software

how does a solid state amp modeling amp like this compair with a good old valve amp??

pros / cons?

will the tone i get out of this compete with that of a decent valve amp?

help!

cheers

shred

I've got a Spider II 212 at home and it's seriously making me think twice about my Mesa Single Recto half stack. I wanna get my hands on a HD147 *lookin at Xeromus*

The Spider is very versatile, has great tone and is a lot of fun to play with. Get the short board with it and you get some awesome presets. You can dial almost anything you want in on that thing.

I've been thinking about getting a new practice amp, one that's a bit more versatile, and this one one I thought I'd consider. My buddy has an older version of it and I think it's great at bedroom volumes. IMO the speaker and the fact that his is a 1x12 limits its ability to play real loud volumes (he once tried to play it opposite my DSL 50 and it couldn't keep up - duh - not only in volume, but also in the fullness of the tone. Just not enough girth to it). But that's apples to oranges. At low volumes, I don;t think they are bad amps, and the price isn't too bad on them either.

I've heard one, sounded good. With a speaker upgrade i'm sure it would sound BEASTLY.

The Spider II series has Celestions in them and they pump out a ton of sound and have remarkable clarity and tone. I had two other Line6 products before this and i hated them. I had the POD 2.0 and the Flextone HD II. They were awful and for that i stayed away from Line6 for the longest time. But recently i was also looking for something a little more portable than my Single Recto half stack so i bought the 112. I was so impressed i decided it was worth the extra $$$ to get the 212 for double the power. Obviously there is a difference between my Mesa and my line^ but i can't decide which is better. Dont turn your back on them for what you think you know about them from past use. They're getting better.

Oh I didn't know they had celestions. Cool. I played the 112 version at my dad's friend's house. Maybe they'll come out with a new series in that pricerange or a spider3 or somthing, but the IIs are already very good amps.


Originally Posted by shred me goodhow does a solid state amp modeling amp like this compair with a good old valve amp??

To answer the original question, it's not going to sound quite as good. It will sound better at lower volumes and have a more versatile range of tones. The amp models all sound pretty good and there is a wide range of gain. Jazzy clean to rectifier stack.


Originally Posted by shred me goodwill the tone i get out of this compete with that of a decent valve amp?

For high gain widdlywiddlywiddly or very heavy crunch - yup. Perhaps not QUITE as good as the real deal, but a heck of a lot quieter.

For subtle valve overdrive and more restrained, quot;natural soundingquot; crunchiness - not a hope. I played one and really didn't like it - my V-amp 2 through my solid state fender sounded much better at that kinda thing, and that setup, whilst very good, still isn't as good as real valve action at louder volumes.

Surely you mean woddly odderly wodderley, mate.

Here we go again........Honestly, Line6 modeling technology is getting better every year.

Do they compare to good tube combo? Not really...but as previously stated, that's an apples/oranges comparison. Can they get a WIDE variety of good sounds? Certainly.

What matters most is what YOU need and how YOU can go about obtaining it.

I'm perfectly happy to play my POD XTL direct to the board. But that's just me.

I'd suggest before buying go out and play a reasonably priced tube amp. Many people would be more than happy to shell out less cash and use the line6, and for them its probably the best option, but theres also many people who swear by tube. If you try both tube and line 6 and honestly find the line6 to be everything you need, then there is no need to go tube, but its quite a personal thing.

eh i like the Spider II's but they sound turbo-digital to me. I like tube amps 'cuz they sound REAL to me, whereas Spider's sound processed and fake.

THAT BEING SAID i think processed fake music is all we're gonna have in the future so you may as well jump on the bandwagon if you need a decent versatile amp...

-X

I had a line 6 spider II 210 and i didn't like it much at all, only kept it a few months. yes it was versatile but the modles weren't too good and they sounded digital, especially the distorted sounds. haven't tried the 212 version but it can't be much better. oh yeah at high volumes the 210 was crap!!!.

just my opinion. and no i have never even played a tube amp. i am comparing the spider II to other solid state amps i have heard and owned

Let's stop comparing this Line6 to anything with tubes... At low bedroom volumes a tube amp will not sound any better than a Line6 (come on, now, at quot;2quot; a tube amp hasn't even begun to think about warming up the tubes, and you'll never get a great tone out of that). I personally wouldn't use a SpiderII to gig with, but for bedroom use, I think it's a good option.

And tone? Play with one... if you take the time to turn all the knobs you'll find some pretty decent tones in there. That said, I'm never too concerned with the tone of a practice amp. Who here can honostly say they've shaped their tone through a practice amp?