mattball826
Member
- Messages
- 20,796
OK, so I have had the SV240 and FBV3 and G10T transmitter for a week.
Yes I made several tweaks to it as I did every modeler I get my hands on.. As usual starting from scratch in the editor and building the tone from there. The presets I built were basic Marshall type stuff, a Fender Twin type sound, and A Mesa Dual Rectifier which for me is the ultimate test for modelers since I am a huge Mesa amp user, and many modelers fail to pass my test lol.
Initial impressions I set aside on any unit I buy so I never really judge an amp or any piece of gear on factory presets. I learn the unit over a few days the see what I can get from it.
Spider V240 is a beast!! Do yourself a favor and dig in. The rewards are there. What I found most with the SV240 is you need to shape the tone of the amp post eq. USE THE POST EQ just like you do with high end modelers or floor units with that option.
At a level of about 2 (8 o'clock) position this amp gets loud. 10 o'clock position puts you in gig levels. Beyond noon is blow your windows out loud. This amp has a ton of headroom, and that is important because you can use that in relation to the needed tweaks for clean and dist type models.
Stereo - since I have used the IDC 100 I love the stereo sound. No, the 240V does not have a Super Wide like IDCore stereo, but is as good as any stereo amp out there. It really sounds good at lower mix levels too which a lot of modeling amps tend to have to have the mix levels boosted on the fx to carry the sound. You don't need high fx mixes for these fx to carry, and they don't have as much of a detracting factor if you do run them a bit high. The amp model still carries well.
Del FX Spillover!!!!! Holy Shiiiiiiii was that a nice touch. Kudos Line 6!! Few modeling amps have FX spillover.
Gate- Gate is an issue on every modeling amp and every pedalboard for any person that uses high gain. At stage volumes in a band nobody cares and few are listening for the gating clampdown as you chug notes. lol. I would put the gate about on par with what is in the Helix. It's pretty quiet even down to -40 Thold. Response is decent.
Distortions- there are many very good ones. Some also have tonal shaping options which is cool if you want a mid boost. I haven't experimented a whole lot with them so I'll reserve any further comment. What I have used more of was the Dis +EQ. I'm not even sure what pedal model that is lol. It works well is all I know.
FX/Mod - Tons available. Many great broad stereo FX. FX spillover on the FBV3 switching. I use these in stomp modes more than I do Per Preset. More to come. Too many to discuss. lol
Rev- Many very good ones. Basic Spring, Plate, Room stuff. Wish they had the more ethereal effects but for $500 I ain't bitching it doesn't have Strymon type effects.
Other Goodies- Drum machine, metronome, Pre recorded guitar loops for setting presets, levels, fx etc. You tweak while the amp plays. You can also use the looper. Many good practicing tools which I think are standard on all Spider V products. USB audio interface and options for Ipad, Android for Spider Remote edit. No Win or Mac editors which imo is going to harm some sales.
Tuner- nice accurate tuner and I compared it to my Polytune. It was dead on, and worked great in low tunings.
Wireless receiver for G10T transmitter. Charges the Xmitter from the amp. Cool!! Transmitter has a sleep mode too. Saves the battery if you are not playing after a few min, it shuts itself off. Nice!
Headphone jack- Good for practicing I guess. It doesn't have that great of sound though. Sort of like most modeling amps though. Don't expect much more than it is.
Headroom- 240V has tons. I would say this is louder than IDC150 and Katana 100 easily. The speakers do not fart out at cranked gig levels like many budget amps will. The speakers are Full Range and the Master Vol to me seems pretty much linear which I awesome. The same chug with the amp at 8:00 as it is at noon or above. LOUD!!
Amp Models- Basic stuff you see in the other Line 6 lineup. Difference being these had to be modified because the Helix with a pr of powered Yami's with the exact same models, cabs, sound a bit different. Again I will consider that being the Yami's are sort of scooped out as most PA FR cabinets are.
OK, I am a HUGE Mesa guy and I am always always let down by the Rect models on any modeler. High end, low end, doesn't matter. With the Spider V 240, color me impressed. All I did was start with the Recto and assigned cab. Went to the post eq and started shaping a few things. Then what I noticed was similar to my Mark amps and Recto's that you start to see a volume swing when adjusting treble on the amp, and the Post eq, works very similar with the model in this, as it does post EQ on a Mark V. I was familiar with that so the tweak didn't see as crazy. So, Line 6 apparently has this tonestack figured out. Next I cranked it up. That low clean Chug and mid-hf dist was there. Then it was just a few eq subtle changes to fit my guitar, and soon after I felt as close to Mesa sound as I can get from this amp. I'll post a video I made on Sunday to demo that sound.... others will follow.
