Tube Combo Amps

As I mentioned in my original post, I dont mind using pedals to find my sound, and the Classic 30 was in the mix for sure.

Ultimately tho, (fair or not) my past experience with peaveys was a deciding factor.

alright... I took the dive.

I have a 112 Spidervalve on the way.

Ive always been pleased with previous line 6 products, (AX212, Pod 2.0, PodXT) and the purpose they serve.

I was reluctant to say the least, about this spider valve.. After trying it out (against other amps in its range) at GC on multiple occasions, this amp was by far the most inspiring of the bunch.

I dig those. I played one in Sam Ash a while back and some dude came over and asked if I was in a band. I guess he was impressed.

After a few hours of play time, I can safely say the 'on board' effects are all but unusable.

The delay is ok, but lacks any real ability to customize. The Flange/chorus/phase are terribly un-customizable...

That said, many of the presets can be an awesome avenue to finding a good tone (turn off any effects, and customize to pleasure.)

Hooking my POD into the the power amp input jack on the back (bypassing autoFX of the amp) has been very pleasing.

I agree that the modulation effects are almost unusable because you can't customize them, but I do find the built-in overdrive/distortion and noise gate to be useful. The delay you can tap tempo, so that's good enough for me. The reverb is nothing special. I have the FBV shortboard to go with my 212, but I'd probably recommend the route you're taking to someone buying the amp - plug your existing pedals in the back and bypass the built-in fx altogether. It's still a great amp for the price, and very versatile.