Line 6 Spider Valve MkII 112 Reviews

4.0/5.0 based on 2 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Corey Reynolds

Line 6's legendary modeling and Reinhold Bogner's boutique tube amp expertise are a match made in heaven! The Spider Valve MkII 112 blew me away by not only the incredible classic and modern amp models and warm tube tone, but also how it easy it was to use. Without even peeking at the manual, I was instantly dialing in great tone. I went from playing some David Bowie to AC/DC to the Deftones in minutes. That's awesome versatility! This Spider Valve MkII 112 is absolutely essential for studios or any guitarist looking for tone versatility and tube warmth all in one amp.

Joe James

When I played through the Line 6 Spider Valve MkII 112, I was blown away. The Bogner tube design makes for one powerful amp! Because of this, and all the modeling features included you'd expect from any Line 6 product, I'd recommend it to any guitar player.

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Customer Reviews

Timothy
from Fort Wayne, IN
June 11, 2010 Music Background:
Hobbyist

Great Amp

Every time I play through this amp, it just leaves me wanting more. There are so many distortion channels it can easily cover any distorted style, yet it can get nice and clean when you want it to. The reverb sounds really nice, and the EQ is easy to use. An overall awesome amp, like al Line 6 amps.

Tom O
from Maryland
April 7, 2012 Music Background:
Semi-pro musician

The real world review for the Spider Valve 112

I bought a Line6 Spider Valve 112 a few years ago, so I could have the tube tone and the great flexibility of a modeling amp. I added a Shortboard FBV as a remote controller. This amp pushed aside all my other amps and became my "go to" rig for everything from practice to recording to open mics and performing. The greatest feature, aside from the available tones, was the ability to easily control the type of sound I was putting out through the use of the Shortboard. It is so much less complicated than a pile of stomp boxes. I loved (past tense) that amp. Unfortunately, the Spider Valve 112 did not prove to have a sustainable design. After about two years, I started having motherboard problems and it was all downhill after that. Eventually, I was down to about 8 months playing time and 4 months shop time during a year. I ran into problems with component assemblies no longer being available from the factory to fix my crippled Spider Valve 112. Finally, just this past week, the technician made the call.....Spider Valve 112 death at 3 PM 4/7/2012. Because of the sound and ease of use of this gear, I will miss it. But I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone, due to its poor service record.

inSync Review

Corey Reynolds
8-26-2010

I recently tried out the Line 6 Spider Valve mkII 112 40W modeling tube guitar combo amp. When I got it home, I imagined that, while amp modeling provides great versatility, getting quality tone that I could actually work with would be complicated. That couldn't have been farther from the truth. And with the legendary amp modeling of Line 6, I was instantly dialing in awesome modern and classic guitar tones without even a peak at the manual. I was playing everywhere from David Bowie to AC/DC to The White Stripes to The Deftones in minutes. The front panel knobs are easy to use and very intuitive so you can dial in tone fast!

But how good is great tone if you can't recall it? Not a problem for the Spider Valve mkII 112. It has 128 user-programmable presets ready for your tonal masterpieces! With 32 banks and four channels per bank, I was dialing in great tone and storing it fast. And then, of course, moving on to my next tone to play with quickly. I spent maybe 10 minutes and had six gig-ready tones stored. Hook up the Line 6 FBV Shortboard mkII with the amp, and you can easily switch between the 4 channels and your 32 banks for 128 tones on-stage! That's amazing versatility!

Versatility is in abundance on the Spider Valve mkII 112, but the real question is how does the amp sound? To put it simply, gorgeous. The Spider Valve mkII 112 is an all-tube amp, with 12AX7 preamp tubes and 6L6 power amp tubes. Not only is it an all-tube amp, but it was designed by the renowned Reinhold Bogner! I was floored that a modeling amp could still deliver boutique-style, rich, warm tube tone. No matter what style I was going for, the warmth of the amp made it sound fantastic. I couldn't go wrong even if I tried. The amp just gives great warm tone as soon as you plug in.

I also found that there are some nice peripheral features as well. The amp has a really simple built-in tuner for quick, accurate, and most importantly, silent tuning. It also has a really cool "sound on sound" looper. I found myself laying down some rhythm guitar then overdubbing some lead. A great tool for practicing solos or layering a riff at home or on-stage.

It's obvious to me that if you want tone versatility with rich, tube warmth, the Line 6 Spider Valve mkII 112 is for you! It's also a great amp for small venues, and absolutely essential if you are a studio engineer that needs to dial in great tone for any style of music. The Line 6 Spider Valve mkII 112 is a great 1x12" amp for every application!