Modelling Combo Guitar Amps

(Originally written by SlapKid/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Big combo inspired by the Fender Vibroking: 3 x 10" speakers, reverb, serial-to-parallel adjustable FX loop, switchable Tube Logic circuitry (rectifier tube simulation). Channel 1 has 3 modes: clean, Deluxe Reverb-like slight crunch and slightly overdriven. Channel 2 with boost for an incredibly good distortion sound. 75-watt output power... The loudness is much higher than the rated value. No noise, remote for channel selection and reverb. And very nice looks... It's the best-looking combo! UTILIZATION Very easy to use: you only have to choose between clean and distortion or crunch and lead. The first channel provides a very fine and light crunch. The second channel is perfect for rock... ZZtop and the like. The reverb is fixed on a side panel. It sounds beautiful and it's not too long (it's the only spring reverb I know that can be used in distortion mode). The FX loop works perfectly. It allows you to feed another amp (but you are probably deaf if you need to do this) or to use the Roland as power amp + speaker, for example with a SansAmp. The icing on the cake is that the reverb, presence and Tube Logic sections are still available with this configuration. I already said it: it's perfect. SOUNDS This is only useful if the amp sounds good, of course. Don't worry... I'm saying clear and loud: this amp is the best solid-state combo: incredible detail, brightness, definition and punch. I'm not joking! Compared to it my Bassman 59 ltd. has no punch and no presence and never mind its ridiculous distortion sound. Punch is what it's all about. I still can't believe that it only has 75 watts. An amp with such dimensions is made for band rehearsals and live gigs. If you play alone the sound will be too loud and aggressive. With a band you'll enjoy its sound precision and its presence without having to crank it. One thing is for sure: it has no competitor on this regard. I did a test disconnecting the internal speakers to feed an external speaker cabinet but the result was not so good. I also connected other amps to the Roland speakers and bingo: power, punch, presence in your face! It's a very well designed and manufactured combo. And a label on the amp confirms it: everything is made in the USA except for the cabinet. Fender can't say the same about its expensive Mexican Princeton... OVERALL OPINION An absolutely fabulous combo! If you have the opportunity to buy one don't hesitate it! (and it's not expensive) Roland brought out a complete series: 30-watt 2x10", 60-watt 1x12" and 75-watt 3x10". I wouldn't buy the smaller ones because my experiments with other speakers and amps showed that the sound comes from the 3x10" speakers (16-Ohm Vintage 45). From the dozen amps I own, including solid-state and tubes, this is the only one I will never sell. It's my precious!

I have owned the Katana 100 watt amplifier with 1 12" speaker now for a month,..I have warmed up to it slowly since getting it from fear that once again I would be disappointed with any amp I bought for under $500.00 that doesn't have tubes in it, I live and play around the Boston area and usually bring along a fender supersonic tube amp (when I really don't mind breaking my back for good tone) or if I'm feeling a bit tired I will bring my fender cyber deluxe (which has a few great sounds that can compete with some tube amps) to local gig's and open mic's. I have been playing guitar for about 20 years and consider myself a good guitarist who strives to have a very good tone every time I play,..its important to me. I purchased my Katana online (Ebay) and bought it from a gentleman who bought it for a music school that realized it had bought to many amp's so this one had to go, the gentleman said he would let it go for $400.00 WITH the GA-FC footswitch included, it was new in the box warranty and all. When I first got the Amp I was impressed with the way it looked everything seemed very familiar (unlike the fender cyber deluxe for instance) but the real surprise was when I plugged my vigier Excalibur with suhr pickups into it (ssh+,ssv),...not only did the amp SOUND and respond like a tube amp,..it FELT like a tube amp, which is very hard to understand if you don't play guitar, great rock and fusion tones are there (brown channel) as well as a VERY usable clean channel (I can hardly use any clean channels on the cyber deluxe because they just don't break up in a good way and spike in the treble way to much)after playing this amp for 2 hours the day I got it I didn't even want to LISTEN to my cyber deluxe never mind play through it, the Katana had a great sag to it, and the breakup and the compression on the clean channel sounded amazing and I haven't really even made it to the effects portion of the amp's capability which is incredible