Line 6 Spider Valve 100HD Head

I play in a metal band. This head gives you a lot of options, but one thing I didn't notice until I got it home was that it's horribly noisey!! And when you turn the gate on you can actually hear it cut you off!!

I haven't gigged with it yet, but i have played live with it's little brother. The 2-12 combo.

I havw=e dealt with Line 6 before when I used to own a Flextone III. It was horrible!! They have one location in the state I live, They had my amp for three months, I finally had to call them. They said they couldn't find anything wrong with it, I got it home and nothing had been fixed!! DTR Denver Colorado.

I've owned this amp for about a week now. I actually think i'm gonna take it back and get a 6505+. That's what I should have done in the first place. More money, but i'm learning you can't cheese on your sound.

It's all been said before.

I have to say, after owning a PODxt Live, owning and being disappointed by a Flextone III, and hearing countless others, I have to say that this is the best sounding amp they've made so far. it had a more full sounding bottom end that all their other amps lacked. Still, there's something missing. It still sounded fake to me. I only played with it for about 4 hours at one of my jams, but I still wasn't blown away. The mod fx are, well, useless. 0-60 and NO in between. The delay and verb were, meh. I know some people say that you have to mess with it for a while to get a great tone out of it, but I'm the kind of guy who believes it should sound good with no more than a few minutes. After using this for a bit, I plugged my H&K Switchblade back in, and we all agreed that there's no comparing the two. So more much more natural sounding than the SV.

I like the HC rating, "Think it worked once". That's exactly it. I bought it and played it, was thinking "I wanna work with this". I came down the day after to work alone with it. I turned it on, and the display died. The second time it was powered up out of an sealed box ?!?!?! I took it back, and was not interested in another. My opinion was already ruined by that.

Not a good amp, not a bad amp. I'm sure they're a little more reliable than the one I got. Line 6 might be on the right track with this, but they've got a way to go yet. I've been playing about 12 years and it's what I do for a living. I'm in an all 80's band (myspace.com/m80band) and I need a lot of sounds and fx for the show. This amp just didn't cut it in our short time. I also own an H&K Triamp MKII, an H&K Switchblade, a Peavey XXX, a Red Bear MK60, a Sovtek Mig 50, a Vox Valvetronix and a Sano 16r. I've owned or spent a lot of time with a Peavey Ultra, Laney AOR 20th Anniversary, H&K Duotone, Marshall DSL, Sovtek Mig 100, Fender Twin, Roland JC120, Fender Pro Reverb, and a Mesa Triple Rec. I actually think the Vox Valvetronix sounds better than any Line 6 I've tried. It also sounds better than my POD XTL for direct recording. I don't see this amp getting close to the tones I've gotten out of the real ones. This is an okay amp for the price, but that's with no footswitch (total joke). I'm not a big fan of that Chinese quality, but it is affordable and good enough for just jamming with the guys.

This is an update to a previous review - bought 2008

metal/heavy rock

needed a completey new set of valves as the preamps became microphonic and the poweramps rattled after the first gig, so..

good website and on line support

We have had the amp now for about 6/12.
I changed the preamp tubes [or phase inverter and powerstage tube to be more accurate as its a digital front end] to JJ`s and changed poweramps tubes - another set of sovtek`s biased.
No problems since then.

The amp has been gigged and also recorded.
Great amp for rock/metal and rewards time spent playing withe the settings.
It does need an ability to backup and share tones - usb or sd card might be an idea for the MK2.
Also needs better chorus/delay - the inbuilt ones are fine as far as they go, but better quality ones wouldnt be expensive.
There is a tube preamp mod on the Line 6 forum that users have raved about.
Might be an idea for line 6 to incorporate something similar in the front end in the next version .

All in all a great amp.

This is it used live - feedback due to combination of high gain /high volume/guitarist 2ft from amp, and refusing to roll back a little on the volume pot of the bridge high output pickup!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLQQqZ2T4sA

Also studio recording here

www.myspace.com/circadianmetal

Great amp that is a lot of bang for buck.
One other suggestion - if you are buying new, get the shortboard, but demand a decent dscount for the combined purchase.
Line 6 really need to give better value on the price of the shortboard controller.

