20 Best Tube Amp Attenuator (2022 Updated)

This thing is SWEET! Having recently purchased a 30 watt tube head and 4 X 12 cabinet, I knew I would have to get some type of power attenuator/ soak to get the best tone from the amp. Much cheaper than getting exams and hearing aids for me, my , girlfriend, and 2 cats.

I’d finally decided to try the little black amp box. I’m incredibly glad I did. I can now get a wonderfully creamy tone at a very low volume if necessary. As long as you have a passive effects loop, you’re in the (low) volume-dealing business.

Your special lady friend, and cats/ dogs, will love you for it!.

This is a dead simple product with a single use: adds a sensitive master volume to an amp with a serial effects loop. What it is not: this is NOT an attenuator or a “power soak”! Those devices sit between your amp and speaker and effectively absorb power so you can crank your amp and not blow the doors of the place.

If you did this the only thing you’d blow is your amp. Don’t do it. This is more like a master volume control. Specifically, a highly sensitive one. It’s supposed to sit between the preamp and the power amp sections of your tube amp, i.

e. right in the effects loop, and allows you to crank the gain stage of your amp (the preamp) without blowing the doors off your neighbors house. So, why? In a word: marketing. Well, think about a Hot Rod Deville: awesome sounding amp.

Except it goes from 0-60 all before “3” on the master volume. This is because companies like fender like to use “linear-taper” pots in their volume knobs. This has the effect of making their amps seem to be super loud in the store because you hit 70-80% volume relatively quick, and THIS is because double the power does not mean double the loudness, it means something like 10x the loudness: your ears detect sound logarithmically.

Quality amps use audio-taper pots, which are calibrated to track closer to the way your ears detect loudness, so the perceived volume change is spread out across the travel of the knob, but cheaper mass produced amps (like the hot rod) tend to use linear taper pots for either cost reasons or like previously mentioned marketing.

This box has the necessary audio taper volume knob, which is a godsend for amps that don’t have their own (like the hot rod) but is really only useful if it can be put between your preamp and power amp stages – the effects loop.

Bottom line: breathes new life into amps like the fender hot rod: the “clean” channel can sound as dirty and bluesy as a vintage tweed when it’s gain is cranked and “scream” approaches Marshall territory!.

I’ve never believed in amp sims. They can make do for parts buried in a mix but never stand up on their own. With the Captor X your amp will sound like… your amp. The interface is easy to use and versatile enough to make your amp sound like you want.

It’s not like playing your guitar in the room (unless you have a real speaker connected as well). It’s like a recorded playback of your guitar in a room. It reacts properly because it’s your amp reacting.

Stock cab sims seem fine but I decided to get some Celestion Greenback IRs since that’s what I use in the world. Happy to say that they sound like Greenbacks. I was worried about unrealistic sound and input lag but no complaints about either.

I was worried about using fuzz and distortion pedals but they sound as they should. You can certainly make it sound bad, but you can do that with expensive microphones and boutique amps just the same.

I don’t think you can get better without paying more than twice the price. I don’t think it’s better than miking up a real cabinet but I will be recording a lot more guitar without having to hire a studio or traumatise my neighbours.

It does take some tweaking but it’s all down to your own preferences and the point is that those tweaks can get you where you want to go. I’d suggest looking up the Andy Demo on YouTube to hear some guitar in isolation.

Search for “captor x with fuzz pedal” and you should find a video called “doom pedalboard 2. 0…” from Dirty Demos to see what high gain distortion pedals do. These will demonstrate some actual normal playing rather than directionless noodling.

If you don’t like the sound then this is not for you, and that’s fine. If you’re trying to record tube amps and you don’t have a nice big space with understanding neighbours then this could be what you’re looking for.

It’s definitely what I hoped it would be. And it does bass as well.

This thing makes it possible to have high wattage amps and be able to get the cranked sound without blowing your eardrums. Has tons of cabinets and you can try many different types thru the,wall of sound.

Also has onboard noise gate and prevent when you utilize the XLR to a interface. Can move mics around to get the tone your looking for and small enough to put in your gig bag. So aweaome. where has this been all my life.

Get yours now. I was able to stand in front of my jvm halway in the same room and get awesome tones. This thing is sent from the gods of thunder to rain down the rock. Yiu still reading. Get it now. Do it.