FBV3- Very well thought out footswitch. Yes it's pricey, but it's road worthy for sure. Steel construction , nice switches, decent sized display, smooth Exp pedal. Presets and Stomps, Exp pedal with additional ext pedal jack if you want. Tuner, Preset name, Stomp type in display. It's about the size of a Tonelab LE.
I had tried the smaller Spider V versions but for me to get what I want, I need the headroom to build my sounds around. Same for other modeler amps I have tried. No beef= no interest for me. As for weight, I carry around Mesa amps and either an angled 212 or 412 with my Mark V so I'm used to dealing with heavy items. That said, the Spider V 240 is fairly lightweight. 40 lbs maybe. My amp head weighs more. I'm also a fan or stereo sound and sort of spoiled in that way, so the 240 fits that need.
Spider V, unlike its competitors uses AMP models of various Mfg vs unknown preamps that more or less cover clean crunch and lead common to Marshall and Fender. Many are based on their own mfg'd amps. As much I like that, I miss the options of an actual modeler. The issues with modelers was always amplification of that tone you get in the floor or rack unit. Once amplified, something was always amiss so you tweak or give in and say good enough.
After a week of digging in and seeing what this SV240, FBV3 and G10T can do, I am happy to say I can find a lot of great tones in this amp. Loud ? It's deafeningly loud!! Passes my Mesa test so far. Jammed with the band and they are again happy to hear the Mesa type sound vs trying to get that with the IDC. Our drummer is loud and the amp blew him away and had plenty to spare.
Now they just need a Windows Mac editor. I hate tweaking on a phone or tablet. I want my 32" screen !! lol
I have been using Virtual Box and Android 6 emulator and it works to a degree. Still would love to see a proper Mac/PC editor with assigns for FBV etc. Makes life so much easier...
As for that Glen dude that smashed the SV30, it got him some views, but he should have known better than to base that on factory presets. That's like basing a final recording on just dry tracks without any mixing or mastering glue in post.
More to come...........
TLDR version; Amp is loud, tweakable, better with post eq shaping (internal eq block post amp), FX are glorious and plentiful, tons of great front end distortion models, plethora of amp and cab models with mic type, position, and room fx... so yeah.. more to tweak if you want to. It's really LOUD to use in any type band. You can get deep tight Chug and Kerrang out of it for high gain Boogie and similar amps. Big check mark there!! Factory presets like just about every digital amp will be very hit or miss. DIG IN!! The sounds are there.
Yes I made several tweaks to it as I did every modeler I get my hands on.. As usual starting from scratch in the editor and building the tone from there. The presets I built were basic Marshall type stuff, a Fender Twin type sound, and A Mesa Dual Rectifier which for me is the ultimate test for modelers since I am a huge Mesa amp user, and many modelers fail to pass my test lol.
Initial impressions I set aside on any unit I buy so I never really judge an amp or any piece of gear on factory presets. I learn the unit over a few days the see what I can get from it.
Spider V240 is a beast!! Do yourself a favor and dig in. The rewards are there. What I found most with the SV240 is you need to shape the tone of the amp post eq. USE THE POST EQ just like you do with high end modelers or floor units with that option.
At a level of about 2 (8 o'clock) position this amp gets loud. 10 o'clock position puts you in gig levels. Beyond noon is blow your windows out loud. This amp has a ton of headroom, and that is important because you can use that in relation to the needed tweaks for clean and dist type models.
Stereo - since I have used the IDC 100 I love the stereo sound. No, the 240V does not have a Super Wide like IDCore stereo, but is as good as any stereo amp out there. It really sounds good at lower mix levels too which a lot of modeling amps tend to have to have the mix levels boosted on the fx to carry the sound. You don't need high fx mixes for these fx to carry, and they don't have as much of a detracting factor if you do run them a bit high. The amp model still carries well.
Del FX Spillover!!!!! Holy Shiiiiiiii was that a nice touch. Kudos Line 6!! Few modeling amps have FX spillover.
Gate- Gate is an issue on every modeling amp and every pedalboard for any person that uses high gain. At stage volumes in a band nobody cares and few are listening for the gating clampdown as you chug notes. lol. I would put the gate about on par with what is in the Helix. It's pretty quiet even down to -40 Thold. Response is decent.
Distortions- there are many very good ones. Some also have tonal shaping options which is cool if you want a mid boost. I haven't experimented a whole lot with them so I'll reserve any further comment. What I have used more of was the Dis +EQ. I'm not even sure what pedal model that is lol. It works well is all I know.
FX/Mod - Tons available. Many great broad stereo FX. FX spillover on the FBV3 switching. I use these in stomp modes more than I do Per Preset. More to come. Too many to discuss. lol
Rev- Many very good ones. Basic Spring, Plate, Room stuff. Wish they had the more ethereal effects but for $500 I ain't bitching it doesn't have Strymon type effects.
