Line 6 Spider III 30-Watt Guitar Combo Amplifier

by Line 6

Product Features

• 4 Essential Amp Models, 6 Effects (2 simultaneous) including phaser, Chorus/Flanger, Tremolo, Sweep Echo, Tape Echo, and Reverb, 4 user programmable channels
• CD/MP3 jack, Headphone/Direct Out for practice or recording
• Custom Celestion 12 speaker
• 30 Watts
• 4 Essential Amp Models, 6 Effects including phaser, Chorus, Tremolo, Sweep Echo, Tape Echo, and Reverb, 4 user programmable channels
• Power: 30 Watts

Product Details

• Item Weight: 31 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 28.6 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000JKR7XO
• Item model number: 99-010-2605
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,128 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Line 6 Spider III 30 Guitar Combo Amplifier is a 30 watt solid state guitar amplifier with built-in Amp and effects modeling. This is a good amp for a guitarist in a band playing smaller venues, and also makes a good practice amp as well.

Spider™ III delivers detailed amp models based on some of the greatest guitar sounds ever created. To keep these sounds authentic, we kidnapped some of our favorite artists to dial in each amp model. Now you can rule the stage with the Insane model with its truly massive gain or explore your sensitive side in the studio with the Clean model. It’s all up to you.

Features:

• 4 Essential Amp Models
• 6 Effects (2 simultaneous) including phaser, Chorus/Flanger, Tremolo, Sweep Echo, Tape Echo, and Reverb
• 4 User-programmable channels
• CD/MP3 jack
• Headphone/Direct Out for practice or recording
• Custom Celestion® 12-inch speaker
• 30 Watts

Amp Models::

Clean
Select this Amp Model and adjust the tone controls to get crisp, amazing clean tones, great warm jazz tones, and all the high-end shimmer you’ll need with a generous amount of bottom end.

Crunch
This Amp Model is based on* a ‘68 Marshall® Plexi 100 watt with a few added extras; The combination of a Variac and the jumped input channels creates that infamous brown sound.

Metal
This Amp Model is based on* the Mesa/Boogie® Dual Rectifier®. Use this Amp Model to get a tight and punchy, high gain Metal sound.

Insane
This model is our "dialed in for shredding" version based on* the Mesa/Boogie® Dual Rectifier® red channel. It combines the intensity and impact of Metal Red, but delivers more midrange and teeth for that bone-crushing, brain piercing insane grind.

Effects:
A great amp isn’t the only part of a great guitar sound. With Smart Control FX, an exclusive Line 6 feature that automatically dials in different effect parameters, you spend more time playing and less time tweaking. Simply find the effect that you want, turn the knob to your desired intensity, and you’re done. You can even use multiple effects at the same if you wanna get really crazy.

Effects Models (Up to 2 effects simultaneous): Phaser, Chorus/Flanger, Tremolo, Sweep Echo, Tape Echo, and Reverb.

INS & OUTS When you’re playing with your band on stage just drag the Spider™ III on stage and crank it up. When it comes time to record, use the headphone/direct out and plug it straight into the mixing board for world-class POD® 2.0 direct tone used in pro studios and stages everywhere! You can also use the same out with headphones for practicing in your bedroom. Want to play along with your favorite songs? Plug into the CD/MP3 input and you’re good to go.

* All product names used in this webpage are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. These trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose tones and sounds were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

Product Description

Spider III 30 delivers 4 remarkable amp channel models with Clean, Crunch, Metal, and Insane all dialed in by an amazing team of artists. Six Smart Control FX (two simultaneous) including, Phaser, Chorus/Flanger, Tremolo, Sweep Echo, Tape Echo, and Reverb are all dialed in and ready to go. Features also include a CD/MP3 input jack and a headphone/recording output. Spider III 30 also includes a footswitch jack that's compatible with the FBV2, FBV Express, and FBV Shortboard foot controllers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth your while..., January 13, 2009

By 

Raoul Duke "Bhikkhu" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Line 6 Spider III 30-Watt Guitar Combo Amplifier (Electronics)

Line 6 has released a wide variety of products over the years and of trying various items, this amp has so far become one of their most first-rate music accessories in my book (you can find my book at your local library...haha) with a extensive assortment of features and attractive sound output eminence, it certainly deserves a purchase from any guitar enthusiast who is in need of quality presentation.

The features are beautifully user responsive, with simplicity for any skill set guitarist which, comprised of various sound effect alternatives, as well as common and greater preset amp tones, is designed with the well-known guitar legends in mind. As listed in the product details and manufacturer's description, the presets are clean, crunch, metal and insane and can be altered and saved to your own unique profile settings.

*Clean is actually perfectly set, in my opinion, for the classic smooth sound. The only tweak I made to it was an increase in the bass tone which is just a personal preference in tone.
*Crunch - The slightly distorted, heavy bass setting is a decent alternative to clean and is a useful tool for more of a "Zeppelin" sound. I had to make a few tweaks to all tones settings to get my preferred sound, but overall it's great as is.
*Metal is self explanatory and is quite useful for new-age, 4 chord rock (grunge/alternative) and of course, metal. My favorite use for it is palm muted power chords and lead guitar/solos. My only tweak to this setting was to increase treble (oddly enough) to actually give it more of a "crunchiness" for string mutes and pinch harmonics.
*Insane to me is the same as the metal setting, just with a lot more distortion and I rarely use it, so I unfortunately cannot say much about it.

