Line 6 Spider Valve 100HD Head

well well well line 6 makes tube amps pretty uncommon..
I've been searching for a new amp that I could use for a long time without wanting to buy another one with a good price and so versatility and this amp does it all from country to metal like other reviews said!! it has about everything it needs can't argue.

I now own a dean dimebag darell special release and I play in a symphonic black goth I can't ******* describe metal band and I like to use a very aggressive distortion associated with a nice delayed kind of overdrive but also a warm clean tone that stays clean at any point of the master knob and I just got it with this amp!! there is so many possibilities you can really emulate any sound you want! I own a floor pod from line 6 thought I could find a cool tone with it and it happened to have an annoying fake sound that I hated and had a bad opinion about the line 6 products after that. then I heard about the line 6 hd 147 (can't remember where though) and saw videos of it and really liked the versatility of it. so I went out to the closest GC and asked for it and they told they didn't had it in stores but they could show me this other amp even better than the hd 147 because of the tubes. plugged meself into it, played with it, loved it. also very easy to use

don't own it yet...

haven't talk to them and hope not

ok dudes let's get all cleared up, I am NOT a guy that has been playing for 40 years nor is a tone expert nor expert on anything that goes with guitar junk. I'm 15 and I've been playing guitar for a bit over 2 years (pretty intensevely though) but I can still play good anough to be in a band and do gigs. I wrote this comment to show you how easy this amp is to use, if a stupid 15 year old kid could find a cool tone you can.

stay metal

Line 6 collaboration with Bogner...you know the story. Let me begin my review by stating very honestly that i HATED Line 6 in the past, but now this is probably my favorite rig i've ever owned...and ive had plenty of high end gear like Marshalls, Mesas, etc. I am a touring musician in a metal band and i NEED great tone and versatility and this sucker delivers on all counts. I had the 40 watt 212 version before this but it just didnt have the "girth" that i needed (good amp, just not for me), so i upgraded. i gig regularly but have not with this yet, but im not the slightest bit worried about it. I dont use the presets, i make my own..but if YOU were to use presets with this..you would NEVER get bored that's for sure. I would LOVE to give it a perfect 10 on features but there are 2 TINY things that i would change if i could...1) more control over effects (i dont use them alot, so its not too bad for me personally) and 2) more control over the noise gate. Oh, and i am probably gonna switch out the Sovtek tubes for JJ's when the time comes, but thats just my preference and its just fine with what its got now from the factory. Other than that, stellar..and the price? word. Don't let gear snobs cloud your brain with their crap, as a musician who knows his gear, i am happily in love and maybe you would be too!

I play a Schecter Blackhawk with EMG's and we are tuned to C#, and i use GHS Zakk Wylde Boomers (10-60). Put it this way..i used to have to run my JCM800 through a BBE Sonic Maximizer to get my tone right and get the "girth" i needed...now, my BBE sits in the rehearsal space, period. This amp can do it all and then some but for metal it is DEFINITELY perfect. What i love is all the clean sounds i can achieve..we are a very dynamic band and i need killer clean too..and i am in clean heaven, lol. VERY warm. The 40 Watt 212 version was quite a bit noisy, but this baby is quiet as a sleeping mute. Clean doesnt break up and to answer the question about the distortion...my other guitarist plays an A/B/Y setup with a Marshall 800 and a Mesa triple Rec. and i can hold my own toe to toe with him AND get more tones, for days. You decide. Rock.

I have literally had it and the matching cab for 2 and a half days now. I'll get back to you, but...i am not worried a bit. As with anything, take care of it and you'll be fine. Something goes wrong, fix it, lol...nothing's perfect.

i have not dealt with Line 6 support yet, and knock on wood..maybe i wont have to! I have a killer guy that i take all my stuff to anyway, so i would probably just go to him anyway.