if you play open mics or small gigs and you don't want to carry a pedalboard around with you. The katana software is pretty easy to use if your a little computer savvy and have some patients the payoff is well worth it, it took me 1 hour to set up the software and start downloading different effects into my Katana (it would of taken a shorter time if not for having to update the katana which took about 1/2 hour) in 2 hours I had programmed my katana with 4 different sounds on all 4 channels and now it was time for the big test.... I took this amp to a big open mic blues jam we have here in town at a place called cellys pub in Lynn,ma its a big place with a stage and all. My setup took less than 2 minutes (which consisted of me plugging in my guitar, the amp,..then the foot controller,.I jammed on 4 blues tunes and this amp just killed, not only did I get compliments on the tone but I could HEAR THE DIFFERENCE easily, the number one thing for me about this amp is the DYNAMICS you can get out of it,...pick soft,..it sounds SOFT , pick hard and it produces a little good dirt,..amazing that I pretty much played the whole gig on the first channel (clean) used a built in boost to dirty it up and controlled a majority of the volume with my VOLUME knob! I never turned the master volume on this amp to more than 6, that was playing with another guitarist, a drummer, bass player, singer and harmonica player!!! the fender supersonic is a great amp (and it should be for $1000) but when I A/B the two,.. for the money,sound and all the effects you get not to mention the mobility issue the clear winner was the Katana, unbelievable value for the money, I recently have gotten back into shred and there are some great sounds there as well, no problem going from Paul Gilbert to danny gatton with this amp, the versatility, sound and thanks to BOSS a whole bunch of pedals for the right price ...$0....gets me thinking I got an incredible Deal, then I plug my guitar into this amp, listen and then I KNOW I got not only an incredible deal,..but an incredible amp.

I am taking a different approach to the review of this amp, and the Washburn X-30 guitar I got at the same time, than I usually do. Rather than live it with months or years, I am going to review these on a "first impressions" basis, as I play them, together, for the first time. SS amp, modeling/DSP effects. 18 watts. The usual controls, plus... UTILIZATION With an 8" speaker and decent controls, the tone to be had from this mic is better than some amps in it's class (budget/bedroom practice amps, under 20 watts.) SOUNDS Versatility is this thing's forte'. Perfect tone, alas, is not. The "clean" and "Fd" (Fender) amp settings, for instance, are not so clean- no Fender tube chime, here. None of the amp models were identifiable as being modeled after a certain make of amp- Marshall, Vox, Fender, etc., by sound alone, but they do a reasonable job of reproducing those tones- for a bedroom amp. OVERALL OPINION First thing I did was tune the guitar, of course. On-board tuner can either sound the notes through the amp, or mute them. Nice touch. Display is easy to read, and fairly intuitive, once you realize what it is doing. The 11 amp models were next. One thing I can say for them- they are ALL different. Some rather over the top ("Metal, in particular,) and the "acoustic" model is a bit weak on volume- but it does about as good a job of simulating an acoustic guitar as most do. "Plain" amp model defeats all the effects of the model amps, which might come in handy if you want to use only out-board effects, but really, who would? If you are using stomp boxes and such, you are probably using a whole different amp. The LED display reads out the value of whatever knob you are turning at any moment, and the knobs have dots to give you a rough idea- another nice touch. EQ's are active, with cut and boost on all three. For "18 watts," this amp is not nearly as ballsy as that power rating would suggest- if it were not for the balanced line out XLR and unbalanced TS jacks on the back, this would be a bedroom amp, only.=-(as of this writing, I have not tried those outputs) until you switch from "manual" to "program-' then, it gets louder. Not tube-amp, Twin Reverb 100 watts loud, but at least loudER. The effects are all accessible via little buttons on the front, so most can be had at the same time. This amp commits the budget-amp's cardinal sin- only one parameter of time effects can be changed- but that's common at this price range. The feature that is unique on this amp is a built-in condenser mic, positioned right in front of the speaker but behind the grill cloth, which Washburn promises will allow the user to "mic" the amp easily- just plug into the line-out and adjust the mic level out and/or line-level out to taste. I am looking forward to trying this out, and will report back.

