I have had several Line 6 amps, but I have settled in on the Spider 2x10 models because of their compactness, light weight, great sound, tone, and they are as loud as you are every going to need in any club. They crank very loud if you need it. The 2x10 Celestian Speakers have the edge and bottom end punch. I only use a FBV Express on the floor and that has eliminated lots of effects pedals and crackling patch cords. The Line 6 Spider has eliminated a truck load of tube amps, effects pedals, and outboard rack mount gear. All that processing power is now in one small amp and a floor board pedal. I don't have to mess with tone settings after I get them dialed in and save them. My sound and tone is excellent from venue to venue, needing only to adjust the volume for different room sizes. Other players are amazed at my sound and I always recommend the Line 6 Spider amps to them. I have 2 Spider III's and recently bought a Spider IV 2x10 because it has programmable effects parameters, more effects, and is upgradeable by USB from your computer. You can download Custom Tones for pretty much any guitarist's sound that you want. I'm currently dialing in this new Spider IV 2x10 amp with my Stevie Ray Vaughan tones, Fender Twin Reverb Tone, Van Halen tones, and Surf tones for Studio Use. I downloaded the additional effects patches from Line 6 and now have 79 effects to get my tones EXACT. Great amp. Inexpensive, and you can sell off all your crackling foot pedals, rack mount speghetti, and huge dinosaur rig get one!

I bought the FBV MKIII Express footswitch with this amp. It has the USB port for downlaods and Custom Tone downloads, and firmware updates.

You can either select several of the 400 presets, or modify them and save them to your amp, or dial in your own tones using the various tube amp models, save them, or download Custom Tones from Line 6.

The Line 6 Spider IV is built better that previous models and is heavier duty than the earlier ones. It features a semi-closed back for big bottom end, and a recessed black front knob panel, instead of the grey plastic panel on the older ones. It looks professional.

I replaced a truck load of tube amps, foot pedals, and rack-mount gear, and have better sound. This is the best value in any amp for the professional working musician. You can pay more for high end amps but you aren't going to get better sound and tone.

Only used Line 6 support for firmware update and to download additional effects. It was easy on a Mac.

Sex Appeal? Well it looks great and the ladies dance because my sound is so good.

Active Musician

Classic Rock/Country/Blues

Let me first off start by saying that this is not a tube amp. It models tube amps, but it is a solid state product. I've read dozens of reviews bemoaning the fact that it doesn't have the warmth and tone of tube. Because it's not nor does it cost the same as a tube amp. That being said, the sound is very good. It has a good low punch considering it has 10" instead of 12" which was a pleasant surprise. The various amp/cab models plus the EQ and effects gives you plenty of control over your sound. You can do just about anything with it you want. My only gripe is it does lean towards the highs when you turn the volume up.

For an all around multi-purpose amp, it has and does everything you need. Are they all the best? No, but they all work. While it is not included I would consider the MKII footswitch an essential not an option. It not only allows you to control amp features, but provides USB connectivity for the amp. This allows you to download patches and updates. Plus you can do the patch programming on your computer. Otherwise you will be programming with the knobs on the front. The effects are all very good. I suggest downloading the Infusion 2.0 package which gives you additional effects. As for the tuner, it is passable but I don't use it much. I have a Korg Pitch Black which is much easier. The LCD screen is a bit small for my taste but visibility is good. I don't like that the factory presets cannot be easily copied to the user slots for modification. They also cannot be accessed via the footcontroller. You have to use the Nintendo controls on the front of the amp.

They don't get much easier. I didn't read the manual at all until I wanted to edit patches. It is very straight forward for almost all of the common functions.

Very solid construction. No thin plywood on the sides. This thing is heavy! The MKII Shortboard is all metal and feels rock solid. I am impressed with the quality of the components. Even the plastic knobs feel well built.

If you want an amp that you can use for practice at home or with a band, this is it. It's portable and has plenty of features. More than loud enough for most purposes. I haven't needed to turn it up past 4 and can easily be heard over the drums and usually bury the other guitar player in my band. With the footswitch I spent around $600. For a comparable amp and multi-effect I would have spent a couple of hundred more.

Haven't had to call with issues. Online support is great. Plenty of information and a very good FAQ and forum. Plus you have the sound community who have 200+ more patches.

