Line 6 Spider Jam 1x12" 75 Watt Modeling Amp Reviews

4.6/5.0 based on 26 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Nick Schenkel

This amp has made playing guitar fun again for me. I can finally enjoy those rare 20-minutes of downtime making music, instead of setting up my rig and running out of time before I even get to play. The more that I play with the Spider Jam, the more I discover that I have barely scratched the surface of its capabilities. This is an excecllent value.

Patrick Schaefer

The Spider Jam is excellent for practicing, writing, or simply jamming. Within the first few minutes with the amp, I was able to dial in a great tone and start jamming to the built-in backing tracks. There is a wonderful palette of tones and effects to suit any style of music. Yet another fantastic product from Line 6.

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Customer Reviews

Steve Gallagher
from NH
January 28, 2013Music Background:
Playing for 30+ year and love it all from Blues to Metal

The Jam Rocks

I've played for 30+ years and had a few amps but was looking for one where I could plug in my mic, bass, acoustic, keyboard and of course get great electric guitar tones. Space is always an issue and who has the room for 4 or more amps.

Steven Vogel
from Dingmans Ferry, PA
January 16, 2013

Great!!!!

I am totally blown away by this amp, yes there is a definite learning curve but well worth it!!!! The YouTube videos help a lot too!!!!

Rich Martin
from Somerset United Kingdom
September 1, 2012Music Background:
Just a strum-er...wanting to enjoy music, respect to the pro's

Band in a BOX !

I'm no guitar player even though I have several..more of a strum-er.
But this amp can actually make you sound like a pro..."Black Magic" it should be called.
Only one think could make this sound any better....me being able to play!

The on-line video course are great and not widely known about, shame as they are very good. From almost basic to pro level.

If you could buy a book that went with the amp sounds offering chords & tabs it would be a real hit and you could then quickly learn what note to play with each song/backing.

5 out 5 is just to low...11 is what it should have.

Rock on my friends...rock on

Joshua Harvey
from Overton Tx.
April 27, 2012Music Background:
Musician

Can't beat it

This is the best out there, sounds good. If you don't have it get it. Wow!!!!

from
February 2, 2012

I still suck

The line 6 spider Jam has improved my play slightly. I need to practice more.

Rob
from Scotland
January 14, 2012Music Background:
Recording artist

Fabulous Product

I have used it at home, in the studio and at gigs and it is perfect

Zack Burnside
from Renfrew, PA USA
December 24, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist

One word... AMAZING!

I am truly blown away by this amp. Let me just say, if you want loud, this amp is LOUD! I can't even make it to half volume. Literally. If I went past half volume my ears would probably start bleeding and fall off. Also, the quality is amazing. The interface is extremely easy to use, and recording songs is a blast. It's honestly way easier than I thought it would be. Everything about this amp is great. I highly recommend!

Daniel
from Canada, Qc, Montreal
September 29, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist, Advanced Player

Best Home Practice Tool Aroud

I looked online at all the possibilities on the market before i bough my Spider Jam. Before i tried any amp in-store, my research had me set on either a Roland Cube, Fender G-Dec, Peavey Vypyr or Line6 SpiderJam.
I have to say that when i tried them all in the store, my choice immediately geared towards the SpiderJam. Because i find that it offers the most all-around dollar for dollar.
1- The amp modeling is the best sounding.
2- If you want to get good sounds for blues sounds like Fender Twin tube sounds you will have fiddle around with the settings quite a bit, but you can achieve very decent things.
3- The metal type presets almost all sound great right off the bat.
4- It has the best recording and playback features.
5- Getting the FBV Shortboard will give you the best at-home jamming tool i've ever seen.
6- It's powerful enough to play live with drums and the sound quality doesn't suffer when you crank it to those volume levels.

So that's it that was my analysis that lead me to buy this amp and I am even happier with it than i tough i would.

Happy Jammin' to yall
Dan

Mark Kamerer
from Los Angeles
May 28, 2011Music Background:
hobbyist into home recording

Spider Jam . The best for Apt dwellers and students

I think it is a great learning tool and a good amp for home recording.
I like the looping the recording the different tones and all the ways you can hook up things like keyboards mics guitars etc. Also it has a headphones jack. I live in an apt and that's important sometimes. In fact it's the only amp I have used since moving here. I have a Budda, a JC120 a Hot Rod Deville even an Acoustic bass amp. They are all coffee tables.
here in my Apt. with the possible exception of the Roland JC120 you would have to crank them up to an unacceptable level to get a good sound. I can get a good sound with the Spider jam at any volume. I use it for keyboards, bass guitar, Vocals, drum machine, oh yeah and for guitar.
The Perfectionist's will want something different for gigging. You don't have to. Most people in the audience would never know the difference between a line 6 and the amps it simulates.

