replaced soon anyway) because my current Laney LC15 tube amp sounds way more warm, fat and musical to me. The Spider's clean (Fender) setting sounded ok with a little bit of chorus, although not really special on it's own. The blues (JTM), crunch (plexi) and recto (guess what?) settings all had a nice crunch, but kind of a lifeless lead tone.
Further, the line out was way too noisy to record from when plugged into my PC's soundcard or when directly recording it on minidisc.

Don't know, only had it for two months.

N/A

Maybe the Spider sounds a lot better when cranked, but in my case, it just didn't suit my needs. If you're looking for a cheap way to drive your neighbours crazy with Mesa type distortion, buy it; if you're looking for serious tone you might want to consider a decent tube amp. I think the Spider doesn't capture the feel of a warm, musical sounding amp (yet).

Already mentioned by everyone else.

I use a single coil strat and a custom 2 humbucker strat. I play rock and blues. This is a good low volume practice amp. It is horrible for playing at live music volumes with a band. The sound at high volumes is very, very, very harsh. I used to think I was just a bad guitar player, I sounded ok at low volumes but bad when playing with my band. Then last week I bought a Mesa Boogie tube amp. No words can describe the difference. Suddenly I sound like a rock star with huge incredibly warm tone. I like to hear myself play now! Do yourself a favor and don't buy this amp for playing with a band. I used to be skeptical about tube amp hype, but not anymore. Bottom line, solid state amps sound worse the louder they get, tube amps sound better the louder they get. I know the amp only costs $400, but no price is a bargin if you sound bad.

I had it for 1 year, no problems at all.

No contact

I'm not bitter about Line 6 or this amp, but it made me sound terrible at loud volumes. I now know from my new amp, that the problem was the amp, not my playing. It sounds great in the store or bedroom, but don't try and play loud.

I think a 2000 model...4 channels in memory...it's all been said before. I play mainly punk and rock, but also do some jazz and everything in between. It was my first real amp (not counting the old ampeg bass amp hand-me-down from my uncle i was playing out of), and at the time it was everything i could have wanted. Now, i wich it could have a direct out for another speaker cab so that i could bypass that shi**y speaker in there. Im not sure if that would even be worth it. I was around 11 or 12 at the time, but now that im 14 and im beginning to play a lot more gigs with my band and go into studios and send out demos, i realize that it's not cutting it anymore. See below for more...

I play a Mexican strat, but mostly my American Series strat (single coil, stock pickups which are im my opinion excellent) and as i said, it was perfect at the beginning. It has taken me 2 years to tweak this amp to the sounds i was looking for and it's still not what i want. The stock speaker in the line 6 is terrible! Muddy as all hell, and the notes are not pronounced at all! I am forced to do my recordings through the headphone jack, and with a $400 amp you shouldn't have to suffer for that. Every channel can be tweaked to fit your style, but other than that, this amp isn't worth it.

As i said, i have had it for 2 years...many gigs, and tons of practices. the only problem i had was when i could not get the delay to turn off...it was however only a temporary problem.

Ive asked questions about how to attain different sounds and how to attempt hooking it up to a cabinet (without a direct output...) on their website and i usually got an answer back within at the most 3 or 4 days. Not sure about the warrantee..never mailed in the warrantee card.

Ive been playing for 4 years almost. I own about everything i have mentioned:
Fender American Series Strat
Fender Mexican Std. Strat
Ampeg B-100 Bass Amp
If it were stolen...i probably wouldn't rush to replace it, as i am saving up for a Mesa Boogie Rect-O-Verb. I am in love ith that amp..More than 4 time the price of the Line 6, but in my opinion, definately worth it. I chose this amp because in the beginning, i didnt need more than this. It was great until i started learning what my amp should be. It should have had a direct out and a nicer speaker in it...maybe a celestion..i thought about it but it wasnt worth the money to drop in a new speaker into it. Personally, i think if you are a beginner, this may be a good amp, but if you plan on gigging and recording then look for something else. It was too much money for me to be asking more of it.

Spider 112, 4 channels. but It should have CD input. So players can jam along with their favourite songs. 50 watts but not specific that power is Peek or RMS. But it is certainly a good home practise amp. Channel switching is very cool. but Flanger is not good. and i dont think it would be a good live stage amp. But I have to say that this amp should come with atleast FB4 foot pedal. $400 is quite spendy........

