This video just validated my feelings on the amp. I had one and absolutely LOVED how it sounded. I played a few gigs with it and while it kept up ok I really had to crank it more than any other amp I’ve had (even some with lower output ratings). No other reviews I found mention that the amp is not at all a loud amp. I have gigged happily with 15-30 watt amps for years and this one is just not loud.
Yeah the lack of volume was surprising and I only really noticed it because I still had the Friedman JJ Jr and had them side by side and the JJ was just way louder (but still not what I would consider loud enough for a gig with a full band unless there was a good sound system/sound guy) But that's the thing though... IMO none of these high gain sub 30 watt amps are going to cut it on stage without a good sound system. When playing live, I honestly feel like all of these little low wattage high gain lunchboxes are really just products for the DI musician who needs the convenience of a DI solution but can still get probably adequate stage sound but really relying on the PA to do the heavy lifting. They all sound fantastic, just not loud enough to sound fantastic on their own on the stage and when you frame them in that context, they do start making some sense and I think that the sounds this thing produced were outstanding and would have worked really well for us since we are primarily a DI band. The Bogner Atma is another one I really want to try out. Another low wattage lunchbox style amp but tons of great tones from the videos I've seen of it and Reinhold doesn't build a single bad amp.
@ I think that’s fair. I always am through the PA and just rely on the amp for stage volume. I’m usually in ears so it’s more for other folks on stage than me. I found with the Morse amp it was at times hard to get a semi clean sound loud enough for that. I do it all the time with other low wattage amps though. Sounds great, just not loud.
I was really curious about this amp and 1x12/2x12 vs the axe fx 3 for studio/home teaching duties. All those in built features are so handy for home. Tempting
I loved my AxeFXIII and gigged with it for over a year. Crazy powerful but not a tube amp. If I weren't so hard on board with profiling amps, I'd still honestly prefer a Tonemaster pro for everything. I think it's the best all around digital unit. It's not the most flexible compared to the fractal and can't do amp captures but it's by far the easiest to use, was the best unit for stage use and has some extremely good sounding amp models and cab IR's. These tube amps that have built in attenuators and IR loaders though are seriously impressive and after playing about 4 shows with my Mark VII just running direct out, it's got me spoiled.
@@FastRedPonyCar thanks for the insight. So many great solutions. I already have a Mark IV, the VII appeals but the price point is staggering here in the UK. Im looking for a studio/teaching tool so thats why I had my eye on the axe fx and these 20w/25w Engls. Once you get a little cab and a pedal board the pricing is pretty similar. Im not sure if the axe will sound much better than my Neural plugins but it's the latency and self contained nature that appeals. Plus it can replace my apogee and provide FX on the Mark IV. We are spoilt for choice, too many good options. I checked out the TMP but tbh I try to avoid Fender like the plague these days!! I haven't played a good one for years
@@alexdoyleguitar Check my videos on the TMP. It's incredible. I've owned all of the professional modelers and it was my favorite by far and most of that is due to the great I/O options, the dead simple user interface, very powerful and extremely intuitive footswitch programming and the accuracy/quality of the amp models. The speaker sim/impulse response stuff is great too. It's a nice grid layout making it easy to pick a mic and position relative to the speaker cone. The main guy running the TMP team was the big brain behind the Helix products.
Great video. Got a ?? about my Fractal FM9. Have it currently running thru my effects loop of my Splawn Quick Rod and it sounds good. You know I have those Adam A7X monitors on my desktop with my UA Apollo-Twin interface. For me to run the Fractal to my desktop monitors the Apollo doesn't have power running to it does it? I would need one of those power amps like the Fryett correct?
Yeah, I doubt 20 Watt is not enough for most if not all gigs. In a location that would be so big for this amp not to be loud enough, they would mic the amp over the PA anyway. This is simply a killer amp for just about every situation. Edit: Oh and just to put 20 Watt into perspective: You would need 200 Watt to get double the loudness, which would only be a 3 dezibel increase respectively.
Yeah I think even in the ratty bars, I’d at least throw an I5 on speaker and hope for the best. I’ve seen some miracles though. One guy in a group in town we’re friends with plays a katana 50 1x12 combo with a 609 hung over the top in front of the speaker going into a 15 year old Peavey PA and it sounds hilariously good.
Wow, this amp is a monster! Great demo.
This video just validated my feelings on the amp. I had one and absolutely LOVED how it sounded. I played a few gigs with it and while it kept up ok I really had to crank it more than any other amp I’ve had (even some with lower output ratings). No other reviews I found mention that the amp is not at all a loud amp. I have gigged happily with 15-30 watt amps for years and this one is just not loud.