For me it was replacing a 20+ year old Crate 65w. It is a very good looking piece of equipment. No funny looking graphics or color schemes. Not that I don't like flashy for some things, but it's not needed here. It looks like pro gear and it works like pro gear.

Active Musician

Metal/Hard Rock

the sound quality is unbelievable, i mean really its like ur playing an actual tube or u have satriani's set up..u can tweak it to near perfection...love it.

had to buy the expression pedal for a bit extra but hey its an essential, the pedal is great for pitch bending and whah, the loop, the editing of effects parameters, the variety of distortions and clean tones..

its easy to figure out, just plug in and have a play with it...it blows u away. the knobs are excellently designed and very responsive.

for this price - amazing...some top range gear does not even stack up against this. its very sturdy and i can see it lasting along time, as long as you take care of your gear.

10 for value.

looks better than every other amp ive had and seen in the music stores.

professional musician, band director

all

20 + years, Epiphone les paul costume, Professionally

Rock, Metal

Been playing guitar for about 30 years on and off. Mainly jam at home.

Rock and Metal

I have been playing 30+ years. I play at home, jam with friends, and occasionally play at parties.

Rock, Blues, or anything I feel like playing.

do approx 100 shows a year, 32 years experience

country, rock, blues, gospel

All of the amp models are extremely high quality and sound amazing, more so when playing with others. Playing some of the heavier models practicing at home (Insane, in particular) I thought the models sounded king of lacking, but they fit just perfect jamming in a band. A couple of the models took a little tweaking to fit my liking, but it wasn't hard at all and the sound I have now is just perfect. The tones are great, and really I imagine I could get just about any sound I could want from this amp with some EQ tweaking. The effects sound great, I love the flanger and chorus effects, and the pitch glide can be an amazing tool with tweaking (more on that in features...) I've read that the reverb is a joke, but it gets the job done and I wouldn't say it's terribly bad. It's definitely not the best, but it's not horrible either and I use it now and then, it sounds fine. I haven't quite toyed with the Smart Harmony yet, but it sounds pretty decent. I don't use anything else with this amp, I just plug straight into it and play. It sounds amazing. It's way better than I would've expected, and all my band mates were equally impressed. And, I have a huge amount of volume to tap into for playing over the drummer when he gets loud and into the song. The only gripe I have as far as sound/volume goes is that in a live environment an FBV controller would make a world of difference just in having the ability to boost your volume to punctuate certain guitar parts. I haven't compared this to other amps, though. I needed an amp quickly (we have a couple local gigs coming up and I needed an amp fast!!) I have been using Line 6 for YEARS and they've always been faithful and reliable for what I do, I've never had a problem. So to me, this amp is perfect. For the price, I am just blown away at how amazing it sounds and how loud it can get. This amp could definitely suit any purpose. It's loud enough to play onstage, and you could play huge venues with this as nowadays they just mic your amps anyways. It's an amazing amp, I love it. But I give it a 9 because I suppose their are other amps out there that would sound better, but this amp is pretty close to perfect for me.

The amp does not include accessories, which sucks. I'm upgrading from a Pod XT Live plugged straight into a PA to this amp, so having to buy another pedal (I'm buying an FBV Shortboard MKII later this month) is kind of a pain, and I wish a basic foot switch could have been included. The most useful feature to me right now is the Pitch Glide. I don't yet have an FBV so I can't control it like a whammy yet, but I used the whammy on the Pod XTL a lot, and it kind of sucked on the XT because it couldn't track multiple notes. However, the Spider IV's pitch glide can track all six strings at once!! So, I use it as a drop tuner now and that alone just blows my mind because now I don't have to shell out another $200 on a Morpheus drop tune pedal. It tracks chords with no problem, none of that annoying, warbling noise like on previous pitch effects. Line 6 definitely did an amazing job with this effect. Least useful features, to me that would be the artist presets. I don't really care or have a desire to play the loaded artist presets. They're alright, but it's just not my thing and I hate that they take up 15 banks of space. ALSO, a big gripe I had here was that you only get one back (four slots: A, B, C, and D) to save your custom presets. Using an FBV apparently opens up dozens of empty banks. But still, just four slots to work with doesn't quite cut it for me, but I can't really change between them live without an FBV so it's a problem you can work around easily and it's not that big a deal for now, I suppose. But, the amps and effects are great, and I love them! Really, I love all the features of this amp.