As the name suggests the Vox vt50 pumps out (and I mean PUMPS OUT) 50 watts of power,though I find it still (narrowly) outdoes some Marshall 100 watt combos. Its a decent all-round mix between a solid state amp and a valve amp as it has one 12ax7 vacuum tube powering the "realistic modelling circuitry". Apart from being incredibly loud, the vt50 doesnt actually sound too bad, it has a ton of on-board effects including reverb (as its own control/knob), delay, flanger, a ton of pre-set sounds as well as very handy controls such as a noise gate etc. the amp has a typical three band eq as well as gain, volume and master. The one feature that i was most proud of vox for was the wattage selector on the back panel, unlike alot of other brands that have these voxs' has options to go anywhere from 5 watts to the full 50 watts, though the last 15 watts is mostly more distortion/overdrive. I still believe this feature is amazingly handy when trying to practice/record/gig. the 50 watt version unfortunately does not come with an effects loop, however does give the player the option to outsource to a different cabinet. I personally used a marshall cabinet and i enjoyed the sound I was presented with. UTILIZATION Possibly the best thing about this amp is that anyone can within second unpack it from the box, plug in their axe and begin jamming along to their favourite tunes (due to pre-set "famous guitar sounds") or find their own favourite sound with the handy edit mode that is easier to use then a heap of effects pedals in my own opinion. The response of the amp is amazing dynamically, it is definitely going to be in an expressionists top ten though mainly only in the cleaner sounds... As the sound turns dirty the expression is all but lost to make room for intense amounts of overdrive/distortion and gain. Though in the eyes of a newer age metal/hardcore fan this isn't a bad thing. To sum this section up, the amp ca handle pretty much any genre of music just dont be looking for that intensely distinguishable distortion you would expect from a 6505 or mesa, obviously.and whilst saying that also dont be expecting super crystal clear cleans either though i will definately not complain with what it has to offer. SOUNDS Personally I use my shecter hell-raiser c1 or les paul through this amp, they both perform pretty well together. I tend to stay away from the effects as I'm not much of an effects type guitarists, i seem to stay towards the dirtier end of the amp where i can make good use of my EMG 81 and 89's. the one thing I have noticed about this amp is I swear vox messed the frequency curve on these things up incredibly... I have not recorded ONE song with my bass above 2-3. Otherwise it shakes the room, the amp is incredibly bassy, which in some peoples eyes could be amazing but not in my opinion. Whilst stating this I would like to inform people that i am an intermediate sound engineer/producer so I would like to imagine I know a thing or two about my recording techniques/sounds. OVERALL OPINION All in all, the amp goes for about $600 Australian. In which if you haggle you could probably get it even cheaper! Its a good amp and has been relatively reliable for me over the two years-ish that i have owned it. As stated above one of the only critiques i have about it is the over-indulgence of bass, but again that's my own opinion. I definitely recommend checking out many other models such as the ad50 which is more high gain orientated. cheers guys! Picture This!