You know the features. I don't wanna bore you.

I play for Taken Under www.myspace.com/takenunder

My gear is an ESP H300 with active EMG 81/85

I can't wait to some upgraded Sovtek tubes

got this amp with a trade in of a Peavey XXX

I feel like i have been playing a JCM800 or Mesa Dual Rec.

I will play my first gig with it tonight.

Not yet needed

You cannot go wrong with an $800 top of the line tube amp.

You know the features. I don't wanna bore you.

I play for Taken Under www.myspace.com/takenunder

My gear is an ESP H300 with active EMG 81/85

I can't wait to some upgraded Sovtek tubes

got this amp with a trade in of a Peavey XXX

I feel like i have been playing a JCM800 or Mesa Dual Rec.

I will play my first gig with it tonight.

Not yet needed

You cannot go wrong with an $800 top of the line tube amp.

2008 model

I play mostly hard rock and 80's metal. This amp covers that for sure, and probably a ton of other styles. It's got a modeling front end, and the selection of amp types seems to run the entire gamut of tone.

There are 9 user banks of 4 patches each, for a total of 36 user "channels". It also has 12 separate amp voicings to choose from. Read the product spec on the Line6 web site. Most of the amp voicings aren't based on any one, single amp but rather on idealized combinations. And yet, that seems to have worked for them in this case. Channel switching is done by using one of the FBV series of pedals. I have the FBV Shortboard which is perfect for this amp.

There is an effects loop, but it isn't switchable. No headphone jack...this is a piece of stage gear, not a practice amp.

The features I wish it had? MIDI. Needs a MIDI implementation because people will want to run external effects units. For an amp today not to have MIDI...there's just no excuse. Particularly from Line6. I also kinda wish it had selectable power levels, like a built in attenuator. But I pretty much only play it loud at rehearsals and shows anyway. Is it loud enough? If I put the master at 10:00 and my channel volumes at about the same thing, it will match volume with anything.

100 watt, 6L6 tubes, 1 12AX7 buffer stage and another for the phase inverter. "Smart" effects. Not so thrilled with those. Will supplement with pedals. The delay is barely usable. No real mix control, it's tied to the feedback so it gets louder as you turn it up and adds more repeats. Not the best option. The modulation effects are only usable on clean sounds. They are far too wet and lack real control over the depth and speed. Reverb is so so. Too dark and sproingy for my taste.

I give this a 7 overall. Great amp voicing selection. I use about 6 out of the 12 voices so I guess I got my money's worth. But lack of MIDI and the quality of the built in effects brings it down a bit.

I'm playing this through an Avatar G412 Vintage Custom with Celestion G12K100 speakers, wired at 8 ohms. Basically, this is a Marshall 1960B cab with higher wattage speakers, more mids and slightly tamed high end. It is a killer cab for high gain work, but also sounds at great with clean playing.

Pretty much 80's hard rock and hair metal here. Using Ibanez SZ guitars with Duncan Distortion in the bridges and '59 in the necks. Definitely suits my musical style. I bought this amp because I wanted something simple, yet versatile. Well, I got it. Dialing in a great tone is wicked easy. My favorite patch is the Metal Blue model dialed in to sound like a hot rodded JCM-800. And it does. Aside from that, I have a basic clean, chorusy sound, a plexi crunch sound, and a recto sound. All of them are top notch.

This amp feels, plays and sounds like a real tube head, because for the most part, it is. One thing to note is that this isn't an amp for bedroom playing. It's meant for gigging...LOUDLY. Don't be afraid to turn up that master and get the tubes cooking. There are a couple of the models that just can't be made to sound any good at low volume.

My band mates all agreed that while my tone was great before I bought this, it improved dramatically afterward.

n/a

Seems sturdily constructed, but it is a piece of electronics gear. Always have a backup.

Line6 support guys go the extra mile. And their forum is incredibly helpful too.

For under $800, where are you going to get a multichannel tube head that sounds this good? You can't, not with the variety you are presented with here. I would definitely buy another if this one was lost/stolen.

Not going to spend a lot of time on the features end of things ,, all been pretty much said ,, 12 amps ,, 4 million presets ,, yadda yadda yadda ,, 9 banks 4 presets per ,, you all know the deal !!

