Line 6 reliability

RW James

RW James

New member
About a month ago I bought a Line 6 Spider 2 amp. I'm generally pretty happy with it - but I've been visiting the Line 6 User Forum, and a lot of people there are complaining of things like random program changes, volume dropping, and just plain shutting off - all in the middle of playing.

Anyone here have experience with these amps? Is this a reliability issue with Line 6 - or is it just a case of "probable user error" (as we say in my office)?

I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable with my purchase - I mean is it an overly comlicated piece of machinery? Would I be better off with a nice simple plug-and-play amp?

I would most likely lose money in the deal, but I could probably take the amp back and exchange up for something. I don't really want to - but I don't want to end up regretting this 6 months down the road either.

Thanks
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

They have a couple of those at school and they work fine. The only thing is that the jack you plug in the guitar to breaks all the time but I think that's got more to do with stupid kids not beeing carefull enough, plus they get hauled around a lot. I've never encountered that they randomly change patch or drop in volume or anything like that.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

I've had my Vetta over a year and have had no problems with it. The amp though really is a computer so it has to be taken care of, and it can have glitches as well. I've heard about all the nightmares myself, but I closed my eyes, bid on ebay and got a gem. Mine by the way is the Vetta I which was upgraded to the Vetta II so mine is actually older so it's had more time for problems, lol.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

Never had aby problems with my Vetta II or my Spider II. The Vetta was my live-amp and it never had any errors. The spider is at home and has not so much going on so it might be different in what it can take but, who cares?
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

I've had plenty of problems with my PodXT. I really like the tones I can get out of it, especially for the price it's hard to beat, but I really don't like the reliability of my unit.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

My buddy has an original Spyder, and it did the random preset change. It seemed to start after he bought the foot controller to switch presets. Unfortunately it was after we dropped some cash on recording gear and were in the process of recording in the basement, so he couldn't exactly afford to have it repaired (It think it was around $350 new, and Over a hundred to repair) We were still in college at the time...

The funny thing looking back is that we dailed in a tone, then saved it to all four presets so no matter where it went you had the same tone. ;) If it changed presets, it did a little hiccup, then continued. We'd get so pissed if we were tracking a part that was solo guitar or mainly guitar, and have to scrap it. In layered sections we just let it be.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

PFDarkside said:
My buddy has an original Spyder, and it did the random preset change. It seemed to start after he bought the foot controller to switch presets...
Click to expand...
hmm... I wonder if the Spider II has improved in this area over the original Spider.

So far, I guess more like them than not... and my guess would be, no matter what brand I get, I would hear similar stories.

(The store where I bought the Spider II, also had a Vox, a Marshall, a Peavey, and a Fender - all about the same price and power -- because of stories regarding the low end Marshalls from here I vetoed that. The Vox looked interesting, but they didn't have the footswitch. And I just wasn't sure about Fender. The Peavey was the 30 watt and I thought that might just be too small for what I needed.)

By the way, I'm getting similar responses on the Line 6 forum.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

i don't have any experiences with the spider series, but i know i've had some problems with my flextone II plus 1x12 combo.

for a while the presets would change themselves while the amp was on. when i'd switch to a different channel, it wouldn't be what i set it at. power it off and back on again, and everything would be back to normal. they really are like computers, when things start failing, turn it off and back on again (haha).

it doesn't do the preset thing anymore, that just kind of stopped happening. but now it does this thing where when i'm using the footswitch and i want to switch to channel A, 9 times out of 10 it will either not switch at all or switch to any of the other three channels. the remaining 1 time, it will actually switch to the correct channel. and i know it isn't the footswitch cable, because i've tried at least three different cables and it does it with all of them.

that's when i bought a mesa and called it a day ;)
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

There's a teenager at church with a Spider II. No problems that I know of, and he has had it for over a year (at least).

With your type of playing, I don't think there are any serious concersn, Rick.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

RW James said:
hmm... I wonder if the Spider II has improved in this area over the original Spider.

So far, I guess more like them than not... and my guess would be, no matter what brand I get, I would hear similar stories.

