Nextone Artist 1x12" 80-watt Combo Amp Review

Hits the Sweet Spot of Tube Modeling and Vast Digital Options Without Overwhelming You

Whereas certain other tube-modeling amps seem to be aimed at convincing you that you did NOT just buy a solid state amp by limiting the number of options that are thought of as "digital," this one focuses on just sounding "tube amp great" while still embracing the massive number of digital sound modeling options. At the same time, it doesn't overwhelm you with too many choices/switches.… read more How deep you get into it is totally up to you, and never a requirement to get great tones from the first time you turn it on. You can just use it like a "normal" amp. Because there are already so many choices to experiment with via the amp knobs themselves, it was almost a week of playing before I even bothered connecting my laptop and using the Nextone Editor. After owning this for a couple of weeks now, here are my thoughts: 1) plenty of total power and the the power output choices work exactly as described/expected. Full power is too much in the house but plenty to gig. Half power is totally versatile and still plenty loud for mic'd gigs or to simulate tube breakup. 0.5w is more for a good time experimenting with drive sounds. 2) you'd be a fool not to buy the footswitch in order to access everything this amp can do while you're playing, including accessing the effects loop via the Boss footswitch. The switch does not work the same with the Nextone amps as it does with the Katanas. The amp comes with stickers to cover the function labels you'll see in photos of the footswitch used with Katanas. What you get then is (left to right) clean, dirty, boost, tone (bright), effects loop, and delay on/off. You can add a tap switch for the delay, or tap manually with the switch on top of the amp. So far I've not found it a big deal to use the amp tap switch, even though I'm used to foot tap. I didn't think I'd use the effects loop, but I love it as a way to add my time-based pedals to the the onboard effects, and they blend beautifully. Double-tapping the channel switches functions as a volume boost! Didn't even know that until I did it on accident. The clean/boost and dirty/boost options give you a ton of sonic range with the footswitch. Depending on how you program your effects, "boost" doesn't just mean clean boost. You have ten drive choices (including an octave fuzz) under that label, and you can stack them on top of the initial drive via the footswitch. Same goes for "Tone." You can set it up to brighten, or to (ironically) function as a clean boost. 3)this is really a 4 channel amp. Once you create a second clean and second dirty channel to your specs via the Boss Nextone editor, you download them to the amp. At that point you really have two cleans and two dirties that are just as unique as you want them. I didn't realize there were soooo many drive options and drive/boost combos, even after watching demos. 4) the preamp modelers sound good and authentic. Since all four options are right there at the twist of one knob, you can toggle through if you're not getting the sound you're looking for. One of the positions tends to shine over the others, depending on the volume or the effects combo. Super fun to have that option to experiment with. Since it's all virtual anyway, you can think of it almost like a Gibson Varitone switch for an amplifier. 5) the Nextone Editor is not overwhelming. It's a ton of fun to mess with in real-time while your guitar is plugged in. Just make sure you don't have anywhere you're supposed to be because time will fly! Every new set of effects and parameters you make can be saved in a slot to send to the amp one-at-a-time. You never have more than two amp settings running at once: the factory settings, plus your custom set accessible by push button. There are also like 15 pre-made amp configurations that you can experiment with, also in real time. I've never had a moment of confusion with the Editor, it's very easy to use. 6) there's also a built-in, adjustable Boss noise suppressor. Interesting to me, because I was already having to use a Boss NS pedal when playing coil pickups at church due to our horrible florescent lighting and low ceilings over the stage. Works like a charm in the amp, just like the pedal does and with the same "knobs," only virtual. Oh, and there's a compressor on board too, forgot to mention that above! Bottom line: versatile is a huge understatement, the amp sounds really good, I feel like I got a massive return for my money spent. I have no complaints except that I can't find a cover for it anywhere...

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Updated review

I recently bought an Epiphone SG and did a bit more of a deep dive into the Nextone software. I had never before used the built in graphic EQ, which can be set differently on the clean and drive channels. I was able to surgically remove the excessive boom from the guitar's pickups, to varying degrees on the different channels. What a life saver. You can also do a system wide EQ… read more setting if you want. The nextone is still going strong!

