Line 6 Spider Valve 212 Combo

I normally play metal/hard rock. This amp gives me the perfect sound. The amp also lets me tweek the pre-sets to make them more of my own. I also like to play simple 12 bar blues. This amp has a great range when it comes to genres. This amp is great. It is loud enough to play gigs and sounds better when you crank it up.

This sound can go from brutal distortion to clean and still sound amazing. I use a Jackson soloist with EMGs so I get that heavy sound. And if you find a pre-set that u like, but want to change it a bit, u have the option of tweeking effects, distortion, eq and type of distortion.

For the most part, this amp is very reliable. I have had one problem and that is that one of the tubes busted.

I got a discount, and the guy could not have been more helpful. I think that the warenty is like 5 years or something.

I have been playing intensly for about 5 years now. This is the best amp that I have seen. There is no need for a half stack. This is much cheeper and you still get the same value.

40 Watt, Class AB tube power section (2 x 5881s). Uses 12AX7s for phase split and some extra harmonic richness on top of the digital preamp. Basically infinite channels and sounds out of this thing. Two 12" Celestion VC30s. POD XLR direct out. One 8-ohm output or two 4-ohm outputs if you're driving an additional 8-ohm cabinet. Could use an effects loop. There are built in effects, but it would be nice to have a little more control over effects and additional options with a loop. Would also be great to have a 5W/40W switch to cut power when in the studio or playing at home.

Plenty of people will knock this amp down simply because it's made by Line 6 and yes, uses a digital preamp. The point is, as long as it sounds good, who cares how the sound is made? I bought this amp primarily as a studio amp and as a get in and get out live amp, when I don't have time to set up a full rig. The full rig I have is a Mesa Boogie Mark IV and yes, it DOES sound better. For more than double the price of the Line 6, it better. Nevertheless, the Line 6 does sound fantastic and the tonal options are incredible. Compared to the Mark IV, the sound is more compressed and the Line 6 doesn't sound quite as open or lively as the Mark IV. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though, since so many guitarists use compression pedals anyway. You just won't need one with this amp. The amp only sounds better as the volume starts creeping past 9 o'clock. If you play below that, forget it...take it back and buy the solid state Vetta or Spider. Also, it seems to put a noise gate on every channel, which kind of takes away from the dynamics of the amp. When I set a channel, I usually take it off. It's still very quiet without the gate on. The delay effects are nice, but I really don't like the phaser, flanger/chorus, or tremolo. It's very easy to dial in great tones and of course, they are all saved electronically. With the Mark IV, I spent not weeks, not months, but years dialing in the tone and I still mess with it today. Plus, I have to write the position of all 20+ knobs down in case they get tweaked on the way to a gig. Also, before you rate, make sure you break the VC30s in...they get less harsh and more full over time. Overall, it sounds VERY good and the tonal options far exceed any tube amp, even one as versatile as the Mark IV. Still, I have to reserve 10/10 for the Mark IV, because it really does sound better to me. Your audience won't know the difference...it's more of a feel and sound thing.

Should be reliable. If you play a lot at volume, replace the power tubes every year and the preamps every two years or so. Should have a fan to cool the tubes like Mesas, but they should be reliable.

Haven't dealt with them.

This is a great amp at a great price. Plenty of power to hang with any band and lots of versatility in the studio. There are almost infinite tonal combinations available. Very easy to use and quick to setup, which was the main selling point for me. Instead of a bag full of pedals, power supplies, channel switchers and cables, I just need my guitar, the amp, one cable, and the FBV Express pedal. The slight tonal advantage I'd get from the Mark IV is completely offset by the extra stress it requires when you have limited time to setup before a gig. Being able to relax before you play is invaluable. When I have a lot of time to setup or need to record a clean channel or solo in the studio, I go to the Mark IV. As long as I am gigging and recording, I would definitely buy this amp time and time again.

As far as features, this amp has plenty. Unfortunately, you have to cannibalize preset fx settings to get anything other than the faceplate fx, louder delay, leslie, slower but louder chorus, etc. They programmed the sounds into the board, but they are not immediately accessible. Bogus. I tricked myself into buying this amp. In the features category, it deserves at least an 8.

