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Ok, I mentioned in another post about ordering one these and a few people were curious about what I thought about it.
TL;DR: I really like this thing, the gain is structured how I wanted the Fillmore 25's to be and does exactly what I want it to do.
Long version:
First impressions....
This thing is a lot of fun, definitely more it's own amp than it is a pedal.
IMO, it works really well for that classic rock sound. The green channel is a bit dark for my Strat (at least on an EQ usable for both channels, shared EQ), but just about perfect for the McCarty or guitars with humbuckers in general. IMO green channel is more versatile than the red channel. You can use it for rhythm by itself or with a single overdrive on, or two+ overdrives for some classic late 70s lead.
The red channel is borderline too much gain and isn't punchy enough for rhythm, but it is very bright and works well as a lead channel; it cuts through the mix really well. Weirdly, both my Strat and McCarty work on this channel. Also, if you like the pick attack sound, this thing has it like crazy. IMO the red channel is pretty-much only for lead playing, but that lead playing is really good if you like a long sustain and almost a "singing" quality to your lead. In my case, I really like that sound for lead, so it works for me.
The shared EQ actually works practically somehow. I don't know what kind of magic they have going on, but I was concerned about the EQ being so different from each channel that only one channel would be usable at a time and the other would sound like crap on the same settings. But the shared EQ is actually quite solid and the EQ can work for both channels on the same settings.
What's cool about how the EQ is structured is that if you decide to switch from the green to the red channel, you're likely cut through the mix really well. Somehow neither channel is piercing (as long as you set the bright switch where it's the best for your main amp). To me, it makes this makes it clear that the red channel was designed as a lead channel and the green channel was designed as a rhythm channel that you can push into a lead if you want.
I'm going to spend some more time with this thing to really get to know it, but these are my first impressions after playing with it for 2 days.
Your mileage may vary.... lol
As a side note, somehow my amp reverb still works despite it being powered by a tube in the preamp, but the masters don't work. The only two knobs that work on the main amp are the presence and reverb knobs. I'm not complaining, I just am very glad that the reverb works, and am surprised about the masters. The presence I wasn't surprised at since that is normally connected in the poweramp section anyway.
Sound samples coming soon.
TL;DR: I really like this thing, the gain is structured how I wanted the Fillmore 25's to be and does exactly what I want it to do.
Long version:
First impressions....
This thing is a lot of fun, definitely more it's own amp than it is a pedal.
IMO, it works really well for that classic rock sound. The green channel is a bit dark for my Strat (at least on an EQ usable for both channels, shared EQ), but just about perfect for the McCarty or guitars with humbuckers in general. IMO green channel is more versatile than the red channel. You can use it for rhythm by itself or with a single overdrive on, or two+ overdrives for some classic late 70s lead.
The red channel is borderline too much gain and isn't punchy enough for rhythm, but it is very bright and works well as a lead channel; it cuts through the mix really well. Weirdly, both my Strat and McCarty work on this channel. Also, if you like the pick attack sound, this thing has it like crazy. IMO the red channel is pretty-much only for lead playing, but that lead playing is really good if you like a long sustain and almost a "singing" quality to your lead. In my case, I really like that sound for lead, so it works for me.
The shared EQ actually works practically somehow. I don't know what kind of magic they have going on, but I was concerned about the EQ being so different from each channel that only one channel would be usable at a time and the other would sound like crap on the same settings. But the shared EQ is actually quite solid and the EQ can work for both channels on the same settings.
What's cool about how the EQ is structured is that if you decide to switch from the green to the red channel, you're likely cut through the mix really well. Somehow neither channel is piercing (as long as you set the bright switch where it's the best for your main amp). To me, it makes this makes it clear that the red channel was designed as a lead channel and the green channel was designed as a rhythm channel that you can push into a lead if you want.
I'm going to spend some more time with this thing to really get to know it, but these are my first impressions after playing with it for 2 days.
Your mileage may vary.... lol
As a side note, somehow my amp reverb still works despite it being powered by a tube in the preamp, but the masters don't work. The only two knobs that work on the main amp are the presence and reverb knobs. I'm not complaining, I just am very glad that the reverb works, and am surprised about the masters. The presence I wasn't surprised at since that is normally connected in the poweramp section anyway.
Sound samples coming soon.