Line 6 Spider Valve 212, Spider Valve HD100, Spider Valve 112 User Manual

Pilot’s Guide

Manuel de pilotage

Pilotenhandbuch Pilotenhandboek

Manual del Piloto

An in-depth exploration of the technologies and

pulsing tonal pleasures of Spider Valve.

40-00-0123 Electrophonic Limited Edition available @ www.line6.com/manuals Rev A

WARNING: To reduce the risk of ﬁre or

electric shock, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.

NOTICE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant

to Part 15 of FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

CAUTION: To reduce the risk of ﬁre or electric shock,

do not remove screws. No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualiﬁed service personnel.

The lightning symbol within a triangle means “electrical caution!” It indicates the presence of information about operating voltage and potential risks of electrical shock.

The serial number can be found on the back panel of your Spider Valve. It’s the number that begins with “(21)”. Please note it here for future reference:

SERIAL NO:

The exclamation point within a triangle means “caution!” Please read the information next to all caution signs.

Please Note:

All product names referred to in this manual are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or afﬁliated with Line 6. These trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose tones and sounds were studied during Line 6’s sound model development.

You should read these Important Safety Instructions

Keep these instructions in a safe place

Before using your Spider Valve, carefully read the applicable items of these operating instructions and the safety suggestions.

1. Obey all warnings on the amp and in the Spider Valve Manual.

2. Connect only to AC power outlets rated 100-120V or 200-240V 47-63Hz (depending on voltage range of the power supply; refer to label on the unit).

3. Service is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as:

• power-supply cord or plug is damaged

• liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus

• the unit has been exposed to rain or moisture

• the unit does not operate normally or changes in performance in a signiﬁcant way

• the unit is dropped or the enclosure is damaged.

4. Do not touch tubes during operation. Wait until you are certain that the tubes have cooled sufﬁciently, approximately 1020 minutes after the amp has been powered off.

5. Do not place near heat sources, such as radiators, heat registers, or appliances which produce heat. Keep the rear of the unit at least three inches from walls or other items that might block heat radiation.

6. Do not block any of the ventilation openings or use in an enclosed space.

7. Guard against objects or liquids entering the enclosure. Do not use or place unit near water.

8. Do not step on power cords. Do not place items on top of power cords so that they are pinched or leaned on. Pay particular attention to the cord at the plug end and the point where it connects to the amp.

9. Unplug the amp when not in use for extended periods of time. Unplug the amp during lightning storms.

10. Clean only with a damp cloth.

11. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the grounding type plug. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The third prong is provided for your safety. When the provided plug does not ﬁt into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

12. Only use attachments/accessories speciﬁed by the manufacturer.

13. Prolonged listening at high volume levels may cause irreparable hearing loss and/or damage. Always be sure to practice “safe listening.”

14. Always make sure that a speaker cabinet or equivalent load device is connected to the appropriate speaker output before turning the amp on.

15. Always replace the Sovtek 5881 power tubes with a matched set of the same type at the same time. Line 6 recommends that this work be performed by an Authorized Service Center.

16. When changing the output tubes please be sure to have the bias checked and adjusted, if necessary. Line 6 recommends that this work be performed by an Authorized Service Center.

17. Always refer routine maintenance and service issues to an Authorized Line 6 Service Center. For your convenience, these can be located online at http://www.line6.com/support/servicecenters or by calling Line 6 Customer Service at 818-575-

3600.

Table of Contents

The Spider Valve Story .............................................................. i

Best of Both Worlds .............................................................................................i

Reinhold Bogner ..................................................................................................i

Spider Valve – This is a Real Tube Amp ............................................................ii

Controls & Connections ........................................................ 1•1

Presets, Tuner & More ........................................................... 2•1

Presets ............................................................................................................. 2•1

Saving Presets ................................................................................................. 2•1

Tap Button “Extra” Functions ........................................................................ 2•2

Special Hidden Functions .............................................................................. 2•3

Factory Reset .................................................................................................. 2•3

Modeled Amps & Effects ....................................................... 3•1

Which Amps & Effects Are Modeled? .......................................................... 3•1

Effects ............................................................................................................. 3•3

Using Your Feet ...................................................................... 4•1

FBV2 .............................................................................................................. 4•1

FBV Express ................................................................................................... 4•2

FBV Shortboard ............................................................................................. 4•4

Maintenance and Troubleshooting ....................................... 5•1

Tubes .............................................................................................................. 5•1

Tube Troubleshooting and Maintenance ....................................................... 5•1

General Troubleshooting ............................................................................... 5•2

Fuses ............................................................................................................... 5•2

The Spider ValVe STory

Best of Both Worlds

Welcome to the Line 6 family and thanks for choosing Spider Valve, the ﬁrst-born of a new breed of Modeling Tube Ampliﬁers. We’ve worked hard to push the envelope of guitar ampliﬁcation with this revolutionary product.

We all know somebody who’s jacked a POD® into a tube amp. This kind of rig gives you the best of both worlds: the killer range of our award-winning amp and effects models, coupled with the warmth and performance of a tube amp. Over the years, we’ve constantly been asked to design an amp using this approach. We listened, but we waited patiently until everything was in place to deliver a truly exceptional ampliﬁer. That time is now. We recently entered into a partnership with a true legend in tube amp design, Reinhold Bogner. Together we have designed Spider Valve, a world-class tube amp with the versatility of a Line 6 modeler.