Here begins the conversation. I have played for 18 years. I've owned a Fender twin 1979, 69 princeton reverb,Crate solid state garbage, Marshall Jcm 900, Mesa dual rec, Peavey 5150, and finally a VHT pitbull. When I heard Bogner designed this amp with L6, I was very skeptical. My suspicions were right, digital ***. I have never owned an amp as fickle as this one. If you are mussing around with a channel setting and accidentally hit something wrong, you can accidentally destroy your hearing. NOT ******** COOL! It takes a substantial amount of time to dial in a decent tone. However, the redeeming quality is that you can jack any preamp into the Bogner design power section and bypass the digital garbage. I have tried a Jmp-1, Ada Mp-1 and a Damage Control demonizer into the power amp in. All setups allowed for excellent results. FWIW, my tubes came from the factory biased @ 29 and 21 ma. I fixed that myself, pushing both tubes to 40 ma. These tubes were supposed to be matched. L6 even tells me in the manual to only use SOVTEK tubes. Sovtek can s. my d. WORST TUBES EVER. I have this conspiracy theory notion that Reinhold knew that the amp was bad, but designed a sick poweramp/cab to help further the tube cause. This is the last time I will be tricked by line 6 hype, trolls, fake reviews.

I can't say, I bought it less than a week ago. To continue sound quality: beware of trolls on here. The bogner power amp with 212 v30s is sick. The line 6 portion is BS. Why can't they put the guitar through the preamp, THEN the AD/DA conversion? To me that makes more sense, at least the signal hits some tubes first to give it some spank.

I can't honestly say I have faith in the One, ONE, year warranty. My twin was born in 79 and it still runs faithfully. They have answered all my questions, so they get a 7. Customer support on a superior product should fetch a 10.

As an all in one speaker cab / poweramp combo, this amp is a great deal. You get a cab, v30s, and a bogner power section for cheap. The L6 stuff is horrible. Quality control on the ma settings is SERIOUSLY lacking. I am going to play mine strictly power amp in and forget, once and for all, this modeling crap.

The price was $900 including tax.
This is a 2007 model I think.
It has 12 amp models, 7 effects
This IS a tube amp! not a hybrid, 40W Class AB tube amp through (2) 12AX7 preamp tubes and (2) 6L6 power tubes.
Premium Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.
At 40w all tube this thing is loud.
I would like more control over the FX section.

I have a 7 string ESP with Duncan P/U's
I was impressed when I cranked this thing up, don't be afraid to turn knobs and get to know this amp, it has a nice warm tone to it, in my opinion it does not sound sterile at all. I've played guitar for over 15 years I've heard high end Mesa, Marshall and all sorts of rack mount gear and I was very impressed with this amp and how great it sound with just a few minutes of tweeking (you will have to tweek a little) It all comes down to the tome your looking for, and for me this is an awesome amp! Give it a good try. Don't just play presets and bitch about the sound, and don't review if you couldn't or didn't turn the master volume past 3.

All good so far.

If it were stolen or lost I would buy it again, after my breakdown.

I think the comments above says it all.

2007 model, brand spankin new. i got it home, put it on top of my Marshall 212 cab, and proceeded to rock out. nex thing I know, my new amp topples to the floor, landing squarely on the input, smashing it and generally destrying the input. I took it back to Guitar Center, and they gave me a brand new one, this one still in the box!!!

I use twin humbucker equipped guitars, a Les Paul, and a Schecter. It lets the sound of the guitar show through, which has always been my complaint about Line 6 amps. I have owned other Line 6 amps in the past, and always traded them for a Fender tube combo. two 12" speakers, some tubes, and some reverb is all I need. my guitars and pedals(and my fingers) do the rest. So i set the Spider Valve so I basically have a 4 channel tube amp, with some effects. It works great for what I do.

I haven't gigged with it yet, but it records nicely, and drowns out my drummer.

N/A

8.5

Well hey, its got lots of features. Typical Line 6 lots of features, not all of them are great unfortunatley. Line 6 reveb is terrible as it clips if you actually listen to it. Bogner (ehhh-hemmm) tube design (still shaking my head in confussion) Celestion V30's (Ive used theese speakers forever and this is the first time they dont sound great, they clip too much (there is still digital blood in this amp no matter how hard they try to mask it)and sound farty in this cab.The artist models are HORRIBLE, and chorus is virually non-existant.