Ive been playing for 16 years..don't believe me? Feel free to check out my band at www.myspace.com/catch30three, i'm the guy with the Schecter. I get the vibe that there are some fake people on here doing bunk reviews,lol, so just thought id show you that i am in fact a real guy. I also have the matching cabinet from Line 6 and it is amazing as well much to my surprise! If it were stolen i would definitely buy another one, and/or kill whoever stole it! I love pretty much everything about it (see the features portion of my review for my teeny weeny complaints), and don't hate a thing. Ive owned enough gear that i didnt really have to compare it to anything, and i had a feeling i would end up owning this one once i heard about it. As i said before, if you want to be a gear snob or listen to other gear snobs...be my guest. As you can see if you check out my bands myspace page...we are the real deal and i LOVE this amp. Flat out adore it. I played for a while today and afterward i literally just sat and stared at the bloody thing for like 10 minutes. Hey! I don't get new stuff too often, gimme a break! Check one out for yourself, i am 300% glad i did.

My best description in a nutshell is it???s a Digital Modeling, Valve Amp/Hybrid. It has 12 basic models that you can tweak your heart out with plus a whole ton of readymade presets that are already good as they are and you can use them as a starting point to create sounds that suit your taste and environment. For technical details you can visit their site. I wish it had Midi to update the firm ware and I'm sure that will be coming in future models from Line6. It's just marketing you know. The effects are OK but I wish they were better of course and also more tweakable but having said that, it's a very cool amp without a doubt. I purchased this head based upon reviews I read beacause before it arrived I never heard it except on youtube. I figured if I didn't like it, then back it goes. It's still here and it ain't leaving no time soon. As for my guitar I use a Yngwie Strat 95% of the time but I have a Schecter Hellraiser, and Peavey Wolfgang and Jimi Strat. I have a bunch of average effects pedals but I only use a V848 Clyde McCoy with this amp for the most part. The effect I use the most besides that is delay and this amp's delay's sound quite good if you set them right.

Okay here where it gets fun. I'm loving it. I haven't even cranked it to where the tubes are really cooking because I haven't played out but I still get great tone to die for. By the way it CAN get loud with a slight nudge of the Master. I have a Marshall 1987x, and THD Bi-Valve 30 a Tech 21 PSA 1.1 preamp connected to a Halfer P3000 Amp and a Line6 Vetta II head. Guess what? I'd sell them all and not look back. The Spider Valve Head is that freaking good. The Vetta is good when you're cranking and it so powerful feature wise and loudness but at lower volumes you can hear the digits if you know what I mean. Not so with the SV. This amp is so Sweeeet that you want to keep on playing until you have to go to bed. I have a Line6 Cab with 4 full range 12" speakers in it. Somepeople use regular guitar cabs and I really don't know how it sounds with one but my setup is awesome. I'm totally happy soud wise, no complaints. Some people say different tubes can bring out the tone even more but the tubes it comes with are just fine.

I think it would be safe to use this amp without a backup. I seem built well enough but it you have one, bring it with you. That's only common sense.

I haven't had a need to use customer support but I like how they have continued to update the firm ware to their products to give them more features. This is why I wish the SV had Midi.

I've been playing Guitar for over 10 years and before that bass guitar so I've been around music for a while and I've been lucky enough to have been in the presence of some incredible musicians so I understand what's good, music and gear. This amp is good. If lost I'd be tempted to buy another one but maybe I'd wait awhile to see what's coming down the Line6 chute next. They said that this was the first of this kind. A of collaboration between "Line6 & Bogner". I'm giving it a 9 because it has no Midi and I would like to see better and more tweakable effects but on the second thought that would just make the price go up for no reason because it does have a send and you can just hook up some good stuff to it if you have it.

Bought second hand from a guy who really wanted a Jay Ceee Emmmm.
My son has a spider II and loves the simplicity of setting your tone to the channels and saving it , but was saving for an all valve amp.
It became aparent that he simply doesnt have the sort of brain that can cope with a row of stomp boxes and complex set ups live - he has tried.
We used the Spider II to drive a vintage marshall cab , and the difference was amazing.
I agree with the previous poster re the quality of the speakers Line 6 use in their combos.
The amp was made in 2007 , and is 6/12 old.
The advantage of Line 6 not having the rep of the likes of Fender or Marshall is, you can pick up their gear second hand very cheaply as it simply doesnt hold its value.
We got this head in nearly new condition for 60% of new price.

