It's Official ... Spider Valve 100w Head is BAD ASS! (initial amp review)

[metalfanat1c]

What I find ironic is the same people that diss the Spider III series praise this series, when it's the same damn preamp. It can't sound all that much different.

 

I liked the Spider III, btw. Not the high gain shit which would naturally be better through a tube poweramp, but the cleans & light crunch.

[HKSblade1]

 

Yea I think if they charged more for it people would be more likely to give it a little more consideration.... some folks automatically assume that anything with a smaller pricetag is just "cheap junk". I (for one) however, am glad that they kept the price very reasonable and now the less fortunate and the younger generation of guitarists will be able to buy a real amp at a more affordable price! Now we'll see how it holds up over time and how reliable it is.... I'm very optimistic though, the amp seems as though it was built very well and it seems like it will turn out to be very durable. I don't abuse my equipment though so I will never be testing just how durable it is for gigging/touring regularly.

 

 

HNAD

 

I'm just not big on mixing Compurterzz with amps and reliability. I'd personally get a extended warranty?

 

My mates Vetta f'd him up out of warranty. It was liek $400 for a new board. has the JVM now.

[xbryanx]

i think the concept of this is a really great idea, but im not sure im ready to make the jump into this strange world

[Leftty]

I thought about the head but got the 1x12 combo instead. I already have a Vetta head and 2x12 cab so a 1x12 for jams seemed better for me. So far I like the amp but I can

[OverDriven]

What I find ironic is the same people that diss the Spider III series praise this series, when it's the same damn preamp. It can't sound all that much different. I liked the Spider III, btw. Not the high gain shit which would naturally be better through a tube poweramp, but the cleans & light crunch.

 

Jesus christ what a n00b! You really don't understand that an all tube power amp can make a huge difference?

[WakeTheDead]

BUMP:

 

This head ROCKS!

[vrm]

i want to try one.

[A.Pulverizer]

I tried one and didn't like it at all. If you like it, great. But I aint buying what they're selling.

[buddaweiser]

I bought one.... wasn't planning on it but I did! It's a great sounding amp. I've had a Laney VH100R, Pod Pro with a tube PWR amp, VHT, Budda SD80, Mesa, Marshall, Rocktron Prophecy, plenty more...... I now have a Hi gain Hiwatt amp, a Vox AC 30 and an Orange Rockerverb 50. All great amps...... but the Spider Valve holds up with them.

I can understanding people not liking them but some of these reviews are crazy low...... there is no way you can give this amp a 1 or 2 in sound no matter what amp is your favorite because this amp is extremely diverse. I've been playing for about a 100 years now.... everyone in my cover band things the amp sounds awesome.

Yea there are some limits with tweaking but if you are really into your effects it does have a loop.

The build quality is very good. This isn't just a recycled POD. Put in a different set of Preamp tubes or power tubes and you can change the flavor of the sound just like you can with any other tube amp.

I put in some Tung sol's took out the grainy Chinese 12AX7's and I was set!

Cabinets are important. So far my favorite set up is using a closed back 212 cabinet with vintage 30's and open back 212 with GTK100's.... Man.... this amp kicks all kinds of ass.

BTW I played the combo but I just didn't think it sounded as good. IMHO

[boatlights]

Is it too loud for a bedroom setting?

 

I really want one, but if it's something that will give me hearing damage at volume 1, it's not gonna happen. Maybe I should go with the combo? I hear that has worse sound, though.

[WakeTheDead]

 

Is it too loud for a bedroom setting? I really want one, but if it's something that will give me hearing damage at volume 1, it's not gonna happen. Maybe I should go with the combo? I hear that has worse sound, though.

 

 

Don't get the combo... if you ever play the head later on you will regret getting the combo.

 

The head is very, very "low volume friendly" and sounds great at very very low volumes.

 

I play mine in the same room with my wife asleep and it is no problem at all.

 

It will also get very loud ........if you need the volume!

 

The gain that this amp has is unbelieveable also, you don't need any boost with this head.

[boatlights]

 

Don't get the combo... if you ever play the head later on you will regret getting the combo. The head is very, very "low volume friendly" and sounds great at very very low volumes. I play mine in the same room with my wife asleep and it is no problem at all. It will also get very loud ........if you need the volume! The gain that this amp has is unbelieveable also, you don't need any boost with this head.

 

 

Thanks. Can you recommend a good cab for it? I'd prefer a 2x12. Just trying to keep the cab below buying the $700 line6 ones.

[Brick]

Thanks. Can you recommend a good cab for it? I'd prefer a 2x12. Just trying to keep the cab below buying the $700 line6 ones.

 

www.avatarspeakers.com

thank me later

[draggboy]

post some clips if you get a chance, i would like to see how yours sounds. the other guitarist in my band has had one for a while and he's always tweaking it but i still haven't heard anything i liked out of it. it still sounds really solid state to me. i think this amp has a lot of people confused, thinking it's sounds is "all tube". yes it has tubes, but it doesn't get it's tone naturally. it has the solid state modeler that decides the tone, then it runs it through the tubes, but that doesn't mean the tubes make the tone, it just means the modeler was run through tubes instead of a solid state power amp. it's probably the equivalent of running a pod through a clean tube amp. your gain is coming from the modeler, not multiple tubes overdriving each other.