Other Goodies- Drum machine, metronome, Pre recorded guitar loops for setting presets, levels, fx etc. You tweak while the amp plays. You can also use the looper. Many good practicing tools which I think are standard on all Spider V products. USB audio interface and options for Ipad, Android for Spider Remote edit. No Win or Mac editors which imo is going to harm some sales.
Tuner- nice accurate tuner and I compared it to my Polytune. It was dead on, and worked great in low tunings.
Wireless receiver for G10T transmitter. Charges the Xmitter from the amp. Cool!! Transmitter has a sleep mode too. Saves the battery if you are not playing after a few min, it shuts itself off. Nice!
Headphone jack- Good for practicing I guess. It doesn't have that great of sound though. Sort of like most modeling amps though. Don't expect much more than it is.
Headroom- 240V has tons. I would say this is louder than IDC150 and Katana 100 easily. The speakers do not fart out at cranked gig levels like many budget amps will. The speakers are Full Range and the Master Vol to me seems pretty much linear which I awesome. The same chug with the amp at 8:00 as it is at noon or above. LOUD!!
Amp Models- Basic stuff you see in the other Line 6 lineup. Difference being these had to be modified because the Helix with a pr of powered Yami's with the exact same models, cabs, sound a bit different. Again I will consider that being the Yami's are sort of scooped out as most PA FR cabinets are.
OK, I am a HUGE Mesa guy and I am always always let down by the Rect models on any modeler. High end, low end, doesn't matter. With the Spider V 240, color me impressed. All I did was start with the Recto and assigned cab. Went to the post eq and started shaping a few things. Then what I noticed was similar to my Mark amps and Recto's that you start to see a volume swing when adjusting treble on the amp, and the Post eq, works very similar with the model in this, as it does post EQ on a Mark V. I was familiar with that so the tweak didn't see as crazy. So, Line 6 apparently has this tonestack figured out. Next I cranked it up. That low clean Chug and mid-hf dist was there. Then it was just a few eq subtle changes to fit my guitar, and soon after I felt as close to Mesa sound as I can get from this amp. I'll post a video I made on Sunday to demo that sound.... others will follow.
FBV3- Very well thought out footswitch. Yes it's pricey, but it's road worthy for sure. Steel construction , nice switches, decent sized display, smooth Exp pedal. Presets and Stomps, Exp pedal with additional ext pedal jack if you want. Tuner, Preset name, Stomp type in display. It's about the size of a Tonelab LE.
I had tried the smaller Spider V versions but for me to get what I want, I need the headroom to build my sounds around. Same for other modeler amps I have tried. No beef= no interest for me. As for weight, I carry around Mesa amps and either an angled 212 or 412 with my Mark V so I'm used to dealing with heavy items. That said, the Spider V 240 is fairly lightweight. 40 lbs maybe. My amp head weighs more. I'm also a fan or stereo sound and sort of spoiled in that way, so the 240 fits that need.
Spider V, unlike its competitors uses AMP models of various Mfg vs unknown preamps that more or less cover clean crunch and lead common to Marshall and Fender. Many are based on their own mfg'd amps. As much I like that, I miss the options of an actual modeler. The issues with modelers was always amplification of that tone you get in the floor or rack unit. Once amplified, something was always amiss so you tweak or give in and say good enough.
After a week of digging in and seeing what this SV240, FBV3 and G10T can do, I am happy to say I can find a lot of great tones in this amp. Loud ? It's deafeningly loud!! Passes my Mesa test so far. Jammed with the band and they are again happy to hear the Mesa type sound vs trying to get that with the IDC. Our drummer is loud and the amp blew him away and had plenty to spare.
Now they just need a Windows Mac editor. I hate tweaking on a phone or tablet. I want my 32" screen !! lol
I have been using Virtual Box and Android 6 emulator and it works to a degree. Still would love to see a proper Mac/PC editor with assigns for FBV etc. Makes life so much easier...
As for that Glen dude that smashed the SV30, it got him some views, but he should have known better than to base that on factory presets. That's like basing a final recording on just dry tracks without any mixing or mastering glue in post.
More to come...........
TLDR version; Amp is loud, tweakable, better with post eq shaping (internal eq block post amp), FX are glorious and plentiful, tons of great front end distortion models, plethora of amp and cab models with mic type, position, and room fx... so yeah.. more to tweak if you want to. It's really LOUD to use in any type band. You can get deep tight Chug and Kerrang out of it for high gain Boogie and similar amps. Big check mark there!! Factory presets like just about every digital amp will be very hit or miss. DIG IN!! The sounds are there.
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