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.

BOSS Nextone Amps vs BOSS Katana Amps... FIGHT!

Recently, BOSS has given us the Nextone amps. They are heavily inspired/based on the Roland Blue Cube amps. If you can remember, there was a time before BOSS release the Katana amplifiers where Roland's (BOSS' parent company) biggest amp line was the Cube series. Many people played and loved the Cube amps. Some of the most praised amps in the line were the Blues Cube. The Blues Cube was designed as a direct competitor to the Fender 1x12 amps. Following in that line, the Nextone amps are a continuation of that idea. I think that the Nextone is better than the Blues Cube in nearly every way. However, is it worth it?

I've talked a lot about the BOSS Katana on here so I won't go in a lot of detail in this post. I, like many other people like the Katana amps. I own a Katana amp. It makes a great practice amp. It makes a good gigging amp. You can record direct and mic it with reasonable (or even impressive) results. I think the most impressive thing about the Katana amps is the price. BOSS may have not have realized how big of a success the Katana was going to be. The Katana was priced less than it is now when it was released, suggesting that it was undervalued at release. So the Katana if a huge value that can serve in a multitude of roles.

There are key points were the Nextone amps are similar to Katana. Obviously, BOSS wants to emulate the Katana's success. The most obvious similarities are the power limiting feature (which actually was featured of the Blues Cube before the Katana) and the way the back panel is set up. The Blues Cube had much less in the way of options. However, the back panel of the Nextone and Katana look almost identical. There are some major differences as well. The biggest may be the effects that are built in. Katana promised a huge list of effects that you could select from and control. The Nextone gives you some effects that you might find of small tube combos (reverb, trem, and even delay). Where the Nextone can really flex is power section emulation. This is a solid state amp, but you can select the type of tubes emulated the amp emulates. In practice, this voices the amp like two different American amp or two British amp.

Both of these amps sound good.

Both of these amps have good In/Outs.

The Katana has more effects.

The Nextone models/emulates 4 different Tube amps.

The Katana has 5 amp charactors/modes (which is different?!)

The Nextone has software support to customize your amp voicing.

But UGT! Which one should I buy? The obvious answer is to play both side by side and buy the one you like more. But let's say that you have to buy one or the other without playing either one. If the difference in price doesn't matter, then it mostly comes down to effect. If you have a pedal board then I'd lean toward the Nextone. However, if you need a amp that does effects as well, you might want to go with the Katana, but they are limited. Which one is better overall. Not surprisingly, the more expensive one is going to have a better speaker and cabinet.

Conclusion

BOSS is killing it with their amps. I am very impressed. At a very glance, these amp look very similar. There are some key differences that make the Nextone very impressive. I'd go so far to say that these amps are what the Katana Artist should have been. If the Nextone retained the effects section from the Katanna, it would be game over.

Ugly Guitar Truth: Boss Nextone Amplifier

Boss has been known for creating some of the most iconic and memorable guitar products of all time. A few years ago the world was taken aback when BOSS gave us the Katana amplifier. The internet was abuzz with talk about an amplifier that gave you tonnes of useful features and BOSS-quality effects. The Katana was not the first, but what made it a darling was that it started for $200. For what many pay for their first "beginner" amp, you could have an amplifier that could get you through your first gigs or be a respectable studio tool. I personally love the line-in and headphone functions. Many of my larger amp and combos don't include this feature. So it's nice to have this on an amp that doesn't make me feel like a compromising tone-wise.

I like the Katana, but why am I take about the Katana on a post about the Nextone amp? Well, my first thought I had about the Nextone, was that it was just an update/addition to the Katana series. Since the introduction, BOSS has added many more Katana models. I can't speak to have the success they all have been, but the Nextone seemed to be at home next to the Katana amp. However, this is not the case.

We've Seen These Before

The Nextone amplifiers are the newest amps from BOSS, and you wouldn't be wrong to think that they share some DNA with the runaway success that was the Katana line of amps. However, these amps are more closely related to the Roland Blues Cube. With just a look, we can see the similarities on the control panel. The channel controls are set up exactly the same. You still have the Tone and Boost controls, Tube Logic and Power Control that we are used to seeing of the Blues Cube. Is this a reheated Blues Cube sold under the BOSS brand? Well, in a word, no.

Something New

While this might have started life as Blues Cube, BOSS has taken lessons from the Katana and applied them to this amp. We can see it most clearly in the effects. The effects are one of the most impressive features of the Katana (besides the solid foundation of good tones). While we don't have the impressive library of effect from the Katana we do have delay, reverb, and trem built in with similar controls to the Katana. The main claim to fame the Nextone is the selectable "Power Section". You can select from 6V6, 6L6, EL84, and EL34 which are just coded names for American and British-type amps. In addition to what we can see on the outside of the amp, BOSS has created an editing software tool to support the backend of the amplifier. This is supposed to give you in-depth control over the "Bias" and "Sag" just like a tube amp. You can also change the EQ across the entire amp and play with how your effects loop operates. The Nextone editing software will also let you change the Boost function into a compressor. So, that's kinda neat.

