BOSS Nextone Amplifier (EL84 Setting) Vs Vox AC15

The BOSS Nextone amp is the newest amp to come from BOSS. Fresh off of the success of the Katana amps, the Nextone takes a page from the Katana, but clearly shares DNA with the Blues Cube series. It features four different tube settings. For the sake of this review, I'm focusing on the EL84 British setting, so I'm comparing it with my Vox AC15 combo.

Cleans:

Right out of the gate, the Nextone is impressive. I am a fan of Vox amps. I've owned and used a Vox for years. In the room, playing big open chords, the chime is there. The sound is big and focused. Of course, with reverb and delay, the sound is pure ambient greatness. There is note definition without a hint of mud. While the higher register is bright and chimey, The experience with lower notes is where we lose some of the similarities. It may be due to the different cab designs, but the Vox seems to shake everything around it. At similar volumes, the BOSS doesn't seem to resonate as well. Besides that, the BOSS produces great clean sounds, but it lacks the big bottom-end that the Vox has.

Crunch:

I've recently discovered that the Vox dirty sounds are somewhat... polarising. Where I enjoy turning up my AC15, others can't stand the sound. Now, guitarists are known to be a tiny-bit particular about their tone so the difference between love and hate could be psychosomatic, but it is a difference of opinion. Vox may not be known for their crunch sounds, but I enjoy how the breakup is a little trashy with a big bottom-end and chimey highs. As I increased the gain on the Nextone however, the breakup was not the same. It wasn't bad, but this was probably most different the amps sounded during the test. I did my best to EQ the Nextone a little closer. No dice.

Recording:

So, the amp I used for comparison is the Nextone Studio. I decide to make a short recording I could go back and listen without the influence of room noise. I listened to both amps through headphones to compare. What I found is that the clean tones are impressively similar. While I enjoyed the way the Vox filled the room when playing live, recording by micing the speaker removed that effect entirely. The Crunch tones again were where I heard the most difference again. The breakup was a  little more generic than the Vox. The Nextone wasn't bad, but it's not a replacement for my Vox.

Conclusion:

The BOSS Nextone isn't a stand-in for a list of amps, but in the case of the EL84 setting emulating a Vox. It does a decent job of copying the clean chime. During recording, the results are similar. One isn't far and away better, and that is probably the best thing you could say about this amp. It's a little like cooking with garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. Is the product better with one over the other? Probably. Is the product drastically different at the end of the day? Not really. The Nextone is what it is. When it is all said and done. It is a Solid State amp doing an impressive job at imitating a tube amp.

Ugly Guitar Truth: Fender Blues Jr Mk IV

Just ahead of NAMM Fender announced that they were updating four amps in their current line. This didn't really peak my interest until I heard that the Blues Jr. was one of those amps. I have used a Blues Jr. for many years. To me, it is almost a right of passage. This was the amp at the music store that you sampled all of your pedals through. It was the amp that you hoped to upgrade to from your cheesy starter amp. Even by many professionals, this amp is considered a valuable tool. It is the 'everyman's amp' that has the iconic Fender sound. It was, what many considered, the perfect pedal amp. Now, Fender has gone and changed that.

What They've Changed


The overall look of the amp has changed very little. I believe the backplate is now black and the knobs are white. Other than that, the two amps look identical. That is until you look at the speaker. Gone is the Eminence for favor of a Celestion A-type speaker. They've also fiddled with some things inside the amp as well. While a part for part breakdown is yet unknown, the tone-shaping and reverb are notably altered from the Mk III.


For Better or Worse

Have they improved upon a classic or messed with a good thing? Well, at this point it is a little hard to tell. They've only been available for a few days and hands on testing is limited. What I can say is that a few Key features have been changed. The spikey high end that many Fender are known to have is now rounded out. The amps presence is still there, but the high-mids that seem to rattle around in you noggin are tamed to tolerable levels. The low-end might be the measurable change though. While the Mk III was know for its defined low-end. The Mk IV has made the low-end its trademark. The Mk IV sounds much fuller when the lows are pushed. Side by side the Mk IV out shines the Mk III. Making the Mk III sound thin. The reverb is also a point of noticeable change. Despite the fact that many guitarist can conjure a sound upon hearing "Fender reverb", Fender has changed it in favor of a darker, more controlled spring.