John
from Seattle
May 6, 2011Music Background:
Semi-Pro

O.K. I'm impressed. Now when are they gonna make it better?

This is based on Line 6 Spider III models which I liked alot on my dual Spider III 2x1202 amps. From what I read they tweaked the tones and models a bit so IV didn't quite sound like III (and I liked the Twang on III better).
So now they need to make one on top of a Spider IV so we can get
things like the great Pitch Shifting and Harmony features.
Until then this baby is about as good as it gets and it's a great value in terms of money and features. Get It!!!???

Brian Williams
from Riverbank, CA
February 7, 2011Music Background:
Guitarist in the 191st Army Band.

Spider Jam, The only way to go.

Purchasing the Line 6 Spider Jam is one of the best purchases I have made. It is very user friendly, and has all of the effects one would ever really need. Having the rhythm/recording machine built in makes for easy transporting. Don't have a lot to carry. The backing tracks help bring out the creativity within, and being able to record allows me to review what I've played and then make any changes if needed. Out of all the drum machines I've seen, the Spider Jam is the best. I recommend this amp to all musicians who want to release their creative side. Thanks Line 6 for making EXCELLENT equipment.

Ron Cooke
from california
February 5, 2011Music Background:
Recording artist -Thrust

Pedal To The Medal!

Great Amp=Crank it!

Dave Wolff
from Redding, CA USA
February 4, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist

REAL Band built inside! SOLO HEAVEN!

I own 15 amps from many manufactures. None can be a better PRACTICE AMP PERIOD! This has a professional band playing every kind of music along with drum beats and rhythms. The sounds you can play are very good and LOUD if you want yet very quiet also when in low gain settings. I would not say it is for gigging although is loud for a 1x12! It has some BEAUTIFUL SOUNDS and some that are not my style but with hundreds of presets you can find a sound you want for the session and have fun! Also can adjust the sounds of of any setting! Really FUN and VERY HELPFUL LEARNING TO SOLO IN KEY! No mad impatient band mate either. So helpful this band in this beast will even repeat ANYTHING in her!!!

jesse
from usa
May 16, 2009Music Background:
guitar shredder

best amp on the planet

i used. to have a fender g dec. 30 and it was an okay amp but then i got the spider jam and it changed the guitar world for me you can do so much with this amp between recording and all the differnd special effects that can make a begginner player sound awsome ....best amp on planet

Eric J
from Morgantown W.V.
May 1, 2009Music Background:
Hobbyist

Want to learn guitar?

If you want to learn the guitar start taking lessons and buy the Spider Jam amp. This is the best practice amp I've ever seen. Everyone says the best way to learn to play with other musicians and now you can with out making your wife mad by having a bunch of people and equipment in your house. The backing tracks (which let you adjust the key the song is in) are worth the cost alone, but the tones and effects are awesome as well. The fact that you can record your jams is unreal, and it has a SD card slot to transfer tracks back and forth from your computer. AWESOME! This is the amp of the future. Sure it's not a tube amp but it still has a great warm tone if you want it. I wish it would have come with a control pedal, oh well I guess I'll be dropping another $300 on that. The only thing this amp doesn't do is add more time to my day to play with the amp more.

Dave B.
from White Lake, MI
October 20, 2008Music Background:
Rhythm Guitar Player

The Best $$$ I Have Spent in a Long Time!

This amp is by far the best money I have spent on a piece of hardware in a long time. This thing rocks. It has improved my scale knowledge / lead playing by a considerable margin. It comes with 100's of backing tracks and drum beats and it's not some type of midi or other computer generated noise. It is real music from real players.

You can change the tempo and key of the song without changing the sound. One of the best things I like is that every backing track shows you what key it is in making it easy to play leads. The amp also automatically sets all the amp settings to match the style of the backing track as well (of course you can change them if so desired). It also has a built in SD card for saving your music and bringing in your own backing tracks.

Just an excellent amp. One of the best G.A.S. items I have purchased to date. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have fun...I am having the time of my life. Practicing is never boring anymore!

