To talk about Laney amplification and its founder, we'd have to go back 40 years. Let's get to know our protagonist a little. In 1960 the company's founder played bass in bands in England. He was still young and juggled bass with school. Something he himself calls incompatible: rock and roll and classes were not the best combination. At the time he would sometimes fall asleep in the classroom from having played until the wee hours the night before. Sounds familiar to many of us, doesn't it?

Soon his fascination with electronics began, and tubes in particular. So much so that after his experiments, he decided to modify and customize his own amplifier. Bands back then had few sources of income (just like now), so tinkering with his own amp was one of the cheapest options within reach.

His interest kept growing, to the point that this research into improving amplification became a small source of income for him. He did some fixes for fellow musicians and acquaintances, using his father's garage as his base of operations.

When he entered university, he came into contact with new sources of information: reading about electronic engineering. That was when he refined his advances and knowledge and began to think seriously about the importance of “tone” within the concept of amplification. He consolidated the idea that the goal of building an amplifier should be to deliver the right tone to the musician who needed it. Step by step and year after year, Laney consolidated into what it is today: a respected and important organization at the service of musicians.

Its founder thinks his product lineup has now, in 2007, reached its best period, and he celebrates the 40th anniversary with great satisfaction at what has been achieved.

My Encounter with the Brand
Not too long ago, a big kid (jokingly and in good spirit) called me an “old-timer.” I suppose he was referring to the level of aging, almost vintage by now, of my blues, past the age of 37. Hasn't anyone told him that rock and roll never dies? Thanks to these years, besides back pain from picking up my amp, I have more experience: going through lots of rehearsal rooms, seeing the guys, their rigs, what everyone buys, what gets used at gigs, and so on. Along those lines, I remember perfectly how Laney was already there in the first rehearsal rooms I shared with other bands.

My first contact with the brand was a portable powered mixer. We bought it at Bosco for the vocals. Six channels with three-band EQ, reverb, and 150 W just for vocals in the rehearsal room. Wow. The real deal. And the guy with the red face and veins about to burst in his neck (our singer), besides making gestures, was actually producing vocal sounds!!! It was the first time we could hear him while we played.

Also around then, and throughout all this time, I've seen plenty of amps from this brand. Still, my most faithful and accurate contact with them has been in the tests I'm telling you about today. I had never plugged into a Laney tube amp before, out of loyalty to other brands, to which I no longer keep strict exclusivity.

The Tests
For the tests we chose a double-humbucker PAF-style guitar. It is characterized by powerful, round, rather thick sounds with good density/body.

The Sound
Plugging into this little guy (with character), the body and density the guitar was already sending were reinforced by the warmth of the tubes. It sounded good, very good. I ran several sound tests through various gain levels and guitar pickup positions (from neck to bridge), tweaking the signal with the LC series knobs. I think the most difficult challenge for any amp of this type is getting a “big” or punchy sound out of its 10" speaker. Even though that is the critical part, the Laney held its own tooth and nail.

Low, moderate, and medium gain responded exceptionally well. Its raw tube sounds in a bluesy vein, and the clean tones with barely saturated lows, were what caught my attention most. So much so that they struck me as entirely professional.

Features
You can see them in the technical specifications. Still, to give a small X-ray, let's highlight:

1. Its two inputs: “Hi,” especially suited to single-coil guitars or low-output humbuckers. This one gives all the input gain possible and revitalizes the signal. “Low,” suitable for humbucker guitars with very hot output signals. Plugging into this input we control the attack and get good response in compressed, round sounds.
2. Its tube set, more than remarkable to the ear, consists of ECC83s in the gain stages, an ECC83 as phase inverter, and EL84s in the power section.
3. The bright switch: especially useful for boosting treble and upper-mid frequencies. It helps us get more strident tones and also boost these frequencies when playing at low volumes, since they tend to get blurrier.
4. Gain, bass, mid, and treble controls, effective, precise, and offering adequate versatility.
5. Reverb: quite natural and pleasant.

What I Liked Least
As I anticipated a bit above, the hardest thing is getting a big/open sound out of a 10" speaker. That doesn't apply to this particular Laney; rather, it's a general standard in any combo of this type. As for gain, the sonic ranges at saturation above 75% seemed more artificial to us than the rest. To solve this problem (a matter of personal taste), the best approach is to use the tubes' saturation to provide thickness, attack, and tube warmth. Then you add a good overdrive or distortion pedal and push the grit to the user's taste. I've tried it with the Laney and the result is excellent.

What I Liked Most
Its price. Considering that I've tried (British) amps with similar features (from several brands) priced above 2.200 €, the roughly 450 € of this LC series seems like a real steal to me. Its size and weight. Anyone who has hauled a combo by a handle bearing a beast of hellish weight will know exactly what I mean. This Laney is manageable, light, and compact. A joy. Its warm tube sounds at low and medium gain, its midrange warmth, its bluesy vibe. Also the strength of its clean (or nearly clean) tones in deep jazzy territory.

Conclusions
You should work out your volume needs; that is, if you plan to play with another guitarist who uses a 200W amp, a drummer who plays flat out, and so on. Our guest today may come up short, since it has 15 W.

I see this amp as perfect for studio situations (recording), rehearsals at moderate volumes (which is how we should always rehearse), and even gigs in small clubs. The volume, considering its wattage, is overwhelming, excellent, but it's still a small combo. Its main advantage is its great warmth, delivering a very authentic, rich tube sound. A manageable format at a truly tempting price. We could even use the amp at a big gig, setting up a perfect tube sound and then miking it through the appropriate console and power amp.

If I were choosing an amp, tube-based and in an affordable price range, I'd buy this one without hesitation. It's a very good option.