Overview Vox is a name that is synonymous with quality guitar amplifiers. They are especially famous for their tube amplifiers that produce warm clean tones and smooth overdrives, like the AC30 and smaller AC15. More recently, though, Vox has released the Valvetronix series of "modeling" combo amps ranging from 20W to 120W. Each of these amps includes 33 different digital amp models (11 types with 3 different variations for each), and a host of other effects and presets on tap for the musician who wants a "catch all" amplifier at an affordable price. With the 11 types of amp models, along with volume and EQ controls, the Valvetronix amps can dial in tones reminiscent to iconic Vox, Fender, Marshall, and other classic amps. The crown jewel of this amp (and where the name "Valvetronix" comes from) is the 12ax7 tube built into the preamp, making this amplifier one of the few 'hybrid' amps on the market--a combination of tube and solid state circuitry. This means that guitarists can have access to tube-driven sound without paying an arm and a leg for it. My Experience I purchased the Vox VT40+ amplifier for a 3-month summer tour, traveling and playing music on a daily basis. I wanted an amp that would travel easy (we had to pack light), stand up to road wear, and give me several options to choose from. I also purchased Vox's VSF5 foot switch that remotely controls the custom presets and effects on the amp. The initial factor that drew me quickly to this amplifier was the great price, but I soon discovered that I had access to much more than a simple amp with a few built in effects. The VT40+ has some great features like the variable wattage control, eight customizable presets, multiple reverb settings, built-in tuner, tap tempo control, headphone output, and a manual setting (which overrides the preset setting). In addition, there are several on-board digital effects, most of which are actually useful. I have used multiple settings on the VT40+ and programmed my own custom presets (though I only use the manual setting on the amp now with my pedal board). I purchased this amp brand new 4 years ago, and the original 12ax7 tube is still going strong. Also, during the initial 3-month tour when I bought the amp new, it withstood a variety of environments indoors and outdoors--even extreme humidity at times. I have never experienced any malfunctions or issues with the amp in the years I have owned it, and that's impressive considering all the controls on the interface are digital. I can also attest to the amp's durability; it has fallen over, been thrown around, and moved frequently during the time I have owned it. The VSF5 foot switch is also durable, housed a sturdy metal case, and works seamlessly with the VT40+ amp. These days, my VT40+ is mostly used as a versatile practice amp as I have graduated to bigger tube amps, but I would never hesitate to use this amp as a live back up in a pinch (in fact, I have a few times). It's been faithful to me, and I've been highly satisfied with its performance. Quick Note For all the VT40+ offers, there are a few 'duds' amongst the huge selections of amp models and effects to choose from. By 'duds,' I mean strange effects or over the top distortion modeling that does not sound very natural. But once you have done enough tweaking and found the sound you like (or several), you can immediately save it as a custom preset for future use. The best part about the custom presets is that they are always rewritable, so you're never stuck with what you choose. Bottom-Line The Vox VT40+ is just one of several Valvetronix amps that provide flexibility, in-the-box effects, and tube-driven sound. It has enough on-board options to inspire new ideas, but also enough power and durability to make it gig worthy, if you need it.

It's a 20W modeling amp. It has a good range of Fender simulations. It allows you to add the most widespread effects and to fine-tune the settings with the Fender Fuse software. You can connect to it: - a minijack audio output. - a minijack AUX input. - a 1/4" jack FT5W (footswitch) connector With the Master control for the output volume. It allows you to play with headphones or at reduced volumes, if you like your neighbors :). It has a good volume at full blast. UTILIZATION Setup is a bit complicated in the beginning, because there are many possibilities due to Fender Fuse. That said, you can find the sound you want and test all possible styles. I haven't used much the manual, but it's rather short. Still, you can quickly find the basic settings on the amp. The Fender Fuse software sheds a light on the possibilities of the amp. SOUNDS The mustang is great for beginners looking for their sound style and who wish to try a bit of everything. I have used it with my first guitar, an Ibanez GSA60 Jewel blue, and with my Tokai ALC53 White. In terms of sound, it's low-cost simulation in a combo. The sounds are all right, given its price and quality. The Clean sounds are all right, but I find the distortions a bit mediocre. OVERALL OPINION I used this amp 1 year before switching to a VOX tube amp. Before this amp, I used the amp with the ibanez GSAJ pack, the Ibanez GTA15R that is. If I were starting out, I wouldn't hesitate to buy this amp again, because it allows you to try lots of sounds while you look for your own at first :-) and also due to its effects. Fender Fuse allows you to truly customize everything.