Sam Thomas
from Auckland New Zealand
August 1, 2008Music Background:
guitar for life!

THIS AMP KICKS ***!!

This amp is amazing! im sure you all know about all the features, but the awsome thing is that they sound good there are songs on in it that have the exact tone from those songs stored in it everything from jimi hendrix to mark knofler to metallica! go down to your local store and try one! is spent 2 and a half hours in the rock shop ( in new zealand) shredding it! this will not disapoint 100/10!!!

Ken Binkley
from United States
July 9, 2012Music Background:
49 years Guitar Player

Had this amp almost 2 years now

First and foremost I still love the sound of this amp!! It is a great practice amp. I've excelled in my playing over the last 2 years, it is so nice to jam with a virtual band anytime of the day. If you go on the Line 6 website under this amp model you can learn a lot from the advanced user guide and the user discussion forums. Sure it takes some time to learn the features of this amp, but you have to remember that it also has computer technology built in it. The reason that I rated it at a 4.5 is a couple of features that I would like to see changed. I would like to see a direct USB out, so that I could record directly to a DAW on my computer rather than converting files to mono 16 bit 44k wave files on a limited 2 GB max SD card. This seems to be one of the biggest hassles to users on the forum. Secondly I would like to see at least the FBV Express included, though I never bought one for mine, it would come in very handy. This amp has been very reliable and a joy to use after mastering it and would highly recommend it to anyone starting out in a band.

David Clemons
from Lafayette, In
July 23, 2011Music Background:
Musician

Modeling Amp with attitude

This amp is incredible for the many options,settings it has, and the sound it produces is great. and It has enough power output for garage band and small concert size room venues.

The only downfall if any is the learning curve it takes to master this puppy from LIne 6 I suggest you *Read & RE-read the manuals and you will get the most out of this amp * also there is excellent help from LIne 6's online fourms I give LIne 6 a 4.5 star rating on this product...with only a 1/2 point off for no quick setting formats to go by as a starting point for your reference. This would have been most helpful..

Stephanie Barker
from Orlando, Florida
May 14, 2011Music Background:
Songwriter

Do it all!

I'm not a great guitarist, but I love sound, and this amp has plenty of it. It is set up for the multi-tasker who wants to play guitar, sing through a mic with separate settings for your vocals, explore a multitude of sounds, add in a drummer, record a riff, change from an electric to an acoustic to a bass guitar, use a direct out to your PA with no "kill" switch, create, save and all around have a entertaining great time! Ok, that's some of the positives. What about negatives? Well, there was some frustration experienced in finding a SD card that the Spider Jam would agree with, but the wealth of information from users on the web site provides solutions for everything. I hope the Spider Jam will be such a hit that Line 6 can offer an even larger selection and size of them. Hard to imagine, but dreamers will dream!

Gustavo Fonseca Olivares
from McAllen, TX
July 10, 2008Music Background:
Guitar Enthusiast

Line 6 Spider Jam

This is a truely amazing amp, wether you're a road-seasoned profesional, or weekend enthusiast. The first two days I had it, I stayed up till 2 am toying with it and relishing in its sonic diversity. You can spend hours discovering and enjoying the various amp settings and effects. Although it does get some getting used to at first, its pretty easy to navigate after a little practice. It sounds absolutely amazing. The sound does break up a little at very high gain, but its got plenty of volume for the home studio or small stage. There are goodies for everyone with settings for rockabilly, black metal, blues, jazz, funk, R&B, heavy metal, country and everything else in between. This amp was very well thought out and engineered. My only warning to potential buyers is that It is hard to record and loop with the SJ while playing your guitar (both hands are on the guitar, duh!). So unless you have a foot pedal board or are very talented with your toes, getting clean loops and recordings without gaps can be challenging. Many owners have been disappointed that the SD slot in the back of the unit is nonfunctional. The creative possibilities would be endless if you could record onto or download tracks into the amp via an SD card. I'm certain that this will be a feature that will be available in future reincarnations of this amp. Another small gripe I have about this amp is the housing. It has thin panels, and cheap-looking plastic pieces. This amp would be more aesthetically pleasing, sturdy, and desirable if it had thicker panels and more metal and chrome parts. All in all, I love this amp. And despite its few shortcomings, it is truely a remarkable piece of engineering wizardry. Congrat's to the talented engineers who made this product possible.

