• Extremely Versatile Amp

  

  As reviewed by Slick Rhoads on 8/11/2008

  I?ve had the amp for three weeks now, even played a show with it. Here are some random thoughts on this tasty beastie: 1) As far as an all-in-one-jobbie, I?m not sure you could find anything better than this for the price. It?s loud, is a tube amp, has a TON of presets in it you can tweak to make your own sounds, has decent effects, and costs WAY less than many other 2x12? combos. 2) I LOVE how you can choose a preset, modify things you don?t like, and then save all the changes to one of the reserved 36 user presets. 3) I personally think the FBV shortboard is a must for this product ? especially if you plan on using it live. 4) I?m not really sure why some people are ragging on this amp. This amp sounds great. Everyone except total sound freaks will also think it sounds good. If you are looking for one particular sound, go buy the amp that gives you that sound. I wanted more versatility. 5) My Mesa Mark IV kills this thing as far as pure gutsy tone, but it also cost $1500 when I bought it (1997) ? and that?s just for the head. And, unless you want to spend time dialing-in the Mark IV, you could end up with a crappy tone anyway. I also have to run external effects (in addition to the footswitch that comes with the head). This Line 6 amp gives you really good (not great) sounds right out of the box. Now, let me talk about two things that were unclear and/or not mentioned in the user?s manual. First, EVERY PRESET CHANNEL HAS ITS? OWN VOLUME LEVEL. This means if you switch between channels at even a moderate volume setting, you WILL peal the paint off your wall (seriously, turn the master all the way down when switching preset channels). I had to do some reading in the Line 6 forums to realize this is just the way the amp is. I thought something was wrong with mine when I got it. Second, when you?re trying to see what the preset channels are configure to (what the artist set things like gain, mids, bass, etc to), you need to press and hold the ?Tap? button and turn the amp model within 2 seconds or the tuner will kick in (and then keep holding after that). I actually had to see someone do this before it made sense to me.

  19 of 19 people found this review helpful.

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• Thank You Line 6 for the Spider Valve 212

  

  As reviewed by Kurt on 1/10/2008

  I?ve had my Spider Valve 212 for about 10 weeks now & I think this amp is simply fantastic. I?m able to dial in scores of terrific sounds with minimal effort. Both clean & overdriven tones on this amp are amazing. A lot of the preset patches are really nice too. I am most surprised at the output volume of this baby. It?s one of the loudest 40 watt amps I?ve ever heard. I?m currently playing a Carvin DC400 through the amp via a Nady wireless unit. I also sometimes use a Danelectro Cool Cat chorus. I couldn?t be happier with this setup. Finally, the amp seems very well built with high quality components & some very nice attention to detail. As far as reliability goes, only time will tell & I?m hoping it will hold up well. I highly recommend this amp. It?s versatile, fairly priced, easy to transport, & it sounds awesome.

  12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

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• Amazing versatility, great sound!

  

  As reviewed by TehMonkey on 12/15/2008

  I've owned this amp for a while now and can honestly say that it is one of the better amps I've played. I first tried this amp while looking for a new guitar. The clerk at the shop told me to try this amp. Initially I didn't want to because it was a Line 6 but after a few minutes with it I realized how good it is. The 6 different amp models (each with two modes) and the built in effects give you a lot to choose from. I play mostly death metal and this amp definitely has enough gain to do the job. I use the green metal channel with the gain set about 3/4 (it also has a built in gain boost which you probably won't need). I've tweaked one of the existing presets to give myself a Behemoth sound (off their Demigod album, The Apostasy has more mids but I'm sure i could also dial that one in). The two speakers give a really nice bottom end chug that the 112 doesn't have. As with all tube amps, to get an optimal sound, you have to turn the volume up. All in all, a very good amp. If you are leery about trying this amp because it is a Line 6 and you think it'll only mimic the tone you want, you'll be pleasantly supprised as the tubes really shine. Definitely worth checking out.

  3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

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