Solid state 30 watt with input, footswitch, headphone and output jack. UTILIZATION Suits my personal needs just fine. The manual is English and good to go. SOUNDS I use this amp with Flying Vs--Ibanez VBT 700, Schenker, and a couple of Gibsons. I play thrash, melodic death, speed and technical styled metal. The tone of this amp is pretty close to the larger amps I play live. I purchased the Cube 30 for its size and tone. I put a pedal board in front of the Cube 30 to duplicate my stage tone. It does this very well. OVERALL OPINION Precision and sound quality are on point. Works well for technical playing. I don't use any of the various models or effects. I prefer my own floor effects to get as close to the amps I use when playing large gigs. Currently gig with Krank, Marshall or JSX heads through Marshall 4x12 slants. The Cube 30 supplements my tone when practicing quietly at home. Occasionally use the rectifier model but I mostly leave it set to metal. The amp is great for intense practice of technique i.e., sweeps, lead work, harmonics, tapping and power chords. Amp has a beefy enough sound, works well with my floor effects, and maintains killer tone at low volumes without excessive power draw experienced with larger amp heads at home. Would buy again based on simplicity and tone. I tried smaller Marshalls, Voxes etc. but the tone wasn't consistant. The Cube is the closest to my personal tone without the need for constant dialing in.

After testing many amps to find the right rock sound, I instantly fell in love with the Fender Cyber Delux at our downtown music shop. This amp is perfect for the musician ready to move out of the garage and onto the stage. Packed with good factory sounds as well as the capability to tweak every effect combination so you can create exactly what you want, the Cyber Delux will be an amp that will excede your expectations. It was pricy, $699, but worth every penny when you figure all the effects pedals you won't have to buy to get the sound you want. I like the 32 programable settings of the cyber delux and its superb fender amp modeling. It was very easy to get started playing, and after reading the manual i was blown away by the capabilities Fender has packed into this machine. Get the kids some earplugs because this baby can scream. I went out to the country to jam on a buddy's porch, at half volume this amp rattled my rib cage. Didn't like... Perhaps i'm asking too much, but i wish it came with a wah pedal as well as the four channel foot switch. Heavy construction as far as i've noticed. Good space inside the cabinet for the foot switch and various cables. Great first nice amp for any level of player. Lots of effects to keep you interested and lets your music grow. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Vox AD30-XL is Vox's answer to the Line 6 Spider. It's a modeling amp with a single 12AX7 in the preamp. I don't know how much a tube preamp in a solidstate amp actually changes the tone, but for my money, the AD30-XL is one of the better modeling amps out there. It has a wide selection of built in effects, amp models, some of which sound pretty good, and give a decent representation of the tones that they try to cop. The Vox is 30 watts, and it can hang with a drummer, but it does have shortcomings in a band situation that I'll elaborate on later. UTILIZATION This amp is pretty easy to use, just select your amp model, any effects you want to use, and go. I have a problem with the tap function for effects. If you tap it too fast, it's really hard to get it back to a slower setting for tremolo and such. My handle snapped off within the first week of owning the amp, but the store ordered it from Vox for me free of charge, as it was still under the warranty so no harm done. The Manual was pretty useful in explaining the sounds, and it even had some presets to try out. SOUNDS I'll go through the sounds on each setting: Glass- very clean, but a touch dull. you'll need to EQ in lots of high end. Not very loud, or touch responsive Funked- brighter, snappier, and hairier than glass. Not pristine cleans, but a cool tone. Buzzsaw- Thin, buzzy, and overdriven. Useful for garage rock or punk, but too buzzy for rock IMO. Crunched- this model kicks ass! Marshall-esque, with the ability to get to modded plexi levels of gain. This is the setting I use most of the time. The most organic sounding setting on the amp. Thrashed- sounds like the crunched setting, but buzzier and thinner. Raged: A modern, more midrangey Crunched setting, pretty cool. Modern: scooped, scooped, and more scooped. Cool if that's your thing. Not mine. Fluid: Best high gain setting on this amp! True to it's name, this is a very fluid, singing, sustaining setting. Voiced very dark though, I need to dial in more treble and mids. Molten: like fluid, but buzzier, and with an Octaver added in. Do the intro to Metal Heart and Princess of the Dawn on this! Black: Crunchier and less sustaining than the Fluid mode. Damaged: Buzzy and useless, thin super gained out. OVERALL OPINION As the whole package, the Vox AD30-XL underperforms, however, the Crunched and Fluid settings were miles ahead of other amps in this pricepoint when I bought this amp, for those settings alone, the amp is worth it for a rocker on a budget. Now that little amps are in vogue, and cheaper than ever, I'd probably choose something different for a band practice amp.

