Line 6 Spider II 212 Combo

Plenty of features to play with and gives you a great overall array of effects if you don't want/can't afford multiple pedals. The range of amp models are fairly good too, 12 amp models which is at least as good as you'd get on most multi-effects or modelling amps. The biggest problem for me is that you can't have chorus and flange separately, so you can't get a nice thick layered texture without sounding ridiculous. Get the FBV Shortboard with it to make the most of the features - especially the secret distortion boost you can get on the amp if you read the manual. The amp on its own is much harder to use without the FBV.

I loved the sound of this amp a few years ago when I bought it but for a while now I haven't been able to get a crunch tone out of it that doesn't make me cringe slightly. I play a few different styles; mostly hard rock/alt and Christian worship and if you don't want huge amounts of distortion it is difficult to acheive anything very pleasing.

It's sturdy and electronically has never failed me, but the handle is a stupid design and after a while the metal strip cut through the outer rubber, and my hand! Don't know why they didn't make a normal design. Also the input jack comes loose easily and a few times (at crucial moments just before or during a gig, of course) has fallen inside the amp. taking it out involves unscrewing the whole thing, which is not all that easy to do.

been playing 7+ years and I've finally decided to replace this thing with a real amp, ended up buying a Fender Blues Deluxe which does the cleans and light crunch sounds infinitely better. You can try hiding from it, but one day you will admit you need valves. This and the spider 3 are definitely the best amps of their category though: for an intermediate player starting gigging and wanting the features this is great.

This amp is somewhat versatile, and definitely powerfull. I bought it on craiglist, only slightly used, for about $225 which is a pretty damn good deal. I liked that idea that it had preset effects, and filters built in. It offers a wide randge of these filters, but not necessarily of good quality. The built in tuner comes in VERY handy as does the tap tempo echo and delay and chorus.

My setup: Gibson SG Special, Jeckyl and Hyde Overdrive/Distortion pedal, Line 6 Spider II 212. I really bought this amp because I needed more power (than my 112 Crate amp- which by the way has a better sounding distortion than this amp) and I didn't have enought money for a tube amp. Although POWER it provides in ample quantity. This thing is the equivalent to a half stack, it is FRIGGGIN LOUD!
Overall what you need to know is, this amp gets a 10 in these areas, Reliability, Loudness, Tuner, Chorus, Delay. There are blues and crunch setting on this thing, but they're very limited in what they can do and don't sound authentic. I ended up buying the Jeckyl and Hyde distortion pedal (3 in 1 pedal) for my rocking needs and it works great with this amp- it actually makes it sound just like Tube distortion.

Very reliable amp, however don't sit on it and play because the knobs stick out so much that the back of your legs will start randomly picking crazy effects. Also- if you buy this thing, you HAVE to get the FBV pedal that goes with it. It just allows you to pick from the 4 preset effect setting with your foot, instead of your hand, which totally sucks. I actually can't believe this thing didn't come with the pedal.
Overall this thing is pretty sturdy, I haven't had any problems and i've owned it for over a year and I gig regularly.

Haven't needed it.

I've been playing for about 10 years, but only in a band for about 5 off and on. If this were stolen I would probably seek out another solid state (I don't want to have to deal with tubes burning out and crap like that) that I could find at a great price- like this one. Overall I'm fortunate to have found this. I love the power and the effect features, but the filters and emulators and not satisfactory.

Get a JC120 and a plexi in the same box, will do country twang too. too gritty for blues no real liquid lead settings and some silly kids nonsense in the presets.

What it does well (see above) it does very vey well, what it wont do, it wont do.

Very reliable. very well made

Exceptional. support from line 6 in the uk is absolutely exemplary.

Ended up using this as a very cheap 150 watt 2x12 stereo powered cab with a stereo processor in the front. you can use it for the light & dark type sounds (think BOTH classic metallica sounds, excellent chorused clean and shattering crunch) but it wont do blues (not to my ears) and i cant get a nice liquid santana or satriani lead sound either, all the emulations are too gritty. loads of amp for no money.

I bought this amp two year ago, since I was looking for something that was possible for me to buy and had some effects on it. This amp had everything I needed back then, 4 channels, every sound I longed for and some basic effects.
This amp is really loud, never had any problems on a gig. It's also really heavy, realize that before you buy the biggest amp of the spiders, you probably won't need the 120 watt...
first I hated it that the amp 'only' had 4 channels, cause there were so much sounds that were useful, but later I realised that 4 channels are just enough.

-1 cause the headphones out sucks (and he doesn't have an effectloop, but for a beginning guitarist that's not really necesarry)

I liked the amp 'cause he had a lot of different sounds, I play in a pop/rock band, so the metal sounds are not really useful, but they're the best sounds of the amp. The distortion channels are way better than the clean ones, cause the cleans sound just to sterile, to clean and polished. They can get really sharp and sound terrible with a band.
delay is to digital, I have a 70' analog delay and that's just how a delay should sound.

I use a gibson nighthawk tru some pedals and it's true about what they say: a crappy amp makes a crappy sound.

although, it's a beginners amp and therefor it makes the sounds you pay for. You can have this one long enough to play with the effects so you learn how to deal with them before you buy another amp.
The soundfreaks don't have to buy this one, it's for the ones who want to experiment with al types of sounds and fx'.

This amp is build like a rock. One of my handicaps is that I mistreat all of my stuff, never clean them, after two year my amp is full of scratches, cause it fell in the car or something, but it never let me down. I gig regulary and there's more than one pint spilled over it, but it still works.

never had to deal with the company and that's just fine by me

I've been playing for four years I think and my first amp was a hughes and kettner metroverb, really nice clean, but crappy distortion, that's maybe why I irritate myself about the clean but like the distortion.