Using this with Music man EVH, Suhr Pro(a very dynamic and precise axe), Music man Petrucci with piezo, Fender 70's strat with Fralin's and Les Paul gold top with Burstbucker pro's. The cleans are very good! The vox model is very farty and clips, crunch mod clips and has little deffinition or sustain-NO brown sound here. If you want brown sound go with a roccaforte or a CAE od-100. The metal channel starts sounding better but with such a stiff midrange and when backing off the guitar vol knob the dynamics are downright non-exsistant, even with any high end OD/boost up front. How is this amp getting such good ratings I dont know. If I was just starting out I would have a wet dream over this thing but after being jaded from using real tube amps, this thing has NO dynamics and NO sustain at all. It has "slight" tube compression, but very very little! Yes, even after setting the master past halfway (noon) and getting the tubes to cook up nice, it still has that "line 6 haze" about it, where you cant get rid of that "un-dynamic, compressed, every-note sounds the same thing". The digital engine is still there molesting any tube respose that could have been-example: In ANY setting where gain is involved....turn your guitar to the half volume setting or higher and pick 16th notes softly and work up to a harder dynamic...then drop slowly back down to whisper soft and notice how shitty it responds. Like going from a nice guthrie govan/vai/henderson tone then backing off to do some light stevie ray/ EJ type stuff IT DOSE NOT WORK! Im really upset I bought this amp. After using Bogner amps for so long and wanting to try this out as means to not have to carry around my Shiva head & rack or my Metropolis/ pedal board to smaller gigs. I would rather carry around 10 times that gear to not have the crusty sound of this thing. As I said the cleans are good, but the rest is very stale with no sustain and a stomp box feel, but if it sounds good to you buy it.....i guess. Im taking it back to Guitar Center (the cheesey car sales man guitar store) and getting my cash back to put it towards a Cornford Harlequin (a real tube amp) Shame on you Rhienhold, (do you need money that bad or are you going deaf) but thanks for your real amps cuz I love em. Spider valve lacks sustain, realism, true compression throughout the dynamic range and boasts "terrrible effects" (I even used my own rack and pedals and it helped a bit but still not happy)THe amp "sounds" ok, but the feel response it a joke! I wish I could reach inside and rip out the line 6 engine and destroy it and just use the """Bogner tube amp design"""" if you can call it that. But is it possible?

Im sure its very reliable, Its built very well and looks very nice-It kinda smells like bacon though....hmmmmm. Anyway I will say Its built nice with a good fit and finish, yet some are concerned that with the super high demand of this turd box and mass production, some problems may arise with the digital engine in this thing.......still dont get why they matted the cheapest amp model engine they had with such a high end guy like bogner......but hey i guess Mercedes joining with that crap company dodge/chrysler still works enough to sell expensive plastic to dumb americans.

Never delt with them....never kept anything long enough for it to break. No one i know has had problems cuz they are mostly posers(which is why they bought it) and the amps just sit in the corner. Ive always thought of the Line 6 guys like a crumy clueless YMCA pickup basket ball team among the rest of the amp world being the NBA. THey dont realize how bad they suck it, and some little kids who cant qute polay or never got the gamne look up to them. THemn they go and somehow accidently create the Pod and the DL_$ and got it right.....hmmmm....Eric Johnson who is a freak about what batteries he uses in his pedals actually like the delay modeler? Okay thats cool, so does alot of tone guys.....well hoe do you make that so good (sfter you sned it to keeley its not as bad) then make amps that sound like fizzing old strings frying in sloth turd? I dont know.......IM sure they are helpfull but I question them using guitar related "lingo" because it doesnt translate into what they build.

I think ive summed it up, if your just starting out and can afford it...its a good versitile amp, but if youve been around the block....you may not like it ...try it first. Be carefull I wouldnt put it past Corporate a-holes to post fake reviews on here....you can always tell its them because they praise the amps brodering on fellatio and use alot of "i just hung around a guitar store for a few weekends and now im a seasoned tone expert" LINGO.....Avoid anything that sounds like a car salesman talking it up.....or a 14 year old noob, but hey we all have been there i guess....Just try it first and dont order it over the phone on a whim because you trust the Bogner name, its just like when Ferrari had Pina Ferina design a Cadillac or Buik back in the 80's......was it like a Ferrari? I DONT THINK SO......but ill bet the drivers all had an attitude and felt so coooool!!!

I play in a cover band on the weekends and needed to downsize to a smaller rig that would do everything. When I heard that Line 6 and Bogner were teaming up, i had to give it a try. Very versatile, lots of useless presets but some can be used as a good starting point. Effects are easy to dial in and save. This is the loudest 40 watts I've ever heard. More volume than I'll ever need. The wah sounds like crap but I have a good sounding wah so thats not an issue. I sometimes use a Tube Screamer in front of it on my solos for that extra boost/sustain. Now that I've played with this amp for a couple of months, I'm very happy with it. The only thing it's missing is a built in intelligent pitch shifter or harmonizer. The line out doesn't sound very good either, you would definitely want to mic this one. Other than that it's perfect.

