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Laney IRT-Studio
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Laney IRT-Studio

Tube Guitar Amp Head from Laney belonging to the IronHeart series

mathieufrancis mathieufrancis

«  Swiss Army Knife for metalheads »

Published on 09/12/13 at 02:58
I think everything has been said about it, but I put 10/10!
All lamps, 15W or 1W with 3 channels (rather oriented metal).
Usable again, home studio, on stage with his XLR or USB output.
Little more practice, Rack format and carrying case background really amp the most convenient market head! In addition only 11Kg and then provides footswitch that controls channel 3, the boost and reverb ...

On paper, the ultimate weapon!

UTILIZATION

Config fairly simple saw the possibilities of the amp.
on the other hand equalization with push-pull takes a little time to find its sound ... The idea is nice, but I do not find it more convenient ...
As against the general settings ("Dynamics" and "Tone") are really effective and well thought out, it can precisely adjust the sound to the speaker or to be sent to a sound or sound card, which is really good in the "transportable" spirit!

Sucks big point: the footswitch, and only two small buttons for 3 channels, failed every time transitions!

SOUNDS

A that is the important chapter! Yeah it's nice to have a Swiss Army knife, but still need to cut it right?

Personally, I find it really suitable for what I play (metal / alternative rock). Passages cleans, crunch and aggressive big lead sound. The boost allows a headroom for very heavy passages.

Use 1Watt fashion:
Rather flat across all channels ... The boost gives a little box (otherwise it looks like a clean old Marshall 15W transistor ...). The impression is accentuated because even 1W spits it too for peeps, and a tube amp sounds better when it sends the signal ...
So first impression leaving the head of the board is "blah" or "lamps are in there" ...
Overall Laney is already quite cold and as his right, but now it really lacks body.

15W in fashion:
So, need more of Boost, the clean start to find some roundness and warmth, good and bad the clean, this is not what you asked, if we could all Fender!

It engages the crunch and there must go easy on the gain, because there a lot of amps that do not have as much gain lead fashion ... Quite aggressive and sharp, I like, but it still lacks once heat. OK, it is not an Orange head! But hey it still sends the Medium and even without playing hard on spring mix well by pressing the pick!

Switch on the lead: The one enters the heart of the matter. It's really a sound "Laney". Must love what I find that almost lack of gain, good OK I play on a ENGL Powerball so it suffers in comparison ... So, a bit of a boost does not hurt him, I'll be investing in a Maxon overdrive kind for once! on the other hand presence is really impressive, no need to boost solos, you feel the slightest detail of the game even again, the medium cut squarely his other instrumentals without crushing is ultra comfortable!

Overall, this is a good amp to play metal but not a true benchmark of the genre. It is far from Mesa mini recto or Engl (but hey it's not the same price and none of these small amps do not offer as many possibilities). It's the taf but it's not the most beautiful sound lamps on the market.

OVERALL OPINION

The +
- Transportable
- 3-channel all-tube version Hi-Gain
- Below 500 €
- XLR, USB, headphone jack, 1W for entry in his room
- True metal sound that stands out in the mix (it buries the H & K TubeMeister example)

The -
- Lack of heat (especially 1W) / yeah it's still a big flaw for a tube amp)
- Logic footswitch really all rotten

I really do not regret my purchase because I was looking for something like that without ruining me, and at this price point, there is nothing comparable on the market (Orange Tiny Terror sound good but are ugly and palm mute single channel then what, TubeMeister 18 has a clear sound nice but no real distortion ...
The ideal would be a Mesa Mini Recto with loadbox attenuator and simulation of HP and manage a real footswitch that would give access to four sounds, but there would almost € 2,000 ...