Other Notes

While some might look at these changes as messy with a good thing, many of the changes are simply keeping up with times. Obviously, older players will still seek out that original Fender sound, but younger players desire an amp with more modern features. This line of amps is still, for the most part, a working man's amp. Pro Jr.s, Blues Jr.s, Deluxes, and Devilles, are staples of backlines and bar-stages everywhere. While I think that the Blues Jr has lost a lot of what makes it a Fender, the changes have made a little more of versatile amp.


While I wouldn't call this a Marshall-y sounding amp. Fender has made the Blues Jr more Marshall-y. Before, I would use a Blues Jr to act as the platform for my pedals. The Mk IV makes a decent sound all on its on. The breakup and overdrive/distortion are much more pleasing and usable. I can see where they might have taken bits of the Bluesbreaker amps and transplanted them into the Blues Jr. While this might make for a better overall amp, it may change the way we view and use a Blues Jr. This all sound pretty flattering, but imagine if Vox made their AC15 sound a little more like a Mesa Boogie. I know that is a dumb "what if", but what would you do if you wanted an Vox AC15 sound, but they'd changed the sound to some high-gain scooped mids nonsense. You'd have to find an older used version, right. Well, that probably our future. Our favorite pedal platform is now a thing of the past (and craigslist).

Ugly Truth About The BOSS Katana Amps

The latest amp to hit the solid-state, modeling, DSP market is the BOSS Katana series. This series is a completely new line of amps. It also is has the distinction of wearing the BOSS badge instead of Roland or WAZA. Many see this as a step in the right direction for BOSS, as they have the recognition among guitar players and not Roland. However, many have come to appreciate the Roland Cube series of amps. Roland Jazz Chorus amps have a long and proud history unto themselves. BOSS have struck out with a distinct offering that may have borrowed from the their heritage, but absolutely breaks new ground for the effects company that many love to hate. There are good and bad things about this amp, but what about the ugly?

There Are The Looks

Once you get past the black on black aesthetic, the dated BOSS logo, and the scrabble tile with a cursive "r" (or maybe a fancy "d"?)on it, well, there isn't much left is there. (edit: I am very aware that the symbol means "sword". It was mentioned in the promotional material and just about everywhere else. I didn't see the need in repeating it here.) The Blues cube took cues from Fender with it's 1X12 combo, but if you take the badges off and go by looks, it'd be difficult to tell these apart from the standard cube series. These amps do look a fair bit better than the cube amps, but there is nothing particularly striking about the design of these amps. Nothing says, "I'm a sexy, tone-machine". It has about as much appeal as a stage monitor.

They Are A Little Late To The Game

When you look at the list of feature on the Katana, it does seem a little similar to others that are already on the market. The Vox AV series and the Fender Mustang line both do similar functions, and do them rather well. So, is this a case of, "Too Little, Too Late"? It very well may be. A lot of the fans of these amps are also current users of the other two mentioned. Not to mention that users (or past users) of the Line6 Spider series or the Marshall CODE amps might be a little skeptical of the modeling scene. Are these amps worthy of the praise of the Fender and Vox offerings or do these fall to the dark side? Well, I'll tell you what they aren't...

They Aren't The Blues Cube

Those interested in a SS amp to do the work of your favorite 1X12 are probably familiar with the Roland Blues Cube. These amps come close to the sounds of their tube driven kin, but there will always be those the "hear" the difference. SS amps are supposed to be rugged and affordable. The Katana series are affordable. Although their ruggedness is yet to be tested, their price points make them attractive.This calls in question their fidelity to the faithful adaptation of tube-tone that the Blues Cube claims. While I am among those that would love to see an amp with the talents of the Blues Cube at a $300 price point, I doubt that Roland/Boss would undercut their own sales,

Conclusion

This isn't the point to where we can all trade in our tubes for transistors. However, these amps have some interesting features and have won the endearment of many that have had a chance to try them out. What is very interesting is that they have included access to the BOSS effects catalog via the "Effects" section. You are able to run three effect at a time. This is standard feature on all the amp in the line. They self-attenuates, so that you can play at any volume without changing your levels. If anything, these amps are well thought out, which can explain why they are a little late out of the gate. Among the cool feature, there are some slightly strange ones (like the tiny kickstand and tiny speaker hidden the 100 watt head). Considering the starting price for the 50 watt combo is $200, it might be worth serious concideration.