It's just a nice amp to start discovering al kinds of fx' and distortions, but now I'm seriously searching for another amp, cause thisone's just not good enough.

In the features dept. this amp is pretty good. You can get a good range of tones from this amp, and the onboard fx are pretty nice sounding. I play mostly ska/punk, but we sometimes border on metal, and this amp can satisfy my needs for jazzy cleans and scooped or crunchy dists. The footswitch could have been included with the amp, and was actually quite expensive. It also needs an fx loop pretty badly. The four channels are a nice feature, but computers are retarded, and that makes the 4 channels very unreliable. The 'Red Insane' mode is just retarded. that should definately be chucked. This amp is normally loud enough. It easily powers a practice, and can normally fill a small club (100-300ppl). The noise gate is also really nice.

This amp makes almost any sound you could want. For a low priced/solid state amp it sounds pretty good. Very varied, cleans never distort, distortion can be as soft or harsh as you should want it. I'm running a PRS Santana SE thru it and it sounds great, for a solid state. It is very suited to all styles of music, and, on a budget, sounds quite good. The reason I give this a low mark in this catagory is because it, obviously, is not a Marshall or a Mesa Boogie. For the price it sounds quite good, but relative to some other amps out there, it could be a lot better.

You can never depend on this amp. It has broken down on me at about 3 concerts and several practices. I do use it to gig, but am in the process of trying to replace it. I keep this amp in perect condition, and work to keep it working, but still, after 3 years, it has kinda 'died' on me. The first year and half that I had it, I was not gigging very much, so it was not much of a problem, but after that it has become very unreliable. DO NOT DEPEND ON THIS AMP.

Ummm... they could have ignored me and I'd be in the same boat that i'm in right now. Slow, bad fone service.

Playing 5 years, gigging solidly for about 2. Running a PRS Santana SE, and a sick homemade guitar I found in someone's garbage. Would never buy this amp, ever again. Right now I am saving the cash upgrade, but until then this will have to do. I love the versatility, I hate the unreliability.

Finally: If you want something to jam with in your basement, this is a great sounding amp. If you play professionally or anywhere where reliablility becomes #1, then forget this option, you'll end up spending more money down the road.

2006 Spider II model 150W
If you're reading this you'll know what it has on offer re channels, amp models etc

I like all the sounds I get from this amp from clean through to heavily distorted; I use a JS1000, RG2550E, Jackson Soloist and an ESP Mirage Deluxe. They all sound great with this amp. I've also used a Strat and Les Paul and the results were far from disappointing!
This has replaced my Laney Valve head and 4x12s for gigging. Connect a 4x12 to the Spider and enjoy: Its a great amp and does everything I want it to. I used a Flextone 3 for a while and although it was versatile it was a bit disappointing compared to the Spider.

I've had no problems for a the year that I've been using and abusing it. Been more reliable than any Marshall I've ever owned and far easier to cart about!

Not had to contact them so no comment.

I work as a guitar teacher; I'm registered with the RGT in the UK, been playing and teaching for a long time now and this little combo is superb; even better with an extra 4x12.
I'd get another if this was stolen.
Why pay out shedloads of cash for a Mesa/Marshall/Engl or similar when you can get great tones out of an amp as inexpensive as this Line 6. Enough said.
I'm amazed at the bad reviews I've read about the Spider here- maybe I'm just too inexperienced (lol) and should go buy a "PROPER" amp eh?
Yawn...

2006 model-solid state amp.
Plenty of features which are supposed to make this amp distinct, none of which are very high quality, or have a decent sound. There is effects such as flange, chorus, and tremolo built into the amp but none of them can be e.q. or adjusted, its just chorus on, chorus off. None of them really sound great. You will be better off buying your own stompboxes to get the effect you want.

This amp is the definition of "you get what you pay for"- only paid about $600 total for the amp and footboard. I've tried numerous guitars through it, such as my powerhouse strat, my prs singlecut, and my friends schecter c-1 artist series, all of them sound basically the same. No matter how loud this amp is cranked, and it can get pretty loud, it will never cut through the mix of a whole band. You seriously have to crank it up to at least 1 oclock to be able to hear yourself and by then the noise is just ear piercing and aggrivating. The metal channel on here is decent, just has to be equalized properly, the cleans are lifeless, and the other channels really aren't that high quality no matter how long you tweak it.

It is literally like a box of chocolates, you never no what your gonna get!--Sometimes you can turn it on and it will be clear and quiet, other times, especially at high volumes, a terrible hum will occur on every channel, which should not happen being that it is a solid state amp. The amp is overall accountable though, and it has never just flat out not worked for a gig. The footboard however, is a joke. It has a feature where the tuner is built into it and can be activated by pressing both the "A" and "B" channels simultaneously, the only problem is that the channels aren't spaced apart nearly enough, and it can easily be turned on midway through a song without you wanting it too, therefore muting your whole amp. This has happened to me nearly every show.

Never dealt with Line 6.

I've been playing for 11-12 years and I am slowly but surely learning that when it comes to music, you must spend the money in order to acheive the tone you want. I own a prs, a strat with all duncan rail p.u.'s, now a MESA dual rec, crybaby wah, and boss and digitech stompboxes.

If you want to just have an amp to jam on in your bedroom, this amp is all you need, even though you could get a much higher quality amp for around the same price, but if you want to be in a band scene and actually play shows, stay away from this. Save your cash and by a MESA, Marshall, Bogner, Fender or Orange. I don't want to sound like a tube snob, but tubes are by far superior to solid state amps.

THERE IS A REASON FOR THESE HIGHER PRICED AMP COMPANIES TO HAVE SUCH A GOOD REPUTATION!

