Line6 spider || amp

[Instrumentalrockrocks]

Hi Fans of Steve Vai,

I´m a really, really great fan from Holland so don´t watch my grammar.... I´m new here on the forum and I´ve got a little question about an amp wich the guitarist of my little band owned..... the lin6 spider || amp.... Is it good enough for an vai sound or should he think about an other amp???

If somebody answers my question.......Many Many thanks for those who answer it......

[bradley1107]

stay away from line 6, and no, you're friend won't get vai's sound out of that amp. You can put it on the "insane" channel with the drive all the way up and have considerable sustain (in addition to a lot of mush and weird non musical sounds.) but in my opinion the tone sucks balls.

[olldigitall]

I think the Spider II sucks. You can plug a tennis racket or a vintage less paul and it would still sound the same way

[Jemfever]

I think the Spider II sucks. You can plug a tennis racket or a vintage less paul and it would still sound the same way

yap,like with all line 6 amps!

[jamtheguitarman]

I got a flextone 3 and you can nail the vai tone and any pretty much any other. its unbelieable. before i tried one i was sceptical to but i have been swayed. the spider however is probley not up to the job but it is only £200. pretty good for the price.

[RoadStarII]

why dont you like the line 6 spider II? because Slipknot uses it or evenescnence? i bet you havnt even play throught one. I play a Like 6 spider II 212 and I have a very Simlar sound to steve Vais.

[bradley1107]

I have played through the line 6 spider II, MANY MANY times. Those bands do not use those amps for anything more than practice amps (not that i would be impressed by the amp if they claimed to use it live or for recording purposes), and the only reason you think that is because they have demos on the line 6 website. I Do believe that a good guitarist can make any amp sound good, especially over time, BUT the sound is just so homogenized!
I have just had BAD experiences with line 6 amps, and i don't think that they are the best way to go.

[RoadStarII]

I like mine.

[bradley1107]

I can respect that. do you notice any of the things im talking about though? how any guitar (jazz box to jem) gets the same sound out of the amp?

[Logic]

Line 6 stuff is a prossessing overload.
So much so that if your not carefull it will indeed run right over the top of any tone your guitar might have. this isn't totally a bad thing, it just means you need to be carefull. I have noticed Line 6 is popular with the new guitar player crowd. It gives them a palet of effects that can make their sound more, well, colourful. I believe this to be a good thing as the more colours you get the more interest. And it's in a box. It can give the new guitarist an idea of what they want and what they don't. Later, they can put together there own stuff to suit themselves. I was teaching this kid to play and he had this Crate amp. 2x12's with lotsa power and he traded it for a line 6 with very little power. He did it because effects just confused him. Now he can just turn on the amp and twist a few dials and he is on his way. Having no idea what effects he is useing, just knowing what he thinks sounds good.

[johnz]

Well it is a modeling amp so a bit of the guitar's tone gets lost in the mix but i can tell my guitars apart when i play through my Flextone 3. The main reason i got mine was because i do constant gigging and need a whole array of sounds at the touch of a button and plus they are alot better to taked to gigs than some of your other amps (because its solid state you don't need to worry about tubes and such).

[GGGrev]

This thread is interesting, although more replies would make it even more interesting.

[Jemfever]

The main reason i got mine was because i do constant gigging and need a whole array of sounds at the touch of a button and plus they are alot better to taked to gigs than some of your other amps (because its solid state you don't need to worry about tubes and such).

Thats why i bought my podxt pro with a peavey classic 50/50 poweramp.Although i'm a tubeamp-guy I can say that for the purpose of having many sounds and effects at the touch of a button it did a great job.I wouldn't use the pod in the studio or with my rockband(use it only for covers)'cause the modeling amps have a big problem:they lack dynamics and don't have character.Evrything conected to a pod sounds the same.Plus:theres nothing you can do with a pod that you can't do with a tube amp!
Thats my opinion
Regards
Jemfever

[olldigitall]

I think some of the sounds of the Spider II are OK. The problem is the fact that it sounds overly synthetic and doesn't at all give a slight hint of the tone your guitar(s) may have.

I am not saying it isn't any good. I'm just pointing out a flaw, which I personally consider much too big to purchase one. However, nowadays you can buy a very good guitar (lower RG's, Washburn's, Jackson's Epiphone's) and a Line 6 amp for very little money, and have a semi-pro setup for a lot less money than ever before.

If you want versatility, I would recommend a Yamaha DG1000, an ADA MP1 or a Sans Amp PSA.

[GGGrev]

If it's synthetic, can't you just put it to 'clean' and use your pedals for effects?