You won’t be disappointed.

I’ve had the V22 Infinium for a week now, was planning to wait 30 days, but I’ve heard all I need to hear at this point to write a review. This is a budget priced amp, there’s no secret there, and I was not really expecting this thing to run laps with my Marshall JMP MKII 2203, ’64 Bassman, or ’67 Super Reverb, but rather that it would make a good at home jam amp that would get descent clean tone @ lower master levels.

I was very wrong about what this amp is. I have owned several excellent modern production valve amps as well as my hard earned vintage circuit pieces mentioned and I can say in all honesty, the V22 has quality of tone that in no way sounds less inspiring than those amps.

From 3 dimensional clean with as much headroom as you want, to kerrang breakup with a ton of hair and growl, this amp sounds amazing anywhere I put the controls. Does what only EL84s can do, and does it with it’s own character and attitude.

It looks like a Matchless, sounds like a Marshall pre mated to a Vox power circuit on gain, and like a black face Fender pre mated to a Peavey Classic power circuit on clean. The reverb isn’t spring, but I’m really surprised how it matches and augments the quality of tones this amp produces.

The only criticism I have is that the old QC problems with fastener torque and tubes rattling in the sockets have not been eliminated still. There was a small screw rolling around in my chassis and the power amp valves buzz around under certain frequencies.

Bear in mind, these are cheap, low quality valves in this amp, I can only imagine how much better this amp will sound with JJs, or Tung Sols (I’ll find out soon). At this price, there is nothing that can touch this amp.

If classic rock/hard rock/ blues/garage rock/ etc. is your bag, this amp has the tones you’re looking for. Even if you had a few grand to throw around, don’t discount the V22, you might get all the tone you wanted for less than a quarter of the price you expected.

I was looking for a lower powered tube combo amp. Did s lot of years with solid state amps and, there is nothing wrong with these at all. I always wanted to get back to the tube amp sound and, the characteristics of the old days when I first started playing.

I guess you could say the Fender years because that’s all there was back then. I did score a great deal on a Fender Twin Reverb a few years ago but, it was too loud and, too heavy. I just couldn’t use it, so I sold it.

My quest lead me to a blues Jr. , ac15, and, a Marshall tube combo. I was trying to decide on a choice and, then I found a Bugera V22 Infinium! After that there was no more choices to be made. Power, features, looks, it was all there.

It also had a far better purchase price and, great reviews. I’ve had it for about 2 months and, I’m very impressed and, satisfied! I’m in a 4 pc. band and, our genre is classic rock/Classic Country, blues and, just about anything we will get a request for.

This amp totally shines! Our drummer is a very dynamic musician and, he knows the meaning of percussion. On the lower power setting of this amp I have no trouble getting any sound I want with plenty of headroom.

I am very satisfied with this amp and, would recommend it to anyone. The looks of this amp is also very cool and, vintage also.

This is my second Bugera amp. I also have the V55 half stack, which as I’m getting a little older is becoming hard for me to haul around back and forth to practice. I’ve had such great luck with the V55 that I bought the V22.

I read so many positive reviews an got such a great price from Musicians Friend that I figured that I would buy one. I have to say that I couldn’t be happier. It is everything that all the other reviewers say and more.

It is about 42 lbs. and easily keeps up with loud drummers. As with the V55, it’s clean channel is fantastic. The overdrive channel is ok but it’s not what I bought this amp for as I usually use my pedalboard or floor processors.

Anyone looking for a reasonably priced, portable, really good sounding amp don’t hesitate. If you’re worried about reliablity, I’ve had my V55 for 5 or 6 years and have had no problems whatsoever. Buy one, you will love it.

Add if for any reason you don’t, Musicians Friend gives you 45 days to return it for a full refund.

Well, a few days back really. I was able to test it out today. There are a lot of videos of it on line. I set it up with an open back oversized 3/4 pine cab with a 12″ C-Rex (Tweed Bassman size cab).

It is intended as my “garage jam” rig. I played it with 3 SGs and 3 LPs. 2 LPs had BB1&2. One has 490s. One SG has 57s. One has 57 neck and Dz 36th bridge. The third SG has mini hums. For reference I usually play either a Mesa Mk V or Rockerverb 50 Mk III.

