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mooseherman « Great Solid State Amp »
Published on 01/09/11 at 19:30This is a solid state amp made by Trace Elliot. This is quite honestly the only amplifier, or product for that matter, that I've ever seen made by this company. They make some other stuff but I haven't seen it. I'd read some really good reviews online and decided to try it out.
It has 40 watts of power. There are two channels. The second channel has a third channel option, basically a gain boost. There are EQs for both channels. The first channel has one volume knob, while the second has a gain, gain boost, and master volume controls. Both channels also enjoy a master reverb control as well as two master volume controls. There is one 1/4" input as well as an effects send/return which are also 1/4". There is also a footswitch option.
UTILIZATION
Using this amp is a piece of cake. It's easy to get a great sound out of it with almost any guitar. It's not noisy, as it's solid state, so that's a nice feature too. Switching between channels is tough without a footswitch, but with one, it's a piece of cake. Fortunately I have the official one, so I can actually kick in the boost controls which makes the distortion channel that much better. Being able to kick in a boost just for solos is a really great option. The EQs are also great for dialing in just the right tone.
SOUNDS
This sounds great for a solid state. Actually, this is a pretty great sounding amp in general. It's not as warm as a tube but it comes pretty close. Plus, it's almost completely noiseless and sounds great with pedals, though honestly, the distortion on it is pretty great too. It's a great buy for somebody who doesn't really like pedals and effects. If you just want to switch from clean, to dirty, to solo (aka really dirty), it's easy as cake and it sounds great. The gain channel tends to be a bit much for my taste, but overall i can't complain about it as it's got range. The extra boost doesn't color the sound too much, just enough to give solos a bit more grit and character.
OVERALL OPINION
I like the price, range, and tone of this amp a lot. While it doesn't have the rawness of my favorite tube amplifiers, I feel like it's got a lot of extra features that make up for it. I basically think that this is one of the best solid state amps I've ever played, and while I feel like it doesn't quite hold up to tubes the features and controls, as well as great tone, make it hold up nicely. These are hard to find nowadays (go figure), and they're worth picking up if you like this kind of sound and these types of amps.
It has 40 watts of power. There are two channels. The second channel has a third channel option, basically a gain boost. There are EQs for both channels. The first channel has one volume knob, while the second has a gain, gain boost, and master volume controls. Both channels also enjoy a master reverb control as well as two master volume controls. There is one 1/4" input as well as an effects send/return which are also 1/4". There is also a footswitch option.
UTILIZATION
Using this amp is a piece of cake. It's easy to get a great sound out of it with almost any guitar. It's not noisy, as it's solid state, so that's a nice feature too. Switching between channels is tough without a footswitch, but with one, it's a piece of cake. Fortunately I have the official one, so I can actually kick in the boost controls which makes the distortion channel that much better. Being able to kick in a boost just for solos is a really great option. The EQs are also great for dialing in just the right tone.
SOUNDS
This sounds great for a solid state. Actually, this is a pretty great sounding amp in general. It's not as warm as a tube but it comes pretty close. Plus, it's almost completely noiseless and sounds great with pedals, though honestly, the distortion on it is pretty great too. It's a great buy for somebody who doesn't really like pedals and effects. If you just want to switch from clean, to dirty, to solo (aka really dirty), it's easy as cake and it sounds great. The gain channel tends to be a bit much for my taste, but overall i can't complain about it as it's got range. The extra boost doesn't color the sound too much, just enough to give solos a bit more grit and character.
OVERALL OPINION
I like the price, range, and tone of this amp a lot. While it doesn't have the rawness of my favorite tube amplifiers, I feel like it's got a lot of extra features that make up for it. I basically think that this is one of the best solid state amps I've ever played, and while I feel like it doesn't quite hold up to tubes the features and controls, as well as great tone, make it hold up nicely. These are hard to find nowadays (go figure), and they're worth picking up if you like this kind of sound and these types of amps.