Takes some work, worth the investment

By far the crunchiest amp I've ever owned. It's hard to unwind that sound. Looks great, sounds great, gets very loud. The reverb is sneaky-good, too.

A Great Analog Solid State Amp

When I utilized the Trademark 60 in solo practice and writing sessions, I found it incredibly inspirational. While it doesn't have the attenuator-type of technology found in, say, Vox's hybrid amplifiers--meaning that like a true tube amp, the Trademark 60 sounds better the louder you push it--even at low volumes, I had no trouble finding tones and sounds I really liked, making it a lot of fun to play through.

Recording was a fairly easy proposition, too, as the amp sounds great either miked up (I suggest pointing your microphone directly at the center of the cone, though, because the thick basket-weave grill cover does absorb a certain amount of sound that typically passes right through cloth covers) or when connected directly to a recording source via the SamsAmp's XLR output. In fact, when comparing two tracks played with the same amp side-by-side--one miked up, one sent through the SansAmp output--it was a little difficult to tell which was which. In the end, the miked track had a little more "air" to it, giving it a tiny bit more of a realistic feeling, but this is unlikely to be something an average listener would notice.

In a live context, Tech 21's creation becomes a little more of a complicated proposition. While the amp sounds fantastic on its own, and is more than capable of keeping pace with a full band (I had several scenarios where I had to turn it lower than expected so as not to deafen a drummer), when playing on the same stage as another guitarist who has a tube amplifier things can get trickier. It's then that the solid state thinness of the tones become a little more noticeable, and while you can compensate somewhat via the EQ knobs, it still lacks that fundamental punch that comes with real tubes.

With that said, this amp has some pretty cool tones that are uniquely its own, and it makes one wish after awhile that instead of going the modeling route, Tech 21 had pursued the creation of an analog-circuit solid state amp with a singular character... Read More

WOW!! Awesome tone for a solid state!!

I bought a pretty beat up one used at a pawnshop, thinking it was a tube amp. Lo and behold, after further inspection, I found out to my surprise that it was a solid state. At first I thought that I was being ripped off as I had thought that it was a tube amp (although the price was not so bad). However, I was so impressed with it's tone and it dawned on me that I would get the sound of a tube amp without worrying about blown out tubes and such that I decided to keep it. It's now become one of my favorite combo amps.

Affordable and amazing. Great for pedals.

What's that in your rig?? It's a Fender Twin! It's a Marshall! No! It's a Tech21 Trademark 60! This amp is affordable and incredibly versatile. For any tube purists, it's not exactly the same but with two channels, effects loop, spring reverb and Tech21's SansAmp direct out, it's a great sounding amp for the price.