T H E GA S STATION 96 Words Alex Lynham / Photography Olly Curtis peDaLBoarD aMpLifiers Ever wondered whether some bright spark has eliminated the need for traditional amps and cabs? Well, wonder no more... TOTAL GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2017 TGR297.gear_test.
The Tg TesT 97 I n order to avoid lugging a tube amp around with you for live shows, there are a number of options available to you. Small lunchbox-style valve amps are one option you can choose, while lightweight modelling amps, which allow for a direct line to the PA as well as the running of a cab onstage, are another.
T H E GA S STATION MooeR MICRo PReaMP SeRIeS & MooeR BaBY BoMB 30 PoWeR aMP Small and mighty £94 £104 These are tiny! You can’t be serious... An amp in a box pedal is nothing new – after all, the earthshaking AmpTweaker line is more or less just valve amp preamps modelled with discrete circuitry. What is new, however, is the diminutive form of these astonishingly small units.
The Tg TesT BLUGUItaR aMP 1 SeYMoUR dUNCaN PoWeRStaGe 170 £569 The complete solution £345 Alive and amplified Hasn’t this been out a while? This seems like a simple option... Yes, but the BluGuitar Amp 1 is still hugely popular in this space, as critical and user reviews will attest. Its main promises are headroom and versatility, with an explicit focus on being able to go toe-to-toe with a 100 watt head, and on that it certainly delivers. Indeed.
the tg test Head to head The best of the bunch of board amp solutions T 100 he Mooer preamps can be used to DI into a recording interface, but the results when used with a cab are markedly better. Meanwhile, the PowerStage 170 needs to be used with a speaker cab and can’t be used for direct recording. On the flip side, the Two Notes preamps and CAB can be used for direct recording or run into a mixer and PA for live use, but can’t directly drive a speaker cab.
T H E GA S STATION FINaL VeRdICt Which amp solution is the right one for you? F or many players, the fact that you can even consider eliminating an amp from your setup to have just a pedalboard is astonishing. That the sounds on offer from these pedalboard amps are so good is equally as impressive: there now simply isn’t a reason to have a full-fat ‘real’ amp other than for the aesthetic and headroom. For the home studio, the combination of a Two Notes Le Preamp and the Torpedo CAB is the way to go.
