Line 6 Spider II 30 112 Combo

I bought this amp a couple of years ago. I play everything from pop, indie, to thrash metal. I found this amp only really suitable for heavy rock and heavy metal. This has a single channel, with built in effects; no effects loop - DO NOT expect to be able to successfully use this with external effects. It also has a CD-in, which sounds truly awful. I would have liked the ability to bypass the built-in effects and use an effects loop (but I guess that's not very 'Line 6'). I used this purely for home use and the 30 watts was more than enough - I've seen a couple of bands successfully use this amp (mic'd up to the PA) for pub gigs.

I used this with Gibson Les Pauls, a Squire Tele and a cheap Epiphone. I also have the Line 6 FBV4 floor board, which I found essential. I like to try my hand at as many styles as possible. This amp is marketed at metallers and this is it's main strength. As the effects are built in, it copes with it's own effects very well, removing noise quite effectively, even when overdriven to hell. I found the clean channel sounds 'treated' and very difficult to get a good sound using external effects with it, I would only recommend this amp if you are happy with the built-in effects (try it out in a shop). The 'Insane' distortion is possibly the best OTT Pantera-style distortion I have heard from a combo - if this is what you're after, look no further.

It's very plasticy. I'd imagine, if it toppled over onto a hard floor, it would probably suffer some damage. I would use it for gigging (and people do), but I would be careful with it.

I have been playing 6-string guitar for about 15 years (bass about 17). I am getting rid because I want a more versatile sound and it reacts badly to having effects plugged into it (HORRIBLE sound and volume fluctuates heavily, trying to deal with the additional gain). I have liked the (albeit limited) built in effects, but, as I have already said, I would have liked a more transparent clean channel and an effects loop. I now have a somewhat unconventional setup where I play a Boss multieffects unit into a Roland keyboard amp, which much better suits my wants. I used to use a Marshall combo which, although had a much better tone than the Line 6, could only do a couple of sounds - 'Marshall clean' and 'Marshall emulated tube overdrive'. If you want an 'all in one' heavy metal combo amp, you can't go wrong; if you're looking for a more versatile setup, look elsewhere.

Bought late 2006, probably a year old when I got it, but in mint condition, still boxed.
This is a 30W modelling practice amp with a 12" Celestion speaker.
4 Channels attempt to imitate various classic amps sounds.
On board FX - chorus, flange, reverb, delay, etc.
Sounds can be saved (only one per channel) once you have found what you like so this is a nice feature.
Footswitches are very expensive extras but I tend not to use them for home practice anyway.
At 30W this was really too loud for my requirements - anything above 2-3 on the dial caused my floor to shake! It's a very bassy amp which I liked for my sound, probably due to the large speaker.
I'd say you could jam with another guitarist/bass player with this amp but it wouldn't be loud enough for full band rehearsal (not my band anyway!).

I have used an Ibanez RG550 and a Cort M200 with this.

I have read a lot of criticism about the sound of this amp, sounding digital, etc. Well, firstly I wanted it as a late night practice amp, so wasn't too fussy about it being perfect because at those kind of volumes it will never be perfect.

Anyhow:

Clean channel was ok. Never really cranked it, but with touch of chorus I found a nice sound.

Crunch: I got a very decent Black Sabbath sound out of this which I was happy with (think "Into the Void"). I'm not sure how good it is at classic rock sounds as I don't really go for that, but got a decent "Ziggy Stardust" sound as well.

Metal: Found this channel too thin and not meaty enough - the Insane did this much much better.

Insane: I loved this channel. I play lots of styles, including death and black metal and this did the business. Tons of distortion, plenty of bass. Good for shredding with heavily palm muted picking. This was definitely the best thing about this amp. Managed to get very decent recordings simply by using the line out straight to the desk from this channel.

Seems ok, I never had any problems with it.

Never dealt with them as I bought it used.

Have been playing electric guitar for 25 years or so.
These amps get a lot of bad press, but believe me they are far superior to the terrible transistor amps of the 80's and early 90's at a fraction of the price.

I have now sold this amp, simply because it was too large and bulky for my requirements. It is quite a large amp for the power, and quite heavy. I wanted something I could tuck into a corner and carry about the house much more easily (I bought a Micro Cube).

What I loved about this amp was the insane channel. Rock purists may hate it but it is pure shred!
I thought the Crunch channel was very decent as well.

I compared it to the Vox VR30 which, although it is a hybrid amp and gets a lot of recommendations was pretty poor at the high gain death metal shred sound I like.

Firstly, i would invite everyone to read this review. i have obviously spent alot of time, and went into a lot of detail. Just because you see a lot of text to read don't just skip over this.


