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Spider IV + FBV Shortboard = crash


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Hello everyone, 

 

After a long, long search through this forum and through internet, I'm trying to find some help here. 

 

I've been owning a Line 6 spider IV 75 for about 4 years. It has done a lot of travel, and a lot of gigs. 

It's however, from far, the best amp I've ever played with. 

 

I've been experiencing an issue that seems to be very common to Spider IV's users : my amp keeps shutting off intermittently, for no apparent reason. It seems to work very fine when nothing is plugged in (I can play at a high level and for a long time), but when I plug my FBV MKII in, it takes 5 minutes for the amp to shut down.

After that, it does not respond, does not turn on, does nothing, just as if it was completely dead. 

A few hours later, it suddenly comes back to life for absolutely no reason. 

 

Useless to think about shipping it back, it's out of warranty. 

 

If someone is experiencing the same problem, or if someone has found a way to fix it, I'd be very glad to be awared. 

 

Have a nice day !

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I've never read about the shut off problem happening only when an FBV is plugged in.  There haven't been any firmware updates for a long time, but have you used Spider Monkey to ensure you have the most-recent updates installed?

Since the FBV is only a switching device, it sounds like something in the amp's circuitry is is doing it when the FBV completes a circuit - there's nothing in the FBV itself that woudl cause an amp shut down.

Create a support ticket here on line6.com and see what the 'official' response is.

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So, I've had a response from a Line 6 technician : 

 

Hello,

did you try a different pedal-cable ? (how long?)
don't use crossed CAT5 cables

things you can try yourself are :
1-reset the spider amp

http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/amplifiers/spider-ivspider-online/spider-iv-75-150-hd-factory-reset-presets-an-r334

2-install the latest firmwares for Spider and FBV

http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/effects-controllers/fbv-mki-mkii-controllers/fbv-mk-ii-express-and-shortboard-software-update-r295

finally i can only recommend to contact a service-center if the problem cannot
be solved :

http://line6.com/find/service_center/

 

I've done everything he said, I hope now the amp will work normally again. 
For now, I'm waiting for the amp to light up again (as I said, after I plug the FBV in, it dies for about an hour, and then comes back to life).

and hope for the best .. I'll be keeping you in touch

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  • 1 month later...

My Spider IV 75 amp starting doing this about 6 months ago, does not make a difference if i use the shortboard or not.

Today, the amp went off and has not come back on, the amp sounds good when it works, but I will not get another Line 6 product,

they are not built with quality parts, cheap china lollipop to keep the cost down.

My warranty has expired, and the amp is designed to last about the same as the warranty, now you have a $300 paperweight.

The amp has never left my house, has never been mistreated, it is in mint condition, minus the thing not working.

If they are going to make a disposable amp, they need to drop the price down a bit more.

And yes, i'm a little more than pissed at this moment.... Sorry for the rant.

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Bought it new in 2013, it's not old by amp standards, my 79 Marshall JMP 50 has never let me down, only replace tubes about every 10 years...lol

and I called the service here in my city, they want $40 just to look at it, I think they need to extend their warranty a bit longer on their amps, or the option to buy an extended warranty. For novice players, they might put 40 hours on the amp in a year, that's hardly a good break in...lol 

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Manufacturers never offer extended warranties themselves - these are always done by an outside company.   If you buy from guitar center, they have a company they use, etc.

$40 is actually a very reasonable charge for equipment repair evaluation - around here it's at least $75.

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Well a $40 charge to find the problem, the labor is $80 per hour, plus cost of the part.

something minor will cost me a minimum $120, i can find these amps in the pawn shops for about the same cost.

I'll just take that money, and put it towards something that will last a bit longer.

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