stevedenney

Hi Matthew, you can scroll up to see my reply to esands back on Aug 28, 2018. The problem was resolved when I went to using a heavy-duty external expression pedal for volume control instead of the pedal on the shortboard. But that introduced a new intermittent problem with loss of connection to the external pedal, as I described above. Sorry to say that I ultimately gave up on the Spider combo, and replaced it with a Quilter amp and custom-built pedalboard instead. I simply couldn't rely on the Spider for live performances. Best of luck to you, I hope you have a better experience.

itmamyzd, since your question is about a completely different problem with a completely different piece of equipment, you might want to create a new post for it instead of using this thread. Good luck. :)

esands, sounds like you've been methodical and thorough in troubleshooting. If it were me, I'd definitely take the amp AND the board to a service center. Even though you tested without the board and still have the problem, you may have multiple issues and the board could still be contributing to the overall problems (based on my personal experience). Let them test the combo as a set, since that's how you use it. My $0.02 for what it's worth.

esands, long story short, the problem turned out to be the shortboard. More specifically, the volume pedal on the shortboard. My playing style depends heavily on volume pedal usage, for attack swells and rapid volume changes while accompanying, and frankly, the pedal on the shortboard just isn't made for heavy usage. I wound up buying a heavy-duty Boss expression pedal, and connecting it to the expression jack on the board, so now I use that for volume control, using the built-in shortboard pedal only for occasional wah or other effects. That eliminated the intermittent "sputtering" problem. This took forever to diagnose; after the main board replacement mentioned above, the problem reoccured, and Line 6 was nice enough to swap me a whole new amp - which behaved the same way, so finally we focused on the shortboard. It was deceiving because (as I wrote way, way above) at one time the problem occurred without the shortboard connected - I'm speculating this may have been a second, distinct issue which was corrected with the new main board, but the original issue with the shortboard remained. In any event, using the external volume pedal fixed the problem. Unfortunately, it introduced a new problem, in which the shortboard occasionally gets confused and loses connectivity to the external pedal (suddenly, mid-song, the green shortboard pedal LED lights up and we jump to full volume). I have to unplug and re-plug the expression cable to make it work again. This doesn't happen frequently, but often enough to be annoying. Honestly, after 5 years with my Spider, I'm pretty disappointed with it for live gig usage. It's light, portable, and versatile, and sounds good when it behaves, but just isn't reliable enough for onstage.

Just returning to my post to put in a follow up. I did indeed have to get the main board replaced. So far the problem has not recurred. RickySamosa, I would agree with fflbrgst's advice. Try a factory reset, and make sure you're running the latest firmware on both amp and shortboard (if you have one). If your problem continues, get thee to a service center, as it's not likely to resolve itself. The master volume pot is the only "analog" control on the amp (I think), and it may be something as simple a flaky pot or solder joint. Good luck.

SchectersDemon, A440 is just a shorthand way of saying that you are tuned to a standard reference pitch - that is, when you play the note A above middle C, it is tuned to the international standard of 440 Hertz. Tuning forks use this standard. So do electronic tuners, but some also offer you the flexibility to adjust the reference pitch slightly (which allows you to easily use your tuner but also sync up with, say, a slightly out-of-tune piano). Anyway, what phil_m is saying is that all you need to do is use the readout on your tuner - for drop D, just tune your low string till the tuner reads D, and you'll be in tune with any other instruments that tuned using the A440 standard reference pitch to calibrate. Clear as mud? :) See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A440_(pitch_standard) if you want to learn more.

You might try the artist presets for Lee Ritenour. I like the LeeRitAcc-Elec one for clean electric jazz. Good luck!

Hi toneman, Yep, I think you're right. I do know a bit about electronics (enough to be dangerous), but with the amp under warranty, the service center is probably my smartest option. Just wondering if anyone else had experienced a similar problem - didn't want to overlook any possible easy fixes. Thanks.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has run into a similar issue. I bought my Spider IV 75 + Shortboard FBV MkII about 11 months ago, and I like it very much. But I've noticed a problem developing over the last few months. At some point during a gig, the volume will start fluctuating rapidly - I can only describe it as a "sputtering" sound, almost like it's cutting in and out. It started doing this a few months ago, and seems to be happening more often - at least once if not more often a night. I'm fairly certain it's the amp itself, as I've swapped guitars, patch cords, the Cat 5 cable for the shortboard, and even run without the shortboard connected, but still the problem occurs. I've also done a factory reset, and checked the master volume pot - as best I can tell, it's not scratchy or physically damaged. This occurs on a number of different patches, so not limited to a particular tone. I'm speculating at this point, but it almost seems as if it might be a flaky solder joint or other component that gets intermittent once warmed up. Any other suggestions to try from Line 6 land before I haul the amp into a service center? Thanks in advance.