Between the Peavey Vypyr and the Roland Cube series these are my favorite amp modeler amps on the market. As far as clean tones from a solid state amp modeling amp there isn't another contented with the Cube series. With there JC clean tone modeled after the highly sought after Roland Jazz Chorus this amp is great. Then with the ability to go direct into a mixer or recording device this amp pacts quite a punch. Roland CUBE-20XL 20-watt Combo Amplifier Features: * 20 watts * 8" high-performance speaker * 2 channels: independent JC Clean and Lead * Solo boost function * 6 lead types, including Metal Zone and Extreme * 9 effects, includeing Heavy Octave and COSM vintage spring reverb * Convenient audible tuner * Power Squeezer for full gain at low volume * Aux In jack to connect portable music players UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 2 Power 20W Speakers 1 x 8" Effects Yes Reverb Yes EQ Bass, Middle, Treble Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 6 Number of Tubes 0 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x Aux (1/8") Outputs 1 x Record Out/Headphones (1/4") Footswitch I/O Yes No Effects Loop Height 15.16" Width 15.16" Depth 9.45" Weight 19.84 lbs. SOUNDS The clean tone from this amp is worth the price alone. If you need a solid clean for recording then I would pick this up for that reason alone. But the amp doesn't stop there. It has 6 more distortion and acoustic sounds to go along with it. I personally love the tone from the Extreme model. It is very heavy and metal based with a screamer midrange for solid lead lines. The flanger is another well built sound too. Stick this in with a nice lead tone and you get some great metal or 80's tones. Couple it with a mild chorus and your get a solid beefy 80's rock tone. OVERALL OPINION This is one of the best if not the best amp modeling amps out in the market. At new these amps come in at around $160 which is an amazing price for what this amp can do. The distortion tone is amazing and the clean tone is just flat out amazing. I will be using the clean tone on my next recording for sure. The ability to go direct into a mixer is just easy and simple. I highly recommend this to anyone who is on a budget and needs a solid recording amp or practicing amp. It goes silent too with the headphone hookup. Just great!