Forward

Reinhold Bogner

Reinhold Bogner had been designing and building ampliﬁers long before leaving Germany in 1989. Moving to Los Angeles he quickly gained the trust of many inﬂuential players, including Steve Stevens, Dan Huff, Allan Holdsworth, Mike Landau, and Steve Vai, who sought out his skill at modifying and custom building their amps. Eddie Van Halen entrusted Reinhold to overhaul and revitalize Eddie’s arsenal of amps. Eddie was pleased. Bogner Ampliﬁcation was born.

Forward

To create Spider Valve, our team of guitar-slinging engineers worked tirelessly with Reinhold. By tapping into his boutique design sensibilities, we were able to fully integrate our modeling front end into his world-class tube amp design, conjuring up the rich harmonics, subtle compression and signature attitude of a great vintage ampliﬁer. The outcome of our work together has exceeded our highest expectations, delivering an experience that is much more than the sum of its individual parts.

Spider Valve – This is a Real Tube Amp

The signal ﬂow of the Spider Valve 112 and 212 is shown below:

As you can see, Spider Valve consists of a complete Class AB tube ampliﬁer fed by a digital front end, which houses all the magic of our amp and effect models. Make no mistake; these are not “marketing tubes”. This is a real tube amp. 12AX7 pre-amp tubes, which are always working to provide the harmonic richness and compression of a great vintage tube amp, drive the phase splitter and 5881 power amp complement.

Spider Valve truly offers the “best of both worlds” — affording you a tremendous range of Line 6 tone and effects with the vibe and stage-proven performance of a world class tube amp. We hope you enjoy playing these amps as much as we enjoyed creating them.

Controls & Connections

ConTrolS & ConneCTionS

Guitar In – Plug in here.

Amp Models – Spin this knob to select one of twelve Amp Models, which are

inspired by particular voicings or channels on some of our favorite amps All the Spider Valve controls except for Master and Presence will automatically be set to sound great with that Amp Model, so you can just play! See Chapter 3 for more info.

Tone Controls – Drive is like the volume or gain knob on other amps; controls

how much “dirt” you get in your sound. Bass, Mid, and Treble controls are customized for each Amp Model to give you optimal tonal control.

1•1

Channel Memories – Four programmable channels come pre-loaded with

great factory presets. These buttons are also used when saving user presets. See Chapter 2 for more information.

Channel Volume – This control helps you balance the volumes of different

amp-and-effect setups that you store in your Spider Valve’s channels.

Mod Effects – Turn this knob to pick chorus/ﬂange, phaser or tremolo, with a

range of settings – from subtle to overpowering – for each effect. The LED shows the active effect.

Delay – picks delay, tape echo or sweep echo, with a range of mix settings from low

to high. The LED shows the active effect and the Tap button LED ﬂashes the delay time. Tap the Tap button to change the delay time.

Tap Button and LED – Tap on the Tap button a few times to set the delay

time, press and hold to activate the built-in Tuner.

Controls & Connections

1•2

Reverb – Dial up more or less verb.

Master Volume – Controls the overall volume of the ampliﬁer, without

affecting your tone. This is a passive, analog control that is tied directly to the tube amp.

Presence – Controls the brightness of the tube power amp. This is also a passive,

analog control that is tied directly to the tube amp.

Navigator & Channel Display – Navigate up and down to go through

the various banks of presets (user, artist based, song based). Navigate left and right to select from different sounds in each of those banks. The display will indicate which preset you have selected both alphanumerically (e.g. 01A, 60S) and by name (e.g. Crunchzilla).

Standby – Use this switch to silence the on-board speakers without turning the

amp off. For optimum tube life, it’s important to use this switch when powering up the amp as follows:

Set the Standby switch to the Standby (down) position.

• Set the Power switch to the On (up) position.

• Let the amp warm up for at least a minute.

• Set the Standby switch to the On (up) position

• Rock out!

•

Power – Turns the amp on or off. Be sure to always have speaker(s) connected

BEFORE turning the power on, and speakers should only be disconnected AFTER the power is turned off.

Controls & Connections

FBV Pedal – Plug in one of our optional Line 6 FBV foot controllers for channel

switching, tap tempo, effects on/off control, wah/volume pedals, access to 32 more channel memories, and tuner capabilities. See Chapter 4 for more details.

Balanced Direct Out and Ground Lift – Provides full-time POD®

-quality tone for studio-direct recording.

1•3

The ground lift switch can be used to eliminate hum or buzz that might be heard when connecting to equipment that is in another location. Place the switch in the LIFT position to internally “lift” (disconnect) the Pin 1 ground connection of the XLR or leave it in the GND position to leave the Pin 1 ground connection intact.

Preamp Out – This is a pre-tube amp output than can be used for all sorts of

things. For one, you can drive a second amp from the Spider Valve’s modeling pre, or you can use it as an “effects send” to feed outboard effects. You can then use the Power Amp In either as an input from another preamp or multi-effects unit like the POD X3 Live or as a “series effects return”. However, we don’t recommend that you use this output for direct recording – that’s what the Balanced Direct Out is for.

Power Amp In – This is a direct connection to the all-tube power amp,

including the 12AX7 preamp tubes, matched 5881 power amp tubes, Master, and Presence controls.

Plugging into this jack will internally disconnect the Preamp Out feed to the tube amp.

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