I just spent 30 minutes playing through a Line 6 Spider II

[Mark Wein]

messedup0

[Phil513]

messedup0

So thats a thumbs down? biggrin

I wonder if the spider valve series is a marked improvement.

[Johnny N.]

Hangs his head in shame.........frown0

[Mark Wein]

So thats a thumbs down? biggrin

I wonder if the spider valve series is a marked improvement.

The Spider Valve is better, but I still wouldn't own one...I was considering getting a pair for the studio and getting my vintage amps out of the classroom (the students are tearing them up) but I wouldn't use one for myself...


Hangs his head in shame.........frown0

:-)

They are great "hobbyist" amps but they don't really do it for me after a few decades of playing through the more high end and vintage stuff.

[Johnny N.]

:-)

They are great "hobbyist" amps but they don't really do it for me after a few decades of playing through the more high end and vintage stuff.


I actually bought the one I have (its a spider 3 75 watt) specifically because it had the aux line in. It allowed me to run my mp3 player or the micro br through it so I could play along to a song or drum beat. It also allowed me to watch let's say a Mark Wein guitar lesson on the computer and run it through the line in so I could hear the lesson and my playing through the same headphones.

Bottom line, it is a very good practice tool.

[Mark Wein]

I actually bought the one I have (its a spider 3 75 watt) specifically because it had the aux line in. It allowed me to run my mp3 player or the micro br through it so I could play along to a song or drum beat. It also allowed me to watch let's say a Mark Wein guitar lesson on the computer and run it through the line in so I could hear the lesson and my playing through the same headphones.

Bottom line, it is a very good practice tool.

I actually really dig how the companies making these amps are starting to make them more like "practice workstations". Hugely useful in that respect. When I teach I play through a PODxt run through my studio monitors and I can grab whatever tones I need for a song either online or dial them in pretty quick.

In my blues class last night the keyboard player had a Roland keyboard that you could plug a USB flash drive into and store songs in the keyboard. He has all of the music that the class is working on stored in his instrument and when we need to listen back he just plays it that way instead of me hooking an mp3 player into the PA.

[Johnny N.]

All of that technology really is good, especially for us older guys who dont have a lot of time. I had this amp set up so everything was hooked up to it so I just had to go in the back room and turn everything on. That way it was no trouble to go do some playing, even if I only had 15-30 min.

I think new players would be smart to get a small modeller with drum beats when they start. Something like the micro br is cool or one of those korg pandora things or some of the digitech rp things. Or the Fender g-dec would be a very good practice amp.

[Denverdave]

So thats a thumbs down? biggrin

I wonder if the spider valve series is a marked improvement.

I played through a Spider Valve and they are better sounding than their SS younger brothers. It definitely warms up the tone, but not to the level of a fully tube amp. Mystixboi swears by his Spider Valve. I wouldn't buy one new, but used they would make a pretty versatile amp and a reasonable price.

[Mark Wein]

All of that technology really is good, especially for us older guys who dont have a lot of time. I had this amp set up so everything was hooked up to it so I just had to go in the back room and turn everything on. That way it was no trouble to go do some playing, even if I only had 15-30 min.

I think new players would be smart to get a small modeller with drum beats when they start. Something like the micro br is cool or one of those korg pandora things or some of the digitech rp things. Or the Fender g-dec would be a very good practice amp.

Absolutely...the all-in-one aspect of the amps are great for giving you what you need to learn the instrument....


I played through a Spider Valve and they are better sounding than their SS younger brothers. It definitely warms up the tone, but not to the level of a fully tube amp. Mystixboi swears by his Spider Valve. I wouldn't buy one new, but used they would make a pretty versatile amp and a reasonable price.

I had a student bring one into his blues class several months ago and I couldn't get a clean sound to work in the band setting at all. The crunch sounds were fun, though....