Overall Rating: I have been playing for about 25 yrs. I also own a Pignose G40V, Carvin VT50 head, Mesa Boogie Nomad 45 head. I'm sure I would get one again if it were lost. It's small enough to carry easily, loud enough for small gigs, simple - just...
Overall Rating: I have been playing for about 25 yrs. I also own a Pignose G40V, Carvin VT50 head, Mesa Boogie Nomad 45 head. I'm sure I would get one again if it were lost. It's small enough to carry easily, loud enough for small gigs, simple - just plug in and play. It's easy to get a good guitar sound. I would love reverb if it were available for an extra $30-$40.
Features: Puchased new in Jan. 2000 from MusicYo for $159. Very sraight-forward bare bones small combo. All tube. Includes line-out jack and jack for footswitch to punch distortion in and out. Gain, volume, bass, mid, treble, and switch for overdrive.
Sound Quality: Optimistically rated at 25 watts (MAX) Not real loud, especially for totally clean setting. However, if you play dirty blues and classic rock, it's loud enough for a small band if you're running it through the mains. (especially with a 2-12" or similar cabinet hooked up. Similar in volume to most 2-EL84 amps. Sound is really surprising, especially considering the price. Sounds good with humbuckers, P-90's as well as lipstick pickups. I put a 12at7 in the first stage to back the gain off a little, and a 12ax7WXT Sovtek in the second socket because I wanted a little brighter tone. It sounds fine with the stock tubes though. Although obviously not a Vox, you can definitely hear some of that same chimey overdrive. Sounds great for that Tom Petty type overdrive. The one thing I was disappointed in was the footswitchable overdrive. For me its not really like a 2 channel amp since you can't dial them in together .Engaging the overdrive makes the volume way too loud compared to the clean setting and there is no way to adjust it. However I always have the OD on and adjust for leads with guitar. It's also a little noisier than I would like but nothing major .A lot of tone for the $.
Reliability/Durability: Still pretty new but it seems fine. I've played it numerous times at higher volumes for 3-4 hrs. at a time and no probs yet.
Customer Support: Haven't ever dealt with them on this item, however Gibson has always been helpful when needed. Also, I've e-mailed MusicYo several times with different question and have always gotten very quick replies. (unlike some companies)
Price: $159.00 USD
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