Well after talking to some guy who had one of these telling me how great it was I have just got to write another review of this shitty toy with speakers.
Now Im not a pro but I can play and got a good ear. Ive been spanking the plank (oo'er!) for 20 years. Had over 300 gigs too. I would like to think that I know what sounds good and what doesnt.
I can honestly say that this 'amp' is only suitable for a beginner or for quiet practice-or if you are tone deaf!
This is not -I REPEAT NOT- a proper amp for someone who wants nice tone or wants to gig.
This is the WORSE 'amp' I have ever had the misfortune to play through.

This is really rubbish. You will get a better sound from a basic tranny amp.
The cleans on this are sterile and lifeless. As for the overdrives.....Dont make me laugh! RUBBISH RUBBISH RUBBISH!!!!

Cant depend on this as it cuts out sometimes. Turn the guitar volume down and youll be rewarded with the shitty sound sounding somehow even worse! and then it may cut out and then suddenly come back at a volume that will deafen you! This is ridiculous and highly embarassing as I actually played this at a gig!

Dont know.

Reasons to buy it are:- 1. you get it at a silly low price.
2. you are a beginner.
3. you are tone deaf.
4. you never go over 2 on the volume.

Reasons not to buy:-
1.Crap clean sounds.
2 Laughable effects.
3. Laughable overdrive
4. Unreliable

This is the worse amp you will ever get. Please dont make the same mistake as I did. Dont believe the hype. This is 1st rate pile of crap. Absolutely rubbish. Let me say again.....RUBBISH! RUBBISH RUBBISH. You have been warned!!!

A while back I was looking to scale down my live rig and decided to check out some 2X12 combos. I play extreme metal so I wanted a high gain, loud amp. I played Crate, Marshall, Fender, Peavey, other Line 6 amps, etc. My approach to amp testing is to plug in a guitar very similar to mine (or use mine) and see how the amp sounds without tweaking. I turned the knob to the 2nd metal channel and that clinched it for me. I didn't need to turn a knob, it sounded good already. With four channels it has more than enough settings for me and with a large Line 6 floorboard you can get more channels. It has amp models, a noise gate, a tuner, DSP, reverb, delay, e.q. and a gain boost. The only problems I have with the amp are the limited effects tweaking and channels with big volume differences. All you can do is turn the knob for effects, you get no speed or depth control and that forces me not to use them :( Other than that it's a solid amp with lots of volume (150 watts) and Celestion 75's.

The amp has 12 models to choose from ranging from super clean to ridiculously high gain. There are twang, blues and crunch varieties in between. The cleanest clean cuts through nicely and I haven't ever heard it distort at high volumes. The distortion I use is very tight, good low end (not muddy or boomy sounding), scooped mids but with a good presence and not too many highs (not harsh or shrieking sounding). It didn't take much tweaking for me to get my favorite sound out of it. I play a white Gibson explorer with Zakk Wylde EMG's and a Charvel with an EMG 81. The EMG's go great with this amp and help it to get even more punch. It works great for metal and it is very quiet with the noise gate on. I used to use a BOSS noise gate with it but I forgot it one night and I didn't even need it.

I've never had any technical problems with the amp and I've had it for over a year now but the design itself tends to cause major problems. The knobs are very sensitive and the location of the input jack causes the guitar cable to brush along the knobs sometimes. I've had this problem live before and it sucks, especially if you hit the effects knob. This is a serious design flaw but it's the only thing that I've had trouble with. I have the four button footswitch and it works fine. I've played this amp a lot and in lots of venues and it has held up very well.

I've never had to call them so I can't say anything here.

I've been playing for about 10 years and I've had various amps and guitars over the years. I used to use two half stacks, a Marschall and a Crate but that was too much. I play through a friends Mesa Dual Rec Trem-O-Verb with a Marshall 1960VB cab with Celestion Vintage 30's in one of my bands and that thing has great tone with a lot of balls but I wouldn't have bought it ($2,550 setup). I might get another one if I lost it. I love the metal tone and the portability (I put casters on it). I hate the knobs getting turned by my cable though. It has a million more features, power and better tone than any other amp in it's price range. That's what makes this amp great. If it cost more I wouldn't have touched it. It be nice for them to add a depth knob for the effects and delay and they should definitely move the input jack. If you want a good solid state combo and don't mind 12 amp models then look no further. I've had so many people tell me how good the tone was after gigs and that they were suprised it was a Line 6. I agree, most Line 6 stuff sounds horrid, including the original Spider amps but this one stands out.

A listed below. A good range of features for the price. The effects are a nice touch. It also has a tuner, noise gate, and a good range of factory and user presets.

The stock sounds on this are not really very useful, but you do get 4 user preset channels so you can make up your own. There are sounds to suit many styles of music although most need tweaking to sound good. Again for the price its great but don't be expecting miracles.

I've never had any problems here. It's not really been out of my house much though. It seems strong and rugged though so I wouldn't be worried about it if I was gigging with it a lot.

I've never dealt with them as I've never had any problems.

For the price this is a very good value piece of kit. I?ve been playing for 6 or 7 years now and since I play at church I get to play lots of very yummy guitars. I usually gig through a Mesa Boogie head on a Marshall stack with a nice array of effects pedals. Obviously this amp is horrible compared to that but for playing late at night with headphones and experimenting in my bedroom it has done the job. This is not meant to be a top of the line modeler amp. If you want that get the Vetta or something. It is however perfect for the young player who is on a small budget but would like an amp that they can play around with. Its very versatile and has a few built in effects so it?s lots of fun to mess around with. If it were stolen I?d probably spend a bit more and get a nice small Marshall combo with a Podxt or something small like that. However if I was sticking to the same budget I probably would get it again.

It's got alot on-board. You can play around and find all kinds of sounds and what-not. I think everything on here's been listed plenty of times. Basically I feel it's a good solution for beginners and people on a tighter budget. A lot of people on here whine about it being artificial and crappy and some give it their best opinion. Make no mistake, this is not going to, by any means, replace any of the amps it simulates. But it does give you a pretty good bargain for the buck.

