Reputation of Laney amps

[NecroPolo]

Lately I had the opportunity to play in one pack some ancient Laney gear ranging from 6-channel PA (brilliant for docking multiple preamps) through Supergroup and Klipp to AOR to latest GH50L and LC15. All of them were solid with helluva sound right out of the box, just the guitar+cable+amp way. I admit that I skipped the AOR, I know mine inside/outside enough.

It was a nostalgic trip not only because of the age of these beasts. I have owned some of similar old ones back in the days. They were badly worn and became unreliable after 20-30 years of bumping on the road without adequate care and attention of previous owners and modding without brains I assume. Tight on the budget and knowledge required, instead of restoring them I traded all for something more reliable but whenever it came to sound - I must admit that I still put them among my fav tones ever left my speakers.

Where would you place Laneys on the map of amps?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

what place do laneys sit? Somewhere in Britain, in the shadow of marshalls and voxes...but still Laney are a good company that make pro level equipment.
Obviously they were not used by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin or the Beatles so hence the lack of cudos but they are a good amp manufacturer just the same.

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

I've always taken them as normal mass produced amps for reliability.

Tonewise I've liked what I've heard. I wouldn't mind having a vh100r. They are pretty inexpensive on the used market.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

Ive always heard great things about them.. Seems like they dont get the atten they deserve.. It like society forgets there are other britishs amps than marshall.
A bud of mine loved his (had to sell for family support) and he recorded his bands cd with it.
First time I saw Ratt, they had Laney stacks.. fwiw

 

[Kam]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

The only two amps I own are Laneys. An old 50-watt AOR and an LV300 2x12. I love'em.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

Didn't Iommi play Laneys? Doesn't he still?

I think Paul Gilbert used them for a while too.

That's who I think of when I think of them.

My overall impression is that they are mass-produced pcb-based amps made in England that are well-engineered, sound pretty good, and are very reasonably priced.

They don't have the visibility factor brands like Marshall, Vox, or even Orange have, but I've never really cared about that...

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

i tend to think of them as a british rivera; don't know how accurate that is, though.

if you're looking at one and are interested, definitely try it out.

i had a 100W solid-state H/H (laney's predecessor) with reverb and tremolo as a kid, and selling it is one of my biggest regrets.

 

[Van Noord]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

I think they are real "sleepers". Now that I own a GH50L, I'm definitely a believer.
I think they are generally well respected, but at the same time very overlooked.

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

Didn't Iommi play Laneys? Doesn't he still?

Yeah, on his last tour with Heaven and Hell he had a few heads, 2 Laneys and an ENGL.

 

[newking70]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

i wish they'd make a reissue super group.

 

[viewaskew2k5]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

Always my go to amp if i'm having issues. You can't go wrong if your looking for an amp that you can dial in (your sound or someone elses) and built like tanks.

I just wish they had more then one 6v6 model amp (cub 10)!! Different (But in a good way) then the el84 stuff (vc15, 30, Club 12). Though the Lionhearts just oooooze quality.

The 20w Lionhearts are like JCM 45's with a bit more chime/bell, the 5w craps all over the Marshall 5w thing.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

Ive always heard great things about them.. Seems like they dont get the atten they deserve.. It like society forgets there are other britishs amps than marshall.

You're right, theres also vox

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Reputation of Laney amps

i wish they'd make a reissue super group.

you know, that really is a very good idea
a very infectious thought