Main guitars ,, PRS Custom 22 ,, PRS CE 22 ,, Prs 513 ,, Ibanez pretige ,, well ,, have been playing for 30 plus years and over that time really dug what line 6 was trying to do ,, so much so ,, bought the pod ,, bought the flextone ,, bought the xt live ,, on and on ,, they've all moved on to happier residences ,, then this thing shows up ,, had to try it ,, had to buy it !! now the effects section is pretty weak ,, that being said they can be fun to dick around with ,, anyways ,, i am a regular gigging musician and have pretty much tried evrything that is availbe when it comes to amps ,, self professed tube snob from way back ,, i spose thats why i never really got my teeth into the line 6 products from the past ,, i find the quality of the sound more than suffucient for live applications ,, no power issues ,, no cut isssues ,, clean is clean enuf and the amp shines unbeleivably well at producing gut wrenching overdrives and distortions ,, this unit has actually found its way into my current live rig ,, not as a back up but as a supplement to my dearly beloved Mesa Roadster ,, i mic the roadster and direct out via the xlr on the back of the line 6 direct to board for flavour ,, little out of the ordinary but the results are incredible ,,

i spose we'll find out on the dependability issue ,, havent owned it long enuf so wont comment ,, NEVER gig without backup ,, thats just a rule isnt it ???

so far so good ,, have a good dealer ,, have had for the last 20 years ,, any issues ,, he deals with them ,, i spend way too much money there not too ,, Thanks Paul !!

So heres where the rubber meets the road ,, 30 plus years of playing ,, still playin the bars on the side ( also have a real job : - ) ) have owned to many amps to mention ,, i spose i look at this thing a little different than most ,, dont care bout whos using what ,, dont care bout should use and shouldnt use ,, just want to sound good ,, this thing does as advertised ( rare thing ) ,, is it a front line piece of gear ?? dont know yet ,, the one thing that i do know is that the way im currently using it ,, it more than earns a spot on the stage with me ,, we can all want what we want and i figure no matter what comes down the pipe some one will always have something negative to say about everthing ,, some people just dont get it ,, it is what it is ,, value for the $$ rating ,,10,, makes me sound better ,, 10 ,, cool look ,, 10 ,, makes me want to play all the time ,, priceless ,, :-)

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.

All have been covered below.

This is for all the negative reviews. Ive been playing a long time and know that all these negative reviews are from idiots who dont know how to find and hone tone out of a new and advanced rig. 1st if you are using a head you absolutely have to pair it with multiple cabs. 2nd if all you have are bogners, diezels, divided by 13, this amp head probably isnt gonna do it for ya. DUH! 3rd this amp like all good amps takes time to dial in your tone. DUH! im angry that this box of heaven is getting such negative reviews.

too new to tell.

the best, just go to the line 6 blog.

This is the very best amp for flexibility and for the money its the best deal out there!

TONS of "tone" shaping features that make this like a POD 2.0 unit in a head.... but if the "tone" you are shaping sounds horrible, should it REALLY get a high features rating? I dunno... but I give it a 6

I want to start by saying the clean on this amp was very very clean and pretty articulate for a line 6.. But it also had no life whatsoever. Sad really. This amp rates in my personal top 5 worst sounding amps I've ever played. I even laughed a bit on the high gain settings which sounds more like a toy than a quality amp. I played this thing with 2 American Deluxe Strats (one all single coil and one fat strat) a Les Paul Gold Top reissue and 72'Thinlne Tele reissue and monster cables so my gear WAS NOT the issue. All sounded the worst they have ever sounded outside of a little FirstAct that I played my favorite Strat on once for comedy's sake. Sad part is that I think I'd rather have the FirstAct than this thing! Because of how bad the Flex series Line 6's sound which are the worst ever to hurt my ears I'll give it a laughing 2.

Heard Line 6 makes very dependable products from some very dependable music people I know. I trust them so I'll give it a 7 based on them.

Dunno... Don't care...