I think the features to this amp are the ONLY good thing about it. This is a pratice amp... period. The nice thing about it as a pratice amp is the ability to save presets on 4 different channels. (Clean, Crunch, metal, Insane) This means you are doing less fidling and more playing. This is good. The effects are nice to be able to combine two at once. I would prefer that there were more parameter switches for the effects, like a speed/rate button for the chorus.. oh well. For a practice amp the features do quite well. having a celestion stock probably boosted the rating from a 6. The footswitch, whichis a basic scrolling one costs $45 canadian, which is ridiculous. The four button one costs $90!! Way too much for somehting that should have been included. Oh and no fx loop which would have been really really really nice. (i don't know if it is even possible to have on a digital amp.)

I'm playing this amp with a fender us made highway one strat and an ibanes AG95 artcore jazz hollowbody.

Three words about the tone of this amp... DIGITAL DIGITAL DIGITAL. i know Line 6 only does digital, but still. An amp with an analog preamp is just too hard eh? This would mean that you could not save presets if it were analog, but it would be worth it. The effects obv have to be digital but i don't mind digital effects as much as digital distortion. The effects are below average, except for the tape echo which sounds very good. I am a delay abuser so i rely on this effect. This and the reverb are all i use. The annoying thing about it is you can't use both the reverb and delay at the same time. The reverb really only sounds good on the clean channel though.

I will pick all the channels to bits now:

Clean: The best channel on this amp by far. its a pratice amp so i don't care if it distorts at high volumes. But i don't think it really does too much anyone if anyone was wondering. I can get good dark jazz tones out of it, but thats about it. If i try and do blues, its too dark, but when I turn the treble up it gets way too bright. I want warm cleans but with some brilliance and presence, this amp won't be able to achieve it.

Crunch; A bad imitation of an early marshall plexi or a JCM amp. This channel cannot be a rhythm and a lead channel at the same time. bottom strings are way too bassy and muddy, and not a good kinda mud either. notes are not defined. With the exact same settings these extremely bassy low string are a wevere contrast to the upper strings which are piercing thin. Even if i use the bridge pickup for rhythm and the neck for lead, the neck is still way too bright for myliking.

Metal: This is the most useless channel and the worst feature by far on this amp. There is very, very little sustain, even worse than a $15 pedal. No matter what i dowith the knobs,(and i spent alot of fiddling.) i cannot get a good sound out of this without sounding really bassy or too thin. Even if i take the noisegate off, which is a hidden feature, (nice to have) i get the sound i want, but there is this really, really gritty sound i can't explain. its not the instrument or the cable, belive me.

Isane: This is one of the better channels on this unit. I don't play metal, but this is the only channel where i can get the sustain, tone, and definition I want. The gain is a little over the top, but the quieter you play, the more gain you need, and since this is a practice amp, this channel combined with a little tape echo sounds good for singing sustained leads, and ballsy rhythms. This also sounds great for metal even though I don't really play it.

Two or three times my preset patches have been erased when powering up the amp. This is unaccpetable. I've ahd to use it live when I'm without anytoehr amps, and once all the patches were erased literally 5 minutes before I had to play. That is unacceptable. i know you can erase patches by holding the clean button when powering it up, but i was no where near the clean button when my patches were erased. Otherwise it's been ok.

i think the warranty is 2 years? but check out the website. But if you go near their website ignore all sales pitches saying this amp is the best thing. Still, i have never dealt with the line 6 team before so i can't really judge how good, or more likely bad they are with customers.

This is an ok pratice amp, but i would rather get a vox modelling amp, or possibly a roland cube. Still, a cheap randall would probably make a better Solid state pratice amp. But apparently Carvin and traynor make the best tube emulated solid state amps. I really liked how chep this amp was. This amp really is designed for kids who don't know how to play who like to max out the gain and scoop the mids. Both of these should only be done in certain situations, and the scooping of mids shouldn't really be used too much. Anyway.. About the amp, its good for bedroom players, or as a first amp, i like some of the features, the sound just sucks tone out of your guitar and makes it sound like a phonebook with strings oh well.

MAKE SURE YOU TRY THIS AMP OUT FOR YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRITE IT OFF. THERE ARE ENOGUH IDIOTS ON THIS SITE WHO KNOW NOTHING AOBUT GEAR, SO TRY EVERYTHING OUT.