The Bugera T5 amp is cleanish to classic rock gain. It is very responsive to volume control changes on the guitar. With the boost off it will not really distort if those guitars are on 1/2 volume. It will get to just breaking to low classic rock gain with the guitar volume on 10.

It has a pleasent voice with a bit of a British vibe. I was told it has a Vox Night Train lunchbox look. It does not seem so much Vox as Marshally voiced to me. Though in the in between position it has a bit of British chime, even with a C-Rex.

I play guitar with volume and tone rolled back to 5-7 as a base. It takes pedals well, unlike the AC15C1 I used to have did. The reverb is decent and easily usable. It can get a bit muddy with in the neck, but if dialed in for the neck it is workable.

It can be balanced neck to bridge with a bit of tweaking, I just didn’t take the time at this point. It will not compete with a drummer or bass unless they have a light to moderate touch. It is plenty loud for a church gig.

It blends well with jam tracks being run through a pair of 15″ PA speakers. The 1w and 0. 5w setting work great. Things need slight eq changes when moving, though it is not drastic. I have spent more on pedals, a Hotone amp and other stuff than this amp.

This a WAY better for me than the Hotone, or even my Killer Ant. It is easily as nice as my Tweaker 15 used to be for me. It is not my Rockerverb, Mk V, 5e3, Gretsch 6150. It is is a great amp, well above what I expected.

Not only does this 5 watt lil’ monster have enough power to rattle the windows, it also has class! At only 9 lbs. the Bugera T5 Infinium has enough “UMFF” to push your favorite 4X12″ cabinet into the stratosphere! It’s better having this reverb built into this lil’ madman than not having any at all.

Just like 9/10 of the other amp heads in its class. The 1 channel, “all tube” head has warm cleans. Push in the PHAT switch and crank the volume and gain and you get saturated distortion that will blow you away! All of that in a 9 lb metal cage like package for only $200! You won’t find another 5 W head with all of that for this price.

I love my T5 Infinium from Bugera!.

I’ve been using this amp almost daily for 3 months (mostly at half volume or higher, P90 pickups). Usually it is turned on for several hours a day, sometimes running idle for a few hours at a time. It has never overheated.

no warmer than a fresh cup of coffee. The original tubes are still inside and working nicely. They sound great IMHO, but I suppose a tube upgrade would improve the tones. The amp is plugged into an Ibanez TS112 (1×12″ cabinet) loaded with a Warehouse Guitar Speaker et-65 (similar to Celestion Creamback 65) and sounds fabulous.

Because the speaker is 8 ohm, the amp is pushing just two and a half watts. still plenty loud enough for a garage band practice or a jam session, or modest-volume gigging. The only thing missing is the low frequency thump that comes from more powerful amps.

The tones are still full bodied and satisfying. Gets much louder when the gain is turned beyond the 11 o’clock position or the phat button is engaged. I prefer clean-to-mild distortion, but the overdrive will get hairy if so desired.

A five watt amplifier doesn’t have enough clean headroom to work well with my Zoom digital multi effects so I use the included reverb, and it sounds nice enough. I haven’t tried any other pedals. Headphones sound great also.

My only con is the lack of a selectable speaker output (so it could push the full five watts into an 8 or 16 ohm speaker cabinet). I do love this little amp, and if it continues to work this well for another two years.

then I will consider Bugera T5 among the best amps I’ve played through in the past 50 years (and I have used many. some great, some lousy). This amp is a jolly thrill machine that is very easy to tote anywhere.

The Vox AC10C1 is everything I was hoping it to be. The amp has more than enough volume & gain on tap for home use, recording and small gigs. I’ve tried voxy type pedals that don’t even compete with the AC10.

I love this amp. You’ve got to have that specific Vox tone in mind, and I would recommend something else as a first tube amp if your after versatility, but for that signature Vox tone this things perfect.

I don’t color this amp with pedals, there’s no reason to. Plays well with all of my guitars and looks so classy. LOUD for 10 watts, with a lot of very useable tones. I love this thing with telecasters the most.

The gain knob sounds good at low volumes but to be honest, this amp wants to be cranked at a reasonable level. If your just a home player and are on the fence between the AC15 or the AC10, just pull the trigger on the AC10, you won’t feel as if it’s lacking.

She’s a keeper for life, highly recommended.

