(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I was looking for a low wattage head for recording in my home studio and this amp caught my eye. I bought it without ever hearing it simply because of who designed it. This amp was designed by none other than Mike Fortin, if you don't know the name, he is one of the most respected amp builders in the business so for me this was a no brainer.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I run this into a Bugera ts1x12 with a WGS veteran 30 @16ohm and a Joyo vintage overdive in front. Very surprising how versatile the tone knob is with the different tone stack switches. Despite what people say this amp can do clean. You have to turn the volume up high and use the gain as a volume. It even says this in the manual. I have a Bugera G5 that does cleans very well so I don't worry about that. Before I even turned it on I swapped out the 2 12ax7 preamp tubes for a pair of matching Tung-sol 12ax7s so I can't speak to the sound of the stock ruby tubes. I am using a dean VX with guitarheads hexbuckers and a ephiphone strat with hsh pickups (guitarheads z-buckers and a no name dual rail single coil in the middle). It is a 1w amp so don't expect it to sound as loud as a bigger amp. I play about half way on the volume knob and that is plenty loud for my apartment and it has plenty of low end chunk at that volume. The overdrive just gives it a little sizzle but you don't really need it. For the money there is no better small tube head for metal or rock. The Bugera G5 retubed with Tung-sol pre and JJ power tube comes close but this is just thicker sounding distortion. I will never sell it.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I have one of these for low volume practice. No point in wearing out the tubes in my RD100 with bedroom practice. I may have gone a little overboard but it sounds soooooo good. I'm pushing 2 EVH 212 cabs. From my guitar I've got an Ibanez tube screamer mini, BBE sonic maximizer & alesis noise gate. In the effects loop I am using the sonic maximizer and noise gate also. This little head sounds killer by itself but I had all the other stuff sitting around so I hooked it up. Absolutely crushing tone!!! This little head is worth every penny. Because let's face it. Playing through a bad sounding amp makes you not want to play so much.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I bought this because my Orange stack was a bit too loud for my apartment, I wasn't expecting much, but, man this thing sounds AMAZING if you're going for a an 80's thrash/death sound. I haven't used my pedals since I bought this, it sounds THAT good. It gets loud, but not too loud, so you might need to mic up if you're playing with a drummer, or with someone else with a higher wattage amp.I'd recommend this for practice, and recording. I've used it for recordings on my Mesa recto 4x12 and it's amazing how little post-EQ work I need to do to get that thrast/death sound. The only drawback is the absence of a clean channel. Having played Fender amps mostly, even the "clean" on this amp has a fair amount of crunch to it. But, I bought this thing to thrash, no need for the cleans. Overall, if you want a great sounding practice amp for heavier music, don't look over this.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Blown away by the brutal tone I get at TV volume...this amp also was actually much quieter than I expected, surprisingly. Perfect for every kind of metal, being a Fortin-designed amp, and versatile enough to rock as well. Very simple to dial, as you get three knobs (gain, tone, and volume) and a mid shift switch. Haven't really fiddled with the effects loop up to this point, but I've heard a lot of good things about it. For recording and/or playing live, this amp also has a speaker emulator (this amp will NOT hold up in a band setting, mind you). The only features that I wish it had would be a headphone output.I am overall satisfied with my purchase of this amp in my current situation, and I consider this amp to be the best low-watt metal amp for the money.

Musical Background:

Musical Style:

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

This might be the most fun my meager budget can deliver! The sheer brutality on my senses brings a smile. My basement regular practice amp.

(see rating details)

Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

Had this amp about a year and a half now.It’s just plain terrible without a good eq in the loop, and a solid boost in front.Get all that done and into a closed back 112 cabinet, and this amp can punch.Just make sure to dial it at 777, that’s the sweet spots if you boost it pretty good. And the tone stack to the right.Then give a nice mid boost curve on your eq pedal.Lack of a reverb is a good trade for an effects loop. Much better.Haven’t used the emulated Output yet.At the time I bought this it was an excellent price. Much cheaper than it is now. Has gone up $150 since I grabbed it.A super great addition to this head would be an HX Stomp with the 4 cable mode, so you can get any eq or effects you need and also set it up as a “multiple channel” amp, this makes it much more versatile for great cleans and other gain staging if you want.I would have went with the 5 watt version if I knew now what I do. This guy gets pretty loud, but I would like to have a bit more, and I think 5 watts is a good sweet spot for bedroom or studio.