Right now I'm playing with a ESP explorer (lawsuit style), an ESP Devil Girl, and a Jackson Kelly. I bought this amp because I really have no room for and couldn't afford a 5150 II half stack.I play some really heavy metal along with whatever I feel that day...maybe some occasional Skynnyrd or AC/DC or Black Sabbath. Once again, keep in mind, a digital amp is by no means a replacement for what it's copying. Overall the cleans sound decent, throw in some reverb and some delay and you can get some pretty great sounds. The crunch and the metal channels were really dissappointing, I think they were pretty weak on the gain knob with those. The first Insane channel is pretty much useless, but I use the second one frequently. It has that high octane 'rip-your-face-off' feel to it. Real bottomy, but that can be adjusted with some knob turning. Pretty much, you can get any sound you really want outta this but ya just gotta put some time in and twist a few knobs. Apparently, some people out there just lack the conviction to do that.

Had it for a year....no problems yet.

Luckily I haven't had to deal with them yet.

I've been playing for 7 years now. I've been through several other amps, allthough I wish I didn't have to get rid of my 5150. If it were stolen, you're damn straight I'd be pissed...I put hard earned cash into this thing. Like I said earlier, great for beginners and people on a budget. I personally like it's feel and what you get for your dollar. If you're expecting this to be the miracle wonder that replaces a Fender Tweed and a JCM800 and a Dual Recto, etc. . . . you're just a dummy. But if you can't afford all that and are looking for a pretty flexible alternative, this is a good option. And as always, I suggest hearing it before you buy it.

i bought this amp on ebay. it was my second ebay purchase, the first...don't want to talk about. this one specatacular! i bout this amp used but i couldn't tell any difference, it was nicer than the floor model at long and mcquade. this amp is great for everything, i play everything from metal to pink floyd. i can pull off tones like kirk hammet and clean tones like jack johnson. this amp has 4 programable channels, the only thing i wish they could do on it is copy and paste from channel to channel. very easy to program tho. i don't really like the sound from the headphone jacks but i don't use it much. the effects are really nice, i don't really like the chorus too much but the rest are awsome. the echo effects and reverb are very realistic and this think is so loud! i acctually managed to drown out drums being hit as hard as they could withstand. i wish this amp was lighter but i'll have big pipes after carrying everywhere. but u can't really make it lighter. this amp is super nice for even just playing quietly and without sacrificing tone. i can play heavy riffs and there will b someone sleeping in the next room! i used the jacks on the back for going to another amp and it made a crappy practice amp sound so good. this amp looks so good, the knobs look like something out of a flying sawcer it stands out as much as it does when its off thatn when its on

i have a crappy strat copy and its a metal machine now. i have a couple pedals for distortion and now i'm looking to sell them because this amp sounds so good. its not noisy at all well it is a little but thats my guitars fault. this amp sends shivers up my spine when i play cuz it sounds amazing! my dad thought i was playing a cd but it was me playing metallica.

i haven't had any malfunctions or reasons to mess with it at all, i tink thats pretty good for a used amp and the fact that iv had it for 5 months. i would definetly gig with it.

haven't had any reason to call but have a friend whos dealt with them and its not very easy at all. he bout guitar port and he wanted to buy riff tracker and he couldn't just buy the software, they said he had to buy the guitar port and rifftracker together. they eventually gave him the software free of charge, but still a hasle

this amp makes me feel ashamed that i'm playing such a crappy guitar on it, but once i buy my new one i'm guessing my spider will sound even better (if its possible). overall this is my best purchase iv made ever. this amps is allso awsome because you can put on a line 6 cab and it will b that much louder (use the output jacks in the back)
first line 6 product and have never looked back

So many features...already documented. Does only one of them well...and thats metal dude!!!! If you like Limp Biscuit or Godsmack get this thing.

Clean is very shallow at all volumes. There is absolutley no warmth in this box. Crunch is great when the volume is low. Turn it up past 3 and you get a fuzzy clean tone!

Well, it works unfortunately...

Good. Its not their fault this thing sounds like a dog and the are plenty nice!

I had this for about 2 years. Honestly, its a weak metal amp. The other effects are useless so don't buy this thinking you will play jazz, blues, country or even classic rock! Unfortnately, the poor guy that is in a metal band will get frustrated with this amp because he will lose all his distortion at high volumes...creating a farting noise rather than crunchy chords! Your drummer will drown you out easily! If this were lost or stolen I'd know it was my lucky day!

Made in 2004
totally not versitile. I try to play anything from classic rock (think Zep), to rock that can lean on more classical roots (Kansas), to Metal and the only thing it is remotely good for is Metal.

4 channels.

Clean - sucks. Sounds so artificial you would think you were playing your beautiful Martin through a Nintendo.

Twang - rediculous. As fake sounding as Clean, but more "digitized".

Blues - exactly what I got when I messed around with this setting. Absolutely Horrid. BB would kick a hole in this amp and spit on it.

Crunch - Metal with less pre-set distortion.

Metal - OK. It can pass for Metal, but the music is so obfuscated by the poor quality that you really have to limit your expectations and just be happy with the fact that you are playing louder than you would if you pulled the cord out.

Crunch - Metal, just massively distorted. IMHO, useless.