The Ac-10not only looks the business but it has since real depth and warmth to its tone. Clean – it’s bright and has the chime you’d expect. Turn up the gain and your tone breaks up but still retains clarity.

Having the gain wide open and master volume down means you can still have the saturated crunch but not disturb others. Perfect for home use but would not be out of place in a small pub gig. Takes pedals will and with a multi-fix like a GT 100, if you disable the amp sim and use like a conventional pedal board, you don’t lose any quality of the AC10’s natural tone.

A masterful amp and it even smells nice with those tubes cooking.

I have a vintage 1978 Marshall 50w JMP half stack that was gathering dust in my studio. We all know that 50 Marshall watts is closer to 75w when dimed. With no master volume or effects loop I was seriously considering selling this rig as it was too loud for home studio use.

This Bugera PS1 solved my problem!!!!! The unit is very well made, has three input options 4/8/16 ohms & most importantly a balanced mic emulation XLR & unbalanced line out. I tested these outputs on my Tascam 24 track & it sounds fantastic.

I put the line out & xlr out into separate tracks & I got the classic Marshall sound we are looking for. I had my heads volume around 7-8 & used 4 ohm out. I attenuated till I could hear my guitar strings strumming.

Even though the PS1 is rated 100w, my 50 w head got the PS1 pretty “toasty” so make sure you have plenty of air around it.

I don’t write reviews normally. This thing is a beast. I have tested everything under the sun. The overdrive channel on this is definitely rectifier. If you’re looking for something that sounds like a rectifier, is cheap, portable, has headphone out, and a way to listen to auxiliary music, the Bantamp series is exactly what you’re looking for.

My cons are the lack of individual band EQ and when it’s dirty and turned up, it’s a little noisy. A good noise gate fixes this. But I use this with a wah pedal only and the foot switch. I run it through a 412 and the volume knob is about the 11 o’clock position, and it’s significantly loud enough to handle a full metal band.

Bought one recently to pair with my Telecaster. Really good 2-channel amp for the money as long as you have a decent cab to pair it with. It’s loud for its size, fairly versatile and extremeply portable.

The Meteor is supposed to be modeled after the Orange sound, and while it doesn’t quite get there, it does have tons of that British crunch on the OD channel and it sounds pretty convincing for what it is.

The clean channel is quite passable and would make a great pedal platform considering these amps have an FX loop. The tone control on the Meteor is a bit too subtle for my taste, but again, the FX loop allows for tone shaping through other means.

The Bluetooth feature is all but worthless and I wonder why the extra electronics and room wasn’t used for something more useful like a footswitch input for channel switching, or built-in reverb/delay.

Either of those options would have been infinitely better than Bluetooth connectivity. The headphone out supposedly has cab simulation; it’s not the worst I’ve heard but it isn’t all that great either.

Overall, this is definitely a great amp that is easily worth the money if you’re looking for a nice practice or studio amp for British crunch and classic rock sounds.

Big punch in a little package. Nice cleans and searing gain. Bluetooth works great. I use it with my 4×12 cabinet and if you didn’t see the little mite sitting on top you would never believe it. Accepts the signal from my processor very well.

Glad I finally took the plunge and tried it. I now have two. Also got the Meteor. Subtle tonal differences, both seem a necessity. Haven’t used the FX loop yet but see no reason it wouldn’t work as well.

I wanted a power attenuator for my guitar amps for recording and not waking the kids, but my search took me a bit further. As an attentuator, this thing is great (do your research on reactive vs resistive).

The sound is well preserved and worked well on 4/15/40/100 watt amps. Take some time and find the sweet spot between the amp and Reload controls, it will vary from amp to amp, and cranking the amp to 11 does not guarantee the best tone.

The Fryette Power Station was my other option, but chose to go with solid state for the dependability and transparency (not knocking the Fryette in the least bit, I would love to own both!). I was really intrigued by the idea of using my favorite tube amps with IRs.

Before I forget, this box has no digital on it, which is a plus as digital components tend to become obsolete quick (I can update the IR software over the coming years and continue to use this box as an attenuator or load box).

The first time out recording direct with IR was a little disappointing. It took me two more evenings to really find something I loved. I’m convinced of the tech now and look forward to making my own IRs.

