cahedge

Pros: This is a good little practice amp with a tube pre-amp and a solid state power section. It's great for low volumes and there's no big jump from 0-2 like on many amps; it's can also reach coffee shop-level volumes without worry. I wouldn't consider it an appropriate "beginner" amp (because of the inevitable tube maintenance) but it's a great foray into tube technology when you're more experienced. The distortion is organic, rather than fuzzy (Thanks, tubes!) and the gain boost is nice, as are the independent EQ panels for each channel, and it takes pedals very well. Also has on-board reverb and tremolo, if that's your bag. In addition, it has a very nice speaker (for a low-cost hybrid amp) with the Celestion Blue Vox Custom, although ceramic instead of alnico. Regardless, it still sounds better than most speakers "customized" by amplifier manufacturers. Cons: Although it has a great clean channel, there's no mid control for it - disappointing, but not a deal breaker. The lead channel's "mid-boost" switch makes it very honky and I wish it had been designed more in-junction with the mid knob. When the gain knob is low, the sound is extremely thin but can be improved by cranking the bass. My heftiest beef with this amp is the accessibility to the innards. When it's time to replace tubes, you damn-near have to take apart the entire cabinet to get to them. 7/10 - Glad to have owned it but if it needed replacement, I'd probably save up money and get something better.

The Good: This amp has one of the best clean channels I've used. Very crisp with seemingly infinite headroom. The gain channel has a High/Low switch which is nice, especially for modern metal. It's also very...very loud. Their cabinets come with attenuator options, to put it in perspective. Effects loop, 4/8/16 Ohm inputs, Bright switch. The Not-So-Good: The amp has a very pronounced low end. It's so mid/bass-heavy that I put an EQ pedal in the effects loop, even with the bright switch engaged. On the next evolution, the Fuego 15 X, they added a mid-cut switch. There's also no built-in reverb; it's not a deal breaker for me, but it would be nice. All-in-all, I do love this amp. It can be frustrating at times but the outstanding sound of the cleans outweigh the deficit I find in the drive channel. Bonus: their customer service was great when I contacted them about the drive channel.