I've played my spider 112 with gibson SG, PRS and they sound really great. but when i plugged my Jackson which has Dmarzio XN2 and Duel sound Humbucker, I was really surprised that this amp can kick major ass. but this amp is noisy when i switch my humbuckers to single coils. My music style is kinda heavy so i definitely pick INSANE. but this is for sure that this amp is not for COUNTRY musicians and the guitarists who love to play 60's and 70's. I've played Marshall DSL401, AVT50, Peavey Ultratube 410, Banndit, Classic 30 etc. but Line6 spider 112 has really cool sound that i have to admit. i saved my own 4 setting on those 4 channels. and very easy to use if you know how to dig. I liked the Insane and Twang channels the best. specially Insane has that killer type distortion that i didnt find on some Marshalls, Peaveys etc.

I've been playin' guitar since 1990 and i own lots other things. if it were stolen I wouldn't but it again because I change my gears alot. its not that i dont like this amp. I like the most of this amp is so easy to use and sound quality suits my style. but I hate one thing about this amp is, NO FOOT SWITCH.

Bought this amp new in 2001. I like all the features, especially the built-in effects and the whole memory button idea although I wish it had six or eight buttons instead of only four.

I bought this amp thinking it might replace my Mesa/Boogie mkIII head, 4-12 cab and gnarly effects rack for smaller gigs and impromtu jams at friend's houses. At low volume (bedroom practice) it succeeds and sounds great but as the volume knob goes up, the tone goes to shit and ends up super thin and dead like an old transistor a.m. radio. Bummer! Oh well, as a practice amp it's killer but to jam along with drums and bass---forget it. The volume is there no problem but unfortunatly it's shit-tone volume. Maybe I haven't tweaked the knobs enough and exhausted all tonal possibilities yet, I don't know if that will even help any...
Gotta admit I love the "insane" distortion setting---it's nice and thick and chunky with lots of overtones (again, at low volume only).
The effects sound good---the chorus and delay are excellent but the reverb sounds kinda weak. What's the deal? Digital reverb should sound beautiful but this sounds like a cheap spring unit.
Also, I wish I could turn off the noise gate---I never liked 'em cuz they rob you of sustain and choke the end of your searing lead notes.

I've only had this thing for about eight months but so far, so good. No problems that the other reviewers speak of (knock on wood).

Haven't had a reason to deal with them yet (keeping my fingers crossed).

I've been playing for 32 years and been in too many bands to keep track of, mostly playing 70's progressive hard rock. I play a PRS w/Duncan Screamin' Demon pickups which sounds great through my Mesa/Boogie half stack, Peavy 5150 combo, Crate GFX 65 combo and yes, even my Spider 112 combo (you guessed it---low volume only).
Maybe someday they'll make my dream amp which would consist of a 60 watt head (or combo) with built in digital effects (chorus, reverb & delay) BUT each effect would have it's own on/off footswitch jack, giving me stompbox versatility without the stompboxes. Maybe they're designing it right now as I speak...

If you're reading my post, you've read all the others about what features this piece of shit amp has.

If you want tone, forget this, unless you're looking to sound like a Nu Metal band. The twang channel was nice, as was the clean channel, but was very thin and brittle. They were no better than any other solid-state amp could produce, though. The reverb was nice, and I did like the ping-pong echo.

With the distortion on, the treble pot becomes usless. You're going to sound like KoRn for sure. If you like that, great. When you get out of high school, you probably won't.

I found the amp to be very noisy, and Line 6 is crazy if they think this thing can really push 50 watts. It's more like 30.

I kept the amp a matter of 30 minutes after I got it. I knew there was no way this amp was going to work for me.

Didn't keep it long enough.

Run from this amp unless you're a teenage beginner into Nu Metal. Otherwise, I think you'll be disappointed. The clean channels are okay, but if you're looking for clean, buy a Fender. You'll get a better deal and a better sound.

I bought the Line 6 as my first amp, but also to play with a band at moderate gigging volume. The spider had an impressive range of effects, and channel-storing features I thought would be rather useful. The amp came recommended from every salesperson at several national music stores in my area, so I bought it. The preset channels are rather weak - they needed some serious eq and channel volume adjustment, but with ten minutes, you can have four channels from clean to Recto and everywhere in between with little effort. The onboard effect section fell short of my expectations. The chorus effect is the only truly valid sound, beyond the standard reverb. The flanger lacks depth, and the tremolo was a bad choice to add in, as it is not an effect used terribly often in modern music, it swells to much, simulating a volume knob spin. The delay section isn't too useful, as even on the highest setting is barely audible (when set to a reasonable delay time - .25 seconds or so) Overall, the features didn't work out as planned beyond the amp modeling features - the effects suffered.