Nigel Bedrock
from Houston, TX
May 7, 2012Music Background:
Amateur bass & guitar player

Just what I wanted

I wanted a practice amp with something a little more including tracks to which I could jam along and some pedal effects included without having to purchase a shed load of pedals. This does the job. It's loud enough to rattle the windows and my fillings, but also sounds great at low volume too.. There's definitely a learning curve to get the most out of this amp, but some things do require some effort in order to reap rewards. Highly recommended at this price. Oh, and great service by Sweetwater.

Phillydog
from Wichita, KS, USA
June 7, 2008Music Background:
beginner

Spider Jam vs G-Dec

This amp beats the Fender G-Dec without a doubt. The Spider packs a fat 75 watts and thumps. It contains a ton of songs and drums to play along with. It also has effects and various amps that are veray accurate. The only advatage the G-Dec has over the Spider Jam is PORTABILITY, with it's small size and built-in shoulder strap. The G-Dec tends to receive much feedback from various electrical devices init's immediate surroundings. I'm not bashing the G-Dec but I own both of these items and I purchased the G-Dec first and was a bit dissapointed, so I went out 3 months later and purchased the Spider Jam. I now use the Fender for traveling, since it's small and light. Spend the extra money and buy the Spider. You won't be dissapointed.

balsac13
from Atlanta, GA
May 27, 2008Music Background:
Live Sound Engineer, Recording Engineer, Guitarist

A lot of bang for the buck!!!

This is a great practice amp for everyone from beginners to the seasoned guitarist who just want to sit around the house and jam.

Line 6 is known both good and bad for their modeling amps, this amp does a very good job from clean to shredder. The effects are good, however it would have been nice to be able to access more than 2 at a time.

The looping engine and song list is great for anyone just starting out. There is even an option to record your own jams to play with, or to help you nail a part of a song your working on.

There is also an SD expansion slot for storing your recordings. I dont know any of the specifics of this, so I dont know what the format is.

Overall, pound for pound a solid investment. You will not be disappointed.

P.S. I compared this to the Fender G-DEC 30 at time of purchase. There was hands down no comparison between the two. The Fender has loops and drums, but they are all midi. The Line 6 has actual instrument recordings.

M. Johnson
from Carlsbad, CA
February 7, 2013Music Background:
Decades long guitar player

Best Practice Amp Ever, Plus More...

I've owned it for a few weeks now and am still discovering more features. I still have not explored the looper, but plan to after I master all of the other settings.Great for developing chops.
The only negatives I can think of so far are I wish it had external speaker jack and XLR out. Sounds much better through good set of headphones than the speaker. Sounds are somewhat sterile and laboratory sounding, but overall OK for the price point. Lots of great presets, but song list could use a few jazzy and more mellow rock tunes instead of abundance of thrash and metal.
The manual leaves much to be desired, a complete listing of the presets would be very helpful. Yes, I would recommend as a 4th or 5th amp...worth it just for the artist presets and drum loops alone. I'm glad I acquired this amp.

ron sprague
from USA
February 4, 2012Music Background:
STUDENT

the handbook is among the worst for a user

HAND BOOK IS USELESS

inSync Review

Patrick Schaefer
3-04-2010

When I took the Spider Jam home and plugged in my Strat, I was surprised to discover the versatility that this amp offered. I quickly began scanning the built-in backing tracks and found a nice blues groove to jam to. Playing along to these tracks is an excellent way to warm up or discover new licks. The amp offered me the ability to record my playing and quickly listen back without dealing with any extra equipment. I also liked that I could record without any backing tracks. I was able to lay down my own chord progression and then proceed to record my own solos on top of that. This amp is the perfect tool for practicing and writing.

The Spider Jam models a handful of classic amps. It provides a great palette of tones and effects to dial in any sound. From brilliant cleans to face-melting distortion, this amp covers the entire spectrum. On top of the amp modeling, the Spider Jam offers great effects - just what you'd expect from Line 6. This is very convenient for anyone who doesn't want to hassle with numerous pedals in their setup. With the endless backing tracks and recording capabilities, this amp offers hours and hours of productive playing. The Spider Jam is the Swiss army knife of amps!

Line 6 Spider Jam 1x12" 75 Watt Modeling Amp

75W 1 x 12 Guitar Combo Amp with Built-in Effects, 12 Amp Models, Mic Input, 28-minute Looper, and Celestion Speaker