I've played 16 years. Jazz, blues, rock, metal, hardcore, speed metal, alternative, alternative country, classical, on and on. I've played it all. I'm not the best player in the world. But I could jam with the best players without breaking a sweat and think nothing of it. This thing it a joke. If you want a tube amp with digital interface for a good price, buy a Peavey Valve King and a Boss GT-10 and your good. Neither are my choice but it's better than this thing... I give it a 1 for taking a good idea and screwing it up worse than anyone could ever have imagined.

Currently I own a Mesa Lonestar, Fender Twin and a Marshall JCM 800. I also owned a POD XT Live which I used with my Mesa to try and achieve some versatility without dragging 3 amps and multiple effects / guitars. I fell in love with the Pod and for the most part was happy unless I was trying to pull off any sounds with drastic changes in tonal characteristics. I was still tweaking the Mesa and was never fully satisfied.
I picked up the HD 100 more out of curiosity than need as I have never been a fan of Line6 amps but a huge Bogner fan. I always felt Line6 had great ideas but then tried to out do Crate on doing it as cheap as possible.
We Line6 has done it! This is now the only amp I play. (Look for my Marshall and Mesa on eBay)
Song setup is fast and simple. Any idiot with an ear can get the exact sound they want out this amp. Some of you old school guys that don't understand some of the technical basics might need to get your kids to explain how to use it.

Like I said look for my Mesa and Marshall on eBay, my Twin I will hang on to for sentimental reasons.

This is one of the cleanest amps I have ever played, no noise or unwanted feedback. (My #1 complaint about my Mesa) The tones are rich, spend the time playing with the different extremes of sound. It will amaze you.
Not a fan of the "artist" generated sound banks but it is fun to go through on a rainy day when you are bored.

Anyone who can't hear the quality in this amp probably spent too many years with their Marshall turned up to 11. :)

Well can't really say anything yet.

Again not able call this based on not using it.

If you are looking to upgrade your amp and you play country to metal this is your amp!!!! Simple to use, awesome sound and lots of power.

Best amp I have ever played on!

See below reviews, bunch of different amp models from clean to super high gain, I think I found one decent sound on the Marshall gain setting, but that was about it. Yes, it's very versatile, but see below for my review of the sound quality, which makes not too many of the settings usable.

Here's where the inherent problem is... regardless of the tube power section, this thing still sounds like pure digital garbage to my ears. I played it through my crate V series 2x12 cab with tone tubby speakers, and it sounded like pure mud. I could fart better tone. The clean channels had no sparkle or brightness to them at all. I got this thing, plugged it in, played around with the settings for two to three hours, and sent it right back. I think I found maybe one usable tone through out all the amp settings. Absolutely horrible. Maybe if I spent another 6 weeks futzing with it, I might find a couple of more usable sounds, but who has that kind of time anyways. The effects were way too much, and sounded sterile to my ears, again, more digital garbage. For those of you who try it, roll back the volume on your guitar in the middle of a chord, you'll hear what I'm talking about. Sent this thing back, got a Fender Supersonic on the way, I'll get the sounds I need as far as versatility from my footboard with mostly analog pedals which sound great.

No idea, but due to the intense digital modeling computer built in, I probably wouldn't rely on it, but really can't say.

Never dealt with them.

I wouldn't recommend this amp to my worst enemy, or rival guitar player for that matter. If you have a shit load of time to waste and want to futz with it to try and get a good sound, be my guest. Let me know how that works out for you.

I purchased this amp within the last 30 days and have owned many amps in the past. From a JCM800 to a Lab Series L5. My favorite amp (past tense) was my Fender Duel Showman head with a Peavey 4x12 cab. I felt that you couldn't beat the tone but I had to lug around a crap load of extra equipment for versatility. It required a PhD between songs to stomp all the right pedals to get my next song in order. I have always been anti-all-in-one due to the fact that most all-in-one units do a couple of things really poorly.
Line6 has outdone themselves with this amp, song setup is one or two clicks away with the FBV. All I carry is the head, spider 4X12 and no adapters / power strips or patch cables to introduce noise.

I absolutely love it!!!

I play a PRS Custom 24 as my primary guitar which blends great with this amp. Sound quality could not be any better!

Most can not look past the Line6 stigma of "poor under powered " sound. I was one of those. Why they put those cheap "Custom" made Celestions in their gear amazes me. The 4X12 cab that has the vintage 30 speakers in it should be their mainstay for all their amps / cabs. Even if you play a Flextone or Spider Combo, replace the factory speakers with even mid-range speakers makes a huge difference.