The amp is basically a Line 6 digital interface [think cross between the one on the spider range and a POD] , and a Bognor designed boutique all valve amp.
The valve amp uses 2 AX7 chinese preamp tubes and 4 big Sovteks in the poweramp section.
The big surprise for me was the huge range of presets that it comes with, most of which are fantastic.
The majority have a leaning towards rock and metal [what this amp does best] and it is possible to tweak them to your taste and save in 36 user preset postions.
I would recommend the short board if you intend to use more than the 4 headline channels as it allows access to 9 banks of 4 channels, along with footboard control of the reverb and distortion boost, noise gate and chorus/delay, though it is very, very expensive.
Having said that, it gives ready outboard control to all the amp models and effects, and you could easily spend the same amount on effects pedals - its the only pedal you will ever need again with this amp.

I have heard my son play though a Plexi , JCM, JVM and various solid state bits and pieces.
I thought the Plexi and JCM sounded good, but he has truly found "his" sound with this amp.
The digital front end and valve amp is a marriage made in heaven.
At decent volumes [not bedroom volumes] the valve harmonics and creaminess frankly astounded me.
It matches perfectly with his Kent Armstrong 15k alinco pickups and the sustain is the best I have ever heard.
At big volumes there is NO FEEDBACK - I couldnt believe this.
Even with the noise gate off, the amp is quiet and refined, with no squeals or bad behaviour.
Feedback is there if you want it, but where previous amps have been hard to control at big volumes, this thing just sings.
There are some gorgeous preloaded cleans .

People tend to get very hung up on the "It doesnt sound like a Marshall..Fender...Hiwatt [delete as appropriate] and forget that the amp models are inspired by these famous brands, not meant to be direct copies .
Much depends on the ability of the guitarist to get a sound from any Line 6 that suits him/her.
They arent easy to use, and we have a head start having owned a spider II for a few years.
Work at it, and this head is all you will ever need if you are the sort of guitarist who just wants to play , and not spend your time trying to co-ordinate 10 effects boxes, and amp tone/gain controls.
Through our vintage marshall cabs [look like something pulled from a dump truck but sound amazing] this thing just sounds smooth and silky even on high gain.
Definition in solos is something that took me by surprise.
Perceived wisdom is that a solid state amp is easier to solo on as it tends to be so heavily compressed.
valve amps, because they are clearer at volume demand more accuray from the guitarist and can be a shock for a new user.
This amp , unlike some of the Marshalls [that demand super accurate picking] gives clear, crisp solos, with just enough compression at the digital end of the chain to subtly smooth the edges.

There is more gain than you would ever need , and the digital verb is one of the better ones I have heard.
Presence really does make a difference and unlike some, doesnt make the amp sound harsh.

unknown as yet -

again unknown.

My son is only 13 [14 later this year], but has been playing for 3 years or so, and is already grade 5 .
He writes and records with his older brother and for a lad of his age is very good, but also very clear on the tone he is seeking.
He cant manage a pedal board, doesnt like the sound of multi-effects boses such as the Boss ME range , and needs simplicity with versatility [ie, easy for him to use live, if someone else helps him set and save his tone before the gig]

Whilst I would accept that this is basically a Rock/Metal amp, it can do great cleans and the onboard effects are not rubbish as some have stated, they just need an element of time and subtlety to get the best out of them.
This head really needs to be combined with a good 4x12.
Vintage 30`s are ideal, or if you are fortunate enough to own originals [ours date from 1970], an old celestion loaded cab.

I doubt he will ever wish to change it, unless Line 6 bring out an update version down the road.
This is a great all in one amp.
I havent heard any amp that is as easy to get the sort of creamy valve tones from with so little effort.
Badge snobs need not apply.
For 300 GBP at 6/12 old, I think we did pretty well.

New this year 08, multiple amp models, about 12 or so but they're "paired" up, 2 different versions of the same model. Channels can be switched with one of L6's FVB short board's but no Midi capabilities and why they didn't is beyond my understanding. I originally thought this amp did not have an effects loop, but it does, it's just not marked as such on the back of the amp. I wish it had A USB port or some way to connect to a computer so firmware/software upgrades could be done, but again it's beyond me why they didn't. I wish it had better built in effects as the features I'll never use are the chorus and the sweep echo, the chorus is the worst I've ever experienced and the sweep echo is unusable in my opinion. I also wish it had some way to have the option to "lock out" the controls once you had everything set up.

