Eversince i got this amp I`ve been using this on tour with my band & it delivers! You dont need any multi effects unit cause it has a built in effects & it covers guitars players tone settings. Simply Amazing!!!!

This is a really great amp! It's not super-expensive, but it is of good quality.

There are a ton of pre-sets and the amp is loud and clear.
You can get a good clean sound, a twangy country sound, a blues sound, a good crunch, and a really neat heavy metal sound on the 'insane' setting. Getting this amp reinvigorated my interest in the guitar. Finally, I'm generating tones that sound like those on classic rock and metal albums that I want to emulate. (My axe is a 1984 Fender Stratocaster (American)).

In addition to the presets there are also a lot of dialable effects (chorus, delay, reverb, phaser, etc.) and you can save your own custom setups for later quick-switching.

This amp also has an easy-to-use one button electronic tuner which really helps for quickly getting your guitar in tune.

I upgraded from the Spider 2 212 in March 2007. The difference between the 2 models is night and day. Don't get me wrong, I loved my Spider 2, but the presets for the 3 series are out of this world. When Spider says "it's like having a rock artist set up your amp," its true! The different tones are incredible. I've had my amp for a couple of months now and I still haven't gone through half of them. The FBV Shortboard is directly compatible from the 2 to the 3 series although I had to make a call to make sure because the websites and dealer ads are not completely specific. There is a loud pop that occurs when you turn it on, but most say it's normal and according to the Spider websites, others have this too. I love the sound of the Marshall, but for the money, the Marshall lacks the tone flexibility of the Line 6. I may still get a Marshall just for the British roar, but on a tight budget, the Line 6 is it. One trick I've learned is that from the presets, you can make slight adjustments of the dials and get a completely different sound. One example is to take 311 Down and dial the Drive a couple of notches down. You get a crunchier sound that is not emulated by the other settings. Do this with all of the settings and you just multiplied your possibilities by the hundreds. Get this amp, you won't regret it.