Still completely unimpressed with Line 6.

[ibanezjunkie]

so line 6 brought out that new Spider 4 series. Supposedly (SUPPOSEDLY) s big improvement on the older horrible Spider iiis. So i made a hasty trip down to machinehead to try them out so i could bring back news of them, and in my opinion, theyre worse.

The cleans are slightly improved from the IIIs but everything else is worse. The delay is way, WAY too deep and smothers the sound, the phaser and flanger sound like your guitar is throwing up. The overdrive still sounds brittle yet fake, and the distortion is either not enough ("metal" setting) or way, way too much (insane). Other than the cleans, the Spider 4 just sounds like a spider 3 with poor grounding and a new face plate. Although, the speaker in this one is better than in the spider III.

just a heads up to anyone eagerly awaiting them in their area.

[Spudman***]

How much time did you spend with it? Everything you mentioned is completely editable. If you just scrolled through some factory presets then of course you are not going to be impressed. Their products come alive when you take time to make your own settings.

[ibanezjunkie]

i tweaked and tweaked everything. i really wanted it to sound good. seems spiders still arent any good.

maybe the Spider V will be better.

[Lev]

Line6 do make some fantastic products, M13, gear box, toneport, variax etc. I wouln't judge the whole company based on a try out of a spider amp.

[hubberjub***]

It took me a long time to warm up to Line 6. I have never been impressed with their amplifiers but I love Amp Farm for cutting demos. I also have both an MM-4 and FM-4 on my pedal board. Come to think of it I have a Variax bass that I use for recording demos as well. I must agree with Spud. I'm sure most of the presets that come on the amp are layered with effects to show off all the sounds in the amp. The Spider is their entry level amplifier. It's not a high end piece of equipment.

[SuperSwede]

All modelers/multi-fx processors needs to be tweaked. Presets usually suck so start over in manual mode and dial in the sound YOU like (probably a lot different than the sound in my head, or in the head of the preset guy at line6).

[Plank_Spanker]

so line 6 brought out that new Spider 4 series. Supposedly (SUPPOSEDLY) s big improvement on the older horrible Spider iiis. So i made a hasty trip down to machinehead to try them out so i could bring back news of them, and in my opinion, theyre worse.

The cleans are slightly improved from the IIIs but everything else is worse. The delay is way, WAY too deep and smothers the sound, the phaser and flanger sound like your guitar is throwing up. The overdrive still sounds brittle yet fake, and the distortion is either not enough ("metal" setting) or way, way too much (insane). Other than the cleans, the Spider 4 just sounds like a spider 3 with poor grounding and a new face plate. Although, the speaker in this one is better than in the spider III.

just a heads up to anyone eagerly awaiting them in their area.

I'm going to make some folks mad here..............................


Line 6, as innovative as they are, are still bush league with the modeling. I've heard some amazing recordings done with Line 6 gear, but I have yet to hear anything live from Line 6 that is less than a "can of bees" or just "buzz" on the the distorted models........................and it all gets lost in the mix.

Not pimping, but just a very convinced user:

If you seek a modeler that actually delivers the goods - great clean giving way to sweet distortion with a twist of the guitar's volume, thick overdrives that sound and play like the real thing, punch galore in the mix, and infinitely tweakable parameters........................................ ..........Fractal Audio's Axe FX.

It's the real deal in modeling.

[Spudman***]

Hey Plank

If you want to hear what Line 6 can really sound like then check out the audio clips here http://www.ayreon.com/ayreon/ay_albums.html.

Click on an album and scroll down to the audio. All electric guitars are done with a Pod Pro on every album.

The past Porcupine Tree albums Deadwing and In Absentia both have Pod guitars. http://www.myspace.com/porcupinetree

Todd Rundgren's latest album Arena was all done with a Pod. Listen to Courage and Mountaintop. http://www.myspace.com/toddrundgrenmusic

But, yes, often times Line 6 gear sounds crummy until you tweak it. Just like the Axe FX the Pod etc from Line 6 have a lot of parameters than can be changed to get some great sounds. You just have to twist some knobs.

[SuperSwede]

Here is some mp3 samples what a well tweaked PodXT + Strat can sound like.. it sure sounds authentic to my ears

http://www.robtognoni.com/line6.htm

[Spudman***]

Here is some mp3 samples what a well tweaked PodXT + Strat can sound like.. it sure sounds authentic to my ears

http://www.robtognoni.com/line6.htm

That's pretty cool. For a long time Rob was a Behringer guy. Those POD sounds are good.

[ibanezjunkie]

i do use a floor pod modelling occasionally, although i try to avoid the drives and distortions because theyre amazingly noisy, i just keep it set to 'no model' more and have the fx on/off mode engaged rather than toggling presets.

noisegate is useful too.

[Plank_Spanker]

Hey Plank

If you want to hear what Line 6 can really sound like then check out the audio clips here http://www.ayreon.com/ayreon/ay_albums.html.

Click on an album and scroll down to the audio. All electric guitars are done with a Pod Pro on every album.