Lots of effects, like flange, phaser (WTF?!?! this one is so rediculous and useless it's laughable), tremolo, delay tape echo, sweep echo, but they all pretty much useless musically coming from this amp. However, I can see that there may be some ancilliary benefits to these if, perhaps, between gigs you got called up to help produce some lame-ass sound effects for Buck Rogers reruns (you know, "Twiggy, set phasers for full stun **Zeweee booowaaaaa eeeeeoooooo").
Drive and Reverb - basically what you would expect these two controls to do to a crappy sounding amp. Make it hold that crappy note longer and distort the crappiness more. Channel volume control causes the amp to short out on occasion.
Power switch - AT LAST, SUCCESS!! This is the only control on this amp that does what I had hoped for. On/Off.
Where do I play it? Are you kidding? At home, man, at home. I would never take this thing out in public. Enough power, but sounds powerfully bad (or maybe that's just me, jury is out on that one).

Cheaper alternative -
Go to radio shack and ask the attendant how to hook up car speakers to your home PC. Buy whatever is required (probably no more than 20-30 dollars).
Go to a junk yard and find a pair of car speakers in some nasty old heap (a Pinto, maybe?)
Connect equipment.
Connect quitar.
Program in some zoomy, whooshy space effects.
Congrats, you have made yourself a Line6.

Play.

I bought this after reading the reviews already pasted. There seems to be two types of view-either its an all singing all dancing great emulator or its a pile of shit. I thought I would write something that was a bit more helpful so that you can make a better choice.

Firstly it all depends on your standard of playing, whether you are a bedroom player, or do regular gigs etc and whether good tone is your priority.
Now if you want a fantastic sound then without question you need a decent VALVE amp. There is NO substitute for this. Those of you that have experience and have been playing a while know this already.
You also know that the guitar has more control, that notes will sing and you will cut through in a band situation. Of course their are rubbish valve amps out there-but IMO all of them sound better than this amp.
You have to remember that this amp is not really an amp. It is a computer with a couple of speakers. Just remind yourself of this if you go to buy one and then you wont be dissapointed in just how bad this 'amp' can sound.
By the way Ive had this amp for 8 months and used it a lot even ....er....in ....a ....gig!!! oh my god how embarassing!Anyway...
As this is the feature bit of the review I have to say that there are loads of features. These can be found on other reviews. It is basically a multi channel programmable amp with loads of amp models and effects. So loads of choice really. More about the amp sounds below.
The effects are very poor. Almost unusuable really. Why?
Where do I begin! If you wanted subtle then think again. All the effects are too much to begin with. Fine if you want really stupid unrealistic noises but these really stink! Perhaps you want a touch of choros on a clean setting or perhaps a bit of 50's echo for that perfect stray cats solo........Think again!
The only usable part of the effects is a bit of reverb (although this is not very good.)The tuner is ok and its kinda nice to get different sounds on different channels. Apart from this a waste of time really. But if youre a beginner then this will give you a taste of what an amp can do and what the particular effect is all about.
So loads of options really, especially for a beginner amp- but the effects are very poor, which is why its only getting a 5.
ok....next box.

Iive been playing a long time and gigged a lot. As years have passed I sold off my decent stuff untill asked to be in another band. So I needed an amp that could do a wide range of stuff and was loud enough. I was fooled by all the hype and the reviews on here so thought Id give it a try.
The amp has loads of sounds really. When I first got it I thought 'WOW' amazing what it can do. There are loads of amp models and effects etc. BUT I soon realised that this amp is completely unconvincing and definately not suitable for a band. There are different amp settings but there is always something missing at practice/giging levels. Now I tried loads of things to make this sound good-eventually finding that if I used a compressor,pre-amp and tube driver on a clean model then it sounded its best-but this is still a poor substitute for a valve amp.
It took me a while to realise that this amp does sound ok at very low volumes! So what the hell is the point of 2x12 speakers and 150w of power!! What a rubbish design.
Distortions are just crap. Totally unconvincing. Unless you play death metal type crap where you want your poor playing hidden by a wall of crappy buzzy mess. If so then buy. Cleans are better but sound sterile.
In a band situation there is no clarity of sound- you dont cut through, and the more you turn up the more rubbish it sounds. Its just a very loud mess.
All in all rubbish sounding, un giggable and totally uninspiring 'amp' . Ok if you play at home-are a novice and dont care if you have a nice tone. Ok for quiet practice. For this reason it gets a 2.

Just to clarify this is a good low volume practice amp or beginners amp, but a rubbish sounding amp for a decnt player playing at decent volume.
Also you know how you can set up a valve amp overdriven on 10 volume on guitar and then back it off to say 8 for crunch and then say 5 for clean......well this is not possible for this 'amp'. Try this on this amp and you'll be rewarded with a sudden drop in volume; sometimes the amp cutting out all together-with a sudden rush of deafening volume! ......weedy thin tones and very erratic behaviour....Absolutely un usable in this way.
Reeliable in that it always worked , but methinks there is a glitch in the software that makes it cut out sometimes. I always carry a backup pre amp thing(JD 10)_

Not dealt with them.Dont know.

I chose this because I was on a budget and wanted to believe the hype.
At first I liked the amp because I thought it gave me a lot for my money (which it does) BUT what it gives you is mostly rubbish. I hate the way the amp is uncontrollable from the guitar; I hate the weedy thin sounds; the way the notes clip too early; the fuzzy rubbish overdrives, the poor unusable effects, the muddy sounds that just blend into the background no matter how loud you are, and the poor design that sees a practice toy with enough power to burst eardrums. (which would perhaps be preferable to actually listening to this pile of sterile shit.) From a players point of view this is the worst amp I have ever owned. Do not buy this if you want nice tone. Dont believe the hype-this is a terrible terrible awful sounding 'amp'. Just dont be tempted..ok!
However, I did like it as a low volume practice tool-loads of sounds to muck about with. The tuner is a good idea as well. So if this is your aim or you're a beginner-and if its cheap, then buy it.

