Line 6 Spider II 30??? (long)

[Gord K.]

I have some back pay burning a hole in my pocket and have decided I will treat myself to a store bought solid state amp. I am a bedroom/basement player for my own enjoyment (and the agony of anyone else in the house at the time) so I don't need gig or stage volume. I am looking for something in the 25 to 40 watt range and have set myself a budget of around $300 Cdn. I attempt to play a variety of styles of music but predominantly jazz based chord melody stuff through the home built thinline tele in my avatar.

Based on local availability, I have narrowed my focus down to the Fender Frontman 25 ($229), the Peavey Envoy II ($269), and the Behringer Vintager GM110 ($170). The Fender is a Fender. It gets okay reviews both here and on Harmony Central. Likewise the Peavey, although reports are you just can't kill them, they seem to last forever. The Behringer gets great reviews from the folks here that have them and you can't beat the features to price ratio. The downside is that on Harmony Central I would estimate around 10 percent of the reviews indicate problems of varying degrees from rattles to flat out dead amps after a few weeks.

I stopped by the local Long & McQuade store today just to see what they had sitting on display and there it was, the Line 6 Spider II 30. It's a solid state 30 watt amp with a single 12" speaker. I don't remember all the technical features but at $240 it is within my price range.

Does anyone here have any experience with this model? I plan to take my guitar and try a couple of amps before I buy one but I was wondering if anyone has tried out this amp yet.

Thanks.

Gord.

 

[bluescube]

I kina like the Roland Cube30

 

[Joe-Bob]

Also try out the Vox AD30VT.

 

[jwz]

Vox AD30VT

I "happened upon" an AD30VT when they first came out. For the price & what it is, it does a great job.
Replaced the speaker with an old Celestion Vin 10. Sounds legitimate.
It now proudly goes where my vintage gear wont.

 

[Oskar]

I'd check out the Vox line as well.

I have a Vox AD60VT combo & a AD60VTH pushing a Vox 2x12 cabinet. These are excellent amps, easy to use and very good sounds. They are also quite versatile. I have played the AD50 or AD15, but have heard nothing but good things about them. You should check 'em out.

 

[simonc]

line6 spider 2

DONT GET THAT AMP!!!

I bought the 120w 2x12 flavour of this amp, and I gotta tell you, the honeymoon was great, but the effects suck, there is no speed/depth controls, ,once they are on you know theyre on.The chorus is horrible, and makes the guitar sound out of tune...the knobs are hard to turn one day, the next theyre not etc etc.I must stress that it seemd as though itd fit my needs very well when I bought it, but six months later, it was the most fake sounding amp I think I have heard.

Check out the Marshall mg30dfx, much nicer sounding effects, and a similar price I think.I recently traded my line6 in in a H&K club reverb, this is an excellent amp, but a bit more pricey I think, the marshalls I tried out were good too (MG50dfx).

Good luck!

 

[el_extranjero]

Line 6

I've had a Pod and a Line 6 twin (I can't remember which) both of which i returned during the 30 day GC period. The amp started buzzing and the Pod was just a pain in the ass (too complex).

If you're a gear guy ok, I'm just NOT an effects guy. I've got an ME50 Boss unit that I don't use. I go Tele/Cord/Tubes.

I would suggest you consider (as elsewhere mentioned) either the standard jazz box (Roland Cube) or a small tube amp. For that money you could get a real fine Peavey Classic 30! Maybe a Blues Junior. Both of these are amps that will still be playing in 50 years (witness the early Champs...). Additionally, you can 'tune' (or repair) them yourself with different tubes VERY easily. If that SS crap blows, take a hike buddy.

I've got a Pro Junior which is similar in design and power to the Peavey Classic 20. I love it, but it doesn't have enough headroom for jazz it starts breaking up before it even gets loud in my SMALL music room through my archtop. The C30 or Blues Jr should be great and you can tune them to your tastes with tubes and speakers over the years.

If you just MUST have a SS job, I'd go for one that's so cheap you don't care about a warranty or one that's been around for a while so it's easy to find parts. Line 6 has been changing their models TOO frequently for me!

Another option is to look on eBay for old Peavey Studio Pro's, Bandits, etc. they're great, RUGGED amps and are mucho cheapo!

Although I think Line 6 is doing some REALLY cool stuff, they're fine for artists that can afford to have spares, I'd steer clear of them if you're on a budget.

 

[bluescube]

A couple good cheap amps:

Roland Bluescube 30 $199 at MF. Good blues amp. Fendery clean channel (will go into good overdrive cranked) and a DS-1 like lead channel.

Roland Cube30 $225 at MF. Digital modelling amp. Good sounds.

Pignose G40V $220 at MF. Tube amp based on fender bassman circuit. Needs better tubes than stock.

 

[4mal]

Used Blues Junior Pro Junior should just squeak in your budget. I'd do that and stay away from Solid State. Having said that, my wife and I bought the latest generation Spider for our 13 yr old niece. She loves the thing. Needless to say, we have somewhat different tastes in music ... You will be happier in the long run with a tube amp. They just 'feel' better to most of us.

 

[Gord K.]

Thanks guys.

I appreciate the feedback. I made some phone calls this morning to go and have a listen to some amps but...

One store is out of stock of both the Vox AD30VT and Line 6 Spider. I really liked the Vox on-line sound clips and was less than impressed with the Line 6.

Another store has the Roland Cube 30 but at $349 plus tax it's out of the price range I had set for myself.

A third store is out of stock of both the Fender Frontman 25 and the Peavey Envoy.

One salesman I spoke to suggested the 10W Crate VC508 even though I specifically said I was looking for a solid state amp in the 25 to 40 W range (and I know that the Crate is only 5W, not 10). He does have the Behringer GM110 which I've read here is great value for the price. Most of the reviews on Harmony Central have been favourable, but there have been some quality issues and other serious problems that have taken this amp off my list. I just don't need the hassles.

Ebay is not really an option for the amount I want to spend. The amp, shipping and handling, duty and taxes for $300 Cdn. Not going to get much.

I think some of you mentioned amps and prices from Musicians Friend. I don't think they ship to Canada to they?

Maybe I'll cool my heels until after the Christmas rush and work on finishing up the 5E3 I'm building. (I already have a couple of home-made tube amps but thought I would treat myself to a ss amp with some of my backpay).

Cheers, and thanks again for the feedback.

Gord.