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PurposeToMelody « Great Rock and Roll Amp »
Published on 03/19/11 at 09:04Laney GH50L Features
* Single Channel, 50 Watt, Class A/B Amp Head
* Hi and Lo Input Jacks
* Footswitchable Gain
* Premium ECC83 and EL34 Valves
* FX Loop and Slave Jack
*Switchable Between EL34 and 6L6/5882 tubes
UTILIZATION
It's a very straight forward amp. It has a setup very similar to a JCM800 on the front panel (Presence, Treble, Middle, Bass Master Volume. It also has a two position resonance control and a footswitchable drive channel. It also has two gain knobs (drive and gain) for the two different channels, with the drive engaged both "gains" are working and you can mix and match the gains, the "gain' from the clean or first channel is very VERY much like a JCM800 is very bright and defined. The gain from the drive channel is much more thick and punchy, its a cool thing to be able to mix and match.
SOUNDS
I've owned this amp for about 6 months now (that is good for me). I've gigged it many times and I find it to be a great amp for pretty much anything between country and hard rock (maybe metal with a boost). I play with two main guitars. A Les Paul Copy with Seymour Duncans in it and Fender MIA Prodigy Strat.
Les Paul:
With my Les Paul the Laney is almost always breaking up, anything over about 9 o'clock has some hair on it, which is cool and does a really good 60s rock and roll sound. I could pull old Led Zep sounds and Clapton sounds very easily out of this channel with the gain low. As you inch the gain up at about noon you start getting into some more rock and roll territory ala 70s bands (think Cornerstone by Stxy). the cool thing about this channel is that the gain is useable through the whole sweep of the pot. After 12 o'clock you just start adding saturation and not really more gain' per se. At about 3 o'clock you are into old metal sounds like Iron Madien, Def Leppard and the like.
Switching over to the drive channel you have two different gains to work with and it is kind of weird at first, but once you get used to it it opens up a whole new way to do things. There is no way I could cover it all, but you can use the gains from the two channels to mix and match the sounds you like. a Thicker more "juicy" sound from the drive channel and a clear and more defined sound from the "clean" channel. My settings usually run at about 11 o'clock on the clean channel and noon on the drive channel, its a good mix of clarity and thickness for me and is a great hard rock sound.
Strat:
The Strat really shines here on the clean channel, think RHCP cleans with that dirty grind, and it sounds great with a fuzz pedal up front. There really isn't much to say with the Strat though because, well, it sounds like a strat and there is no fixing that. on the drive channel especially it sounds much like the les paul with a little less balls (think TOTALLY 80s cock rock sounds)
My biggest complaint with this amp is that it really needs a EQ to shine, the drive channel is too muddy and undefined without one in my opinion. its not TERRIBLE but I would highly recommend a EQ for this amp if you plan on using it for the drive settings
OVERALL OPINION
For what I payed for it this amp is amazing, its very hard to beat. I personally wouldn't ever pay retail for it, even though it is better than most amps for the price. It has a lot going for it with the clean and gain channels, but with the muddiness of the gain channel it really looses points for me.
Overall though, I'd recommend this amp to anyone looking for 70s rock or 80s metal sounds, just don't expect to get anything super "heavy" sounding out of it or super "clear" without a boost or EQ.
* Single Channel, 50 Watt, Class A/B Amp Head
* Hi and Lo Input Jacks
* Footswitchable Gain
* Premium ECC83 and EL34 Valves
* FX Loop and Slave Jack
*Switchable Between EL34 and 6L6/5882 tubes
UTILIZATION
It's a very straight forward amp. It has a setup very similar to a JCM800 on the front panel (Presence, Treble, Middle, Bass Master Volume. It also has a two position resonance control and a footswitchable drive channel. It also has two gain knobs (drive and gain) for the two different channels, with the drive engaged both "gains" are working and you can mix and match the gains, the "gain' from the clean or first channel is very VERY much like a JCM800 is very bright and defined. The gain from the drive channel is much more thick and punchy, its a cool thing to be able to mix and match.
SOUNDS
I've owned this amp for about 6 months now (that is good for me). I've gigged it many times and I find it to be a great amp for pretty much anything between country and hard rock (maybe metal with a boost). I play with two main guitars. A Les Paul Copy with Seymour Duncans in it and Fender MIA Prodigy Strat.
Les Paul:
With my Les Paul the Laney is almost always breaking up, anything over about 9 o'clock has some hair on it, which is cool and does a really good 60s rock and roll sound. I could pull old Led Zep sounds and Clapton sounds very easily out of this channel with the gain low. As you inch the gain up at about noon you start getting into some more rock and roll territory ala 70s bands (think Cornerstone by Stxy). the cool thing about this channel is that the gain is useable through the whole sweep of the pot. After 12 o'clock you just start adding saturation and not really more gain' per se. At about 3 o'clock you are into old metal sounds like Iron Madien, Def Leppard and the like.
Switching over to the drive channel you have two different gains to work with and it is kind of weird at first, but once you get used to it it opens up a whole new way to do things. There is no way I could cover it all, but you can use the gains from the two channels to mix and match the sounds you like. a Thicker more "juicy" sound from the drive channel and a clear and more defined sound from the "clean" channel. My settings usually run at about 11 o'clock on the clean channel and noon on the drive channel, its a good mix of clarity and thickness for me and is a great hard rock sound.
Strat:
The Strat really shines here on the clean channel, think RHCP cleans with that dirty grind, and it sounds great with a fuzz pedal up front. There really isn't much to say with the Strat though because, well, it sounds like a strat and there is no fixing that. on the drive channel especially it sounds much like the les paul with a little less balls (think TOTALLY 80s cock rock sounds)
My biggest complaint with this amp is that it really needs a EQ to shine, the drive channel is too muddy and undefined without one in my opinion. its not TERRIBLE but I would highly recommend a EQ for this amp if you plan on using it for the drive settings
OVERALL OPINION
For what I payed for it this amp is amazing, its very hard to beat. I personally wouldn't ever pay retail for it, even though it is better than most amps for the price. It has a lot going for it with the clean and gain channels, but with the muddiness of the gain channel it really looses points for me.
Overall though, I'd recommend this amp to anyone looking for 70s rock or 80s metal sounds, just don't expect to get anything super "heavy" sounding out of it or super "clear" without a boost or EQ.