I primarily play a PRS CE-24 with Duncans, ocassionally I'll plug in my Gibson Explorer with Bill Lawrence pickups, regardless the raw amp models are awesome on this amp, I've read some poor reviews relating to the tone of this amp, but to me it sounds as good as any tube amp I've ever played through, & I've tried just about every amp you could think of, It's just lacking in the built in effects department. The chorus is the worst I've experienced and the sweep echo is un-useable in my opinion. The delay, reverb, phaser and flanger are just average. I'd of given this category a 9 if it had better effects. So a 9 on the amp models and a 4 on the effects so a 7 overall.

In this area I can't really comment on much yet as I haven't had the amp for very long, I usually wait to put in reviews on products until I've had them for a while but this is a pretty simple amp and only time will tell if it holds out or not, I've had a few L6 products and they seem to hold up pretty well. I'll update this once I've had the amp for awhile.

I haven't had to deal with L6's customer support a whole lot, they're usually easy to get a hold of on the phone, they help you out well enough but there is a tone of arrogance or smugness that seems to come through when they talk to you like, "...I don't have time for this moron or his questions." sort of attitude, or like they could care less if you buy their products or not.

I'm 38 and have had an on-off relationship with the guitar since I was about 15 and have only gotten serious with it in about the last 5 years or so, I've played through just about every different amp and guitar one could think of and have been in a few bands and currently play in a mostly rock cover band. The Spider Valve will give you all the raw amp tones that you could possibly need but lacks in the effects department and functionality. If Line 6 would have put a little more thought into the design of this amp they could have themselves a great all in one amp. If it were lost or stolen I probably wouldn't replace it unless I could find something else similar that had better functionality and effects.

Too much to state. Visit Line 6's website if you care.

I use a cheap Jackson guitar with ****** pickups. This amp makes me sound like a god. Seriously.

I run this amp through the Vetta 4x12 cab with excellent results. I think some people try to run this amp through certain vintage cabinets that simply do not work for this amp. People who say that the tone is "muddy" don't know anything about sound in general. I can take a muddy tone and make it shrill, bright, and annoying. It's not because I'm a soundman, it's because I have a brain and know what treble and presence mean. Please learn how to use sound equipment all you "experienced" guitarists, or else 19-year-old music majors will laugh at you (that's me). :-)

A complaint I hear frequently with regards to this amp is, "It does not respond to my volume knob at all!" You're an idiot. This amp responds VERY well to your volume knob, just turn off the noise gate so there's room for your tone to breathe and turn down your gain. Does anyone know what an amp does nowadays? Retards...

I play with many bands playing many different styles of music. I play piano as well and this guitar does not feel "digital" or anything like that, even after touching an acoustic baby grand piano in the studio, this amp still delivers a genuine sound. This amp is beautiful.

Ergh, here's the thing, I'm an idiot when it comes to tubes because I've always used Fender and Crate solid state amps, and the tubes just stopped working at a show on me. It pissed me off a lot because when I have used tubes in the past (Boogie Stiletto, JCM-800, XXX) normally I can hear the tubes dying before they're gone. I had a backup, but if I hadn't, I would have been screwed.

I know this is a stupid reason to give a bad review, but I've had bad experiences with Line 6 in the past with reliability... hopefully nothing bad happens once I finally amass the funds for some new tubes...

I love these people.

This amp is a steal. If you want a lot of options and SCREAMING loud tone, you want this amp.

Plus, it's cheap as hell, how did Line 6 do that?

You know the features look on their web site for details,There is a hidden univibe..very close to my microvibe.
It should have been midi.

Yes ,It sounds awesome,Id put it up against some nice botique heads,does it sound like this or that,yes/no does a randall sound like a diezel ora mesa like a marshall,,,no but it has some awesome tones,effects are good as most foot pedals out there.
It cuts excellent in a mix with a band.
It is good for any style of music
It is not overpriced like so many other amps,,,which I also own some of.
Its warm and has great punch...not sterile or thin like others have said,learn to use it before you post.