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Nextone Overdue Review

This review is long overdue. At first I had a hard time getting any sound out of this amp that I liked. I have always been a Roland/Boss user so I kept trying. I saw a review that said to max the master volume or at least keep it close to maxed depending on the pickups in your guitar. Once I tried maxing the master volume the amp came to life. It sounds alive and I can feel… read more the sound like you would on a tube amp. It is a pleasure to play. I use mostly the clean channel but after playing around with channel two it still sound alive. It doesn't matter if I play with Fender 69 pickups, Gibson 57s, EMGs, Schecter USA Pasadena or Tele Nocaster pickups it still sounds wonderful. I change with the master volume depending on the type of pickup. This is an incredible amp. The ability to select tube style and the standby knob just adds to the benefits of this amp.

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Boss Nextone Artist review 7-4-2020

This amp has exactly the tones and features that I like best and it's easy to dial in. Genuine valve response and tones in a light weight combo that's built to last. It does not need to be edited on your computer to sound awesome. You can do so to dial in very specific changes if you want, but it sounds excellent straight out of the box. I see this amp as an evolution of the very… read more well respected Roland Blues Cube series, with that same professional level of tone and build quality. It's got a great sound, full and powerful, clear, and richly harmonic. It is NOT shrill, harsh, or fizzy. Turn the Master volume up! The tube logic circuit responds like a real tube amp in every way, including not sounding its best until its pushed. The tonal differences between the power tube types can be subtle, as is true of actual tube amps as well. Use the power control setting that lets you have the master volume at three quarters or above, then use the channel volume control for overall loudness. This amp sings, and has very rich and musical harmonics when played that way. It can sound lifeless and dull with the master down low. Give the power section some juice and you'll be rewarded. The higher you can have the power control the richer and more complex the sound gets, but it still sounds beautiful even at a half watt setting. The onboard effects are really well done and are Boss professional quality. They are just the right ones for me; luscious reverb, a very DRRI like tremolo, smooth clean boost, and nice delay. This amp just does it all and does it very very well. Perfect for home practice AND for playing with a group. I'm very happy with this amp, and with Sweetwater. My sales engineer, Matt Zuleger, suggested a look at this amp, and I'm glad he did!

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Amazing tone and flexibility

I really didn't think a perfect amp for me existed. I bought this after seeing some videos and can honestly say it blew away even my high expectations. Its almost like having the power of a modular synth in an amp. It is extremely responsive and gives easy access to killer tones. Plus it is not loaded up with superfluous options, so you really focus on what is important to your… read more tone. The options that are available for reverb and delay/trem are perfectly suited to the amp and amazing in their own right. They are just as responsive as the rest of the amp is to the player's touch. In contrast to the slew of options you get with modelers like the Fender Champions, what you get with this is basically one, fully customized, KILLER amp. With lead, boost, and tone options available on the GAFC foot controller, I basically have 4 footswitchable stages of gain, plus footswitchable tone tweaks for cutting through a mix. It also remembers where you were, so on my drive channel I'm leaving delay and fat tone on all the time, whereas my clean channel usually starts with nothing and I toggle constantly through boost, done, and tremolo. All that variety without touching the knobs, which of course are still available. Speaking of knobs, the independent volume on the clean and drive channels is great, and if you crank up the volume on the clean channel you can get quite a bit of break up, which of course pushes your boost right over the edge. In the software the boost comes in several varieties, including my favorite blues driver, which I use on both channels with different settings. The ability to switch between power stages is also amazing. At home I'm usually on the 0.5w setting. I love the standby switch as well. I use it constantly. I've kept my Power amp on the 6L6 setting and haven't looked back. The main reason apart from killer tone that I love this amp is that I live in a townhome and I can have this at bedroom levels, or through headphones. Through the software you can even set the air response in the headphones/line out mix so it doesn't sound plasticy and horrible. You can also run that out into another amp and control the two volumes independently. Another AMAZING feature is that in the software you can decide where in the signal chain you want your effects loop, before or after reverb, etc. What a totally amazing option, especially for someone like me who practices through headphones with a looper pedal in the fx loop. Just perfect. This is smaller, lighter, and sounds a million times better than my Champion 100. After tonight I can also confirm that the 80 watts are more than enough power to compete with the loudest drummer I've ever played with, and to sound fantastic doing it. This amp is pretty much perfect, has been a source of constant inspiration, gets me in and out of rehearsals and gigs without breaking my back, and is probably the best money I've ever spent, period. If it stands the test of time, I would say the only thing better than one of these would be two of these. Great job BOSS! And a thank you to Tom at Sweetwater for getting this to me in 2 days. You are the man!

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