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Pulling the Spider IV 75 out of the box, I was immediately impressed with the light weight. At only 36 pounds, it would be relatively easy to get my whole guitar rig into a venue in a single trip. The amp is pretty well self-contained, with a 12-inch Celestion speaker, 75 watts of power, and a ton of amp models onboard, though I highly recommend one of Line 6's FBV MKII foot controllers: either the FBV Shortboard MKII, or the FBV Express MKII, which I used when demoing the Spider IV.
Line 6 provides plenty of connection options on the Spider IV 75. There's a 1/4-inch speaker output for use with an external cabinet, and a stereo 1/4-inch headphone out for personal jamming. A third 1/4-inch (balanced TRS) jack is available as a direct output for recording or live PA reinforcement. You can connect a CD or MP3 player via the stereo miniplug input to rock along with your favorite tunes. Also, the FBV MKII foot pedals feature a USB connection, which is great for offloading presets to computer for deep editing, and can also be used for updating your Spider IV's firmware as necessary.
As soon as the demo amp and pedal arrived, I took them over to my rehearsal space for some serious noodling. I usually like to get hands-on right away before cracking the manual to see how intuitive it is. Good marks for the Spider IV 75; I was able to dial up the presets and create and store a few custom sounds without the book.
The Spider IV 75 can be used like any standard guitar amp, with manual control over the gain, three-band EQ, reverb, and drive. Unlike a standard guitar amp, the Spider IV has a special knob that gives access to eight amp models. Each model has two variations, for a total of sixteen starting tones. The gain character intensifies as you sweep through the models. Starting at Clean, you move to Twang, then Class A, Blues, Crunch, Hi Gain, Metal, and end up at Insane. In addition to the amp modeling, three "Smart Effects" knobs let you add additional color to the tone. You can pick a model, tweak the EQ and drive settings, and add effects to get some good tones with little effort.
Turn off Manual mode, and you'll find Line 6 has already done a lot of the heavy lifting for you, dialing up some tasty amp model/effects combinations with pre-tweaked EQ settings. Presets (preloaded and user-created) are accessible from the four banks (A-D) on the front panel, and can also be selected via FBV foot controller. There are over 300 artist presets, making it easy to zero in on the sounds of your favorite bands and guitarists. You'll find presets from Coheed & Cambria, 311, Deftones, Maroon 5, Lee Ritenour, and more. On top of that, there's another couple hundred song presets mimicking a ton of popular tunes. If you play in a cover band, this is a huge time saver. Song presets are conveniently organized by decade. Scroll to the 60s and you've got "Hey Joe", "Sunshine Of Your Love", etc, then jump over to the 80s for "Crazy Train" and "Master of Puppets". These presets range from the 1950s to the 2000s. As if that's not enough, the Spider IV features 64 empty slots to hold your custom creations.
The Spider IV features a tap tempo switch (front panel or foot controller-accessible) to get time-based effects in sync with your playing speed. The Quick Loop function provides up to 14 seconds of looped playback for self-accompaniment.
I've heard many tone-purists talk smack about modeling technology, but I was impressed with the sound of this amp. It may not sound exactly like a Plexi or a Twin Reverb, but I felt it was close enough for Rock and Roll, especially for the money. Especially because it does both of those and more. Plus, no two Plexis or Twin Reverbs are going to sound exactly alike anyway. In fact, I have a vintage Twin Reverb at the rehearsal space, so I was able to do a pretty tight comparison. The Spider IV does a good job of recreating the essence of each of the modeled amps, and that's really what you're wanting with an amp like this. It felt like I was getting the response I expected from the tubes on the Twin model, though the reverb emulation was a bit lacking.
I played with all the different models to get a sense of all the tonal possibilities, and particularly enjoyed the clean sound coming from the Blues model. It's based on a vintage Gretsch 6156, and offered a very musical character with wide dynamic range. I brought the volume up on the guitar and was able to get that crying, almost-ready-to-break-up sound with single-note Blues licks. Switching to higher gain, I absolutely loved the sound of the Insane model with the "Red" variant. It produced a Boogie-like Dual Rectifier tone, with smooth, singing sustain and a ton of clarity. Some amps get a little muddy when set up like this, but I was able to play complex chords and hear plenty of subtle harmonic detail.
Next, I worked my way through some of the song presets, picking out songs I was familiar with to see how the sound stacked up to the guitars on the recordings. I plugged in a dual-humbucker guitar and dialed up the "Master of Puppets" preset. I chugged my way through the intro and first verse, and the tone was spot on. Similarly, the "Crazy Train" preset was completely believable, instantly evoking the Rhoads mojo. Next, I strapped on a semi-hollow ES-335 and attempted a Larry Carlton solo with the "Charlemagne" preset. It didn't sound as accurate as the previous two song presets, but after some fiddling with the EQ settings, I was able to get pretty close.
With its trim footprint and great sound, I feel the Spider IV 75 is a great all-around amp choice. The wide array of presets are perfect for cover bands or session cats that are always looking to dial up convincing tones quickly. I also see this amp coming in really handy for guitar teachers trying to help their students learn popular songs. The biggest benefit, in my opinion, is the huge range of tones you can pull out of the mind-numbing number of amp model and effects combinations. Definitely something for everyone here. And not having to cary a truckload of gear or dealing with signal splitters or impedance mismatches or looking for multiple power outlets to get all those tones? Priceless. The amp itself is completely capable, but once again, I highly recommend one of the FBV foot controllers to go with it. The ability to call up presets and make tweaks without having to walk back to the amp every time is a big plus for live playing.
zZounds is an authorized dealer of Line 6 products.
4.5 out of 5
(36 ratings)
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