Simple question about Spider V + expression pedal

[PeteKreff]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm confused about how to use an expression pedal to control the Spider V's built-in effects. 

1) Do I have to use an expression pedal in combination with one of the Line6 foot controllers or can an expression pedal be connected directly to the Spider V? 

2) If I have to use an expression pedal in combination with a foot controller, does the expression pedal have to be a specific Line6 pedal?

 

Thanks for your help.

[gtrman100]

You have to connect the expression pedal to one of the Line 6 foot controllers, it can't be connected directly to the amp. You could connect a typical volume pedal that you would connect between your guitar and amp but that would simply be a volume pedal, whereas you can control other functions with a pedal connected to a floorboard. Check the website for compatible floorboards.

[PeteKreff]

Hi gtrman100, and thanks for a lot for your reply.

I'd kind of suspected that was the way it worked. 

If I buy the FBV MkII, can I use any old expression pedal with it to control effects settings in the Spider V? Does the FBV foot controller have a standard TRS input for the expression pedal?

The Line 6 FAQ page says they "recommend" the EX-1 expression pedal, but they don't say you can't use non-proprietary expression pedals with the FBV MkII.

I can't find any definitive information on this anywhere, even in the manuals I downloaded, so that's why I'm asking the experts!

 

Thanks again, I really appreciate it. 

[gtrman100]

You can use any generic expression pedal, or a volume pedal with 25ohm output like the Ernie Ball VPjr. It does have the generic TRS jack. It's great to have a foot controller anyway if you're going to play live. I have an FBV3 which works great for accessing all the basic tones.

No problem, glad to help!

[PeteKreff]

Hi again gtrman100,

 

it's doing my head in that I don't seem to be able to find the info I need either in manuals or on YouTube etc., so I have to ask another question. Well, a couple of questions, actually.

 

Using my Spider V 30W with the iPad attached, it's clear that some of the effects can be controlled with a pedal, and this pedal control is neither wah-wah or volume: for example, I think you can use a pedal to control the dry/wet balance of a synth or tremolo effect or the dry/wet balance of a delay effect. 

Now, as far as I can work out, there are 3 conceivable Line6 pedals to use with my Spider V: the FBV Express MkII, the FBV 3 and the FBV Shortboard MkII. The built-in pedal on all these controllers is referred to "wah-wah/volume" - so will that built-in pedal control effects that are not, strictly speaking wah-wah or volume effects? Or does the pedal on the foot controller do only wah-wah or volume but will do that on every single preset (because all of them obviously have a volume setting and all seem to have a wah-wah option, though it's often not activated), so I'll need an expression pedal?

 

All I want from a foot controller is the possibility of controlling the effects. As it's extremely unlikely I'm ever going to play live, I don't need to worry about kneeling down in front of the Spider V to change presents. But if I'm recording into a DAW, I want to be able to bring effects in and out, and that kind of stuff. Because I don't need to switch between presets, or even turn effects on and off, using foot switches, I'd rather not have to fork out for the FBV 3 or Shortboard.

 

So:

1) is the FBV Express MkII compatible with my 30W Spider V?

2) Can its pedal be used to control the Spider V effects where there is a "pedal" function option, or is the FBV pedal only for wah-wah and volume? As far as I can tell, you can't hook up an expression pedal to the FBV Express MkII - is that right?

Now, If the FBV Express MkII is either incompatible with the Spider V, or its pedal doesn't control anything other than wah-wah and volume, or you can't hook up an external expression pedal to it, it looks like I will have to buy one of the expensive foot controllers to do what I am looking for. So: 

Does the pedal that comes with the FBV 3 or Shortboard control other effects than just wah-wah and volume? Or do I still need another expression pedal? 

 

If by some miracle you can answer these questions, I'll donate some money to your favourite charity  :-)

 

Cheers, 

 

Pete

 

[gtrman100]

-The FBV Express MKII is compatible with your amp.

-You can assign some effect parameters to the volume pedal of the FBV shortboard. It depends on the preset which effects can be assigned. Not all parameters can be assigned.

- You can't connect an expression pedal to the FBV Express. You'll have to get one of the bigger boards to connect one. I have an FBV3 and an outboard expression pedal and it works great. But it's a pretty big investment for a fairly cheap amp like the Spider V 30.

- Go to the Line 6 website, they have a full description of all the floorboards

- I am my favorite charity, All donations are non tax deductible. Minimum donation $1000.

 

[PeteKreff]

Hi, I'm not sure I can stretch to 1000 dollars right now, but I'll start putting some cash aside.

 

- The first thing I did was look on the Line 6 website, but they never mention any products' restrictions (like: you can't connect an expression pedal to this foot controller), so that's why I'm not sure about so much stuff. Also, this is my first ever guitar amp.

- So the FBV Express MKII is generally compatible, but I assume its foot pedal will only control wah-wah and volume effects - is that right? And since I already own a wah-wah/volume pedal which I can put between my guitar and the Spider V, there's no point getting the Express.

- Sure, not all the effects parameters on the Spider V can be controlled by pedal. I'm not sure how Line 6 decided which ones would be pedal-controllable and which wouldn't - why not make the wet/dry balance on every effect controllable?

- And you're right about the bigger boards being a pretty big investment, though I've seen some secondhand ones offered online for about half the retail price. 

- For recording into a DAW, maybe the best idea then would be to buy a looper - so I could play a riff and then have free hands to bring in and otherwise play with effects while the looped audio goes through the amp and into the DAW.

 

Thanks again for your help. It's people like you who make the Internet great.

 

Pete

[fflbrgst]

On 3/1/2022 at 2:28 AM, PeteKreff said:

- For recording into a DAW, maybe the best idea then would be to buy a looper - so I could play a riff and then have free hands to bring in and otherwise play with effects while the looped audio goes through the amp and into the DAW.

 

Thanks again for your help. It's people like you who make the Internet great.

 

Pete

 

If you are recording into a DAW, you don't need a looper!  Just record the the rhythm guitar into the DAW, play it back while you do your lead guitar work.  You can't play a loop (from a looper) into the amp and change FX on your lead guitar without also changing the sound of the loop.

[PeteKreff]

What I mean is that if the looper is placed between the guitar and the Spider V, the looper will play the clean, unprocessed guitar signal through the Spider's amp emulations and effects, so I can gradually bring in an effect over the course of eight bars, say, and record this, including the live manipulation of the effects, into my DAW.

That makes sense, doesn't it?

[gtrman100]

You also have the built in guitar samples to experiment with the effects.

[jeffcop102]

Is the new Line 6 Spider V 120 MkII 1x12" 120-watt Modeling Combo Amp compatible with FBV Express MKII pedal. I just want to control volume and 4 presets like the old Spider Amps. Thank you