 

it's a nice idea but i think it would've been better to at least let the distortion be natural and just have the digital effects.

[WakeTheDead]

I use a Mesa 2x12 3/4 closed back with C-90 Black Shadows with this head and it sounds great.

 

I have also tried it through my Marshall 1960 cab with G12T-75's and with my other Mesa 4x12 with V-30's and I think the best tone was found using the Mesa 2x12 with C-90's (3/4 open back cab).

 

This head is not that wide so you don't need a 30" wide 2x12 cab (such as a Mesa Rectifier cab).... it sits nicely atop a cab that is only 26" wide (as is the Mesa 3/4 back 2x12 cab).

 

Cabs such as these can be had on e-bay for pretty cheap.

[WakeTheDead]

 

post some clips if you get a chance, i would like to see how yours sounds. the other guitarist in my band has had one for a while and he's always tweaking it but i still haven't heard anything i liked out of it. it still sounds really solid state to me. i think this amp has a lot of people confused, thinking it's sounds is "all tube". yes it has tubes, but it doesn't get it's tone naturally. it has the solid state modeler that decides the tone, then it runs it through the tubes, but that doesn't mean the tubes make the tone, it just means the modeler was run through tubes instead of a solid state power amp. it's probably the equivalent of running a pod through a clean tube amp. your gain is coming from the modeler, not multiple tubes overdriving each other. it's a nice idea but i think it would've been better to at least let the distortion be natural and just have the digital effects.

 

 

I don't have a mic or any recording eqip. right now but I am looking into getting some soon so I can post up some clips.

 

I have a Mesa Mark IV, a Marshall JVM410H and a JCM800 (1984 model 100w head) and I prefer the tone from the SV head over the Mesa and the JCM800 (I do like the JVM alot though).

 

Of course if someone didn't know how to dial in his own tones and used just the factory presets I think that would turn out to be a little disappointing.

 

I had no trouble dialing in some fine sounding tones and saving them for daily use. I just don't hear the whole "solid state" sound coming out of this amp... unless of course you use the {censored}ty on-board effects.

[WakeTheDead]

BTW did your other guitarist have the head or the combo?

 

I have heard from those that own both and from those that have traded up for the head and they have all said that there is no comparison between the head and the combos..... FWIW

[WakeTheDead]

Here's an interesting review (from someone else) which I have to agree with. Bottom line is don't consider or even play the combo version. Try the HD100 HEAD through a good cab!

 

 

I have owned more guitar rigs than most music stored will ever carry. It is really rediculous. Mesa Triple Rec, marshall DSLs, Peavey JSX, Full Marshall Tube Racks, Peavey Tube Racks, Vox AC-30, Fender Super Reverbs, Fender Twin Reverbs, Crate V series Tube amps.

 

The last few years, reguardless of image or ego, I have beem running a digital modeling preamp (Behringer V-Amp Pro) through a tube power amp, and I constantly experement with Tube Bias, EL-34s and 6L6s. I have found a rig like this to be so versitle and genuinlly awesome sounding that I wondered why someone had not put something like this into production.

 

Most production modeling amps are typically a solid state transistor power section, which as we all know, will clip when cranked and end up sounding bad. But if you support a digital preamp with a tube power amp, you get added color, and enough true unclipped power to knock the auctience into next week while still keeping the tone sharp.

 

Once I heard that Bogner and Line 6 had teamed up to come out with such an amp, I thought my prayers were answered.

 

When they first came out, the music store close to me only had the Combo units, which are open back. I tried one out for a half hour and it was the most disappointing half hour of my life. I was bummed that it did not sound better. I wrote the amp off.

 

Then a friend bought the HEAD version. He brought it over and we plugged it into my cab (G12T-75s). Within 10 minutes my jaw was on the floor. The tone is killer, and stays tight.

 

Then I looked over and saw that master volume was only at 2. We ran it up to 4 and I was astonished at how unbelievably loud the amp got, while still keeping the sound tight like a tube amp should.

 

The Bogner power section in this amp hits you in your chest hard, much harder than my current Peavey JSX head. So, regardless of image, if you are looking for something that will knock your socks off, have a look at the Spider Valve Head.

 

I really look forward to my next encounter and I am already debating which one of my high end tube amps to sell so I can get one of these.

 

It is a shame that the tube purist out there will never give this amp a try, they will be missing out.

 

But just like legendary amps of the past, if something is that good, eventually the word will get out, and I do think in a few years, you will see the Line6/Bogner head on many stages. Really sweet.

 

I have run my Line6 POD XT LIVE over several different tube amps, and it was sweet, but this amp sounds better and less compressed and digital.

 

Whatever Line 6 and Bogner did to marry the DSP to a tube amp worked. I'm really excited to see this released and hopefully now more people will benefit from digital preamp designs. END OF REVIEW

 

 

Well, I was/am a tube purist and I love this amp (head version that is).

