AmpMan Classic 50-watt Guitar Amplifier Pedal Review

Great sounding amp!

As a way of background, I've owned a variety of Marshall amps (JCM 800, JCM 900, JVM 410H, DSL20 etc.) I also have had a Hughes and Kettner GrandMeister 40 for a couple of years. And I've also had other amps from Ashdown and Yamaha, Ampeg, Peavy, BlackStar etc. The AmpMan has incredible tone. It is robust! I love it better than my Marshalls and actually think it might compete… read more on par with my GrandMeister. The noise gate is great and the tones are the best in this price range in my opinion. There is no competition for another amp for this price. A couple of fatal flaws that might not bother you: The labels for the controls and knobs are really hard to read. Standing above the amp in my studio, I couldn't ready any of the controls. You might be able to memorize all the controls, but given that they are unique, I found myself hitting the wrong switch or turning the wrong knob. I hear the modern version is easier to read, but this one sounds so good, I can't say if that's worth it. I could have printed labels for the controls but that seems ridiculous. The other flaw is the lack of reverb. It's crazy that any amp comes without reverb. However, I knew this in advance and it sounded fine with an analog delay. Would I recommend it? Yes, if the sound is more important than reading the controls. I plan to buy a Black Spirit 200 instead. That's three times the cost but I'm hoping also has the great tone that comes with the Spirit Tone Generator.

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Love this amp

I took this into a recording studio. The engineer asked where my amp was so he could mic it up. I said, "No, this is it, direct to the board." I used the 4X12 vintage cab setting. Several times during the sessions he commented how good it sounded. Said he might get one to add to the studio gear. And it feels good. It responds like you're directly in a tube head, not the separation… read more you can feel from a digital amp modeller. 50 watts to a cab gives plenty of stage volume for me, the rest direct to the house system. And I don't have to haul my half stack around anymore! I put an EQ pedal in the FX loop for more tone control, but otherwise am very happy with this.

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Two in one

This Ampman Classic is perfect for the music I play! The band I'm in plays a diverse genre and styles from rock, blues, country and some old standards. It's two amps in one. Channel A is very Fenderish especially with my Strat. Channel B is darker and can get pretty aggressive. So, if you play a semi-hollow body Gretsch with Filtertron pickups you will lose some high end that… read more I couldn't over come with the presence knob. Maybe an EQ pedal would help. I didn't have the same experience with my other guitars. There is a slight learning curve with this unit while trying to figure out what the tone knobs do. Spend some time with them and you'll get it. The sagging feature is great for getting that full blown saturated power tube sound at any volume. The dynamics are very old school. With a light pick attack you don't get much sag but the more aggressively you play the more you get. Just like that old Fender on 10. The Solo switch is another name for clean boost and is good for just that. Which ever channel you're on just gets louder depending on where you set the knob. The Boost switch not only boosts the volume but adds saturation as well. The only thing I didn't like about the Boost switch is you can't control the volume. Depending on the guitar I used it could be a little overbearing. The effects loop works great with my pedals. (delay, chorus and reverb). The Red Box DI is useful if you want to run your instrument though a mixer and you can use it simultaneously with your on stage speaker cabinet if you want. I do. The Red Box speaker emulation is okay but not great. I couldn't get it to sound like my stage cabinet but it came close. The noise gate works really good. You hardly know it there. For the price this thing is great. It fits my pedal board and my back doesn't hurt!

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Pleasantly surprised

As a true tube amp lover and at 72 years on this planet lifting heavy tube amplifiers I have 4 2 Dr.Z combos a Marshall JCM 600 2/12 and a Fender Blues Jr. Are becoming a strain to lug by the time I set up to play my body was hurting my son plays harmonica and he told me about the solid state Hughes and Kettner Ampman I was an instant skeptic until I saw the video and researched… read more the specs 50 watts at 4 ohms Redbox cab simulator headphone output effects loop the price was right oh have to mention the sag control is the secret ingredient in the electronic sauce I thought if this does all that it says this might be the perfect solution. Another thing I would like to mention get yourself a 4 ohm 12 inch speaker of at least 75-100 watts I got a used Jensen C12K 4 ohm put it in an old Blackstone cab I had I played an outside gig last night and the power and tone was better or on par than any of my tube amplifiers I never thought I would say this about solid state but this little gadget is my go to rig best thing I ever purchased !!!!! Sweetwater all the way !!!

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Great amp for the money

I've been playing guitar for 58 years. I am now 71 and tired of lifting up heavy amps. That was the main reason for buying this but I have to tell you I was definitely and pleasantly surprised of how functional this unit is. I would recommend it to anyone and the price point is fantastic. I am running my head through a vintage 30 and it sounds excellent.

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