The past Porcupine Tree albums Deadwing and In Absentia both have Pod guitars. http://www.myspace.com/porcupinetree

Todd Rundgren's latest album Arena was all done with a Pod. Listen to Courage and Mountaintop. http://www.myspace.com/toddrundgrenmusic

But, yes, often times Line 6 gear sounds crummy until you tweak it. Just like the Axe FX the Pod etc from Line 6 have a lot of parameters than can be changed to get some great sounds. You just have to twist some knobs.

Spud, my experience with Line 6 gear is a Pocket Pod I own (love it for headphone practice!) and a Vetta head I borrowed for a few gigs. I definitely agree that you have to tweak the patches on every modeler. I preached that for years when I was using my Johnson Millenniums for gigs. I also agree that Line 6 gear records superbly. My issue with Line 6 comes with live sound. The clean models have some punch and authority, but the distorted models lack balls and punch - some are just a can of bees, and I could not tweak in the punch or keep it from getting buried in the mix (mic'ed the cab). My other beef with Line 6 and most every other modelers I've tried is that there is no touch response. The models are full on all of the time, and you can't dial back the volume to clean a patch up.

I'm really not bagging on Line 6, nor am I an Axe FX blind loyal fanboy. My experience with the Axe FX has relegated my Johnsons to the bench along with any Line 6 thoughts I might have entertained. It's like going from a Yugo to a BMW.

[Spudman***]

I also agree that Line 6 gear records superbly. My issue with Line 6 comes with live sound. The clean models have some punch and authority, but the distorted models lack balls and punch - some are just a can of bees, and I could not tweak in the punch or keep it from getting buried in the mix (mic'ed the cab).

Ya, some of the live things are not that good. I've noticed that with the Digitech GSP1101 as well. Queensryche is using them instead of amps now and there isn't any presence in the distorted patches but the clean patches sound really good live.

[sumitomo]

I really didn't think much of Line 6,Then I heard Arlo West and found out he uses a Flextone and has for a long time well all I can say is he found he's tone and it sounds good to me.I'm sure as the others have said he played and tweaked until he got what he likes.Sumi

[Plank_Spanker]

Ya, some of the live things are not that good. I've noticed that with the Digitech GSP1101 as well. Queensryche is using them instead of amps now and there isn't any presence in the distorted patches but the clean patches sound really good live.

I'll bet good money that Queensryche is DI'ing the gear to the desk and using FRFR monitors live.........................but you're talking big money pro audio here.

[Spudman***]

I'll bet good money that Queensryche is DI'ing the gear to the desk and using FRFR monitors live.........................but you're talking big money pro audio here.

They are DI to the desk but what is FRFR? They are using in IEMs.

I really didn't think much of Line 6,Then I heard Arlo West and found out he uses a Flextone and has for a long time well all I can say is he found he's tone and it sounds good to me.I'm sure as the others have said he played and tweaked until he got what he likes.Sumi

Steve Howe has been using a Line 6 amp live for sometime now too.

[bedroom rocker]

or maybe you just dont know how to tweak the spiders to make them sound good. i dont give a crap if people say 'the presets are crap', some are, some are not. it depends on either what you like, or what you like should sound like.... ive got a spider III 210, and im impressed on the tweakability that i can do to make standard settings sound more like my own sound, frankly, you shouldnt be giving line 6 the thumbs down just because of your own experiences. remember that that every guitarist has their own liking, and not every guitarist here believes in amps being the problem to our sound :

[TS808]

so line 6 brought out that new Spider 4 series. Supposedly (SUPPOSEDLY) s big improvement on the older horrible Spider iiis. So i made a hasty trip down to machinehead to try them out so i could bring back news of them, and in my opinion, theyre worse.

The cleans are slightly improved from the IIIs but everything else is worse. The delay is way, WAY too deep and smothers the sound, the phaser and flanger sound like your guitar is throwing up. The overdrive still sounds brittle yet fake, and the distortion is either not enough ("metal" setting) or way, way too much (insane). Other than the cleans, the Spider 4 just sounds like a spider 3 with poor grounding and a new face plate. Although, the speaker in this one is better than in the spider III.

just a heads up to anyone eagerly awaiting them in their area.

Are there any amps that you DO like? Seriously, everytime I see one of your reviews or opinions on an amp, it's always negative.

[mrmudcat]

or maybe you just dont know how to tweak the spiders to make them sound good. i dont give a crap if people say 'the presets are crap', some are, some are not. it depends on either what you like, or what you like should sound like.... ive got a spider III 210, and im impressed on the tweakability that i can do to make standard settings sound more like my own sound, frankly, you shouldnt be giving line 6 the thumbs down just because of your own experiences. remember that that every guitarist has their own liking, and not every guitarist here believes in amps being the problem to our sound :

This is one reason why we have forums for good and bad opinion on products based on ones own experiences,just like you voiced yours.This forum is a very friendly nonconfrontational type of forum unlike most brother.That is my own opinion.: Lets try to be respectful when voicing our own, brothers and sisters.If we dont we loose the magic we share here

I only used your quote as a stepping stone reminder to newer members not as a specific spotlight on you or your post.Thank you