Made in 2005. 4 channels with a mass of effects: chorus, delay, reverb, flange etc. Tend to use only 2 of my own custom channels and never the factory pre-sets. I gig this thing hard and regularly with my band (check us out at www.ocktober.co.uk) and sometimes from the backline, more often through our own PA. Either way, it's PLENTY loud and retains clarity and definition at high volumes.The footswitch is excellent. Solid, solid metal casing. Heavy duty and can take a whole lot of stomping. Very rugged. The 12 different amp models offer a huge range of tone options if you fiddle around, have a bit of patience and are prepared to invest some quality time really geting to know the thing.

As a persecuted minority (left handed guitarist) with 3 kids, 1 wife and 1 income, I'm used to cheapo gear and really taking the time out to get maximum bang for my buck. I currently use an Aria STG Series Str*t copy, a Yamaha RGX 121 SL and a Crafter FX550 electro-acoustic. My band do my own songs and with only 1 guitar in the line up, I have no problems at all cutting through or finding the right sound as I only ever use my own 2 saved settings anyway! lol. We do stuff kinda 80's-ish in style, I guess, with clean verses and crunchy choruses and simply swapping between the 2 sounds via the footswitch is a walk in the park. I've found that if you move this thing from a very cold environment to a warm one and visa versa, it hums for a while till it's setled down. It can also mess up the tuner and do crazy things with the volume. This wrecked me and I thought I'd bought a pig-in-a-poke till I figured it out. Now I have no problems and always leave it switched on at gigs and rehearsals for a while before I soundcheck/play and it's now fine. The variety of sounds on offer really are too many to list here, what you like depends, obviously, on your style and taste but generally, all the clean settings stay clean and sharp right the way up the dial. As for distortion, anyone not able to get a decent dirty sound aint taking enough time out to play with the thing. You can get creamy, clapton type tones all the way through to the most insane nastiness.
I Use the red metal setting with the gain on 12 and, with my E.Q's set the way I like 'em, get a great crunch sound that works equally well for solos. At low level, home practice, volumes the dirt kinda sounds fuzzy but not so bad it's a problem. It has to be barely audible but it it might piss some off.

Apart from the aforementioned glitches due to tempreture extremes, no hassles so far and I've played maybe 20 gigs with it and a twice weekly practice. Foolishly,I AM using it at the moment without a back up but that's down to finances. I plan to get a decent multi FX pedal and run that into our PA if the thing dies on me at a gig.

Never used 'em. Never needed it repaired fingers crossed that's the way it'll stay.

Been playing 10 years or so, all the gear I own I've listed above. If it were lost I'd weep like a child, if it were stolen I'd hunt the scum down and gouge out his heart with a broken spoon. I'd certainly go right out and buy another, perhaps the head and cab version, though. I love how I could make it sound the way I hear my songs in my head. Still shake my head in wonder and grin everytime I hit my first chord after switching it on. I love having plenty balls and power to cut through our mix and never having to strain or overwork the beast. Why did I buy this? Well I'm 39, lazy but busy and short of time and patience in every area of my life. Had neither the time or the inclination and have grown out of carting loads of pedals and stuff around. I wanted one amp that could do all I asked of it without the need for anything else.Which isn't much, all I wanted was 1 decent clean sound and one decent distortion. This was perhaps over specced for me but I've used a combination of it's effects on my own settings and am over the moon. This does it perfectly. As I said,I use only 2 sounds of my own devising. I've programmed them across the 4 channels so no matter what direction I hit the pedal I go to the next, correct sound.I boosted the mids before I saved the setings and now for solos I just swap to the neck pick-up to introduce a little 'cream' and it sounds gorgeous. Other options were a Behringer 2x12 combo (forget the model, sorry!)but the reviews were so bad in terms of reliability I never even tried it. Total Guitar gave the Fender Frontman combo good rates so I tried that and it was beyond bad. Muddy, mushy, hissy and useless. Then I tried this and it was love at first sound and still is after a bunch of gigs. Also had a huge stroke of luck with the price: was quite happy to pay the going rate but I met a broke student who'd had his for only 5 weeks from new. Got it off him with tags, recepits, boxed etc for only #150.00!!! I cried with joy while the poor guy cried tears of real pain. Horses for courses, of course but if, like me, you only need/want a couple of sounds and like the simple life but with plenty volume this is the baby to go for.I'm probably not doing it justice, really, with all it has to offer but hey, it does what I need, does it well, and does it night after night after night. What else is do you need? (BTW, anyone checking out our site and hearing the sound files, do NOT think the amp is crap. I didn't have the amp when we made the recording. That was some crappy, old thing the producer had lying around and it sounded pants!)

A lot of people have already listed the features, but basically it's a 75W/75W stereo power amp thru two celestion 12" speakers fed by a computer-based modeller. Essentially it's a pod, power amp and cab all in one box.

It has 12 amp models, 7 effects (3 at a time, 1 is always reverb) an EQ and volume controls, gain boost, noise gate, 4 memory locations, headphone/direct output, built in tuner, and comes with a 2 button sroll-type footswitch. Channel switching is instant and doesn't click / pop / reduce volume, and the built in noise gate *can* be turned off, despite other people saying that it can't.

I play anything from AOR to metalcore depending on my mood, and this amp copes fine with it all. 150W of solid-state power should be enough for most people, and used sensibly provides sufficient headroom for most styles.

I think a lot of people are expecting this to be something that it's not in the sounds department. It's a solid state power amp and a DSP. It's never going to sound like an amp that costs 4 times the price and is based on entirely different technology. If you think it is, you'll be disappointed.

I use a PRS Tremonti with Duncan Invaders, a Pacifica 312 with an EMG HZ-4 and a Jackson Kelly with EMG 81s and play anything between AOR and metalcore depending on my mood. All guitar effects sound fake to me and the built-in ones on this amp are no exception, however, the built-in reverb is useable.