Once again, this is a great first amp for those who like effects but don't have money to spend on pedals. It lets you see what effects do. This is especiialy useful for delay, but don't expect to use a delay pedal without an effects loop. For those REAL players out there... outdo yourself and get an all tube amp! For those just playing around this house, give it a try, it can't hurt... But for me... nahhh

The amp is a 2005 or 6. The amp was purchased for practice and to take to friends houses.
I own a Roadking, Twin and a Gibson Duo Medalist( see my reviews on these amps). The amp is 4 channel A foot switch is available I wish it had the ability to mix more than two effects simultaneously. I have a GNX 4 and an ME -30 which would do if I needed to layer effects. The amp was chosen for size and convenience.

The sound quality is great for clean Jazz, or surf and the effects sound nice. I don't use this for high volume but it sounds clean enough to the point my ears can handle the sound pressure level. The distortion sounds like what you would get from a solid state amp it fuzzes out well and there is a lot of control between the drive, channel and master volumes. I use the amp with a Strat for surf and a Les paul for Jazz. The amp suites me fine for plug and play. The amp sounds relatively noise free at the intensities that I am using.

If you are using this amp to gig than I trust that you are doing very small venues. I purchased a floor model and I believe that there is a dead spot in the master VC.

I used the web site to access the settings for the channels. The site is confusing at first, however once understood the files were easily found.

45 years see above. If it were lost I'd feel stupid, if it were stolen I'd be pissed at that price level I might invest in something better. I love the low level playing and the ability to fuzz out at very low (ie others asleep) volumes. I compared it to a Marshall which I found for my Brother-in-Law which ended up being more expensive and didn't sound quite as good. My choice was based on a friends recommendation and price. Again, I wish it had the ability to combine more than two effects at one time. Seriously, this amp is what it is. Reviewers condemming this amp appear to want Bubbly on a beer budget. This is a fun device to take to a friends house or a party. If you are looking for an amp with a personality then only tubes will do. If I want to wail the blues I'll put my Roadking to work. This amp is great for the intended purpose.

4 channels and some decent effects.

Having the 4 channels is nice but they are all sub par and do not have independant volume which is kind of annoying. But they channels sound good for what I bought this amp for... My dorm room! I have a Peavey XXX if I want to be loud.

Not sure.

Haven't dealt with them.

This amp gets a 7 because it is good for what it was designed for. Recording and Practice. Line 6 amps sell well because they are cheap because they are so highly manufactured and they sound GREAT int he store because they sound good at low levels. They sound shitty once you get them loud enough to play with a drummer. So, if your looking for a relativly inexpensive, decent sounding practice amp you might want to consider this amp.

made in 2004
Well this amp has 30 watts,4 channels clean,crunch,metal,insane.built-in Effects including Phaser, chorus, Flanger, Tremolo, Sweep Echo, Tape Echo, distortion Boost, and Noise Gate, a custom 12" Celestion Speaker, Tap Tempo, headphone Jack.

well this amp has 4 channels but 4 channels that will never get close to any amps its simulating.the clean channel it?s the best that the amp has but it?s still not close to a good amp.the insane channel is the worst this amp not satisfied at all to muddy to sterile

this will never be used o a gig if a ever do one

never dealt with them wouldnt even bother

i?ve been playing fot about 10 years ,i?ve had about 26 guitars.if it was stolen i wouldn?t even bother and be happy that i fdon?t have to see it anymore ,i just wish these companies made good stuff and not any shitty amps with lot of publicity and videos showing the amp in the video then having a mesa boogie in the back playing never gonna buy any thing on the lone 6 name

Four Channels: Clean, Crunch, Metal, and Insane. It has 6 effects built into two knobs so you can use 2 simultaneously. One knob allows you to use Chorus Flange, Phaser, and Tremolo, and the other has two kinds of echoes and reverb. This amp is all solid state and has a headphone jack/line out for silent practice/recording. Footswich is sold separately and the effects sound very gimmicky except for the reverb so this gets a 7

I play a Gibson Les Paul Studio and play mainly blues and classic rock. The Clean channel is decent at low volumes up to about 10 oclock on the master. After that it starts to lose any warmth and becomes sharp and more sterile. It gets the job done for just practicing though. I find that the Clean channel is better suited for clean lead parts than rhythm. The Crunch channel I find lacks character. Granted there are some okay sounds in there, I find that it feels stiff and lacks smoothness. Very one dimensional sounding. Again, it's alright for noodling but I wouldn't want to record with it. The metal and insane channels are all fizz. As far as effects go, the reverb is okay, but I've never found a usable context for the other effects. This gets 5 cause the clean channel sounds alright at lower volumes.

No issues, but I haven't used this amp except for just jamming with some buddies.

Haven't dealt with Line 6.