I wasn’t a reamp guy, but with this rig I am now. I love being able to use my favorite amp to dial in the perfect tone in the mix and not having to use additional DAW plugins on the signal. It sounds great, and if I were to go on tour, I would definitely get a Torpedo Live or Studio and shrink my rig.

The Wall of Sound software is easy to use. If I had one gripe, it would be the price and limited selection of IRs included with activation code. I have zero buyer’s remorse, but at this price I would expect a few more add-ons (it should be noted I got it on sale (15% off) and would not have purchased this at the full asking price).

Torpedo Reload is has fully adjustable attenuation and contour option helps on tone. Software still not installed due to problem with license down load. Two Notes support have supported however no follow up and issue.

Reload box does what I needed but software is disappointing.

* Great sound from DI to DAW/cab sims. Decent Attenuation for the money. * Nothing to dislike. * I’ve had it 1 day * Meets expectations. Exceeds expectations based on some prior reviews. Details: I read a lot of reviews online first.

Most were good, but there were some who hated this product. I can’t see why for the price unless theirs didn’t know how to use it. I used it in my DAW with Helix Native to add cab IRs and post cab effects and it sounds amazing.

Comparing it to the Jet City Jetenuator as a load box and DI, it sounds much more like the true amp in my opinion, likely due to the reactive vs. passive load.

Bought used, had the pots cleaned to get rid of some crackling. I love this amp but I will say, the standard overdrive does suck if you aren’t using any boosts or pedals. I really recommend an eq and tube screamer pedal with this.

I had no problems with feedback, just weak gain and needed just a push on the overdrive punch. Love the presence and resonance, its also nice having reverb. I have the 100 watt of this amp too and the pedal is NOT cross compatible sadly.

Clean channel could be cleaner, a little on the muddied sound, like a jazz pick up trying on crunch overdrive. Definitely play through 12 inch speakers, tens don’t give you full bass capacity,even with eq boosts.

All in all, amp is built well and adaptable if you have your sound dialed in outside of your standard amp controls, i. e. – pedals/compressor, etc. Through just standard amp distortion on overdrive, at most you get an ac/dc amount of over drive/distortion.

The amp sounds phenomenal. You have to hear it in person to appreciate it. When you dig into the guitar you not only get a gritty, gain-heavy sonic assault, you can feel the amps power hit you in the gut.

It has a very nice controllable compression that still enough headroom to feel when you play. Peavey amplifiers are frequently regarded as “high gain” amplifiers and this amplifier is definitely one of them.

It’s light in weight, yet powerful enough for practice and gigging. Pair it with a 4×12 cabinet with some Celestions and there are few could find fault with your sound or volume. It’s got several tone-shaping controls, including presence, resonence, a bright boot and a separate gain-boost on the crunch channel.

The amplifier is smart about it’s electronics, and gives you tube status via LEDs above the power and stand-by switch. The amp has a nice feature set including cabinet-less recording out, a USB interface, variable power output (20 watt, 5 watt, and 1 watt).

It has an XLR out for recording. The amp doesn’t support 4 ohm speakers, only 8 ohm & 16 ohm. Ergonomics: I’m used to gain first, by the input jack, followed by tone, followed by main power amplification (loudness).

Not this amp. First are some tone-conntrol functions mixed together with gain, then more tone control, then loudness, then reverb, then more tone control. I don’t know why all the tone control was grouped together, but it wasn’t.

The labels for the knob are below them, so unless the amp is almost at eye level you can’t read them. The speaker ohm setting, something presumably you wouldn’t need to swtich often, is handled by a big, ready to be flipped toggle-switch.

The power/power soak function, something you may actually flip back and forth in a given evening, is an uninvited plastic slide switch. Peavey got these switches backwards. Then there’s some obtuse buttons that control things like XLR wiring and if a cabinet is selected.

The ergonomics are weird. I like the amp A LOT, though.

So I decided to purchase a 6505 MH because I’ve always wanted that 5150 tone, but I had no desire to buy another 100+ watt amp for basement use. My main stack is a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 into a Marshall 1960 4×12 cabinet, and that thing is way too loud.

I love it and the tone, but I always wanted to be able to get some good chug out of an amp without the need for an OD in front. and low and behold, the 6505 MH does just that! It’s a small 20 watt amp that can be dropped down to 5w and 1w.

