A new and eye-catching guitar amp has landed in my hands, made up of a 50 W head with MOS technology and four tubes, plus a powerful 4x12" cabinet. Before starting the review, I want to point out the great condition the gear arrived in. Some may find these details insignificant. I certainly don't. Everything I received for this review arrived perfectly packed and meticulously documented. And how does that matter to the end user?
I think it reflects the work philosophy of whoever imports and distributes it. A precise policy that sweats the details and shows a clear intention to do things right. Details that make me think this way of working isn't limited to shipping, the accompanying paperwork and the product's condition. What we conclude, and this is where it's useful to the end consumer, is that this company does good work. With rigor and care, from choosing the brands it will sell all the way to putting the product in the hands of the player. That said, let's take a detailed look at the amp.
Unboxing
A sturdy cardboard box was cradling the "contraption." A smart choice, since with a cabinet this large the package is heavy and prone to unwanted knocks. As always, I opened the boxes with great anticipation. Any guitarist gets an adrenaline rush before unpacking and setting up a new amp that, once assembled, comes up to your chest (or close to it).
Looks and Finish
Everything was unpacked, and I set the head on top of the cabinet so I could then wire it up. My first visual impressions centered on the finish. A look that blends the classic with the futuristic. With its black finish, old-school grille, logo design and so on, this is an amp that oozes "vintage" style. That's when I noticed the knobs on the front panel. Even before powering on, their look gives the head a high-tech touch, though I didn't yet know exactly what that detail amounted to. Well, time to plug in.
Standby On
Plugged in, switched on and ready to go. My eyes were completely struck by the futuristic glow of its lit LEDs. The knobs fill with oranges and blues that give this amp a whole new look. Classic in its initial appearance, yes, but full of technology inside.
Before I even started playing, I understood what this is about: legendary looks, cutting-edge digital technology. Fine, but what does that mean in practice, for the sound? Let's find out.
Connectivity
One last visual walk-around before the sound starts. The front panel gives us bass, mid, treble, gain, volume and master controls, plus some buttons for cycling through this tool's many different channel configurations.
The rear panel is very complete. It has a circuit-switching switch for noise elimination (if there's any; there wasn't in my tests). There's a 9 V power output to run any external gear we might need, such as pedals. After the MIDI connections come the speaker output for the cabinet (at 4, 8 or 16 ohms) and an output called "Slave" for sending the signal to other monitoring systems. There's also a full section for connecting our effects: series, parallel, and in pre-amp or post-amp mode. All this connection firepower lets us handle any external device we want to use with the amplification system (even an external tuner).
Six Channels? Its Versatility
I started cranking up the volume in its first "amplification mode": CLEAN. I saw that when switching from one mode to another (Clean, Crunch, Lead, etc.) the knobs turned by themselves (or rather, the LEDs indicated, via auto-adjustment, the exact position of each control for the channel we choose). In other words, by pressing the front-panel buttons CLEAN 1, CLEAN 2, SEXY, CRUNCH, LEAD 1 and LEAD 2, the amp digitally adjusts itself, offering six different channel variations. Of course, in each case we can set bass, mids, treble, gain and so on exactly as we like.
In short, we get six "instant" presets, which gives us astonishing versatility. We can switch from one mode to another in under a second. All the amp's controls immediately jump to the chosen preset's settings, which, by the way, we can tweak and save to taste (store button).
50 Watts with MOS Technology and 4 x 12AX7WC Tubes: How Do They Sound?
The answer: it sounds pretty much like whatever you want it to sound like. Its clean channels (CLEAN) deliver definition, body and lively attack. The CRUNCH and SEXY settings share those same traits but add a rip of saturation that brings the warmth we all love. At the extreme of maximum gain we reach the LEAD 1 and 2 modes: heavy-duty crunch that can be configured to our liking. From shrill, thin, "pointed" sounds to thick, low, crushing hits for lovers of extreme tones.
The most interesting thing is that, despite its digital features, the tubes are real, so the final sound is gutsy, warm and authentic.
As for power, this is a rig that puts out 50 W (head) and handles 240 W (cabinet). I'll openly admit it has more than enough volume to work in practically any context. It's more of a hard-hitting amp, better suited to places where we can play it loud. Its 50 W go further than you'd think; personally, I don't believe this "little monster" lacks even 1 W. It has plenty to spare.
Conclusions
This is an amp for playing in settings that call for serious sound pressure. Powerful, modern and versatile. The combination of futuristic technology and tube architecture makes this product a spot-on choice for anyone who wants real, warm saturation but doesn't want to give up the advantages of technology. The instant preset and configuration changes are truly practical. For live gigs and rehearsals, we have more than enough. If we're working in the studio, we'll have to move the mic away from the fan, since you can hear it running (when playing loud we stop noticing it, of course). In any case, we'll get powerful, full-bodied sounds that cover the whole range of tones known in electric guitar amplification.
As for the cabinet, there's little to add. Robust, well finished, with four twelve-inch speakers that provide the density and definition needed for top-quality tones.
All in all, a professional, modern yet authentic rig that could become your inseparable companion. If your budget allows it, be sure to try it out, because it competes very seriously with practically any brand. And above all, it has what you could want in a good amp, plus more new and different things that others don't offer.