Boss

Photography: Olly Cur tis
M
ore than any other
manufacturer,
Roland has always
pushed the
boundaries of guitar
technology, from guitar synthesis
to the original CE-1 Chorus
Ensemble, introduced way back in
1976, which spawned today’s
hugely popular Boss range of
eff ects. Alongside the recently
rejuvenated Blues Cube range,
Roland chose the Boss brand a few
years ago for its Waza Craft heads
and the massively successful
Katana range of digital modelling
amps – the fi rst time the Boss
badge has appeared on a guitar
amplifi er, but not the last. Now
there’s another new amp range to
tempt us, combining Roland’s
clever Tube Logic technology with
digital control for a new vista of
sonic temptation, the Nextone.
There are two combos in the
Nextone mini series: the 80-watt
Artist 1x12 and the slightly more
compact 40-watt Stage combo,
which we’re taking a look at here.
The Nextone Stage looks classy
with its silver-trimmed grill cloth,
set off by the famous Boss badge.
The control panel has a familiar
old-school look and feel, with
separate volume and gain controls
for clean and overdrive channels,
sharing a standard bass, mid and
treble EQ. Two small buttons
operate boost and tone functions,
the latter working simultaneously
as a bright switch for the clean
channel and a mid boost on the
drive channel. There are level
controls for the built-in delay and
reverb, and a master section with
knobs for presence and master
volume, alongside an output stage
selector and power control.
The output stage selector is a big
part of what makes the Nextone
special. Boss’s clever Tube Logic
technology uses digitally-
controlled analogue solid-state
components to mimic the
dynamic response and clipping
characteristics of a valve output
stage. In the standard Blues Cube
range, Tube Logic emulates a
50s-era ‘tweed’-style amplifi er; in
the Nextone it’s been signifi cantly
expanded to replicate four classic
output stages based on 6V6, 6L6,
EL84 and EL34 valves. Like the
Katana amps, the Nextone also
benefi ts from a sophisticated
editing app, which lets you dig into
the amp’s inner workings and
make subtle or not-so-subtle
changes to EQ, eff ects and
valve-specifi c features like bias
and sag. The Nextone’s onboard
eff ects are limited to delay or
tremolo and digital reverb, with
three diff erent delay and reverb
types available through the editor.
Once you’ve edited your sounds to
taste, you can load them into the
Nextone’s single custom preset,
accessed from the channel button
on the control panel.
Other cool features include
headphones/recording and line
outputs, together with a
programmable eff ects loop and a
USB socket that records audio as
well as hooking up the editor. The
Nextone can be used with standard
latching footswitches, or you can
TYPE: 1x12 solid-state combo
w/ digital effects
OUTPUT: 40W, switchable to 20W
and 0.5W
SPEAKER: 1x12 special design
Boss G12-100
CONTROLS: Clean channel volume,
overdrive channel gain and volume, bass
mid, treble, boost switch, tone switch,
tap tempo, delay level, reverb level,
presence, master volume, output stage
select, power control
SOCKETS: Guitar in, recording/
headphones out, line out, effects
loop send/return, extension speaker
jacks, footswitch/GA-FC controller
jacks, USB
WEIGHT: 13.5kg
DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD] 427x492x248mm
CONTACT: Roland UK Ltd 01792 702701
www.boss.info
IT SOUNDS SCARILY REALISTIC
WITH FAT, TWEEDY OVERDRIVE
1
VIRTUAL VALVES,
VARIABLE POWER
The Nextone’s key
features include a trick
class AB push-pull power
stage that can emulate
6V6, 6L6, EL84 and EL34
valves, with three
power settings
2
EFFECTS
The amp’s onboard
effects include three
types of digital delay,
three excellent digital
reverbs and a tremolo,
too. And all are fully
programmable from the
Nextone’s editor app
3
CLEVER LOOP
The full capabilities
of the Nextone’s effects
loop are accessed
through that editing
app. It can run in series
or parallel, with full
level control
BOSS NEXTONE STAGE
Boss takes its solid-state Tube Logic tech to the next level
£439
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2
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AT A GLANCE
REVIEW
91
JULY 2019 ToTal GuiTar
TGR320.gear_lead.indd 91 5/22/19 11:25 AM