Upgrade from Spider III to Spider V??

[01GT]

Background:

I bought a Line 6 Spider III HD150 when it first came out (running into a 2x12 cab w/ EVM 12L speakers).  I love it -- I use it mostly for high-gain heavy tones, but I get great cleans too.  I find the Spider III factory presets mostly unusable, but have 5-8 of my own user presets that are absolutely killer (and was all I really needed, matching high-gain and clean tones to my different guitars, etc.), but you have to really tweak to get those great user presets.  Up to now, I have never felt the need to upgrade my old dependable Spider III because the tones out of it have been excellent.  However, I am really considering upgrading it to Spider V 240HC mk II.  I am concerned, though, that I may not find tones as good as my old Spider III had.  The increased functionality of the Spider V is nothing to me without great tone.

 

Question:

Should I be concerned that I won't find tones as good as in my old Spider III?  What are your thoughts about upgrading?

[gtrman100]

I think you'll be very happy with the Spider V amp models. I've got the 240 and am very happy with the wide range of good tones and effects. The power amp will deliver the tones really well in a gig situation. 

[01GT]

Thank you for the thoughtful reply

[bobcoss]

With the Spider V, You might experience amp model overload....  There are so many amp models included, and they don't translate exactly to the older spider series.   I have the 240hc, and I have fun just spinning through the amp models and trying different settings.    I've got it sitting on an old peavey 4x12 with stereo and I'm very happy with it.   I must say that I use my Helix and Powercab+ 112 more than the 240hc.

 

You will likely be amazed at the sound of just the head by itself.

 

BTW.  You can find used 240hc mark I around for quite a savings and it's upgradable to the same firmware as the mark II.

[01GT]

Initial Impressions After Quite a Few Days with the Spider V 240 HC head:

While there is a lot of "good" in the initial presets, I did not find any "great" in the heavy tones ... which, initially, was quite stressful considering how much I liked my (now gone) previous Spider iii head.  It took me days of tweaking to get the Spider V to get seriously into the heavy tone game ... so much so, that early on in my tweaking I was seriously considering abandoning the Spider V and just going back to Spider iii ... or maybe find another amp solution.  I thought that if I could find some really good place to start in the initial user presets, I could tweak my way to "awesome tone".   It did not work out that way, though.  So I tried a new approach ... in the Spider Remote (PC version;, which worked flawlessly  by the way), I went with finding my own "foundation amp" setup that I could build on -- no effects, except maybe some reverb.  Tweaking within the Line 6 "Insane" amp head, I finally established good tone to my ears (again this without any effects).  At that point, I knew this amp was going to work out for me as I had a killer "foundation" tone to build off of.  Then layering on top of that "foundation" some overdrive, and touches of phase and digital delay, the tone was now "great".  And with so much ability to further tweak/select/control anything (and seemingly everything) in the Remote app, the amazing tone that I found is only going to get better and better.

 

While the Spider iii was definitely capable of top-shelf clean and dirty tones (which was why I reluctant to upgrade), the functionality compared to Spider V with the Remote app is like comparing a 1960 DC-5 airplane to the space shuttle.  This is especially true when considering the on-board effects, where on Spider iii the effects were minimal and with almost zero control.  In Spider V, the effects selection is HUGE and with ENDLESS control.  I also learned that there is a big difference in what you are listening to the amp through.  Part of my problem was that I was using the Spider V head's on-board speakers via the "Cabinet Modelling" switch set to "on".  When switching that to "off" (i.e, turning off the head's speakers) and leaning completely on my existing 2x12 cabinet loaded with awesome EVM 12L speakers (vintage from 1982) , the amp really came to life.  I suspect that different speaker configurations are why some people's "awesome" presets do not sound well in others' setups ears -- the speaker setup is "1", and the guitar/pickups (that everyone seems to focus on) is only "2" in that equation.

 

It is important to note that I am now falling in love with this new Spider V head.  Once you find that killer tone (like I now have, and I am still very much a Spider V newbie), THEN you can really start to appreciate all of the technology, all of the functionality, and the near endless horizon of the Spider V head's tonal possibilities.  The Spider line has come so far since Spider iii.  For any one who is very picky about their guitar tone and is considering taking the Spider V plunge, just accept that you will likely need to spend a LOT of time experimenting/ tweaking/ learning to really start dialing in your tone (that is "a LOT of time" as in "measured in many days" in my particular case).  ALSO very important for potential Spider V purchasers, the Spider Remote app is a CRITICAL piece of the puzzle.  And just so you will know that I am not a Line 6 shill, I will be VERY honest and tell you that I was very close to sending the Spider V back.  I am sooooooo glad that I hung in there and kept exploring.  Nice job, Line 6 ... the Spider V is an awesome amp.