This is the miniature pocket amp version of a Marshall halfstack. Half top, half useful. You can power it with an AC plug or a 9 volt battery. Also features a belt loop in case you wanted to rock out on the go. Knobs are Clean or Overdrive switch, Volume and Tone. I read that Dave Grohl used one of these on the first Foo Fighters record for layering guitars. No kidding, it works great! Throw a 57 over it and it can really add to the mix. I believe I paid about $40 for one in a music shop. The overdrive is fun. A bit thin, but hey what do you really expect out of a 1' speaker? I also enjoy the looks I get from people when I tell them I use one to track guitars in a studio with! It is cheaply made. I dropped it about 3 feet onto carpet and it broke. The input jack is soldered directly to the internal PC board and that is what came undone. I had to take out about a million unnecessary screws to dis and reassemble this beast. Cheap, see above. Fun amp that can be useful to get a different tone. Well worth $40. It will also work as a nice headphone amp. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
This is a really small solid-state amp, one that can fit into your guitar case. There is simply a 1/4" input, nothing more. There is about 15 watts delivered if I am not mistaken. there is one channel, and two eq knobs that control EQ as well as gain and level. The unit runs on a 9V battery, but also has an adaptor sold separately. UTILIZATION The answer to the above question, "can one easily get a good sound" is a resounding NO. In fact, one cannot get a good sound at all, period. I'd rather play an electric guitar with no amplification at all than use this. The manual will explain it pretty well even though it's borderline unnecessary. SOUNDS It really doesn't matter what guitar you use with this, all the character of your guitar is simply irrelevant once you plug it in. The small amp simply doesn't have the size or power to enhance, let alone replicate, the tone of your guitar. It compresses it to death. You will hate your sound while playing, and everything you play will sound bad. I don't really know what else to say about it. OVERALL OPINION I would much rather use a headphone amp than this thing, at least then you don't have to bother other people with your sound, and it's also easier to carry. I know the novelty factor is high, and that the mini half stack looks cool, but that will go away pretty soon. I think that if a small portable amp is a necessity, you should really look into Pignose, they have this corner of the market nailed and their amps sound like real amps.