I typically play it at 5w, but even then it’s still really loud. I run it into the 4×12 cabinet and the thing sounds beefy and mean. Rhythm channel is a nice tight crunch to it, and if you turn on crunch mode, you get even more saturation out of that channel.

Only negative to this is that when you punch in crunch mode, there is a noticeable volume drop. Then you can punch into lead channel, and that’s where that chug comes in! typically I only keep gain around 3-5 because anything above is super saturated for chords and stuff, but it can be awesome if you want a really thick solo tone.

The amp itself is very mid-rangey, so I typically only have the mids around 5-7 on this whereas my JCM they’re always dimed out. The presence and resonance controls are great, too. I typically keep resonance dimed and presence around 6.

Recording works pretty well, too. I couldn’t get the USB recording working at all for some reason, but you can just do XLR out to your interface to have the cab simulated sound. but truth be told, it pretty much sucks.

I wish they had a cab simulation defeat switch, but oh well. What I do is run a cable from the FX send to my interface, and then I use impulses in my DAW to get some awesome tones without having to mic it.

Speaker defeat switch is awesome too bc it creates an internal dummy load so you won’t blow anything up!.

I bought this strictly for my bedroom but found it’s much more. It gets loud enough for band practice on the dirty channel and the clean with the volume up gets a nice breakup. It handles pedals well in the loop or an overdrive out front.

I don’t care for the morph when it’s fully left or right on the dirty channel but you get nice tones on the clean side. The attenuator is the reason I bought it and I love it. I A/B’d it with the ht5 and couldn’t see spending the extra cash on the Blackstar.

Then I A/B’d with my modded dsl15h on triode (7 watt) and it made me wonder how much of the signal is tube and how much is solid state, but I don’t know if that’s fair given the Marshall has 4 12ax7 and 2 6v6 tubes.

Can’t speak to durability yet but it seems well built, and I haven’t used the emulated out. All in all I’d recommend it for the price and the features.

Just got one & must recommend this Highly, due to the Smiles on my face after trying it out at home. 3 attenuated output phases let you get great sounds @ the loudness level you are dealing with. Lots of features built in for expansion ~ won’t need to tweak anything !! Just enjoy it right out of the box !! Has a sound of it’s own that does not copy anyone else, let’s your Fender sound as it should, & no doubt that if trying peddles via the Loop option, it can only get better.

The funkier the speaker you try ~ the more you’ll enjoy what you’ve got to work with !!! This guy caught me by surprise & I’m so freekin’ glad I didn’t have to spend too much up front, only to be disappointed because of a crappy clipped sound that is too solid state !! Clean & overdrive channels can be set & enjoyed with confidence.

Big Value for the Buck !! Well made & classy !! I would sleep with it, but it’s too Lumpy !!.

This little five watt amp has the heart of a Lion. Clean channel is from crisp and articulate to warm and wrap it up in a sweater goodness. The drive channel with the greater level of tone control can be any sound you want, truly.

It’s up to you. I drive this amp through a close backed cabinet of my own design made with plank spruce and 8″ Jensen Mod 35 speakers. It sounds amazing. Rich full tone and great response to picking level (hit it hard and it’ll bark at you.

Soft and it will whisper too. ) It also has digital reverb which for me coming from spring will take a little getting used to. Overall a great addition to anyone’s arsenal of amps.

Throughout my career, I’ve been drawn to certain brands of amplifiers. Laney is one of those brands. When I researched different types of amplifiers that, I wasn’t sure if a low to medium gain amp would work in my situation.

However, I’m pleasantly surprised with this amp. It’s powerful and it has a great clean sound. This amp can be adapted to any style of music including hard rock or metal. Provided you have an effects board, you can use this amp as a blues, country, or hard rock amp.

I like the classic look, and design. The amp separates itself from other amps on the market and that’s why I like it.

I’ve played a Les Paul Custom through a Fender Twin with various effects for roughly 40 years. I’ve also tried other amps from time to time. For the money, the Laney Lionheart 5w amp is the best sounding amp I have used.

The Twin is a great clean amp, and it takes effects well. It just doesn’t sound great until it gets pretty loud. I’m not gigging at this stage in life and mainly play at church or occasionally with friends.

This amp sounds great at lower volumes. The clean channel sounds fantastic with my LP even at low volumes and the drive channel is wonderful for everything ranging from a mild breakup for blues to a heavily distorted sound for classic rock, etc.

