Nextone Special 1x12" 80-watt Combo Amp Review

Hate... Then Love

This amp is exactly what I was looking for after addressing two things: 1) I had to connect to a computer and use the editor software to dial down the high-shelf EQ to get rid of fizziness on the Lead channel. I was ready to send it back before that. 2) I got a Hosa FSC-385 footswitch in addition to the Boss GA-FC footswitch. Without the Hosa, you have to do a lot of tap-dancing… read more to switch channels, effects and solo mode. The Hosa covers channel switching and solo mode and you can use the FC to simply switch boost, delay, reverb and effects loop on and off. The Boss FS-6 works too, but the Hosa doesn't need a battery. I got this amp for gigging. I have a Helix, but I find presets and menus to be completely frustrating in a live scenario. I just want to turn knobs like on an amp and stomp boxes. Since 98% of the time, all I use is overdrive, delay and boost, this amp has me covered. I can run an HX Stomp through the switchable effects loop for modulation or special delay settings. In a live situation, this is a full-grown amp. It has more than enough power to keep up with a drummer. I haven't needed to go past the 20 watt setting. The 0.5 watt setting is great for home. Finally, one of the greatest things about this amp is that you don't disappear down a rabbit hole for three days twiddling with a bunch of arcane settings. I immediately knew this amp was what I was looking for when I saw a picture of the control panel. If you don't have that reaction, it might not be your amp.

---

Cancel Comment

Unparalleled Clean Tone Canvas

So the Nextone arrived at my door a couple days ago. I went through the careful "unpack like you need to send it back" routine - using my Katana power cord and relying on youtube for directions so as not to disturb any more packaging than is absolutely necessary. After all, this is alot to spend on a solid state amp. Within an hour I knew it was money well spent! I play mostly… read more with my fingers and there's alot I expect out of a clean tone. I plugged in a humbucker equipped mahogany super strat, switched the power to 0.5w, turned the master up to full, and set the volume at noon. The eq stack selection was by default on the American setting, power amp at 6v6. I started playing my blues and a very rich tone flowed from the cabinet: sweet, dynamic, clean goodness. I then switched the power amp selecter to 6L6 and wow! Felt very different, not a huge eq thing but more of a change in depth perception and feel. I went on to the British power amps and they were both individually unique, and pleasing, as well. With all of the preamp eq still at noon, I turned on some reverb and it sounds great - feels organic. The delay was added next and I was surprised at how easy it was to get a good level (I never use delay because I'm too lazy to find the right settings that compliment). Then I decide to fool with the power amp eq - which is all at zero out of the box. All I did was turn the bass to noon, expecting to hear a huge jump in the low frequencies. To my surprise it just fills the sound out and changes the feel a bit. Sounds amazing! Next I tried switching between the American and British eq stacks, leaving the knobs at noon... WOW! Each stack is musical and distinct. So I've just been playing and playing on the clean channel, only changing up the tube type and eq stack, and marveling at how much new nuance I hear (and FEEL) simply by changing fingering positions on the fretboard. I haven't even scratched the surface on features , but honestly my playing is better already because there's something now connecting phrases and licks together - something new- something I can't begin to describe - something that wasn't there in my playing before. It really is a feel thing. Mind you, I haven't tried the drive channel yet, or got into any of the advanced editing, but man do I love this thing already! I had my fingers crossed that this amplifier would deliver as Boss has promised and I have not been mislead. It really is exactly what I needed at this stage of my life. It's more than an amp it's my canvas. Take it for what it's worth. Best money I've ever spent on an amp.

---

Cancel Comment

Smarter Than Me!

Both channels sound pretty darn good Amp/Tube selection tones are right on the money Headphones sound good through it I must admit that at my age (this old rocker got it for himself for his sixty first birthday) I would like to see a more informative instruction manual because I'm just not that intuitive anymore. But hey there's a ton of videos out there for the amp and that's… read more where I got 98% of the instructions I needed to operate this really cool tone machine. Very versatile, very worth it, very nice. It's the perfect companion for my Blues Cube Artist.