I play an LP, (yes, gibson for you brand snobs), but have used the spider with other guitars. With a strat, it is weak, but with humbuckers, it really fills out. My band plays straightforward rock, we go for classic tone, tube overdrive sound, without silly effects, extra distortion (insane channel is too much) or excessive volume. The spider has always had enough volume to solo, even with a whole band. It only had to be miked at a big local club, for something like 1200 people. For in town gigs, it works out nicely, and fits in the trunk. The prompt for this submission asks "how brutal is the distortion?" and this seems a silly question, as distortion tortured until "brutal" loses efficacy and in the language of the masses - sucks. The Line 6 guys kept this in mind, and you just can't get crappy, circular-saw type sounds from this amp. Hallelujah!

I've used this amp on probably 20 gigs since I bought it a year ago. It has never had any problems with manufacture, and I have never talked to Line 6 about anything. I wouldn't hesitate taking it anywhere.

This is not applicable, see above under "Reliability"

Overall, I must commend Line 6 for their efforts. In short, the effects are lacking, but in terms of power, tone, reliability, and practicality, this amp is great. If you want metal, don't buy this amp. If you have money right out the ass, and "own over 40 guitars" and think you are the king of the guitar world, don't buy this amp. If you want to rock, and not have to break the bank or your back, go for it.

4 channels, 6 settings, 6 effects w/ reverb, master volume, and 3 band eq (bass, mid, treble). Line 6 web site is great and you can download the manual. Speaker is hard wired so you can NOT drive other cabs.

Here is the funny part. I am 30 and play in two different cover bands. I am not 17 trying to sound like Wes Borland or Korn. I do like a lot of heavy music though (Disturbed, etc.) I play out very often (most weekends) in both small clubs and larger venues, and make pretty good money playing in bands. Between PA and guitar, I own more equipment than most people ever will (or would want to). I play everything from 60s and 70s rock, to Lit and Puddle of Mud, and everything in between. I've played everything through this amp: Les Paul Standard, Paul Reed Smith CE24, Strats, single coils, humbuckers, EMGs..This amp absolutely rules at practice volume but absolutely sucks at stage volume. Forget trying to play this amp live for most applications. I practice with this amp everyday and I am amazed at the versatility this thing has...but ONLY at practice volume. Do not buy this amp and think all your tones and pedal hassles are solved. You will be mistaken. (A friend of mine made that mistake. $400 for the amp and $70 for the footswitch aint cheap). Most of the distortion models are weak excuses for the amp they are supposed to emulate. My advice if you're looking at Line 6 is to get a Flextone 2. Way better distorted sounds and much better output options. I am glad I bought mine used and got a deal. I use a Mesa/Boogie Nomad 55 through various cabs and a few pedals for my main rig.

So far so good. I've heard of some funny things happening to Line 6 products.

I've never dealt with them, but know people who have, and their experience was very good.

Like I said, I have been playing for 16 years and seen a lot of equipment changes. I have had monster racks, small combos, Marshall, Fender, Mesa/Boogie, Peavey, Carvin. All of them. The Spider is a great practice amp if you can find one used, otherwise look at the Flextone 2. If it were lost or stolen I would write it off on my taxes. If anyone needs to contact me, no problem. Now the obligatory plug: www.slaphappyworld.com

Ive read some reviews that moan about it not havin a line out but the headphone socket doubles as the line out so there is no need to panic children. This amp has alot of features on it. It will even make your breakfast for you if you ask it nicely

I am currently using an Epi Les Paul Custom bitch that ive called Lucy. (oh Lucy) I play alot of christain worship style music and i perform regulary at my local church. This amp is more than capable of cranking out those fat tracks with a variety of fucked up distorted sounds.

This amp is the fuckin depiction of dependability. Unless you are planning to ram your axe through the fuckin speaker it should pretty much hold up for a while.

Never dealt with the fuckers.

This amp pisses on my previous amp. Although it may seem pricey toward the other ramps in the same range, I think it is worth parting with the cash for. The only major bad point about the amp is that you have to by the channel foot switch separately which is around #70. Or if you have money commin out of your ass you can shell out #200 for the fuckin floorboard with pretty much everythin on including an inbuilt dildo. (just kiddin about the dildo)

Good thing is 4 channels for user settings and build-in effects.

I use Ibanez RG7420 -> Boss MT-2 -> Boss GT-3 -> Spider, and sound is awesome. Amp models are very cool. I usually use only the clean channel but when I use amp's own distortion I use INSANE coz it's really massive and heavy distortion.

It's very reliable, I have played few gigs with it and never broke down...

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing about 5 years. before I got spider I used old vester amp. If this were stolen I would buy new... maybe...