To me, this amp was a no-brainer. I used to sit on my Pod XTL and would constantly tweak it all day long, so the controls on the amp are actually simplified and easier to use than the Pod XTL; they're really straight-forward. As far as tweaking the amps and tones, it's easy. Picking an amp model loads L6's preset EQ for it, but hitting manual lets you change models and EQ it yourself, though you can tweak your EQ even without setting manual. The EQ is relatively simple (drive, bass, mid, and treble) and in itself is simple to use. Effects, on the other hand, take a little more dedication to tweak them just the way you want. But again, after using the Pod XTL for years and years, editing the effects is easy. I suppose if you just know how you want it to sound and what to change, it's all there, you just need to get in and change it. It's not hard at all. But for the first couple days of owning it I did feel there was a little bit of a learning curve. I could get by just doing enough to make the models and effects work. But after sitting with it for over a week, I feel I've got it figured out. But I still feel this amp has a couple tricks up its sleeve. In a live situation, you're pretty well screwed if you need to change presets, unless their are breaks in the song that allow you to hit the amp's front panel. But obviously, as far as live goes, this amp was designed to be used with an FBV to get everything you want out of it. And I know that with an adequate FBV (like the Shortboard MKII) it will be an AMAZING tool. So, I gave Ease of Use an 8 because really an FBV WILL be needed to fully use all this amp has to offer in a live environment. At home practicing though, it's just fine; a 10 all the way.

The amp is very well made. It's solid and built like a tank, it's nice and heavy and sturdy. The leather is sweet, the controls are tight and secure, the amp jack is tight (I've had problems with these coming lose before, so this is nice.) The handle, however, is strong, but digs into my hand a bit when I'm carrying it upstairs, but that's the only thing I don't like about it. I've been using Line 6 for years and I'm really faithful in their products, so I can honestly say I depend on this amp. I take care of my gear, so I see this amp lasting me a LOOOONNGGG time. The only thing I ever worry about are the guys when they're around with drinks.

10. The best. I love it! I loved my Pod XTL to death and I was kind of sad I had to upgrade and leave my XTL behind. But after getting this amp and using it at home and with the band, I couldn't be happier. Essentially, it's like an upgrade to my Pod XTL put into a sweet, LOUD amplifier. Once I get the FBV this amp will be my dream come true and just be an amazing buy. To me, the value of this amp is a 10. For $400, this amp is just amazing. And I'll admit, I was nervous it wouldn't be loud enough before I bought it. But trust me, it is plenty loud. You'll never be in a situation where you could possibly need more volume (provided the soundboard techs no what they're doing) and to me that's awesome.

I've never had to deal with Line 6 because everything I have from them has lasted me for years with no problem at all. I have all my L6 gear (including this amp) under warranty though and I'm sure if I ever needed their help L6 would have me covered.

The "sex appeal" is high. This definitely is a sexy looking amp. My friend had a Spider III and I used to want that amp so bad, so when I found this amp it was definitely number one. I mean, look at it. It just looks sexy. And it sounds amazing! And it has PLENTY of volume and all the effects I'll ever need!

Active Musician, Instructor, Band Director

Indie, Rock, Hard Rock, Metal

This product sounds great. Prolly too much power for my apartment but that should only be temporary. The dual speakers provide great stereo necessary for some of the onboard effects.

This product is feature rich. It models 16 different amps and comes with hundreds of preset sounds. However, the product only came with a single page instruction manual which doesn't scratch the surface of what this amp can do and the headphone jack is on the back! You can get the advance manual on line but the headphone jack is a ridiculous flaw in design.

Took me about a day to fully understand and navigate the interface. Biggest issue was that the amp comes with basically a single page of instruction which merely goes over the front panel. I was annoyed when trying figure out the presets I accidently overrode some I liked.

Sturdy design as expected from line 6. Knobs seem a touch loose. This is only an issue when tweaking the interface. Sometimes due to vibrations the knobs will move just enough to takeover the screen while your trying to make adjustments.

Compared to several amps in a similar price range this definately has more bang for its buck. It imitates 16 amps and 9 fx. You do the math on how many amps you would and stomp boxes to achieve this. However, once you realize you need a FBV shortboard to really unlock the power of the amp it does get pricey but still at a value.

I haven't had issues yet that required me to speak with customer service but there website has been very informative and easy to get answers.

High sex appeal. The knobs look great. The thing lights up beautifully.