I can get that wonderful LP sound without annoying my wife. I don’t have any negatives at this time other than the tilt-back mechanism. I have some concern that the amp could tip backward if bumped. I don’t think there is much risk of that in the places where I use the amp, but if I were playing in a crowded bar on a small stage, I would want to figure out a way to make sure the amp didn’t tip.

If you buy this amp, understand that although this is a 5w amp, it gets pretty loud. It would be fine for gigging if you mic the amp. Also, understand that you are not getting a small practice amp. The amp is smaller than a Fender Twin, but it’s not small and it is fairly heavy.

That’s a plus in my books because I think this one will last. I can’t speak to how well the amp will hold up as I have only had it about a month, but it seems like it is built very well. I haven’t tried the prior version from several years ago that was made in England.

This amp was made in China, but I see no evidence of poor construction or attention to detail. To my ear, this amp has the best sound of anything I have tried of similar size unless you spend substantially more money.

Even then, I think the difference is minimal. Since buying the amp, I am playing guitar more than ever because it sounds so good.

This beautiful amp is the best deal I have gotten in a long time, and I have had many! I bought it Condition Level 2 Blemished, because of alleged “dents”, but was pleasantly surprised that it was more like Condition Level 1 – Mint.

The “dents” were more like barely visible dimples in the blue Tolex in one small location on the back side no less! MF has always erred in my favor in their ratings I have found. Never be afraid to buy Condition 1, 2,and even 3, and most open box items with MF – you will score often, and you can always return anything you’re not cool with in the 45 days they give you.

This amp is has the best build quality of any British amp company out there, and I own both Vox (AC15, AC30C2, AC30C2X) and Orange (Pro Crush 120w 2×12 and Crish 20LDX 1×8) amps of great quality. It is made in Britain and has a numbered factory plate on back.

The only thing I thought they could have done better with is the chickenhead knobs – white plastic kind of cheapens the look even though they function fine – black bakelite would have been better. The amp comes with 2-button footswitch for Drive/Reverb and a dust cover.

I cannot begin to tell you how much the Lionheart is tone heaven. It is very tweakable and responsive as heck. It breaks up at low volumes wonderfully, and has personality. It will bring your guitar playing out with its honesty, so you can not hide substandard playing lol.

This amp is a huge inspiration for me to get back to the rich tone of old school blues and classic rock. You will NOT be disappointed if you have taste and values as a musician. I would buy another one if I had the spare cash, just for the investment.

This puppy will be a classic some day – people will come over to jam and say, “Oh, you have a Laney Lionheart lemme try it out!” I think this amp will be my main songwriting amp – it just has so much heart.

Get your hands on one – even used – do not wait! Buy one yesterday! Still smiling about the price break I got on sweet unit. I won.

This is probably the best amp in the Joyo line. Goes well with a Strat type guitar for all those lovely quaky sounds. Takes pedals well, even my Empress Heavy. Sounds better with a Wampler Tumnus pushing the front end though.

The effects loop is quiet. You could possibly play small show with this, heck you may even be able to plug in an IR box of some sort and put it to the front of house or FRFR cab.

Unit itself: After watching all the YouTube videos and reading forum sites I was convinced for a bit that I was just doing something wrong. It seem to add some gain to every amp I had. The only way it sounded close to was to turn the volume of the amp itself down.

The reactive load section didn’t help at all and it wasn’t real clear on exactly I was changing when switching them. The “suggested” settings in the manual did nothing for me. The only way I was able to get a sound even close to what I had without it was to crank the unit which defeated the purpose.

For low volume playing at home I could have just turned the amp itself down and used an OD to get the drive. Other guitar player in my band mentioned the Bugera PS1 sounded better! This unit basically made my amps digital.

If you’re a fan of digital products you will be fine. If not, I’d look elsewhere. Effects/Rigs/Software: I like the effects that was in the unit and giving some tweaking I could see using them. If I could have gotten the tone worked out I could have easily set up rigs with just those effects and done away with half of my board.

Rigs work just fine, you save presets that are switchable with the unit for the controller. Some people complain but that lack of “on the fly” edits and that they can only be made within the software, it never bothered me.