To my mind, the spider excells by being able to switch between Marshall and Mesa sounds without having to cart both my amps round and try to work out how to make a 40W Marshall DSL as loud as a 50W single rectifier! It saves a lot of time setting up, and I don't have to worry about getting my expensive amps damaged at a pub gig.

It doesn't sound exactly the same as my valve amps, but when I set up the presets I had it sat next to my Mesa Rectoverb and Marshall DSL401 and compared them with an A/B to get the sounds as similar as possible. When you turn up the volume and add the rest of the band, you'd be hard pressed to tell that much difference. There's more gain than most people will ever need, but if you want to use it at completely extreme settings, it'll allow you to do so without going muddy and over-compressed - another reason why I prefer solid-state over valves sometimes.

I've not really had it long enough to comment, but I once had a POD-2 go stupid at me, so if this were going to die, I'd expect it to be as a result of the modeller, not the power stage. It looks well built, and I'd be happy enough to gig without any more backup than my POD to go through the PA.

When my POD went funny, I had a very long conversation with one of the tech guys at Line6, and whilst he was very nice and completely apologetic, he couldn't replicate the problem I'd got! Hey.. at least they tried...

Anybody who buys this amp thinking it sounds like an all-valve combo will probably grow to hate it. My advice would be to go and get a Peavey Valve-King combo for the same money (in the UK, at least) and most likely enjoy it much more!

Anybody who wants this as a recording amp for a home studio will soon come to realise that modelling is convenient, but it sounds fake when you get up-close and personal at low volume. Nothing sounds like a valve head, a 4x12 and an SM57 in a small room, so don't expect it to!

Anybody who's been playing a while, realises that valve amps aren't always as practical as they are great-sounding and just wants a workhorse that they don't have to worry about damaging as they cart it round the practice rooms and pub circuit, should really come to appreciate this amp. It's very easy to use, sounds fine for what it is and caters for a lot of different styles along the way. I wish it had plain chorus in the effects, but hey... can't have it always!

Features were mediocre. Nothing amazing.

Crackes and pops even when nothings plugged into it. This all started a few weeks after purchase. I never even moved it when I first bought it. It sat in my room. THe volume cuts out and all of a sudden will blast! I had it in the "shop" for over two months and they amazingly said that they could not reproduce the problem. I marked the screws before bringing it in and "they were not even touched!@!" Line 6 will not return my calls. DO NOT BUY LINE 6!!! THEY ARE CRAP!!!

Absolutely garbage. Piece of useless garbage!!

What customer support???? Theres NO SUPPORT!!! GO to hell line 6!!!

I should sue them!! This company needs to be brought up under charges from the BBB!!

OK, maybe there are many amp sims, but they are almost useless. Where is presence knob??? FX are funny, with very limited opitions.

$%^&*@!!! This thing is dry, artificial, lifeless, thin sounding and got that ice-pick presence.
I play mostly prog-rock and metal. Cleans are so transistor-radio-like, which I dislike. Distortions are maybe good for beginners, bedroom players or deaf, but not for me. There are many amplifiers in that price range, that can beat the hell out of it, for example VOX AD50VT.

Got it only for testing, so N/A.

See above.

I had this $%^& for 10 days for testing. This thing is piece of garbage. Don't believe anyone else. Just go and try it. If You like it, i'll feel sorry for You. If You've bought it, sooner or later You'll gonna sell it. I've been playing guitar for 13 years now, and my taste is for more professional sound. With this unit, Your sound will be like that one in songs from FPP games.

I won't go into this too much because I think anyone would agree that there are a ton of features for the money. If you really want the details go to the website. Not many amps have as many built in effects as this. Only catch is that you can only use 2 at the same time, but that doesn't include the distortion models. The only thing lacking in the effects is a good sustain... get a good sustain pedal for this amp. Now maybe you can think of something else, but the chances are that even your 'high quality brand name' amps don't carry it either.

I've used it with an epiphone straight and that same epiphone with a synth pickup. I've also used it with an Ibanez AXD81VLS. I've read some of these reviews, and I can see why some have said it seems flat and has "no balls" (which by the way tells you nothing), but you have to realize that because it has so many features you have to really tweak the knobs to get the unique sound you want. I think some of these people who claim to be experienced musicians are just frustrated that they don't know how to use a modern solid state amp's features. They are more accustomed to older and simpler proven amplifiers. Go to you're local retailer and fool with the settings and I think you'll see that the sound is very decent for an amp with such variety.

***Although I have tested its range of volume sound and FX, I have not gigged for long periods with it***

But, I have use it for an hour or so at a time ( a few times a week) for over a year now with perfect results. I don't have any reason to believe it would fail me.

I've been playing for nearly ten years now. I've played on a number of marshall, crate, peavey, fender, and epiphone amps. I only own the spider II 212 at present (tight budget) and I do not currently perform, but I believe this amp is proof that the price of good quality sound equipment is now truly affordable if the consumer will only shop for sound and not brand name. I love a classic marshall as much as the next guy, but line 6 has come up with a fair comparison (if set correctly) that has many more features at a lower price. This amp, plus a few well chosen pedals, and a decent guitar will give most high priced setups a run for their money.

