The Line 6 Series amps are DSP digital emulations based upon 40 years of guitar amplifier design. Because of this you can instantly select sound at a touch of button. Many of the sounds in these amps have been recreated to sound like tones employed in certain songs for that matter. Line 6 had a number of popular guitarists create their own sounds using their amplifiers and store them in presets.

There are 2 basic types of Line 6 Spider III amps. The 1st type is in the models seventy five, 120, 150 and HD150. These amps feature 12 basic amp models, seven effects, headphone output, CD / MP3 input, inbuilt tuner, 250 artist's presets, 150 song presets, and 36 user presets. The song presets are primarily based on some of the most popular songs. The user presets are access through banks of nine banks of four presets ( A, B, C, & D ). Some of the more favored presets are the 'back in black', 'red house', and 'meshuggah'. There are many preferred guitarists who have created their own presets for this amp series. The track based presets are from the top two hundred guitar rock songs in history and are arranged into banks by genre.

The second type consists of the amp models 15,30, & HD75 which feature 4 basic amp models, 6 effects, headphone / direct output, CD / MP3 jack, and 4 basic presets. These amps sound nearly as good as the first type without as many presets and effects.

More info on the effects : even though the Spider III series models seventy five, 120, 150, and HD150 have seven different effects they can only playback 3 effects and a noise gate simultaneously. They're controlled using 3 knobs : Smart FX A, Smart FX B, and Reverb. The Smart FX A knob selects the modulation based effects like chorus / flange, phase, and tremolo. Smart FX B selects delay type effects like echo, tape echo, and sweep echo. Thereis a dedicated reverb knob. On models 15, thirty, and HD75 there are 6 basic aftermath of which two can be played back simultaneously. They're accessed through 2 knobs : Smart FX A which controls the modulation based effects, ie. Chorus, phase, tremolo, and Smart FX B which controls the time based effects, like delay and reverb. Every one of the effect knobs varies how intense the effect is from mild to very powerful.

The noise gate is enabled / disabled by holding down the TAP button and then turning the reverb knob. If you go past 12 o'clock on the dial it's enabled. The noise gate is used to switch off the output when you arenot playing your guitar. There doesn't appear to be a technique to change the threshold but it appears to work just fine for most presets.

There are also 3 optional foot controllers available but not every Spider III amp can use all 3 so check the amp specs. The footswitches connect to the amp via an RJ-45 wire which is aCAT 5 network wire like that found for connecting your personal computer to your wire modem for example. If you need a longer wire than the one included then you can simply go purchase one. The footswitch comes with a cable. Note that the Line 6 Floor Board and FB4 foot controllers will not work with Spider III. Continue reading Line 6 Spider III

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The Line 6 Spider 3 15 is the least dear amplifier Line 6 makes. It has some of the great tones found in their larger amps but in a much smaller package. It incorporates the same DSP based processing system as found in the model thirty and HD75 but only puts out 15 watts in to an eight in. speaker. There's also an MP3 / CD input jack which is a1 / eight in. stereo jack as well as a headphone / direct output.

It comes with four presets ( channels ) in which each preset has one of their favourite artist's guitar tones which have been based on : Clean, Crunch, Metal, and Insane amp models. You can change each of these with your own preset by taking a 'snapshot' of the present amps settings ( except the master volume ). The four amp models descriptions :

The Clean model is great for jazz, country, or anything where a crisp clean tone is needed. You can get shimmering highs and enough lows for all kinds of playing. The Crunch model relies on a 1968 Marshall 100 watt Plexi. When this model was made it was regarded as having a variac and the guitar was wired into both input channels to make the famous brown sound. The Metal amp model is really fun and is based on a Mesa dance Dual Rectifier. It's an excellent example with a punchy and assertive high gain metal tone. The Insane model is 'dialed in for shredding' as it where. It's based on the dual Rectifier thru the RED channel. It's got a extraordinarily high gain tone with lots of midrange and is really intense.

The Line 6 Spider III main guitar controls are Drive, Bass, Middle, Treble, and Channel Volume. Drive determines how much distortion is present. The Channel Volume is excellent in that it enables you to match the volume levels of each preset. You can also make the preset ( s ) louder or softer than the others and then save them. This way when you change tones there are any enormous volume changes. Click Here to Continue reading the rest of this review…

What I Think of the Line Six Spider III 15 Watt Amplifier - Funny videos are here

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Cool Review by By Wayne Beckham (Fontana, CA USA)

I actually won this amp in a music contest and, given the very low price, I frankly didn't expect much. Was I ever wrong!

This is a great little amp. Compared to my 70's vintage Fender Sidekick Reverb, it's light as a feather still manages to give a great, clean sound. And the volume isn't anything I'd use for stage work, but it's still loud enough to drive my wife to distraction and I'm usually relegated to keeping it a respectable level. Which, by the way, still sounds great. And the special FX are fun that my aforementioned Fender couldn't have dreamed of.

The four presets and six FX are fun to play with and you can easily get your self wrapped up just playing scales and fiddling with knobs. The four factory presets are interesting and you can use them to program your own favorite settings (the manual says) but I really haven't played with that particular feature. And the presets, at least for me, aren't all that different. I can't tell that much difference between "Crunch" and "Metal" but maybe it's just my cheesy playing.

Another reviewer has mentioned the "song based" presets, but the 15w doesn't offer this option. As near as I can tell you have to be into the Line 6 Spider III 120 Guitar Combo Amplifier range before the cabinet is even big enough to hold the necessary panels and buttons and stuff.

Still, that's not what this product is designed for. It's a fun amp for practice or play, but not pro.