Pacemaker1000 Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Been messing around with the Spider V 60 for a few days and here are my thoughts. To start with I was looking for an all in one amp for Home practice only and had been getting by with the Mustang GT and a number of amp sims run on an iPad through a Line 6 Sonic Port VX into the Fenders aux in. Decided to try the Spider as was finding I was only using the Fender for cleans as dirty was bad. That’s where I’d switch to the sims like BiasFX, Tonebridge and mobile pod. I also play backing tracks through from the iPad through the stereo Mustang speakers. This also required a 'Y' foot switch to connect guitars between amp and sonic port. All a bit complicated but worked fine. So, after much testing I would say the Spider lives up to expectations despite its reputation from some sources. Cleans are as good as the Fender and dirt is better. Beats all the sims quite easily, which is odd given their reputation and can only assume it’s down to working through the sonic port/iPad instead of I higher quality interface and a pc/mac? Some of the Spiders and Mobile Pod presets are the same like day tripper etc so it was easy to compare and the difference was substantial! The stereo speakers in the Fender sound really good with better base, possibly because it is ported. But I think the tweeter and bigger Guitar speaker in the Spider more than compensates. Just comparing the GT and Spider on ease of use is an easy one. The Fender app, despite being wireless is rubbish and not in the same league as the Line 6 offering. Neither is editing via the Amp itself. I know some complain of the Spider not being wireless but given that continued use requires the iOS or Android device be plugged into the mains anyway the Spider saves an extra adapter. Plus audio appears better through USB saves yet another lead and although I tried wireless streaming with the Fender it was a waste of time and the latency of Bluetooth meant audio editing software and YouTube etc was out of sync. My only complaint, and it’s quite a big one for me, as you may have seen from other posts, is the app freezes when you switch back from using other apps. I have raised a ticket but a fix will require either an upgrade to the app or amp firmware and I’m doubtful this will happen. Maybe tempted to get a cheap tablet if that works instead as I really like this amp for its tone and features. Hope this helps anyone on the fence over a Spider and if you have any thoughts on the freezing issue, even just to confirm it happens to you too please respond Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacemaker1000 Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 Just to confirm Line 6 have accepted the freezing issue and will be addressing it in an update 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacemaker1000 Posted August 2, 2018 Author Share Posted August 2, 2018 Oh, and also I had no trouble with a cheap android phone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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