Conclusion

I never really liked the Blues Cube series. In theory the Blues Cube is a good choice, but I always felt that if you were going to spend Blues Jr. money, then you should probably buy a Blues Jr. (although if you picked up a used Blues Jr. and put the money you saved and bought some effects, then you'd be much better off). However, BOSS has put a lot more into the Nextone. There a lot of features packed into these amps. Sometimes that spell disaster, but BOSS has impressed me with this kind of thing before. "Nextone" is a trash name, however. There is no getting around that. It brings to mind brands like Nux and Hotone for some reason. Both of which I wouldn't want to be associated with my top-shelf combo amps. They are handsome, so hopefully, that's enough to offset a throwaway name. Will I buy one? Let's just say that I'm interested.

The Current State Of Multi Effects

I've written about multi-effects on here before, But there has been a lot of time in between now and then so here we are. What do I think about multi-effects? Well, I use to hate them. I had a pretty bad experience with them. I owned a few Digitech units. These were early 2000's and early on in my guitar playing. So I thought they would a good way to have lots of effects without going broke. And it was, what it wasn't was passable for live performance which is what I would later try to make it do. I would later attempt to use multi-effects with Marshall's line of amps before their current CODE line. Again, these left a lot to be desired. I blame these two experiences with the poor impression of multi-effects. It has been a long time since I have tried seriously use multi-effects. So let's take a look.

Line6 did a lot to turn the tide of multi-effects. The POD had a lot of serious users, but I never bought into it. It was too soon for me. I just had a bad taste in my mouth from Digitech. Also, it wasn't a pedal, so it wasn't cool enough. Then came the M series. The M series probably turned the tide on multi-effects. The large unit, M-13, could be your entire pedal board. It could also be a part of our pedal board. The M-13 probably pushed the limit in many respects. It was really expensive compared to other units. Despite that fact, the M-13 was extremely popular. There had been other "high-end" multi-effects" but the M-13 did so well that it renewed interest in premium multi-effects. Yes, Line6 ushered in the new era of multi-effect. Eventide and Strymon probably would be as successful if Line6 didn't help so many of us find faith in their ability again.

Today, multi-effects are again surging in popularity. Line6 have again pushed the boundaries. The Helix series has filled in a gap in the market. With the rise in popularity of high-end,multi-effects, all-in-one boxes, Line6 took what they do well and married it to super-detailed, high-fidelity effects processing. Headrush and Positive Grid both have products that compete with the Helix. Both of these companies have great products that basically changed the multi-effect game practically overnight. But what Line6 has done is married their experience with pedal making (love it or hate it) and the full weight of their multi-effect engineering. The product of all this was Helix.

Is the Line6 Helix the end-all-be-all of guitar effects? I don't know. I not trying to tell you that you need to buy a Helix. In fact, I not trying to say that the Helix is better than making a pedal board of all sorts of different pedals. But, these effects are doing so much more than they used to. Entire digital rigs that act more like their physical analogs than ever before. It all depends on what you want from your rig and how you use it. A guitarist that use a DAW could possibly replace their entire rig and silently record and still have a great product. Some will always love running through an amp and analog effects. There are less and less differences between the actual product, so what you use will depend on what you want from your effects. At the end of the day, Digital improving so much and so fast that soon it will be hard not include these effects.

Return Of Haunting Mids (JHS Haunting Mids Effect Pedal)

I've spoken before about this pedal from JHS. The Haunting Mids was a limited release pedal that JHS released last October. It is now Spoketober once again, so JHS himself took to his new forum, youtube, to tell everyone about it. In this video, he goes on to tell us some interesting facts about the Haunting Mids pedal. Let's talk about Haunting Mids.

Mids That Are Haunting

Last year when this pedal was released there were some that claimed that this pedal was taken from a pedal building forum called Haunting Mids. Many people took offense to this, however, there seems to be little to no evidence of this. I criticized the pedal for its limited scope and function. However, in the video just released by JHS, one of the main topics of discussion was why they named the pedal "Haunting Mids". The reason is pretty simple. Haunting is to Mids as Transparent is to Overdrive. Haunting is just a word used to describe mids. It is simple, boring and seasonally appropriate. 

Mids Only

Many people criticize JHS for many reasons. I can't endorse this pedal, but I can recognize the perfect way this pedal was marketed. The pedal is not without merit, but I think they knew that this pedal wasn't going to move a lot of units. So, they decided to release it in limited release. Doing this not only allows JHS to sell to those looking for a very particular pedal but also to collectors and oddity seekers. 

