Members JCcares Posted June 24, 2017 Members Share Posted June 24, 2017 My experience with Tube amps is very limited.I have been enjoying my PODs most of the time.I have used my Line 6 Spider Valve 112 only a few times for an overall 20 hours probably.Right from the time I remember ,some of the distorted tones feel wobbly ,flabby,fizzy & lacking sustain & tightness.Some tones have great sustain but some of them sound highly compressed too.I was hoping to attach a sound clip here but it looks like M4a doesn't work on this site.Is this normal for tube amps ? Any cure? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted June 24, 2017 Members Share Posted June 24, 2017 What guitar and pickup combinations are you using and how much distortion? I've found that often people use more gain than required. Start from just breaking up and go slowly up from there. There's a nice sweet spot where it's got drive, but is still clear and defined. Often this sounds "heavier" than just diming the gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted June 24, 2017 Members Share Posted June 24, 2017 Edit the tones. Some factory tones sound great, others suck. Edit them, and make them your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted June 24, 2017 Members Share Posted June 24, 2017 Hate to say it, but, part of the problem is most likely the Line 6 part of the equation. The Spider Valve is a little better than any with Roman numerals in the name. Ditch the pod while using the valve, at least for any distorted effects - pod distortion is always fizzy, dial back the drive, as Grant said, and increase slowly. Insane usually doesn't sound good at any audible above bedroom level volume, so maybe try between crunch and metal. Maybe try Drive at 2 o'clock, presence around 4:30, bass 11:30-12:30, mids 2:30, treble 3:30 - 4 o'clock, Hi Gain or Metal channel. Tweak from there. What guitar, pickups, pedals, etc are running in front of the valve? Not a huge thing, the preamp of the spider valve is going to color anything you throw in front of it, but may help in determining the exact nature of your problem. Raising your pickups may help, trying to pick closer to the bridge can brighten, increase crunch, and tighten the overall tone - closer to the neck darkens, lessens crunch, loosens the sound. Unfortunately, you're first impression of a tube amp may be negative, but believe me, it's just the line 6, and not inherent to all tube amps. You would probably be better served to run a metal muff in front of the clean channel. Even Line 6 can do a decent clean channel. Sorry for all the Line 6 bashing, they do decent effects, just not distortion, or any really killer metal tones. Good luck!PS - the 'typical' bedroom metal player dimes the bass and treble, dumps the mids, and cranks the drive. Dialing back the drive, bringing up the mids, lowering the bass, backing off the treble a little, and presence should tighten it up and make less 'angry bees' tone. The presence is too high if, when you release the strings, you get high pitched feedback, back it off a little, to where it just quits. That's your sweet spot. Same with drive - full on = mud, colored with the EQ, back it off until you can cleanly hear sixteenth notes on the top string (low e if in standard tuning) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted June 24, 2017 Members Share Posted June 24, 2017 Agreed - dimed gain only sounds decent at low volumes, like barely audible 'i live in n apartment' volume. Anything more and it just miss and prevents you from cutting through Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted June 24, 2017 Members Share Posted June 24, 2017 You may be trying to play music that amp simply can't reach. I don't like Joe Bonamassa but this is a good teaching video when it comes to achieving basic sounds from a tube amp. Ditch the pedals and sound effect and see if you can get these from your rig guitar straight into the amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JCcares Posted June 25, 2017 Author Members Share Posted June 25, 2017 Thanks guys for the awesome response.on the demo (which I am unable to upload here unfortunately) I was using an Ibanez guitar with Dimarzio humbucker pickups that rock.As you mentioned it must be the poor quality of the built in distortion or drive which sounds fluttery & oscillating between the frequencies.Some strings sustain for long & some die out almost like a vibrato effect on it. This happens on some presets & not all .I have posted a m4a clip on https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-m...zzy-loose.html I've been playing for many years on Solid state amps & use Scuffham ,Bias & other plugins for recording with top notch stomp boxes.I haven't been using Spider valve for a long time due to it's high volume level.I now got myself an attenuator to use with the amp. Take a listen to this youtube video. Is this a nice distortion sound? Hmmm I don't think. The first 3 strings sound nice on leads but the bass strings sounds like a dirty distortion as if the speakers are torn.Not a warm tight sound that evenly sustains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted June 25, 2017 Members Share Posted June 25, 2017 I have to agree with Hellion on this. It's all the digital crap getting in the way of itself. As a rule, I don't like modeling amps, and to create a hybrid amp like they did.... goes to show that not all ideas are good ones. I think in the long run,. you'll end up selling it, and getting a pure tuber. So it may be worthwhile to check the local stores, and see what's available in your price range, and consider possibly trading or selling the Line 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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