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Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Sun Dec 24, 2017 5:35 pm
by petercreasey
With lots of discussions about solid state amps lately, Katana Vox MV50 etc I though I would mention my new toy The line 6 Spider V120
For years I have been looking for an amp that will give a sound that I like with all the effects built in and, being a hater of wires, wireless. so far, after a couple of days I have found sounds that I like with decent echos and more than enough power to handle a reasonably sized room all in one box and weighing in at just over 12 kilos ( only slightly more than my katana 50)
Before running off to the Music shop to try out a Line 6 I have to say that you will probably find that out of the box it will sound awful, and the reviews that I have been able to find on You tube etc would not make you think that it would the type of thing suited to our kind of music. I took a good look at the specs and downloaded a copy of the software and thought that it should be able to produce all that I would want from an amp, enough to make me buy one on a sale or return basis........... it will not be going back.
it has taken me a lot of time to coax the sound out of it that I want but the journey has , in my opinion been well worth it
Please don't go rushing out to part with £300 because of this message ( not that anyone would) but if , like me, you are looking for a one box fits all solution you might just want to have a ( deep) look into what the latest Spider amp can do

MERRY CHRISTMAS :wave:

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Sun Dec 24, 2017 9:05 pm
by Tigerdaisy
Yes, especially if you are just playing at home- all those extra gadgets and wires all over the place are a nuisance and frankly I just can't be bothered to plug them all in at home. I've had all sorts of fx pedals over the years, currently the latest Zoom offering but I'm not sure they provide anything that essential above what many amps do that include onboard effects.

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 1:12 pm
by dave robinson
Sounds interesting Pete, I don't need another amp but will try one out of curiosity and your recommendation.
I didn't rate the Line 6 stuff a few years ago (2003 springs to mind) as I was in Sound Contol in Sheffield and the salesman was pushing this new Line 6 modelling amp, telling me it could sound like a Mesa Boogie, Twin Reverb, Vox AC30 et al, so I agreed to try it in the shop. Bearing in mind I used a Twin Reverb for seventeen years, followed by the Mklll Boogie which I still have, as well as the AC30s, but the sound of the Line 6 on these settings was a joke. This stuck with me for a long time, but I bought one of the Line 6 acoustic modelling guitars two years later and returned it disappointed, as the claims of being able to sound like a Gibson J200 and Martin D28 weren't really true.

Fast forward to 2016 and the James Tyler Variax - I figured that Line 6 may have improved their technology in the modelling and after seeing some favourable reviews I ordered one from Gear4Music, knowing that I could audition it and get my money back, should the instrument disappoint. I have to say that I kept that guitar as it's pretty damn good at doing what it claims to do, so I have a guitar that I can use on gigs where it's impractical to take four or five guitars for fear of damaging them. This leads me to believe that Line 6 will have made the same improvements on their amps and I look forward to hearing how they have done it when I go to try one. They key here is weight and value for money. :)

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 10:50 am
by petercreasey
Hi Dave
I have to say that I had not thought of Line 6 until I bought the G10 wireless and looked further into the range when I registered it.
I have found that the controls don't react in the same way as the real thing and it took a bit of " thinking out of the box" ( posh words for trying everything and perhaps getting lucky!)
being able to link 3 echoes ( potentially more but I haven't had much success there yet) does get quite close, treble and bass on the repeats is very helpful.
i will take mine to Doncaster next time, if you can make it you could try it there
Good luck , happy twiddling and a Happy New Year
Take care

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 1:34 pm
by dave robinson
petercreasey wrote:Hi Dave
I have to say that I had not thought of Line 6 until I bought the G10 wireless and looked further into the range when I registered it.
I have found that the controls don't react in the same way as the real thing and it took a bit of " thinking out of the box" ( posh words for trying everything and perhaps getting lucky!)
being able to link 3 echoes ( potentially more but I haven't had much success there yet) does get quite close, treble and bass on the repeats is very helpful.
i will take mine to Doncaster next time, if you can make it you could try it there
Good luck , happy twiddling and a Happy New Year
Take care


When is the Doncaster meeting ?

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:17 pm
by petercreasey
dave robinson wrote:
petercreasey wrote:Hi Dave
I have to say that I had not thought of Line 6 until I bought the G10 wireless and looked further into the range when I registered it.
I have found that the controls don't react in the same way as the real thing and it took a bit of " thinking out of the box" ( posh words for trying everything and perhaps getting lucky!)
being able to link 3 echoes ( potentially more but I haven't had much success there yet) does get quite close, treble and bass on the repeats is very helpful.
i will take mine to Doncaster next time, if you can make it you could try it there
Good luck , happy twiddling and a Happy New Year
Take care


When is the Doncaster meeting ?

Should be 14th January

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:13 pm
by dave robinson
I'll try and make Doncaster so that I can hear what you have made of it. :)

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 7:11 pm
by petercreasey
Well...... I've spent hours playing and twiddling with the line 6 and for home use it was very very close, BUT today I took it to the rehearsal room to give it a good try out at band volumes and frankly it just couldn't hack it. whether it is the speaker set up or the make up of the amp the sound was just not there.
So although I did give it a thumbs up I now have to wash the egg off my face :oops: and go back to my Katana which is great at any volume and will have to suffer having outboard echoes and wireless.

Thought anyone interested in this thread should know

Take carer

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 11:06 pm
by dave robinson
petercreasey wrote:Well...... I've spent hours playing and twiddling with the line 6 and for home use it was very very close, BUT today I took it to the rehearsal room to give it a good try out at band volumes and frankly it just couldn't hack it. whether it is the speaker set up or the make up of the amp the sound was just not there.
So although I did give it a thumbs up I now have to wash the egg off my face :oops: and go back to my Katana which is great at any volume and will have to suffer having outboard echoes and wireless.

Thought anyone interested in this thread should know

Take carer


That's something that happens with modelling amps Pete, you get a great sound at room level, then it doesn't transfer to venue level. Do you think it's a tone thing and adjustment would cure it, or does it suffer from a poor speaker ?
I'd still like to hear it because if everything is on board then it would be a dream to use and eliminate a hell of a lot of hardware.
That said, the Katana does a great job even though it only has a single echo tap. I can use that in conjunction with the reverb and do a good job on Shads stuff. The only thing missing is the wireless option.

Re: Line 6 Spider V120

PostPosted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:48 am
by petercreasey
I think it is the speaker Dave, which , as you say is such a shame as it would have been so easy to take out and about, I spent ages in the rehearsal room trying to adjust the sound to get the same as I did at lower volumes. trying different amp and speaker simulations etc but to no avail.
On the up side I am able to return it so not out of pocket
Take care