I only wish this amps or something like it was around when I first started playing the guitar. I think these amps are some of the best practicing and teaching tool available for learning the guitar. This is basically an amp made out of a computer hardrive. Everything is computer and software based as far as editing and usbaility on this amp. Fender G-DEC 3 Fifteen 15-watt Combination Guitar Amplifier with MP3/WAV Playback Features: Amp Type: Solid State Inputs: 1/4" Guitar input, Second input, USB, Aux input for CD/MP3 player, Footswitch input Output:15-watt Line Out: Dual-purpose 1/8" headphone/stereo line out Impedance: 8 ohms Speaker: 8" Fender® Special Design® speaker Amazing artist presets and loops let you play along with the world's greatest musicians MP3 and WAV Šle storage & playback 15-watt Guitar amp with 8" Special Design® speaker 100 factory and user presets with digital amp modeling & DSP effects USB connection for user programming and audio recording output USB cable included SD card slot for unlimited storage of presets and audio content Onboard phrase sampler with overdub and export functions Onboard chromatic tuner Covering: Black Vinyl Effects: Digital amp modeling & DSP effects UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 1 Power 15W Speakers 1 x 8" Special Design Effects Yes Reverb Yes EQ Yes Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 100 Presets, 22 Amps Number of Tubes 0 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument Outputs 1 x Headphones (1/8") Footswitch I/O Yes No Effects Loop Height 13.75" Width 15.25" Depth 7.25" Weight 21.5 lbs. SOUNDS What is fascinating about this amp is the ability to change tones and edit via your computer. When you hook this thing up to your home computer the screen shows the exact same control knobs as you would see on your actual amp. The tones on this amp are digitally based so you won't have that real tube feel or sound. You also won't have that air that gets thrown from a tube speaker cabinet. There really isn't a guitar that doesn't sound good with this amp. There are enough sounds and genre specific amp models that accompany single coil guitars as well as humbucking style guitars. I prefer the sound of the humbuckers with this amp. The editing possibilities are really endless with this amp. OVERALL OPINION At new these amps come in at around $300, which isn't that bad for the computer based amp. The FUSE software is very cool and probably the best feature that comes with this amp. You can also login online and share presets and tone with other users of this amp. Playing with an iod or Mp3 player via the storage playback if very cool. So that helps you play along with out having a drummer and also learning or creating riff to your favorite songs.

I believe that the Mustang series is the flagship line for amp modelers that Fender is putting out. They now have several different sizes and wattage. These units are some of the best sounding modelers out on the market and definitely Fender's best efforts in this game. I have never been a fan of amp modeling since I feel they don't sound authentic or feel at all like a real tube amp. This particular model doesn't change my mind but it does sound good for what it is. Fender Mustang IV 150-watt Guitar Combo Amp Features at a Glance: * 150-watt open-back combo * 2 x 12" Celestion Speakers * 100 amp presets * 12 different amp models from vintage FENDER® sparkle to modern metal distortion * 37 different effects in four categories (stomp, modulation, delay and reverb) * 1/8" headphone jack doubles as speaker-emulated line out. * Fender FUSE software Editor Software included * Programmable 4-button footswitch included (controls quick access, preset/bank select, effects on/off and tuner) * Effects Loop: Stereo Series Effects Loop * Auxillary Input: 1/8" Auxiliary Input Jack * Headphone Jack: 1/8" Headphone Jack * Line Out: USB port, 1/8" Headphone Jack doubles as Speaker Emulated Line Out * Covering/Grille Cloth: Black Textured "Carbon Tweed" Vinyl Covering with Silver Grill Cloth UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 1 Power 150W Speakers 2 x 12" Celestion G12P-80 Effects Yes Reverb Yes EQ Treble, Middle, Bass Amp Modeling Yes Number of Models 100 Presets, 12 Amp Models Number of Tubes 0 Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x 1/8" (Aux) Outputs 1 x Headphone (1/8") Footswitch I/O Yes Effects Loop Yes Height 21.5" Width 26.5" Depth 10.75" Weight 47 lbs. SOUNDS These amps sound particularly good with Fender guitars. I like hearing this amp with a Fender Stratocaster or a Charvel. I like hearing the low to medium bodied woods with these particular amps. A great feature with these amps is not only the ability to have amp modelers, but also the stompbox models as well. This gives you a real feel for tossing a overdrive pedal in front of a Fender style amps. Another great features in running your speaker simulated output direct into a recording device or house PA system. I think the amp sounds the best when in this situation. Running the direct out into the mixer sounds best in my opinion. OVERALL OPINION This amp is super loud. Coming in at 150 watts this little combo will knock you on your butt. This is also a more expensive unit for the amp modelers. At new these units come in at around $500. sort of on the high side for these types of amps. I would recommend this amp for someone who needs everything in one small amp. For the people that come in this price rage would probably buy something else like a real tube amp. But for those who can talk your mom into getting this for you will be happy.