NAD: Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister Deluxe 40

[Guitarjon]

Hey everyone!

It's a new amp day, yaaaay! Got a H&K Tubemeister Deluxe 40!

I already have a Black Spirit 200 and a Grandmeister Deluxe 40. I think both are great, especially the GMD40. It has a great clarity and presence in a mix. Those 2 amps are jampacked with features but the Tubemeister Deluxe series is more stripped down and basic so I really wanted to try one.

The Tubemeister has no effects, just 3 channels. A clean channel with a dedicated 3-band eq, and a gain and master volume control. The crunch and lead channels have a shared eq but with individual gain and master volume controls. All the channels sound great in their own way but I especially loved how the lead channel sounded with my LTD Eclipse with EMG's. So much girth and clarity. These amps have a nice dry edge to the tone that I can really appreciate.

So it's a 40 watt amp with 4 EL84's, plenty of power imho. This thing, just as the GMD40, has a power soak. So you can turn down the wattage or record direct without a load connected. The red box also is supposed to be really good but I haven't tried that yet.

Anyway, here's a little demo/review I made so you can hear how it's sounds and see how it looks etc.

Pretty cool right? Anyone here own a Tubemeister??

[allstarrme]

You could say I own a couple of them. Or most of the Hughes & Kettner line.

I have 2 of the TubeMeister deluxe 40’s, a tmd 20 and a 5. I was using the 40’s with my G system and stacking other pedals to get tons of tones from a compact head. The TubeMeister was easier to setup with a relay button to switch between channels than the midi switch on the grandmeister.

The G system with built in eq, compressor, noise gate and a boost pedal or 2 got my TubeMeister to the same place, plus the effects are better.

I do agree they sit very nice in the mix, my other guitarist uses a 6505+ so I need to cut enough to not get lost in the mix. With the right speakers it really sounds great. We were using a Carvin and a Marshall before and they were buried no matter how loud you got.

[ArtieToo]

Nice score.

I have the little Tubemeister 5, and then also the Tube 20th Anniversary and the Edition Blue 60.

[ColeJustesen]

I think that H&K hit it out of the park with the Tubemeister and Grandmeister series. I had the privilege of checking out the GM40 next to my H&K amps (TriAmp MkII, Duotone, and Puretone). It is something I could easily own. That said, the Custom Class of amps really have some extra complexity in sound that I haven't heard in other amps, including the GM40. It definitely won't be replacing any of my amps, but I would love to own one someday.

Great video!

Cole

[SFW]

I see one of these in my future. I need a good amp for the house. The half stack is a bit much to drag back and forth from our practice room. lol. Everyone I have spoken with who owns one of the small H&K amps has raved about their tone. I did own a TiAmp Mk I years ago.