The software itself worked fine for me but I could see where someone with more experience using software to control music equipment might have an issue with it. At the time of this writing it can’t be used with a updated iMac.

Loading IR’s takes forever so I used software instead. If there was no other option on the market it would be great, there’s tons though, and Youtube isn’t the best way to judge a product. Glad I tried it so at least I know but I’m very grateful for Guitar Center’s 45 day return policy!.

My WAZA TAE was great. while it worked. It lasted for one week and failed. I have returned it and ordered another one. I have also read on another page that it can damage your amp even if used properly.

Take note, if using this with a combo tube amp you may need to fabricate special cables to connect it up. I used it with a Vox AC15. The speaker is connected to he amp with 20 mm quick disconnects which are impossible to find at your local hardware store.

I had to order the parts on line. When you build these cable make sure you ring them out. If their is a short it will cause your amp to fail. The WAZA manual comes with plenty warnings about improper use.

But even with proper and very light usage mine failed after a week. No signal was being passed to the speaker or USB outputs. Having said this during the time it worked I was very impressed. Using the editor software you can create the tones tha you are looking for.

What came out of the speaker output sounded exactly the same over the USB input to my computer. You can play your tube amp and get the tone you want at reasonable volumes and you play it using headphones.

This unit is truly great at doing what it says it will do. My concern is the reliability problems. It also can be difficult to integrate it with a combo tube amp. The gear head page has a forum on it in which users say that it has damaged their amps and/or blow fuses in their amps.

So if you want to use this read all the instructions carefully before connecting it to you amp. I would give this unit 5 stars except for the fact I had to build cables to connect it up and my concerns about reliability.

BOSS should provide the proper cables required to use this unit. I sense that BOSS knows there are reliability problems but is not addressing them.

This unit is fantastic. It is the first power attenuator I have used which lets me play at low volumes without loss of clarity in my clean tones. I have tried it with a Bassman 50W head (6L6’s), 44W Fender Deluxe Reverb clone head (has four 6V6 tubes), and Musicman RD100 (EL34’s).

I could not achieve the same result with my Torpedo Reload. Many reviewers of power attenuators make the mistake of highlighting overdriven tones because they sound awesome, and sidestep the clean tones.

These reviews miss an important half of the picture and so are misleading. In addition to keeping the tones “truer”, the Boss Waza TAE lets you “sculpt” the tone of the 10 rig/cab choices with the Resonance and Presence controls.

This is unique to the TAE. On terms of cons, the one and only problem I get is a squeal when I move close to the unit and have the guitar facing it. This happens for both Strat and Les Paul type guitars.

I am hoping that Boss will address this issue soon, or provide a workable solution for on-stage use when the stages are small.

I’m a non-master volume, crank it up, and ride the volume knob kind of player. To me, that’s the recipe for the best tone, but the obvious problem is that often it’s just too loud. I used a resistive attenuator for over 20 years which worked pretty well, but if I wanted to maintain the tone I could only attenuate the volume from “way too loud” to just “loud”.

The Tube Amp Expender has totally changed that. I can get my amps down to bedroom volume, or go direct using the IR cabinet simulator feature, and it all sounds terrific. Add in the built-in effects and effects loop, and it replaces several pedals on my pedalboard.

I really like the loop a lot because it allows you to apply effects on the entire amp sound (as opposed to just the preamp signal), which is ideal for certain kinds of effects. Also, it effectively adds an effects loop to my old Marshall which doesn’t have one.

I thought the Tube Amp Expander was shockingly expensive at first, but it has enabled me to get a lot more from my amps. So it’s been totally worth it.

I was thrilled at the idea of my favorite small tube amps being projected at 100 W, however. you are not getting the sound of your tube amp at all, once you get above the headroom ceiling. It sounds very much like a model of your amp.

I was a little underwhelmed with the on stage aspect of this unit. In the studio however it was absolutely awesome. Until. I was sitting there editing some video. I was not using this device at the time.

It was merely powered on. I began to smell something hot. I started looking around and discovered that smoke was coming from the Tube Amp expander. Had I not been there to quickly power it off, it could have burned my house down.

Took it to my local music store since they are a Roland service center. Had to be sent back to the factory for pretty much new everything. It’s been 3 months and I’m still waiting to get it back. While this is a great idea, it leaves a little to be desired.

Maybe it tries to do too much.