Line 6 Spyder Valve?

[teleblooz]

Two weeks ago, totally out of the blue, I was given a mint 112 40 watt Spyder Valve. I'm still blown away by it, but I know very little about the amp. I have yet to sit down with it and run through all it's capable of, so was hoping to get some info/advice from those here who have one, or have had one.

I remember reading about them when they first came out. It seemed to me there was a generalexcitement and 'can't wait' vibe that faded after a month or two. I have not had time to read reviews or even what the functions are.....I have used it for Worship the past two Sundays though and have been very pleased with the tone. I found a nice, fat clean tone then added a bit of reverb and delay. I have to say if this was the only tone the amp was capable of, I'd be a happy man! But, I know there is much, much more in it that I will ever need or use.

He also gave me the floorboard that goes with it, so I've been using that as a volume pedal. I did run through a few of the presets, but had to be careful as some are so freaking loud, distorted and over the top it would scare half the congregation!

Anyway, if you know about the amp and are willing to share your thoughts, (good and bad) tips, tricks, etc, I would very much appreciate it.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Line 6 Spyder Valve?

You know, I tried one of those out at a local GC and wasn't too pleased with the sound, BUT it was used so there might be problems with it. I do know that there's a marvelous amount of doodads on the Spiders, and they're capable of really getting some splendid tones. I'm particularly into a soporific reverbs and delays which should be no problem with one of those. I'd wager you can USB plug it into a computer and download presets and fine-tune sounds for yourself in a much easier interface than the small screen and dials. Fool around with it at home, save some choice presets onto your machine and access them through that floorboard.

Getting the floorboard was pretty choice. It really busts the availability of tone control wide open.

I looked up the MK2 amp and there's some cabinet outs on the back. You might be able to cab out to 2 cabinets and get stereo effects. That's sweet.

You're a lucky man for getting one for free. Enjoy!

 

[teleblooz]

Re: Line 6 Spyder Valve?

Thank you for taking the time to respond Jon. It does have the usb port (which is what the floorboard plugs into) but I'm sure I can hook it to the computer and do some things that way. In all honesty, it's way too much amp for what I need.....I'm an old blues playing fart that's happy with a good basic tone and using a pedal or two to season things to taste. However, this amp was such a surprise blessing, I feel I need to delve into the various sonic aspects it will provide.

So far, it's just been a bit of trying out the various pre-sets........I need to download the manual for this. These days, I just don't seem to have an hour or two of uninterrupted time to delve into it. From the little tweaking I've done, the delay tones and varieties seem lovely. And yes, I bet it would be killer as a stereo unit. And indeed Jon, I am very lucky to have received this amp.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Line 6 Spyder Valve?

I wish that Line 6, or any of the modeling/effects amp makers, would start out with bare minimum settings of Amp + maybe a little mod, or maybe an ability to remove all effects from the amp sim for players like me who want to hear the root amp without the mound of modulation and effects that is the assumed "right" sound. I haven't found a factory preset I like on a modeling amp. It also seems to be a chore to strip the preset down to the bare minimum.