Line 6 Spider V 240HC 240W Head with Built-In Speakers Black

Good for sitting at your computer learning new songs so you don't burn up your tube amp. The sounds are getting better but you can still hear the amps inefficiency on certain settings while playing.

This is my 3rd Spider amp: had a Spider IV 75, then the Spider IV HD 150 and now the Spider V 240HC. The Spider V, compared to the Spider IV reduces the number of knobs you have to turn, and allows you to put up to 3 FX in any order + Compression and Reverb. All of the sounds you created on the Spider IV can be created on the Spider V 240HC. The inclusion of the relay G10 wireless makes connecting your guitar easy (remember if you have active pickups or a sustain to connect an elbow connector first). The Spider V Remote (available for Mac/PC/iPhone/iPad/Android) makes it easy to edit and upload and download your sound effects to the Line 6 cloud. Loops are done with one button. You can even preview what a sound FX is like with a few very short built in sound loops without ever plugging in your guitar. Because the 240HC has its own speaker, you can use it without a cabinet for quiet practice, but I would recommend getting one, because the sound is much fuller with it. In addition to a line in for the guitar the line out on the right hand side can be configured as a line out for recording or for plugging in headphones. I only wish it had bluetooth or a near field connector (or both) for my phone so that I didn't have to connect a USB cable to upload and download sound FX.

I played this at the store then, liked it. Then I took it home and played with it for hours, and I got great tones. But this modeling amp is just not good enough to get great High gain tones. You can literally hear the beeping noises from the computer processing the sounds. I returned it and Got the EVH 5150 Mk III and got the great modern metal tone I was looking for. Don't get me wrong though if you wanna use this for Blues, Jazz, Cleans, maybe even a little rock, it's great. For metal, pass on it...

At first I was a little disappointed with the pre sets, they stink, I play a Gibson Les Paul and have a Mesa 4x12, anything sounds good through it, but these pre sets are whacked. BUT it was very easy to build a patch from scratch, start with an amp, til you find the one you like, then distortion pedals until you come close to what you are looking for then tweak those settings for the distortion and amp, until you think it is just right. I made 4 pre sets that are all just various distortions right now, next time I sit with it, I will work on those until I land on "The one" or possibly two, that I will keep, then I can build a solo patch, same as my distortion just add reverb and some delay, maybe a little chorus. Then I will build a clean so in the end I want to have my main distortion, my main clean, a solo patch with slight fx a little wetter than my base, and then who knows. After messing with the patches for a bit and getting a little tired, I decided to take a break and run the drum loops, that is awesome, what a cool way to practice and write. The long and short of it is the pre sets suck, bad, but you can tweak them really easily and get great tone for your particular cab and guitar, just be patient and dont worry if you cant find a pre set that you really like.

I have been using Line 6 amps for my home recording studio for almost twenty years and this is the best version yet. The preset tones are better than ever, especially for the metal type sounds which is basically all I use. The little built in speakers work fine for recording using the XLR outputs but I have it plugged into a Marshall 1960B cabinet and it sounds awesome, best all around metal tone I have ever gotten from any amp. Navigating the editing parameters is much easier and intuitive on the new Line 6 V series.

I have been using Line 6 amps for recording and gigs for almost 20 years. The Spider V 240hc is a powerful, great sounding amp. It has everything I need and a lot more. Another Lime 6 home run.