I use strat type guitars with humbuckers and floyds. I won't bore you with makes and models.
When I first played a gig with tis amp I wasn't very happy with it. It didn't sound any better than any other digital modeling amp to me. I was running the volume at 2.5 which was a nice comfortable stage volume, plenty loud without blowing my bandmates off the stage. That was my problem. Once I cranked the master volume up to a little over halfway and used the volume pedal on my FBV footcontroller to control the actual loudness on stage, the amp came alive and sounds just as good as my old Marshall Silver Jubilee or Carvin X100B did. The secret to getting a great sound out of this amp is to turn it up.

I've only had it for a couple of months but so far no problems. Seems to be built very well.

Haven't dealt with them.

I am 42 and have been playing since 1976. The only other gear I use with this amp is a Ibanez Tube Screamer and a Vox wah. If this amp were lost or stolen, I would definitely buy another one. I'm actually considering buying the head version for a backup. If you're looking for a great sounding amp that you can gig with, look no further. I couldn't be happier with this amp.

The rating speaks for itself: this is THE most versatile tube amp on the market that doesn't break the bank. I am a Musician in the US Navy; we regularly perform public concerts where the wide range in the age of audience demands that we play hits from every decade of music from the 60's on up to today's current top 40.
I can confidently say that this amp makes covering any guitar tone a breeze. All I have to do is pull out the tone from a fairly extensive onboard library (see: Spider III), assign it to a bank/channel, dial in a few tiny tweaks and I'm good to go with tones that sound as "close-to-the-record" as anyone's going to get without having to have half a dozen different rigs behind them. I use the FBV Shortboard to put the power at my feet to be able to seamlessly jump from classic rock to country to pop/rock to you-name-it with just a few taps.
There's only a few things I wish this amp would have/not have. First, I really was disappointed/baffled when I learned that the amp didn't have any computer connectivity. So many great things like new tones/sharing (instead of all the included "artist tones" which are as good as useless to me), firmware updates, and overall tone bank management could have come from it, but I guess they wanted to keep that exclusive to the POD family. Another feature that would have been great to see would have been a built in pad/attenuator to get that gorgeous power amp color without making the whole room go deaf. Instead there's a cabinet-simulated direct out...but you can forget about any "tube warmth." Oh well, I guess I'll just have to pony up for a THD Hot Plate. A programmable Solo/Volume boost for each patch would have made my day, but I can live with just the volume pedal. Finally, the onboard effects are easy to use and relatively intuitive, although it is a crap shoot trying to get exact rates for any of the chorus/flange/phaser/tremolo effects. Tap delay is always a welcome feature, but there's no noticeable stereo effects from the 2x12 cab.

This is one of the best sounding $800+ amps I've ever played. The Bogner logo on the front is more than just a Placebo effect, this amp lives up to his standard of quality in a tube amp. What is lost by it not being truly "boutique" is forgivable because of its unmatched versatility. Whether its clean, dirty, all out distortion, or anywhere in between this amp has multiple, multiple sweet spots that are nothing short of inspiring. The effects sound convincing enough to get through the gig, but a pedalboard would probably sound and feel more comfortable. My recommendation is that the presence knob doesn't go past 9 o'clock because the tone becomes way too harsh, with decreased mids and painfully exaggerated highs.

Solid construction, except for the knobs which are cheap plastic. I broke two in a week just trying to lug it around (it weighs 60 lbs). Fortunately, free replacements were sent immediately. They arrived on the same day as the set of metal replacement knobs I ordered. Otherwise, I've only had the amp since it hit the shelves in October '07, so only time will tell how durable/fragile it is.

When I called about the knob, it was quick and painless. No hassles, knowledgeable people, free replacement part. I got it within 5 days.

I've already said it all. This is a wonderful amp overall and I don't know what I would do without it. If it were stolen I'd buy another one without a doubt. I've put this amp through a side-by-side comparison with a Marshall AVT150H half stack, a Peavey 6505 half stack, and a Mesa/Boogie 50W Rectoverb 112 combo and I would take the Spider Valve anyday, hands down. You won't find another amp today that can do what this amp does in this price range.