I guess we will see

Ive dealt with them before and had good results

Very Impressive amp.Its worth the money,I hope it holds up reliability wise.Its a nice addition to my other amps,eay setup,great tones....if it was backstage and you didnt know it was a line 6 you would think it was another big name amp,Dont be swayed by the crap reviews.

It has all the essential effects you see on most pedal boards.
Lots of different tones clean/dirty/and crushing
Lots of usable presets in there already

This is where I will discredit those negative reviews,since we all know a lot of reviews are a joke on HC.Now I have diezels,mesas,
splawns,marshalls currently.as well as some nice processors and pedals.tc,visualsound,voodoolab,mxr etc...So my comparison will be valid to those interested in the hd100.The HD100 is incredible,warmth,punch,clean,pinch harmonics.The effects are as good as any boss or mxr,1st you cant tell on a recording what people are using,"Oh they used that pedal" not unless they told you,A lot of recording is done thru pro tools and we through on effects after all dry tracks are done.and LIVE, no one knows which delay your using...and most dont care.The point is the effects are very good,if you have a special pedal in mind,stick it in front of the amp, for me i like my envelope filter,the hd doesnt have that in it,so I add it.
Now for tone, I truly dont think some of you know what good tone is or how to achieve it,many big artists use line 6 stuff and have great results,and you dont even know it.This amp sounds real,the artists presets were pretty cool some my favs some I did not like,Does it sound like so n so amp? Well there are so many amps out there doing great sounds,and if you want a specific sound then buy that amp,does this stand up to other big name amps YES.What is sad is you have to pay 4300 bucks for a diezel or 2700 for a diamond or 2000 for a mesa, here 800 bucks gets you a bunch of different amps.

?

I used to have vetta 2's and one went down, line 6 immediately got me hooked up to get it fixed,and also I had questions when I first bought them and always were helpful on the phone,so whats your problems with them?

When I checked this out I play hard rock.So thats what I look for in an amp a tight warm hard hitting gain tone.I liked the 311,soil,as i lay dying presets,they were some of my favs.the another brick preset was great for clean floydish tone as well as a few others.Remarkabley a lot of the artist presets are excellent right out of the box.Put your own sig on them and call it a user preset.

I love my Herbert and my Nitro.Two unbelievable amps,but some gigs require less gear and racks.This is perfect.however I will be using this in the studio, because I really like some of the tones in it.As a lot of bands layer different heads in the studio,this will be part of my mix as well.

I am not partial to one amp there are many,many awesome amps out there,Randall,diamond,marshall,splawn,diezel,vht,mesa,h&k,voodoo,
bogner..so on so forth...but Bogner saw something in this idea and it worked,as well as line 6 has the price no one can complain about.

Brand new product. Is extremely versatile. Will get just about any sound you want, clean or dirty. Plenty of features, some good, some just ok. Loud enough for any gig or situation. Digital /tube hybrid setup.

I never did like line 6 products as they just did not deliver the sound that i liked. That has changed. I heard about this amp months ago and just wrote it off as another crappy line 6 amp. I had some extra time last week and the local GC had the head version and matching vintage 30 cab, so I grabbed my Musicman Van Halen and gave it a test run. 2 hours later I left the store with a different view of line 6. The amp sounds great. You can really hear the tubes in this amp. Clean or filthy it is warm and bouncy, tight and full and rich in tube sag. Like all amps with tube output sections it sounds average at low volumes. Where this amp shines is at louder volumes. Just gets better and better the louder you go just like a tube amp should.I had the master volume at 3 and it just kicked ass.This is the first digital amp I have tried that sounds warm and creamy(Tubes!). And it gets VERY loud. It sounds like a totally different amp when cranked and I suggest anyone looking to buy this amp have a place where you can play loud or you will miss the true potential of this amp. I did not care for the presets and did not use them, but it has 36 user slots to store your own sounds which I would rather do. All tones were very good. The eq section worked well and was very responsive, especially the presence control which i liked alot. It gave the amp a nice biting tone without sounding shrill or brittle . The high gain and mid gain sounds were really nice. Sounds like they were going for a hyper modded Marshall type of tone for all of the distorted ultra gain tones. The effects I have mixed views on. The chorus/flange was not usable at all. They need to do some work with that. The reverb was ok to good. It is usable and can sound decent. The delays were good as well. I think that the amp has enough going for it just using the various channels and the reverb that I could do without the other effects and would not miss them at all. Clean tones were excellent as well.The amps low end is massive when cranked and stays nice and tight at high volumes with no mud at all, at least with the way that I had it eq'd. The metal and insane dirt channels have more gain than anyone should ever need and all four sounded great. I ab'd this head with a regular Spider III 150 head as well. NO comparison. The spider III was thin, brittle and puny next to the Spider valve. Spider valve has BALLS!