[Elric]

 

Yea I think if they charged more for it people would be more likely to give it a little more consideration.... some folks automatically assume that anything with a smaller pricetag is just "cheap junk".

 

 

To be honest I think putting "Spider" in the name was the worst possible mistake they could have made, much more so than the pricing, etc. Unless they are planning a Flex Valve and Vetta Valve they totally shot themselves in the foot.

[draggboy]

 

BTW did your other guitarist have the head or the combo? I have heard from those that own both and from those that have traded up for the head and they have all said that there is no comparison between the head and the combos..... FWIW

 

 

he has the head version. he's pretty tone deaf in my opinion, so if there are some sounds in there that i would like, i doubt he'd stumble across them. congrats if you're getting awesome tones!

[glenecho]

 

To be honest I think putting "Spider" in the name was the worst possible mistake they could have made, much more so than the pricing, etc. Unless they are planning a Flex Valve and Vetta Valve they totally shot themselves in the foot.

 

 

I agree completely and told their rep so at my music store as well. The general opinion of the old Spiders is not high at all. This amp was a big enough departure that they could have and should have come up with a new name. A terrible marketing decision.

 

But still not as bad as the horrid manufacturing quality on the new PodX3 Live, or the fact that they removed midi from the PodX3...or the fact that neither of them have any major improvements over the old Pods other than being able to model two amps at once.

 

This is a company that is dying to {censored} things up...at this rate they'll be out of business in 5 years tops.

[Gourd of Ashes]

I grew up playing on randalls and always loved how they sizzled. Then I started making lots of money and became a serious tube snob...owned a few roomfuls of nice class A amps and other expensive tube amps.

 

Anyhow, I really dig the spider valve. To me...it blends what I love about Randalls with what I loved about tubes. The effects can sound a little cartoonish...but I'm pretty much a purist anyway and don't use much more than reverb here and there. The wah is great...and all the preamp tones are great...the 6l6 power section is firm...Bogner has tightened up the low end frequencies so it has that signature bogner thang

 

I {censored}ing love the spider valve. IN fact, it's the only amp I currently own. I've got the head version and a few nice cabinets to put it on..All my other amps have gone on ebay. It's just a good fit and I love it.

 

You guys might be right about marketing. Maybe that's why they aren't catching on better. I dunno. But I {censored}ing love this amp...and i certainly have owned lots of other good amps to compare it to. I'm not saying it's better than the others at all...I'm just saying that personally I really vibe with the SV. It's a great sounding head...and nobody should be embarassed to play it.

[Gourd of Ashes]

 

Most production modeling amps are typically a solid state transistor power section, which as we all know, will clip when cranked and end up sounding bad. But if you support a digital preamp with a tube power amp, you get added color, and enough true unclipped power to knock the auctience into next week while still keeping the tone sharp.

 

 

the dude who said that is 1000% correct

 

I found the same thing running solid state preamps with tube power amps in racks. THey just never quite blended even though I've tried all the best stuff. I even had one of the original versions of the Axe FX to use as a preamp...and a 320watt Rivera power amp.

 

The first time I've ever got solid state pre to work right with tube power section was the Spider Valve. It's killer. But it's not for everybody....maybe it's an acquired taste.

[glenecho]

 

I grew up playing on randalls and always loved how they sizzled. Then I started making lots of money and became a serious tube snob...owned a few roomfuls of nice class A amps and other expensive tube amps. Anyhow, I really dig the spider valve. To me...it blends what I love about Randalls with what I loved about tubes. The effects can sound a little cartoonish...but I'm pretty much a purist anyway and don't use much more than reverb here and there. The wah is great...and all the preamp tones are great...the 6l6 power section is firm...Bogner has tightened up the low end frequencies so it has that signature bogner thang I {censored}ing love the spider valve. IN fact, it's the only amp I currently own. I've got the head version and a few nice cabinets to put it on..All my other amps have gone on ebay. It's just a good fit and I love it. You guys might be right about marketing. Maybe that's why they aren't catching on better. I dunno. But I {censored}ing love this amp...and i certainly have owned lots of other good amps to compare it to. I'm not saying it's better than the others at all...I'm just saying that personally I really vibe with the SV. It's a great sounding head...and nobody should be embarassed to play it.

 

 

It's wierd, because I sure have heard some mixed reviews of the thing, but the one I tried out sounded amazing. However, I also have absolutely no preconceived notions or issues with using a modeler either (though I don't use one currently). At my local shop I was jamming with the local in-house shredder...he was on a JVM and I was on the Spider...and both of us agreed (though he did silently) that the Spider Valve was stomping all kinds of {censored} over the JVM. All the usual disclaimers apply...could have been the cab, maybe the JVM had crap stock tubes...or whatever...but the difference was measurable. I really doubt that Bogner would have put his name on a piece of utter {censored}...he doesn't seem like the type. I also really like the fact that previous to this, Rheinhold helped provide the Uber and the XTC to Line6 so they could model it (he came out VERY impressed in particular with the Uber model) for the PodXT. It takes a very non-snob down to earth amp builder to do something like that.

[Philo Beddoe]

Uhmmm amps that squeal....sqeal like a pig beeeoottch...,