I recently played this amp at a gig in reno because it was already set up, and I was surprised to say the least with its huge sound. It's got a rich bottom end and a smooth creamy lead sound. I didn't even realize it was a tube amp at first due to the lack of a standby switch, but once this thing warmed up it sounded somewhere between a marshall stack and a lone star combo. Beautiful marshall cleans, but a little bit weak on the reverb (thus the 4 for features). Didn't try the overdrive channel, But overall its a great little amp that can hold its own. I highly recommend!

I was laughing out loud when I played through this amp...It's everthing I ever wanted in a combo. The semi closed back gives it an awesome bassy sound that makes this sucker sound bigger than it is. If you're a fan of Marshall through a 4x12 cabinet, but need something with lower wattage, and lighter weight/portability, this is the combo for you! It is THE combo for clubs and small gigs. I can get every tone from vintage cleanto early Metallica. I can't belive I waited this long to try this amp, it's definitely worth every penny I paid for it!

Right out of the box, it's very musical. Believe what others have stated about the CLEAN channel -- it's *very* nice, and really scales nicely as a 20w tube amp should. Up past 7 you start some sweet breakup, but it is always controllable. Roll back the volume, and it cleans up nice, with my Strat. My Carvin (with coil taps) loves this channel too. Easily on-par with a Fender for cleans, and even sounded better than some that cost more.

Now, the LEAD channel. Again, like others have said, a completely different amp -- and a *lot* louder. Stand on the GAIN knob, and it's got somewhat of a JCM800 hair-metal sound to it, but that changes with the type of guitar you run through it. Humbuckers can fatten the tone up, and you really can achieve searing leads with this thing. For me, I'd rather control the dirt on the floor -- although this would make a nice LEAD channel if that's your thing. I'd rather dial the GAIN knob down and add dirt to scream, but that's just me.

It took me all of 3 minutes to crack this thing open -- even though the ads say it's 2 EL84's and 3 12AX7's, they're wrong. There's only *2* 12AX7's, and the circuit board has an op-amp or two that assist in the GAIN stage. Still, the tubes are TAD Selects, and are considered to be better than average for tubes in a factory setup. I left the EL84's in, and tried 4 or 5 combinations of preamp tubes. After a couple of hours of swapping, both 12AX7's left, and I'm running a Mullard 12AT7WA and a JAN/Philips 5751. This really helped the 'trebly' GAIN, solidified the bottom, and lowered the overall volume of the LEAD channel. Very sweet. Still, the fact remains that the op-amp is always there, and the channel will always have some growl. OK by me ;)

The features are short, particularly with the controls, but that's been voiced already

I struggled with the misleading ads about the tubes -- I like the 2-EL84/3-12AX7 combo, and was considering sending it back on principal alone. However, it sounds too good, so it'll stick around as a lighter compliment to the JCM800 combo. I still highly recommend the amp, particularly for the value you get at a reasonable price point.

Amp has a great bold sound for such a tiny package. I personally like the dirty channel the best. Great for studio work etc... However, I was getting a weird buzzing coming from the speaker when I played a low B flat so I sent off for either repair or replacement since it is still under warranty. I contacted a local dealer about the problem first and apparently the buzzing has been a common issue with these amps... so be aware of that. Also, at high volumes the construction of the amp rattles quite a bit and I mentioned that to the warranty department as well. My opinion is that it will serve you well in the studio when you do not have to play really loud... but it has trouble at performance volume.

I'm a metal head and was in a local store trying out amps when I came across this one and after playing through it decided to go with her ... why?

1 - Nice and simple, 2 - Portablility is a must, 3 - The low wattage allows me to get the tube's cranked, I'm finding that more and more (almost all now) venues are mic'ing my amps. I couldn't get a 100 watt tube amp past 2 and we all know that sounds like pure snot. 4 - Versatility ... I can use it to record too. 5 - Built like a german tank (Hughes & Kettner reliability),

The sound is the most important, but the nice thing about it is right out of the gate she sounded great! The tube amp concept is nice because you can tinker with the sound a lot more than solid state just by changing tubes.

The clean is crystal clear (I don't use it as much as the dirty one). The dirty is filthy rich sounding at higher volumes, once those tubes get warm (20 minutes into it usually) that bite is GREAT!

The only con is the shared EQ, but I'm not picky about my cleans and I don't do the mid scoop thing that much anymore. If this is a deal breaker there is always the EQ pedal alternative, nonetheless it didn't affect my decision.

Number one Pro ... GREAT VALUE!! 20 watts hangs with the band wihtout any problems. The effects loop is great, but the only effect in the loop is my EQ and a delay pedal for the soloing.

Try one out, it's totally worth it!