Sound: I play through this with an Ibanez (with stock pickups, which are pretty bad) into a Dunlop Crybaby 95Q and a DigiTech Whammy 4. I have a DigiTech Digidelay in the effects loop and a Laney FS-2 footswitch for the amp. Using the effects loop doesn't degrade the sound at all. The cleans on the amp are great: really clear and bright sounds, and the 'bright' Switch makes it even sharper, even biting. The clean channel breaks up at around 2/3 o'clock, and it still sounds fantastic, but would make it difficult to get a clean sound in a gig without using a mic for the amp. Still, for 15W, it has a decent amount of headroom. The clean channel is the main reason I bought this amp; it sounds lovely. The overdrive channel is also just what I need. It ranges from a lightly driven blues/pop-rock sound, to a fantastic, heavy Neil Young-like sound when the Drive is turned up full. It isn't high gain: it can't do anything heavier than classic rock-like tones, but it sounds really full and thick: great for Josh Homme-ish tones when on full. The bright Switch, which can be a little too harsh in the clean channel, allows for a greater variety of tones, and can add a bit of high-end gain. I have tried this with some other guitars, and results were mixed. Using a friends Fender strat it was, for me, far too bright, almost piercing at higher volumes. But another friend's Italia Mondial hollowbody added a whole new dimension to the amp: it was darker, heavier, and smoother. The amp seems very responsive to the guitar and pickups used, varying widely in tone with different guitars, which is one of the great things about it, and means that the amp has a lot more sonic variation than is obvious from first playing it. Don't buy this amp if you want heavy distortion: even if you intend to use pedals, it'd be a better idea to buy a high gain amp. Buy this for its bright, chiming cleans and light yet crunchy overdrive. // 8
Reliability & Durability: Although I've never used it at a proper gig, from my (limited, I've owned it for 3 months) experience it seems fairly resilient. I always take the utmost care in handling it, which, due to the amp's light weight, isn't too much of a strain on the arms. Nothing on it seems likely to come loose at all, and it feels very sturdy. I've transported the amp around in cars quite a lot for band practices, and there is never a problem (I always put it on something soft and strap it up to be safe). As far as I can tell (and admittedly I haven't had too much experience) if you are careful with this amp it should be fine |
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