Don't own it (yet):)but it seems very well built.

Don't know

I have been playing for 28 years. Built guitars for Ernie Ball/ Musicman for 12 years. Played in metal bands for many years and still play everyday.I know my stuff. I'm a gear junkie and a Tube amp snob. I own a Hughes and Kettner Switchblade 100 watt tube head,three 4-12 cabs- Marshall, 5150, and carvin, Peavey 5150 combo amp, Fender strat, Musicman Van Halen, Olp mm1 guitars, digitech GNX4 effect device, Damage control tube distortion pedal and various other boxes. As said earlier I never liked Line 6 stuff...... until now. This amp destroys all of their other amplifier products. The most important thing is this, They finally built an amp that sounds REALLY good and one that I am actually thinking of purchasing in the future. It takes alot to satisfy me as far as guitar tone goes and this amp did. A VERY nice sounding amp overall. And Very affordable too. Good job Line 6 (finally!)

THE VERSATILITY IS ENDLESS. IT'S A PRETTY BASIC SWISS ARMY KNIFE AMP. IM SEEING ALOT OF NEGATIVE REVIEWS THAT HAVE SOME PRETTY UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. IT'S A POD, ESSENTIALLY, INTO A VERY VERY HARD HITTING POWER AMP. THE EFFECTS FOR ME ARE FINE. TWEAKING IS A DUMMIES DREAM, BUT I SEE HOW THEY RANGE FROM TOO SUBTLE ALL THE WAY TO "WHY WOULD YOU EVEN NEED THAT"? THE FBV SHORTBOARD IS AWESOME TOO. INSTANT SWITCHING AND TOTAL CONTROL.

WELL, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR $800? IN THIS, YOU GET JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE SOUND YOUR HEAD CAN THINK OF. THERE IS SOME GIVE AND TAKE THOUGH. ID HAVE LIKED TO SEE THE PRE-AMP TUBES ACTUALLY BE USED IN THE PRE AMP SECTION OF THE AMP. AND MORE OF 'EM. THEY OBVIOUSLY UPPED THE GAIN AND EQ SECTION CONSIDERABLY BECAUSE THIS AIN'T YOUR DADDY'S POD. THOSE THINGS ARE TOUGH AS HELL TO GET DECENT TONE OUT OF. I GOT THIS TO ADD SOME TEXTURE TO MY METAL BANDS SOUND. MIX IT UP A LITTLE. ADD SOME CLEANS AND DEPTH. ITS IN THERE TOO. THE GAIN IS HYPER AND THE BASS IS THICK. THE MID VOICE CAN FUZZ AND MUD THE AMP OUT QUICK AND THE PRECSENCE KNOB REALLY, REALLY WORKS. BE CAREFUL. IF THEY APPLY(WHY WOULDN'T THEY?) THIS TECHNOLOGY TO SAY THE HD147 OR FLEXTONE LINE, WITH USB CONNECTIVITY.........CRAP. IT'S OVER. I ALSO CHANGED THE TUBES TO JJ POWER AND EH12AX7 PRE AMPS AND , VOILA, AWESOMWNESS.

SO FAR, SO GOOD. GETS PRETTY WARM.

TRYING NOT TO FIND OUT.

WELL, I'M A BIT OF A TONE SNOB AND THIS MAKES ME HAPPY. MY BANDMATES TOO, SO IT MUST RAGE PRETTY GOOD. LOOKS COOL ALL LIT UP TOO. IM LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING MORE OF THIS IN THE FUTURE. I LOVE IT.