You old school folks need to wake up and smell the coffee on this. This amp is better than the 4-5 amps you haul around with those noisy foot pedals.

No problems yet.

We will have to see what happens when the warranty runs out.

Documentation is crap!!!! At times it leaves you feeling like you are making a best guess at some items. Docs go into a great deal of detail on crap, most could care less about. No docs are available at all on the 4-12 which has switches and multiple inputs for different impedance and stereo options. All you get is what is labeled on the back. Can you include a schematic!!!!!

Thanks!!!

If you are looking to spend $2000.00US on you gear, this is the amp for you. You will not get any better unless you spend much more. Our other guitarist is selling his Peavey 5150 stack and replacing it with a spider valve!!

It will require a phone call / email into their customer support to get all the info their docs are missing.

Bogner designed line 6 spider valve hd 100. the first of its kind combining line 6 modeling with an all tube design.

Like everyone else has said, at a low volume it sounds like garbage. This is to be expected from a tube head. Ive been playing for a while and i have played my fair share of amps. i own a JCM 2000 as well as a fender bassman and this amp emulates them VERY well. I have hated line 6 up until stumbling upon this amp in my local guitar store. I plugged in, cranked the volume and fell in love. I MUST ADVISE YOU, DISREGARD THE LINE 6 IN THE NAME, ITS BOGNER QUALITY!!! it dials every tone in from a great Jimmy Page to a David Gilmore to even slipknot and stevie ray vaughn. THIS IS NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY!!! i bought it right away. its a must have.

I havent had it long enough to know.

Havent had the need

man if your like me and you NEED versatility, crave killer tones, and love to play, this amp is for you. the only think i wish line 6 would do is bring down the price on the foot switches. there so expensive.

This amp is loaded with features, anything you want do with 4+ channels is at your finger tips with the Spider Valve. Check the website, and most importantly download the manual, it is an easy read.

All right, here is where the rubber meets the road. I have played over 20 amps in the last two years looking for a marriage of versatility and sound quality as I gig frequently. The Spider Valve is that perfect marriage. For all you tube geeks out there relax, the Spider Valve does not 100% emulate a tube amp but it comes stunningly close. When using a high gain channel and using your guitar volume knob to create cleaner tones (like you are capable of doing with any tube amp) you start to hear a little "digital" on/off in the sound response if you are at very, very low volumes. The sound does clean up nicely though and you would never notice this playing out anywhere as you would never get that low in volume.

Other than that the real beauty of this amp is that you have so much available to create your own tone. I don't use the factory presets but have had a lot of luck creating my own unique sounds and they are all killer. The "Crunch" and "Metal" models for high gain sounds are very versatile, also play with the Mids and do not be afraid to turn down the drive.

This head shipped new and I have had it only a short time. It looks well built and I have had no issues but I am slightly concerned with the RJ-45 connector and cable to the foot boards, to me that is just not industrial strength enough but only time will tell.

With Line 6's website, and specifically the Spider Valve User forum on this web site, you should never have to pick up the phone.

So here is the deal, if you are looking to have a great sounding, flexible, cost competitave amp you can not go wrong with the Spider Valve. If you are playing a $2500 Soldano and you want the same sound for a third of the price you are dreaming. I love the amp and it will be in my rig for a long time. I am selling my effects pedals as we speak and only need outboard Wah (even though the pedal comes with Wah it doesn't have a ton of sweeping range). Line 6 hit a home run here and as the resolution increases in years to come on the analog to digital to DSP back to analog conversion you would never know the front end is a hybrid digital amp except becuase of the fact you can destroy any sound in your path and you don't need a but load of effects to do it with!!

This amp is very versatile, but in the end it all sounds fake.

Terrible, just terrible. This is a digital solid state pre-amp with a tube power amp. The digital stage uses the same technology as the old POD 2.0. And so it's no wonder it sounds plastic and artificial. The mids are mushy and the highs are fizzy. It doesn't make any fun to play through this. Gig with your band and you are lost in the mix. I disgusted the sounds.

This is cheap china crap, so don't expec