OK, very versatile. Tons of features

One muddy mess. It lacks a tone! Fortunately I could sell it to someone else. At home you can get really good sounds sitting in front of it. At a gig..... it will be blown away by any tube amp. I have tried several times with my band but the fender twin and the marshall jcm amps owned by the other gitarists are there. I'm nowhere. I hear in a corner some muddy tansistor sound....
I now have a Koch Multitone (OK, another pricerange). Now I blow the twins and jCM's away hahahaha. What a huge difference

Sorry, if it had more tone and less features than my opinion was more positive.

this amp has loads of cool stuff to play around with. you should read the manual to discover whats on offer.

to be honest the distortions are ok. the MESA amp setting is quite good. it's not perfect. for me this amp is great. i use the amp always in the clean channel as i am using a pedal to create the distortion. there are 2 clean amps to choose from. i was using the green channel for a long time and i thought that my sound was quite good. however i decided to investigate, one day, the clean red channel. i can't tell you enough how much my sound has improved. the difference between the green and red channel is like putting a turbo on a car engine. the bass on the clean red channel is so much stronger and the distortion sounds like a completely new pedal. so basically you should read the manual and experiment with this spider 2 212. as for the spider 2 212 itself the volume is really scary. i only use 2% of its power and after i finnish playing at home my ears ring!BUY THIS AMP if you need something with great value for money that is loud enough to band practice and even gig with. the onboard distortions are ok. you can get a good metallica 'puppetz' sound. try the metal red channel or the metal green channel with it's special mid control that changes the characteristics of the mids different than a normal mid control. you really need to sit down and experiment. so basically this amp is loud, good value for money (forget tube amps, i love my distortion pedal), and the sound quality of my amp and pedal is so evil sounding it scares me.

100 % happy.

ok the onboard distortions are quite good. however i get a better sound using a seperate pedal with the clean red channel. if you want something relatively cheap with a crazy power and rather good sound quality buy this amp. for me i am very happy with this spider2 212.

I bought this amp new in May 2005.I play lead with a covers band and our rep ranges from 50's rock'n'roll through 60's pop & blues to 70's blues & blues/rock, and this amp covers all those bases pretty well.
The Spider II 212 comes with 4 programmable channels accessible via a simple 2 button footswitch (1 button scrolls up, 1 button scrolls down). I have since bought a Line6 Shortboard foot controler which gives you 36 channel!!! There are 12 amp models, 7 effects and a built in tuner. It also has a headphones/direct out socket on the front and a pair of external speaker sockets on the back. Unfortunately there is no effects loop which is a shame because I use stompboxes infront of the amp and I would prefer to put the modulation effects after the drive generated by the amp - but I guess you can't have everything for this sort of money.
We usually gig in smallish halls (200-300 people) where I set the master volume to about 11 o'clock (12 o'clock is half volume).We have also played outdoors at a steam fair and it coped with that admirably - not suprising considering it's a 150watt stereo unit. But the beauty of it is that I can use it for practice at home.

I play a 40th anniversary American Tele (s/s),a Mex Tele Custom (h/s) and a Gibson ES137 (h/h), and with this amp, an overdrive pedal, a chorus pedal and an EQ pedal I can cover any sound I need on stage and a lot more besides.
I tend to use the Red Twang model the most, where you can find great tones based on the Fender amps of the 60's. I also regularly use the 2 Crunch models based on Marshall 50watt and 100watt Plexi amps. One of the Clean models is based on a Hiwatt amp and dirtys up beautifully, whilst one of the Metal models has a great feature which allows you (by use of the mid knob) to dial up a range of drive from Fuzz to Modern Distortion to Class A Drive - great fun!
All the models can be run clean simply by rolling off the drive knob. But the distortion on some of the models is quite something, brutal isn't the word for it, so there's plenty there for the Metalers etc amongst us.
There are a few drawbacks. I find the Blues and Insane models unuseable due to their poor sounds, but then I guess that's just a matter of taste. The Flanger, Chorus and Tremelo are a bit OTT, so I don't use them at all, but the Phaser is quite good so I use it from time to time to add a bit of colour. The Delay is very useable, although a bit extreme if rolled right up, but the Tape Echo sounds VERY digital and the Sweep Echo is a bit weird to get your head round.I have to say that I find the Reverb the best effect in the amp, you can have just a hint right round to the deepest cave!

I've not had any reliability problems at all. I don't have a backup, maybe I should, but if treated properly I don't expect it to fail. It certainly seems to be robust enough for life on the road.

I've not had to deal with them. Although I have found that their web site is very usefull.

I've been playing on and off for 27 years. Most of my current gear is mentioned above, the only things to add are a Fender Blues Junior 15watt valve amp and a variety of stompboxes by the likes of ElectroHarmonix, VooDoo Labs, Boss etc.
If I lost this amp I would replace it with the same, unless I had the funds to go for a higher range of Line6 amp.
The great thing about it is its versitility but you do have to work at it to get the best out of it, I've had mine for 7 months or so and I'm still tweaking my settings and suprisingly still finding new things about the amp. The leaflet that comes with it is a bit limited but it does tell you which amps the models are based on which I found very usefull.
The effects are ,on the whole, poor and I would prefer fewer onboard effects with an effects loop instead, but I bought mine because of its modelling capabilities and its power, and on those terms it is excellent - don't forget this is a sub #300 amp.
I did look at a variety of other modelling options and settled on this for one overiding reason which is that while a few other companies are very good at amp modelling, Line6 are obsessive about it.

Made in 2005, this amp is perfect for the styles of music and options I like. The presets give you great distortion and really pack some brutality in when cranked up. I play a lot of Metallica, BLS, and the like, and this amp is perfect. Oh yeah, the built in tuner is brilliant too. I can throw away all of my pedals but the wah. This is a blast to play.

As I said, I play mainly metal, thrash, punk and this amp sounds great with my Les Paul (Seymour Duncan humbuckers - 59 in the neck, JB special). I have only been playing for a few years, but this amp blows away the Marshall valvestate (8240) that I have been playing with. The clean sounds need a little bit of dialing in to get the right depth, but if you are looking a versatile amp with great value, this is it. I was going back and forth between this and the Vox Valvetronix, but this one simply had better sounds and was more intuitive to work with.

Don't really know yet. The strap on top doesnt look too impressive, I think I'll be careful when taking it around.