Line 6 Spider IV HD150

I hate amp modelers and this is the target of my angst towards these types of amps. They don't sound real and they don't sound natural. All they do is simulate what notes you are hitting with and amp that sounds somewhat like they think the real amp sounds.

I am a fan of Line 6 and by no means is this review out of anything against them but these amps are just garbage. This amp is rated at 150 watts, which is a really loud amplifier and 150 watts of poor sterile tone. Nothing that I have heard from Line 6 as far as amps sounds has ever sounded good to my ears.

UTILIZATION

Features

150 watts (stereo)
500+ presets: 300+ hand-crafted presets from 50 world-famous bands and guitarists, almost 200 dialed in presets inspired by the best guitar songs of all time, up to 64 user-created presets
Artist-created presets hand-crafted by Johnny Marr, Slipknot, Pete Anderson, 311, Meshuggah, Lacuna Coil, As I Lay Dying, Steve Stevens, The Donnas, Minus the Bear, and 40 more guitarists and bands
Song-based presets inspired by the tones of Master of Puppets, Back in Black, Whole Lotta Love, Daytripper, Toxicity, Purple Haze, Head Like a Hole, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Crazy Train, and almost 200 more
16 exceptional guitar amp models that exhibit sophisticated touch response, complex distortions, and compression that breathes like it's emanating from a vintage tube amp. (Line 6 modeling is often imitated, but never duplicated.)
Up to 8 effects at once with FBV MkII. 20 Smart FX (up to 4 at once) including Smart Harmony and Pitch Glide plus echoes, mods, reverbs, tremolos, delays, and more; Additional effects include Quick Loop, Noise Gate, and Boost; Edit all effects up to 7 parameters deep
Bass, Mid and Treble knobs behave like the EQ controls from each modeled amp; Drive knob; Channel volume; Master volume; Manual Mode
1/4" input; 1/4-inch headphone/direct output; two 1/4" speaker outputs; 1/8" CD/MP3 input; FBV jack; Built-in chromatic tuner
Line 6 FBV MkII foot controllers (not included) feature a foot pedal for wah, volume and pitch-shift control; tap tempo; chromatic tuner display; channel switching; USB connectivity for receiving amplifier updates and upgrades; more.



SOUNDS

The amp sounds thin and sterile much like a stomp box overdrive or distortion pedal would sounds like. You can hear and feel the digital process in the tone. This amp has no soul and no tone what so ever. It is a complete waste of resources. I like the way their effects sound and the way that their software is set up much like a real guitar rig, but the distortions and amp models are horrible! To me it doesn't matter what guitar you use with this thing it is going to sound nothing like the amps they are trying to recreate. If you must lay this amp then I would play it with a Gibson Les Paul or something with mahogany for the wood. Something dark and bold that will give some thickness to the tone of this amp.


OVERALL OPINION

I loath solid state amps and how much I can't stand amp modeling. This is just a waste in my opinion. This amp continues to give me very little doubt about the amp modeling world. Line 6 are definitely the leaders in the amp modeling world but to be honest most of their tones from the recreated amps just don't sound very good.

At new these amp are at around $399. Not a bad price for an amp but then you have to buy a cabinet as well. I would pass on this head.