The other effects are for the more glam guitarist but included a few that I found useful, including Phaser, Chorus and Tape Echo.
*Phaser adds an interesting "sci-fi" sound effect added to notes and is really only very audible when used with a clean effect.
*Chorus production gives you that watery after ring (think "Come as you are" by Nirvana) that can be used lightly or tremendously, depending on your preference, with a simple adjustment of the knob and additionally, is best with clean notes, but is more audible with distortion than the phaser cousin.
*Tape Echo modification has been used on the first song I ever recorded and I was amazed with the adaptability and precision of this effect, leaving variation open to any amp effect of individual partiality. Furthermore, to alter the delay of the echo is exceptionally straightforward and amazingly accurate; with a simple push of the button and repeating the tapping the button again for ½, ¼, eighth, sixteenth note, etc. softened duplicate resonation.

The amp's only blemish I would consider is the MP3 jack used for recording the music in which Line 6 would've been better off utilizing a USB jack. The connection to the amp for this jack seems touchy, but perhaps that is just a flaw with my amp individually. This alone was definitely not enough to give it any less than a five-star rating.

To conclude, this amp is, as stated previously, a must for anyone who enjoys intuitive accessories for their guitar and is fine compliment to any band or musical endeavor.

Cheers to all,
Raoul Duke

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Guitarists of the Rock and Metal Persuasion, July 1, 2009

By 

Eric H "Not a big fan..." (Chicagoland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Line 6 Spider III 30-Watt Guitar Combo Amplifier (Electronics)

I bought this model amp several months ago at a local Guitar Center. Mainly due to the fact my then current amp was a generic squawk box of absolute zero quality. I walked in, and began my search for a nice $200ish amp.

And boy, oh boy, let me tell you I made the right choice. I shopped around the store, trying out every single amplifier of similar price (my range was between $150 and $300) to make the best call of judgment that I could. I plugged in my Ibanez and played to my hearts content, mostly thrashy, deathy stuff. Being mostly a metalhead, the four individual channels (especially Metal and Insane) really appealed to me. The versatility they allow is outstanding. Believe me, you will find a tone you like with this machine. The only complaint is that you do get some effects that you most likely will never use (like Tremolo, or the Echo). And each effects knob controls three separate effects, so you cannot intermingle flange and phaser, for instance. Then again, I almost never use them, so it doesn't bother me in the least.

Now before I made a purchase with the salesman who looked like he needed to shower and wash the cigarette stains from his teeth, I played every single amplifier they had of similar price and specifications. I played two different Fender combos, a couple of Marshalls (which were the most expensive, mostly because you pay extra for the marshall name), a Raven combo, and a Crate. Now obviously, I shan't go in to fine detail relating to all of them, but rest assured all these manufactures make decent good models in their own right, and you would not be shorting yourself if you went with any of them, but for shear value, this Line 6 is an excellent choice.

I went with this amp because it suits my needs: I play Heavy Metal style music %90 of the time, and the "Metal" and "Insane" channels both sound very nice considering this is a solid-state modelling amp. I loved the tone, and it really gave me that warm feeling inside to play better and louder for the hell of it. Add a little (just a little) reverb and push the gain knob to around 8 and I'm a happy guy. the direct input is also a really great feature, my former bandmates used it often to record late at night when our bassists dad would head off to slumberland.

Now, it's obvious that better amps exist. But it would be unfair to rate this amplifier in comparison to, say, a Marshal JCM all-tube model half-stack. So one must consider the context this amp is for. I've used this amp for a couple small club shows, and many people are surprised such a small machine can be loud enough to work in a dingy little cafe or public center.

Unless you're playing in the Garden or touring with Heaven & Hell, this is a definite value for the rock guitarist.

Bottom Line: Need something versatile and affordable? Look no further

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine practice amp, May 24, 2010

By 

P. Krysl (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Line 6 Spider III 30-Watt Guitar Combo Amplifier (Electronics)

I've never had to turn this amp up to half volume, it's pretty loud for having a low wattage. While the amp is intended for rock and metal, the clean setting sounds great, too. I don't use the Crunch setting often, preferring instead to use my Zoom pedal for that sound.

One thing that might bother some people: occasionally if you turn on the amp, you will not hear anything. All you need to do is turn it off and on again. Also, sometimes when you turn on the amp, the settings are forgotten by the amp. If you twiddle with the knobs, then you can get back your settings. This isn't a big problem, but can be annoying.

The built-in effects are alright, but again, I prefer to use my pedals. The headphone output is useful if you're playing at night or recording. The MP3 in is alright, but naturally when you play music from your iPod in the amp, it will sound different (since the amp was built for the specific frequency range of guitar sounds). However if you use headphones and the MP3 simultaneously, there should be no problem. I have never used the FBV pedal input.

It's a simple amp, but it's loud, durable, and not too expensive. For most people this amp should be adequate if you have a store of effects pedals to use it with.