(The store where I bought the Spider II, also had a Vox, a Marshall, a Peavey, and a Fender - all about the same price and power -- because of stories regarding the low end Marshalls from here I vetoed that. The Vox looked interesting, but they didn't have the footswitch. And I just wasn't sure about Fender. The Peavey was the 30 watt and I thought that might just be too small for what I needed.)

By the way, I'm getting similar responses on the Line 6 forum.
Click to expand...


i got the spider 2 half stack and ive had it for almost a year now..

problems problems i tell ya..

well what has pissed me off is the fact that it has randomly switched channels on me a few times.. and also the mast volume knob recently became ****ed up.. its when i turn it past the 9 o clock point it goes super loud and squeeks then once its past that point the volume returns to the volume it should be at.. but all i do to take care of that is when i change the master volume on my amp i turn my guitars volume knob all the way down, then when i choose the volume setting i want i turn my volume back up.. 2 problems, im selling it soon the guy is actually come to try it out today.. i dunno but if i were you i'd get another amp
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

I've had a Line6 AX2 for 6 years now and have never had a problem with it. It's played a few gigs, and a stint with a church band and it's fallen over and all kinds of stuff...

I've found that Line6's stuff is very reliable more often than not. It seems we only generally hear of the problems...
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

Oh, yes...I've been playing either a POD 2 or an xt Live for nearly 5 years. No problems to speak of.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

....this is where I get to separate the tech that I am, from the player that I am..... Most of the Line6 gear we get in is pretty easily repaired, albeit not always cheaply. Since Line6 is almost entirely SMT (surface mount technology), they rarely if ever have any components come loose other than the high wear connections (input jacks, FS jacks etc.). Line6's biggest downfall (tech wise) is exactly the same as most current production SS gear.... weak output sections.... The Spider2 uses a 15 pin (LM4765T) 30w IC as it's output source, and so long as you never really push it past it's limitations, it will never fail......This is definite plus for those who don't expect it to crank to "unholy" levels, but like most guitar amps......they have a tendency to get "pushed"....

Amazingly enough, I have never seen a Line6 burn anything up except the output sections..... which given the "fragility" of the processors and associated circuitry to "spikes" and "surges", I have only seen one Line6 in my life that was completely beyond repair ( either practical or even possible). Like all things electronic, even the finest of amps don't take too kindly to having "lightning surges" passed through them..... even worse, it was a Flextone HD...:blackeye:

The output components for most Line6 gear is relatively inexpensive and readily available, the IC mentioned above is a whole $14, but depending upon what else burnt up in the process, usually would determine how cost-efficient they are to repair..... severe cases might approach $150... when the IC's go they usually literally "explode" and burn traces on the PCB....this is where it gets co$tly...

For as much as I am not a fan of most things digital, I have to honestly report that Line6's failure rate is most definitely above par, so long as you don't "push" them for more than what they are..... If you use it for what it is, it should last forever!...(of course, this applies to everything in life!)

Trust me, there are many worse choices currently available..... many!

...I gotta give "props" where they are due, regardless of my personal taste.....technical is technical! To the original poster RW James, they have gotten most of the bugs out of them, and 90% of those were caused by "mechanical" failure...(bad solder connections and the like..)...
so I wouldn't worry about it too much...

Jeff Seal....amp tech.





of course, just because it works, that doesn't mean I like the way they sound..

Jeff Seal... guitar player.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

I've had my Spider I for about 5 years and I haven't had any problems to speak of. It's a computer driven amp, and it does glitch on occasion for no real reason, but turning it off and then back on takes care of that problem.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

Thanks everyone... I'm feeling much better now. I think the bottom line, for now is that Line 6 has given me the biggest bang for the buck. Any alternatives in this price range were either not as good or at best no better.

It may only last a few years - and then perhpas I'll have the knowledge (thanks to you guys) and the money to get something better.

Thanks again,
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

Spider 1 owner for 4+ years, and never had any of those sorts of problems. My only annoyance is a huge jump in volume somewhere in between 2 and 3, and its right where i want to be for practice. Solved by using the channel volume.
 
Re: Line 6 reliability

Jeff Seal makes good points. I don't care for the amp models in the Spider, but it is a usable piece of gear. As I said, the one being used at our church has never had a technical problem.

Now, the amp models in my xt Live? Love 'em.

Line6 really is the way to go for playing in church.
 
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