I've had this amp about a year and a half. It's not bad for practice, and the clean channel isn't bad. I found the crunch channel to be okay, but the metal and insane channels to be way too fizzy. If it were lost/stolen, I think I'd go with a modeler and headphones since I'd only ever use this amp for practice.

Well i dont think I have to mention what features it has since other reviewers already have written that. But there is one thing I have to mention is that it has an "smart-control fx" sectiod, and that thing can be really enoying. When you switch to for example the clean channel the delay automatically switches on.

I use it with a Fender american standard stratocaster with a seymour duncan hot-rail at the bridge.
I play mostly metal and I'm in a rock/metal cover band.

The only thing positive I really come up with about this amp is that isn't noisy. The sound is really shitty. It sounds cheap and ugly.

I haven't had any problems with it.

I haven't had to deal with them but after what I've heard line6s customer service is very good.

This is not a good amp and I would not buy a new one if it where lost.
The roland micro cube is a hundred times better and only costs about 1000 kroners.

Interesting concept; poorly executed.
Made in 2006. 4 digital modeling channels: clean, crunch, metal, insane. Effects are chorus/flange, phaser, tremolo one one knob; sweep echo, tape echo, reverb on the other. Effects are not tweakable like those in a Behringer amp. Amp comes with headphone/record out that defeats the speaker (so you can't use it for line out to a PA and use the amp for a stage monitor).

Using Fender Strat w/ Tex-Mex pickups, all channels are somewhat thin and weak. You can tell from the sound that this is a solid-stae amp. The tone(s) do not even come CLOSE to a tube amp sound. (Sounds kinda like the solid-state amps from the 80's).

This does not mean the tones are not useable. Clean is OK for funk/R&B/Creedence; Crunch will give you Led Zepplin sorta crap; etal will give you ZZ Top,Mountain and other Marshall-simulation tones; Insane will give you "My Head's in Mississippi", "Smoke on the Water", and "Iron Man"-simualted tones.

You cannot use reverb & delay together (they're on the same knob). Slap-back echo is impossible to obtain (echo is multiple-repeat). There is no real delay effect on this unit.

Nowhere near loud enough to cut through the mix at a gig.

Amp is not as loud as a Behringer or a Crate (soid state or tube). I can only recommend this amp for practice purposes. Sounds are not good enough for anything else.

Cheaply made in China.

Would not even think about gigging with this amp, much less recording with it.

Cabinet is 1/2" particle board; all knobs are lightweight "chromed" plastic; footswitch cord has plastic computer-type connectors.

Speaker has 12oz-16oz magnet; good amps have minimum 38oz magnets. Voice coil will probably burn out if you play too liong with channels and master volume cranked up.

Haven't dealt with them. Gonna send this sucker back to Same Day Music.

Have been playing for 41 years. Have retired my 59' Bassman, '65 Deluxe Reverb, and '62 Ampeg Portaflex. They are far too valuable to keep lugging around.

Would not even consider another Line 6 product, if this amp is a representative sample of the quality of workmanship and tone the company hypes.

If you want good tone w/ tweakable effects in one amp, get a Behringer (same price, much better build quality). If you want great tone with good reliability and quality, you're gonna have to spend a whole lot more money. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR; BUY A CRATE V1512 OR V3112, A TRAYNOR YCV 20, OR A FENDER BLUES JUNIOR, AND A COUPLE OF STOMP BOXES. IT MAY COST YOU $500+ TO DO SO, BUT BELIEVE ME, IT'S WORTH IT WHEN YOU COMPARE IT TO WHAT LINE 6 HAS TO OFFER.

2006 Model
4 Channels
3 Band EQ
6 Effects
Record Out
Headphone Input
FBV Pedal Input
30 watts

Well, I play metal, and man I tell you it rocks. On the Insane channel it gives you a heck of alot of distortion, but its no way near muddy. You can still hear all the notes ure strumming in a chords, just exremely distoted, which is wat thrash/death metalers want. Heaps of reverb and echos to play with. I dont use the metal or crunch channels much, so wont comment. The clean is FANTASTIC as the effects come so well together with it. The reverb, chrous, and echos make this sound like studio done stuff. For acoustic its great to, with perfect cleans. Overall, if this stuff is for you, for its price you cant get better. Oh and did I mention INCREDIBLY LOUD???

No problems, absolutley fine, feels very solidly built. Only had it for a month though, so ill see how it goes.

No problems.

Bloody brilliant, if your into wat this amp makes. For me, thats metal, and its a bloody dream. Couldnt ask for better, apart from maybe a seperate chorus and flanger instead of combined? And a built in compressor would of been awesome aswell. But, so cheap, so couldnt ask for more I guess. GET THIS AMP!