Continued Reading:

-Hands-on Review
-Katana 50 Watt Combo Vs Marshall Code
-Update: Katana Mini
-Update: Katana Air Portable Wireless Amp

Vox AV Series: Update

I first reported about these amps when Vox announced them back at NAMM this year. They Stood out because of there styling and features. They are analog, solid powered combos that look rather striking. The looks alone were enough to make me interested. I've been able to see one in action and I have to say that I'm am impressed. I was almost dismissive of the new line. I wasn't the biggest fan of the little modeling amps that came out recently. I was afraid that these guys were still coming from that prospective. This does not seem to be the case. These are something akin to the Super Champs that Fender put out. They replicate the front ends of other various amps, sans digital modeling.

Starting at just over $200 these amps are poised to be an excelent first amp, or a great step into valve-ish amps. If you need or want a variety of amp sounds but don't have the funds to buy half a dozen or more amps to make those sounds, then this amp could be an excellent fit. I liked the Super Champ amps and these seem to be in the same ballpark. In fact, I'd pick up one of these on the looks alone. The fact that these amps can emulate so many others and even the biggest one in the lineup comes in under $500 doesn't hurt either. Vox has put a lot of work into making great little amps. Even the the cabinet design is made to make you forget that (unless you have the 60 watt version) you aren't playing though a 12" speaker.

All in all. these amps are stacking up to be a step above what I was predicting. Kind of a foot-in-mouth moment, but I'm glad it is. The world need more great amps. This quite possibly, could be one. At least, it might be a good choice for many musicians.

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The Ugly Truth About The Fender Super Champ X2

For the most part I'm a typical guitarist and tone-snob. I like my amps tubey and my effect true-bypass (even though that might be the best thing for your tone). I don't like digital effects or multi-effects processors. I'm also kind of a Fender fanboy. So when my "session" amp was changed from a Fender Blues Jr. to a Champ X2 I was worried. I had worked with that Blues Jr. for some time and I like how my set-up was set-up. Not knowing any of the features I dialed in a clean tone and adjust the Eq so that it was balanced. It is small and has build-in effects. I feared the worst.

It's Small


15 watts, 10" speaker, petit enclosure it was not looking good. I was afraid it would sound small and boxy. I bypassed my pedal board to hear the amp clean. It was surprisingly dark and moody. Not at all thin. I balanced my Eq and adjusted the volume and that was it. What I didn't know about this little combo was that it is all tube. Pre-amp and power are driven by tubes. 15 watts was plenty to act as my monitor with a full band. The 10" speaker kept the lows nice and tight. I did switch from my EHX OD Glove to a Tube Screamer for my dirt. The Glove has a lot more low end which I might have been ok with if I worked with a bit more to find a sweet spot, but the TS was able to rock and roll without much fuss. This amp might not fill up an entire room, but for this application it was good fit


It Has On-Board Effects


This is one of my pet peeves. I know why amp makers keep putting out amp with effects built in. A beginner is going to buy an amp with 10 knobs over one that has three. Its an easy and cheap way to add features to amps. It also allows player with little or no effects to experiment with different sounds. On-Board effect are all bad (in theory), but ever amp I've played with DSP up till now has been underwhelming in the highest order. When I adjusted the amp, I noticed that the effect were turned all the way down and I left it there. Yes. I have bias. I don't want digital effect on my amp. but this amp didn't suffer from any of the symptoms of having DSP. In fact I forgot all together that it even had them. Which in my mind is a complement. Disclaimer: The effect on this amp might be very useful or even beneficiary, I just have had a chance to run though them.

My Conclusion


This a great little amp. It's all tube, It has some really good clean sounds, and it is pretty flexible. If you traded you DSP for a reverb tank and ran it into a 12" speaker then It would be great amp, period. As it is, Its most comfortable in the bedroom or as a live monitor. The biggest downside is that this amp disappears in the mix if you aren't right in front. I was rather close to my amp, and all amps have a cone shaped "optimal listening area", but this amp seems to be a bit smaller. Of course it is a trade off. Compact, lightweight amps are great when your are traveling or tight for space, but they come with some drawbacks. Fender seems to have made a lot of good decisions when designing this amp.