Yeah the lack of volume was surprising and I only really noticed it because I still had the Friedman JJ Jr and had them side by side and the JJ was just way louder (but still not what I would consider loud enough for a gig with a full band unless there was a good sound system/sound guy)
But that's the thing though... IMO none of these high gain sub 30 watt amps are going to cut it on stage without a good sound system. When playing live, I honestly feel like all of these little low wattage high gain lunchboxes are really just products for the DI musician who needs the convenience of a DI solution but can still get probably adequate stage sound but really relying on the PA to do the heavy lifting.
They all sound fantastic, just not loud enough to sound fantastic on their own on the stage and when you frame them in that context, they do start making some sense and I think that the sounds this thing produced were outstanding and would have worked really well for us since we are primarily a DI band.
The Bogner Atma is another one I really want to try out. Another low wattage lunchbox style amp but tons of great tones from the videos I've seen of it and Reinhold doesn't build a single bad amp.
@ I think that’s fair. I always am through the PA and just rely on the amp for stage volume. I’m usually in ears so it’s more for other folks on stage than me. I found with the Morse amp it was at times hard to get a semi clean sound loud enough for that. I do it all the time with other low wattage amps though. Sounds great, just not loud.
I was really curious about this amp and 1x12/2x12 vs the axe fx 3 for studio/home teaching duties. All those in built features are so handy for home. Tempting
I loved my AxeFXIII and gigged with it for over a year. Crazy powerful but not a tube amp. If I weren't so hard on board with profiling amps, I'd still honestly prefer a Tonemaster pro for everything. I think it's the best all around digital unit. It's not the most flexible compared to the fractal and can't do amp captures but it's by far the easiest to use, was the best unit for stage use and has some extremely good sounding amp models and cab IR's.
These tube amps that have built in attenuators and IR loaders though are seriously impressive and after playing about 4 shows with my Mark VII just running direct out, it's got me spoiled.
@@FastRedPonyCar thanks for the insight. So many great solutions. I already have a Mark IV, the VII appeals but the price point is staggering here in the UK. Im looking for a studio/teaching tool so thats why I had my eye on the axe fx and these 20w/25w Engls. Once you get a little cab and a pedal board the pricing is pretty similar. Im not sure if the axe will sound much better than my Neural plugins but it's the latency and self contained nature that appeals. Plus it can replace my apogee and provide FX on the Mark IV. We are spoilt for choice, too many good options. I checked out the TMP but tbh I try to avoid Fender like the plague these days!! I haven't played a good one for years
@@alexdoyleguitar Check my videos on the TMP. It's incredible. I've owned all of the professional modelers and it was my favorite by far and most of that is due to the great I/O options, the dead simple user interface, very powerful and extremely intuitive footswitch programming and the accuracy/quality of the amp models. The speaker sim/impulse response stuff is great too. It's a nice grid layout making it easy to pick a mic and position relative to the speaker cone.
The main guy running the TMP team was the big brain behind the Helix products.
@@FastRedPonyCar will do mate but currently your videos have me wanting a Mark VII, Engl, Jake E Lee and a Cantrell !!
@@alexdoyleguitar HA if you think that's bad, imagine how I feel when I get that return UPS label in my email when they want the stuff back 😢
Great video. Got a ?? about my Fractal FM9. Have it currently running thru my effects loop of my Splawn Quick Rod and it sounds good. You know I have those Adam A7X monitors on my desktop with my UA Apollo-Twin interface. For me to run the Fractal to my desktop monitors the Apollo doesn't have power running to it does it? I would need one of those power amps like the Fryett correct?
Nah you can just run an XLR cable from the left and right FM9 outputs into the back of the A7X’s
Dude give the Amp some mids ! Geez
hah I did sweep the mid control but the amp itself has a lot of mids so even with the control scooped, it's still a full sound.
Yeah, I doubt 20 Watt is not enough for most if not all gigs. In a location that would be so big for this amp not to be loud enough, they would mic the amp over the PA anyway.
This is simply a killer amp for just about every situation.
Edit: Oh and just to put 20 Watt into perspective: You would need 200 Watt to get double the loudness, which would only be a 3 dezibel increase respectively.
Yeah I think even in the ratty bars, I’d at least throw an I5 on speaker and hope for the best. I’ve seen some miracles though.
One guy in a group in town we’re friends with plays a katana 50 1x12 combo with a 609 hung over the top in front of the speaker going into a 15 year old Peavey PA and it sounds hilariously good.