---

Cancel Comment

Initial review

So far I have had the Nextone Special amp from Boss through Sweetwater for about 2 weeks now. I pre-ordered the nextone special with the help of my sales engineer Brenton Evan's, whom spoke with me several times within the matter of a few weeks to help me pick out a new amp and to make sure I was enjoying it. I am upgrading amps from a decade or so old amp that I have had since… read more I began getting interested in playing which is the Fender Frontman 15R. Obviously the scale of the nextone blows the Fender away. I am not here to compare the two. I am here to say that so far I like the amp. Sweetwater delivered in a timely manner and has great customer service as always. I will do another review in the future after I have had much more time experimenting with the amp. So far I love it and I love how you can use either volume or master to either get an overdriven pre amp sound or an overdriven amp sound. I have hooked it up to the computer once or twice but haven't spent as much time with the settings as I should yet. So far the amp sounds great and I hope it last many many years without fault. I play primarily an American standard Tele and it made my guitar come to life. One sad thing with the old Fender 15R I honestly couldn't hear a difference between my 3 pickup selections and now it is night and day difference. Last thing I didn't understand what reviews and descriptions of an amp meant when it said dynamic well now I know. Without changing any knobs or adjusting the volume the amp responds to your playing very well I can play light and beautiful sounds on the same settings as when I start playing harder rock and the amp dramatically changes tone with your playing style. So far very please will try to update review in half a year to a year. Thank you Brenton Evan's and thank you Sweetwater.

---

Cancel Comment

Awesome sounding and looking, versatile, reliable, USB update-able, genius design

I have this amp. I play this amp. The number and feature set of the knobs make perfect sense for efficient and effective control of your sound. Two independent channels. That's what I want and need. Other cheap amps give you 1 1/2 channels, which is frustrating. This is what I want, two independent channels. EL84, EL34, 6L6, 6V6 selectable per channel. I can put my favorite settings… read more in memory. I can select British or American tone stacks per channel. I can select 6L6 tubes on Channel 1 for Fender Harmonic Clean and I can select EL34 tubes on channel 2 for Sizzling Crunch. I can have Reverb & Delay set just right for the clean channel and I can set Reverb & Delay just right for the Overdrive Channel. I can set the power scaling in the sweet spot at 0.5w for bedroom practice or 80w for stage playing a full band with drums. The amp is built solid. The Waza speaker is a super performer with rich harmonics, body, bloom and power. IR out for recording. FX loop. Everything can be controlled by the front panel in seconds. There is a great 6 button footswitch for instant changes. There is an editor app so if I want to go into great detail for settings on my computer with a big screen I can do that in my leisure time. This is a well thought out amp that I have been waiting for for years. I started using the Blues Cube Hot Class A/B amp years ago that sounds great. But it is a very limited one channel amp with minimal footswitch control. I have tube amps but the Boss Nextone Special can be 4 different amps in one song. It can be a clean Fender, a crunch Marshall, a singing Mesa Boogie, a jangly Vox. The Special performs like a superstar. The price is fantastic too. Update-able, good looking, functional, reliable. The best amp I have ever used. Been playing on stage and in my bedroom for 50 years. This is the kind of amp I would get two of. This is the future of amplification. Energy efficient operation, not a hog, like a tube amp. Class A/B power. Not Class D like cheap digital amps. I have a Fender Class A tube amp, the Hand Wired '57 Custom Champ. Champ output 5 watts, takes 30 watts from the wall. My Fender Tone Master Deluxe Class D emulates a 22 watt Class A/B tube amp but takes 100 watts from the wall. The Special is Class A/B 80 watts taking 85 watts from the wall. The Special has the most desirable output configuration for a power tube-like sound and feel. The problem with Class D is that it is sterile clean. A lot of trickery is involved to get it to respond like a Class A/B tube-like amp. The Hot and the Special are the desired type of amplification for tube-like sag, compression and pleasurable overdrive. It is more difficult to get pleasurable overdrive from the Tone Master. Fender had to have update mods to address this issue. The original firmware for the Tone Master had that rizzy transistor sound with the Bright Capacitor in the Bright Channel where the Reverb and Tremolo is when overdriven. The mod works great. Kudos to Fender for continuing to support their products and listen to players. The Special already has that mod built in. Kudos to Boss for their research & development and listening to players like Eric Johnson.

---

Cancel Comment