Line 6 Spider II 30 112 Combo

This review is for the Spider II 30 watt amp. The basic features have already been mentioned in other reviews, but some of the best features are "hidden" and you need to read the owner's manual to learn how to access them. The distortion boost is a real gem, as is the noise gate. What's missing? The only thing I'd really like is the "green blues" model amp from the bigger and more expensive Spiders, but I'll buy a Blues Driver pedal to make up for this omission. Also, in my opinion the Line 6 FBV2 foot switch should have been included with the amp.

Simply excellent. I returned a Crate amp which sounded like a cheap car speaker in a shoebox and bought this amp instead, and the difference is amazing. Clean channel is nice and crisp, but I love using it with the "hidden" distortion boost feature for just a kiss of high-end overdrive. The chunky channel is great for classic rock sounds, though I tend to turn down the distortion on this amp model to get more of a British Invasion type of sound (here again a Blues Driver would be a nice addition.) The metal and insane models don't fit my usual playing style, but they sound great for what they are - I played Rush's "Bastille Day" using the factory-preset metal settings and was very impressed with the sound quality; chords were blistering as expected but individual notes could be distinguished where necessary (unlike with my former Crate amp which turned everything to mush.)

One thing that might be important to getting the best sounds from the Line 6: there is a very small note on the marketing material which recommends humbuckers; with single-coil pickups you'll need to boost the middle tones and back off the treble.

Too new for me to give an opinion, but the salesperson said they rarely get Line 6 amps returned. I had also looked at a Behringer model but have heard they have inconsistent quality. I did notice that one of the "chrome" (really plastic) knobs seems a little crazed, but otherwise the amp seems very well made.

Go to their website and download the two page PDF file containing sample amp settings. It also includes a number of blanks for you to write down your personal favorites - that's really helpful!

Best sounding amp in this price range. Just wish it had the blues amp model like its bigger brothers in the Spider II line.

Just an update to my earlier review (in which I am anonymous)... Guitar Player magazine just gave both this amp and its 15 watt cousin their big GP best buy award for value and kick-assedness. Of course, guitar magazines, as a rule, rarely say something sucks, but if you combine that review with these reviews, I think its pretty easy to come to the conclusion that this is a good deal.

The Line 6 Spider II 30 has just recently been released. I read all the reviews on many models before deciding to purchase Line 6. There are 4 Presets,Built in noise gate,Pedal, CD/MP3, and head phone jacks.It has a premium grade Celestian 12 inch speaker that pumps 30 watts.
I wish it had an EFX memory for storing your own settings.

I run a Agile AL-3000 Les Paul clone (love it!) with Alinco-Wilkinson Humbuckers. This Amp brings it alive and simply has it all for a moderately price, feature packed product.The amp is reasonably quiet (hum and popping) considering all the power this thing can pump out. The Crunch preset is serious heavy metal, 30 watts blast power.

The amp is well constructed and since it has an on board computer instead of tubes, I'm guessing the reliability will be above average.
It does have this unexplained small plug connector at the speaker which has no defined use (??). The users guide is a bit light.

Not dealt with Line 6 before but, I will say this unit is bulit well with quality componenets. They have a cool website and the unit has a decent guarantee.

Best featured small amp I've ever owned. Its a joy to play and experiement with. If stolen/broken I could see me buying another just like it. I like everything about it and find nothing to dislike. I could recommend this to anyone seriously looking for a medium size amp. Don't be fooled by it's size . . .it can scream!

4 presets: Clean, Crunch, Metal, Insane, built in noise gate that can be turned on or off. Addtionally, there are several on board effects, although I wish there was just a straight up chorus effect. For an amp this size and at this price point, I believe it has pretty much all the features one would want.

Not a noisy amp at all. I like the insane channel because it seems to be pretty articulate given the amount of distorition it uses. I do not like how the clean channel seems to automatically have the chorus/flanger on as its kind of a pain to turn it off, but it sounds good either way. I like the crunch setting OK, but damned if I can get the metal setting to sound anything but thin and sort of crappy. Still, it gets a nine for being more versatile and overall better sounding than any other 30 watter I tried out.

I can't see where this amp would break down, I am not sure I would gig with this amp, given that its only 30 watts, but if I did, I would not be all that worried about a backup.

never had to deal with them, but its my understanding that Line 6 is better than most at customer service.

I dig this amp! I particularly like how its got a 12" speaker as opposed to the 8" that I normally see in 30 watt amps which means that if I want it, it will be loud. I live in a house with 4 other people, and for considerations sake, I try to play quietly. This sounds wierd to say, but this amp sounds better turned down than ANY amp I have tried, mostly because you can turn it down so low, and you really don't lose anything in the transition. Its also very predictable, meaning that the volume control is smooth and gains or loses volume proportional to how much you turn the knob. This sounds like kind of silly thing to be happy about, but my other amp, a Dean Markley, is either way to quiet to hear, or way to loud. If I so much as bump the knob, it gains in volume appreciably. Anyway, this is an important feature to me, so kudos to Line 6 for making me happy. I won't tell you that this is the best amp in the world, as amp tone is too subjective, but I do firmly believe that it is an excellent amp at an excellent price and I would unhesitatingly recommend it to anyone who asks my opinion.

made in 2004. Great amp for the money, extremily vesitile for a 30 watt combo amp. 4 switchable channels user programable. Has a record out /headphones jack, the record out is great. I play metal, but i think that it would fit all styles well. Gets really loud for 30 watts.

Like i said, i play metal, and have various ESP and Ibanez guitars, all with humbuckers (seymour duncan and EMG), and it just sounds so solid !! its not noisy at all because its got a built in moise gate wich can be turned off. Sounds great on all channels (clean,crunch,metal,insane), everything is awesome on it from the cleans to the insane its all good. Great bottom end, though my only complaint is when its on insane the celestion speaker "woofs" out a bit, even though i turned the bass and gain down.

well ive only had it for 3 days now... so far so good.

Been playing 7 years, own a Marshall AVT50 full stack and a MG15dfx, if it were stolen, i definatly buy this amp again. I think for the price range you couldnt find a better or more verstile amp with this many features, no dislikes about it at all.

This is clearly one very recent amp just 4 amp models but they have these models down to an art basically the best 4 from its big brothers. The tone is awesome though i still haven't completely sorted out a preset for the metal channel. Love the clean basically the amp shines with a humbucker sg style guitar and really works well on clean + crunch with a strat (basically its perfect for the price) not forgetting it has a lovely celestion speaker that really does raise some serious sound levels

I'm using a Squier Bullets strat some kind of freak one that seems awesome compared 2 other bullets strats i've played ( shoddy quality control maybe? ) This amp suits most styles eg hendrix blues or just high gain pinch harmonic fun. The clean channels stays pretty tight + you can control this easily anyway can you tell that i like this amp yet ?

This things looks perfectly solid whats more 2 say

No idea but i'm betting its good based on the rest of the amp

If it were stolen or lost i would buy another or maybe the next model up. I love just about everyhting about this amp ermmmmmm cant think of anything negative you could say at this price. I did a comparison between this an alesis amp and a marshall mg guess which won : ). For #160 its unbeatable just make sure you have a strat and a dual humbucker guitar ( i recommend the vintage vs6 awesome price and an awesome sound this is a budget amp after all and this guitar + amp are brilliant togeather