Line 6 Spider IV 75

I brought this amp last year and it hasn't changed since. When I brought it, it came with a free 'pedal board' (basically, 4 switched to change between channels and a pedal which can be used as either a volume pedal or a wah pedal). I'm not sure whether it comes free with this amp anymore but I will still include a short review of that toward the end of this review.

So, at first glance, this isn't the best looking amplifier in the world. But, as you get closer, the dials and switches are actually very well made and feel good to play with. I actually quite like the 'Line 6' logo on the front but I do believe it looks a bit boring - you may think different!

But, you'll forget all about the drab look once you have a go with the amp. It sounds great right away, whether you're playing with it clean or dirty (or, in terms of the dial, 'clean' or 'insane'). I believe that the amp is really fit for those who want to play more dirty than clean though, simply because of the way it sounds. Although, then again, I do not use this amp to play heavy metal music at all, I find that this amp can find a very similar tone to that of Arctic Monkeys or other brit-pop bands (bright, twangy and slightly distorted). But, in all means, this amp can suffice someone that wishes to play Slipknot or Trivium.

When you start playing around with the dials, you'll find the pre-set tones of other musicians, and even for certain songs (such a Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day). Bands include Stone Sour, Slipknot, POD, Maroon 5 and others too. The amp works in a way that you switch through the bands and musicians and then choose from around 5 songs or pre-set tones that relate to that artist. You can also find 'Fun' pre-set tones and from '1950s' to '2000s' too. However, I like originality and don't often use these set tones and create my own 'channel sets' (a set of four channels which I would choose before a performance and then be able to switch through the four channels within the set either with a pedal board or an easy-to-use button on the amp). This is also easy to do - however complicated it may sound.

You can also loop riffs on the amp, which is useful for musicians that want to play solo. The amp can also, apparently, play drum beats, but I haven't quite figured that out - I think you need to go online and download these yourself somehow. I did have a go but this was too complicated for me and I found it a lot easier playing a drum beat from a keyboard or computer.

The amp is 75 watts (as obvious) and is easily big enough for small performances - I used it at an end-of-year performance with my band on a large stage accompanied by an acoustic drum kit and the amp was more than loud enough (not on full volume either).

I have also used this amp at parties to play music through, which is not really the amp's primary use, but the music was clear and had more than enough bass to shake the floor.

I mentioned in the disadvantages that it is sometimes hard to find a 'lighter sound'. By this, I mean that the amp is very bassy - even when the bass is turned low and the treble is turned high. Personally, this is not a disadvantage as I like heavier tones, but for some people, this may be a problem. Of course it is possible to find lighter tones, but not maybe as light as tones you would find from other amps.

The amp also has a built-in tuner, like many other combo amps today. It's easy to use and very helpful!

I'd also like to compliment the amp's effects, such as the phraser, tremolo, chorus, delay and echo. They sound good and they're easy to locate. It can also be helpful to use some pre-set tones which use the effects as these sound best really.

Mentioned earlier, the amp goes from 'clean' to 'insane'. Between these two levels of distortion are 'twang', 'class a', 'blues', 'crunch' and 'metal'. Metal and insane are very high levels of distortion but you can calm them down with the 'drive' dial.

With so many effects and options, it may be hard to remember a tone that you have just created and really like - but simply save it into a set of channels and name it whatever you like! It's easy.

I mentioned that I would talk about the pedal board a little, at the beginning of this review. I'm not sure whether the offer for a free Line 6 Spider IV pedal is still on, but when I brought my amp in October last year, I was given a form to send off for my free pedal and it arrived just as it said it would. The pedal has four switches, simply 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' (channels depending on which channel set you have set on the amp). And a single pedal which acts as both a 'wah' and a volume pedal - this can be switched by simply kicking it down. The volume is very useful and I have never really used the wah function. You can also tune your guitar with the pedal if you don't want to bend down and look at your amp on stage.

Overall, the amp has an amazing set of features and tones. It's a really lovely piece of equipment to work with and I don't need a thousand different pedals cramping up the place because of it. I would happily pay a larger sum of money for this amp (I paid just under £250) and still throw compliments at it.

Thanks for taking your time reading this review; if I have left anything out that you wish to know, please let me know.