Yup, very versatile. I'll make it simple. I'm 35 and been gigging since I was 17. Since playing in a touring rock band and headlining massive stadiums is no longer going to option, I needed to downsize my rig for my new life playing bar gigs in a cover band.
Go ahead and check the features of any other amp like this. Nothing comes close. Tons of amp models, decent effects, and the ability to save 36 different presets for yourself.
It's loud and proud and sounds great when you play it live.

Only beefs;
1. The stomp feature kinda sucks, wish it was a programmable volume boost. Then this amp would absolutely mangle every other amp around.

2. The wah is a little junky. Oh well...

3. The ability to load and unload your patches via computer, not the need to edit them, just the ability to save them.
----why? well if you have say 8 patches you like and then make 8 duplicates that are a little bit louder and boosted then you have 16 patches. and say you have two guitars you use (mahogany explorer w/ emg 81 and a deam les paul with pearly gates) and they sound different , so now thats a total of 32 patches.
...of course I could use the volume pedal on the shortboard and cut my patch use in half, but where's the fun in that.

Not bad eh? 3 strikes out of the possibility of having 36 different amplifiers around to do your bidding.

It's really good.

In the bedroom it sounds kinda digital but don't be afraid, once you crank her against some drums and other people it sounds fantastic. The low end comes alive and it just rocks.
The super high gain stuff is great too. I found that "insane amber" with the gain at 0 (that's right zero) sounds so f'in amazing.
It still has a full digital preamp section that converts you back to analog before you hit the tubes so it will never exactly blow away a super high end tube amp. Of course when you pay $2000 plus you expect that. When you pay $850 and realize that you sure can come close to any of the super amps you start to feel really good.

don't know yet. It emits more of that elictrical tubey type stink than any other amp I've come in contact with.

It sure seems solid and well built though. I feel that with the Bogner stamp on it, it should be as high quality on the inside as the outside.

don't know, haven't called them yet.

The user transferable one year warranty is a nice touch.

SInce I don't get to purchase many toys, and had to sell my main rig (H&K Triamp MK I) to get a new toy, believe me when I say I looked, and looked, and researched.

Spider Valve, hands down, most features, most bang for the buck, it's a good deal. IF you want an all in one package this is it.

Only other amo that comes close for features is the H&K switchblade. It's also twice as much.

If you're a tube sniffing tone snob you probably won't like it. If you want it fast and now it will make you angry. If you don't mind a little compromise in uber boutique specialiazed guitar tone to get a high quality do it all rig, get it.
Take your time, spin the knobs all over the place, feel useless when you realize that you need to reprogram 8 of your channel volumes because your metal tone needs more headroom, and find your sounds.

The features on this amp are outstanding. However, if you are a gigging musician (or wish to be one some day) you really need the short board foot controller to get all of the excellent features at your feet!

I won't go into the features because they are covered well by others and on the Line6 website.

I will say that there is plenty of power and tight bass end to this amp when dialed in correctly. I am not crazy about all effects available, but those that I am most interested in are very good. Those being (Delay, Tremelo and Reverb). I am not wild about the Sweep Echo, but the regular delay and tape echo are quite good to my ears. While it would be nice to have a "better" chorus, I find it unnecessary with the true warmth of this excellent sounding amp! I also love the simplicity of this amp to be able to easily dial in great sounds....unlike many of the Line 6 products.

This amp is capable of virtually any style of music desired...and with the tube warmth that I personally love. I have easily been able to dial in pristine cleans, slightly distorted cleans, bluesy, creamy leads, and outright rip your head off distortions with this amp. The biggest difference between the Spider Valve and the Spider III 150W SS is the power tubes and cabinet. How can I say that....I own both. The Spider III 150W combo is a decent (especially for the money), but there is absolutely no comparison between the Spider Valve and any other Line 6 product regarding tone as far as I am concerned!

Owned it 2 months and have played it regularly with no problems, but it is too soon to tell. I will say the cabinet / speaker design is excellent and comparable to many high end tube amps.

Never had to deal with them so will not give a rating even though their website is very good.

I have been playing for over 20 years and have owned many high dollar tube amps (Mesa Mark IV, Lonestar Special, Road King, to name a few). I still own the above amps and all have their strengths. However, I have never owned one Tube amp...and folks...this is a real tube amp that has the versatility to cover a wide variety of songs so easily with minimal effort to set up. However, this in itself isn't the main reason I am so impressed with the Line 6 Spider Valve 2-12 combo. Simply, when set to my taste it sounds better than any other rig I have ever used and is so simple to dial in great sounds! Great Job Line 6....I am most impressed with this amp!

If stolen, I would definitely replace this amp!