Conclusion

Do you need a Haunting Mids pedal from JHS? No, I'd also argue that no one actually does. Do you want one? Maybe, I don't know. But even though it is something that I can recognize as something that isn't really necessary, and a graphic equalizer can function in the same way (maybe better). It's hard to say that this pedal isn't desirable. It's interesting, it's unique, it's haungtin...

Ugly Guitar Truth: Tenacious D; Post-Apoclypto

I am going off script here a little bit. I have written about artists before, but I would like to take a little time to talk about something I have some strong feelings about. That thing is Tenacious D. I became aware of the group around the turn of the millennia and they have been a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in metal ever since. Is there lastest venture into "animation" the next logical step in the evolution of a band that has never made sense, to begin with? Or, is this a desperate attempt by two middle-aged men to stay relevant? Let's discuss:

The Start:

I became aware of Tenacious D when I was watching MTV. Their video for "Tribute". It made no sense what so ever. I was younger and unaware of many of the tropes and cliches that they were playing off of. So you can imagine I was completely befuddled by what I witnessed. Jack Black was an actor I recognized from a handful of bit roles, this seemed to be a continuation of the character that he had established in many of his movie roles. I had no idea if this was a one-off video for laughs or a hard left in his career. Little did I know that Tenacious D was before everything.

Dark Times

Jack Black is the face of Tenacious D. He is loud and flamboyant making him the focal point of the duo. Kyle "KG" Gass seemed happy to be in the background supplying guitar mastery alongside the loudmouth of Black. While JB's continued making movies, the D fell silent. While the faithful few can recite the path the group made through these time, most casual fans just assumed that the D was done. After their feature-length movie, "The Pick of Destiny", many assume this was the underwhelming climax to the arch of the D.

Rising Again.

I regret all of the innuendoes. That leads us to now. Post-Apocalypto. Let's be totally honest with ourselves. This is a crudely animated scripted(?) podcast with JB and KG. For fans of Tenacious D, this is amazing. There are many casual fans that are falling back into love with Tenacious D. Many more are just now finding Tenacious D for the first time via YouTube. YouTube and Tenacious D might just be a match made in heaven (or hell, but you know, the good way...) During an interview, JB said that they have complete creative control, which is the only way I would think that they would create anything.

Conclusion

As long as there is are those that oppose the current state of the contemporary music, Tenacious D will continue to be in the collective consciousness of many. They spit in the face a modern convention and still find success.

Ugly Guitar Truth: Fender Full Moon Distortion

While I may have posted about this before, one of my first pedals was a Fender. It was their California Series pedal tuner. The thing was complete crap. It hardly worked, and that is still being generous. I got rid of that and switched to the BOSS TU-2 that is still working like day one. Fender pedals don't have a great reputation, but their new line of pedals is doing a lot to change that. Let's look at the Fender Full Moon Distortion.

That Name

I don't dislike the name that Fender has given their new high gain distortion pedal, but at the same time, it is not great. The strongest statement that I can make about it is that it is extremely forgettable. Thankfully, the pedal is not as forgettable. Unlike the pedals of Fender past, the Full Moon distortion is not a pedal that they want people to forget about. High distortion pedals have a habit to come with some extra knobs and switches, both of which the Full Moon has. So is this a pedal that will fade into the sea of high gain pedals? Well, it does have some things going for it.

The Sounds

It's been a minute since I was a really metal-player. My signal chain either contained a Metal Zone plus EQ and boost or it was just an overdrive into a gunned amp. There are tons of options for metal players out there now. The Full Moon is just the newest in a long line of pedals, but is there anything that makes this pedal stand out? A little bit. You have your basic layout of tone controls (High, Mids, and Lows) but then you get a Hi-Trem that lets you smooth off the super-high-end. You also get a basic Boost function which is nice. In addition to all that, you also get a switch to go between symmetrical and asymmetrical clipping and another for "Bite". Bite will boost your high-mids and give you more pick-attack. Both of the switches make subtle changes, but I am a sucker for things to fiddle with. With all of these options, it is pretty easy to dial in a sound that is pleasing to the player. Going into a clean amp, it is easy to achieve great rock tones with the gain dialed back a bit. Cranking the gain is naturally rewarding as well. Yes, this high-gain pedal does high-gain well.

Conclusion

Fender has set themselves up to compete with the best pedal builders out there today. The pedals are pretty and boutique-ish. If this were coming from a smaller builder, I would expect to pay a lot more. But because Fender is... Fender. They can mass produce and keep cost down. Make the Full Moon distortion an attractive pedal for a guitarist that is looking to find a pedal with plenty of gain and flexibility.