I had to buy pedals and all that mess on the floor. from Idaho on March 17, 2019, By George Garcia With all the effects, there is no other amp that I know that compares. Comes in a super nice bag. I also have banks set up for recording. Or did H&K perhaps get a lot better in recent years? The power soak feature is truly amazing and something that I have been dreaming about for many years as well. I think it has to do with the rehearsal spaces I used to play in back in the day. More to talk about but enough said. I received it Thursday (thanks to Ben and team shipping it fast) and gigged with it Friday. Also, this thing looks beautiful. It did get better in time though. This is the secret to this amp. 1. Every now and then i'll step on the Tube Screamer for tighter crunch. I don't know what I can say that hasn't already been said. I've had mine for about a year and it makes everyone in the room happy when it's glowing blue. I like the Line 6 because I can instantly change from one tube patch to another. It's a tube amp and it sounds great! It may not display this or other websites correctly. Also great for blues. I've detracted a half a star because of how complex the initial stages are. Red Box DI was cool but didn't make up for the rest. Phone Hours | 2) Controls Don't worry about this being difficult to operate. I've owned some pretty good amps before, but this one easily tops them all! I call the Grandmeister my toaster, it's about the same size, but it's so much more, goodbye aching back, pedal board and hello plug and play Grandmeister. I bought this amp after playing one in person at a store when picking up my Charvel Pro Mod. Sweetwater rocks. I own a Fender Fat Strat and a couple PRS guitars, and they all sing with the amp. If that wasn't enough, there's also the very useful noise gate, the convincing Red Box AE cabinet emulator output and the very useful Power soak buttons feature when you want the same high end tone but at lower wattage and volume. from Petaluma, CA on March 28, 2019, By jeff The features contained in this marvel of technology are astounding. I got the whole rig, Amp head, midi pedal, and 2x12. I have tons of amp sims for tracking di guitars, I have a kemper in my possession at the moment as well. The effects are surprising and very usable. from Missouri on July 21, 2019, By Dave I think that another reviewer hit the nail on the head with the comment that the overall amp tone is sort of like a VOX with an old-school Marshall vibe. 4. Out of the box I had a power tube short withing a first 30mins. Amp itself sounds fine but not very impressed. I've struggled with EVERY amp I've had in one or more (mostly more) ways since way back when I began playing. I could not put my finger on it at first being that H and K makes great stuff. The clean, crunch, lead and ultra channels each have such differrent tone characteristicsthey aren't at all just "gainier" versions of the channel before, but instead each channel acts like its own separate tube amp (similarly to the H & K Triamp amp it's based on). from Campbell, CA on March 20, 2017. from New Orleans on November 23, 2020, By Chris Now the only peddles I use is a tuner, octaver and wah. I play all sorts of music from clean blues to metal. So I went shopping for Marshalls, I was considering a JVM-205C but when I p[played one I thought it was junk compared to my old Line 6. The tones coming into the DAW are the best I've had to date. Didn't matter what I didn to eq it was mosquito like. For me? The Grandmeister Deluxe 40 is an excellent sounding amplifier, it sounds good on all 4 channels and the effects included are top notch. Learn More. It's a great amp and it's very practical. It's always a pleasure to work with Mark and the service at Sweetwater is second to none. But I use Helix for the wah and compression (where needed). They just can't handle the heat like a big bottle valve. Eventide UltraChannel Native Channel Strip, Already have an account? This new one was doing fine until I played it live tonight. This would be awesome in a live situation and has proved invaluable in the studio providing instant recall of settings for emergency retakes. Not that there is anything wrong with it. Your email, test has been entered to win this giveaway. Amp is stupid easy to use and I had it figured out in about 2 minutesBUTI was less than thrilled with the tone of the amp when it first arrived. Live Cover band/ Recording studio/ Compact rig/ practice amp Just get it! Marshall Vox Fender Mesa Orange all in one Overall they're great amps. After only a few minutes of playing, I"m amazed at how great it sounds. The sound is cleaner, the overdrive and crunch is by far as good as it gets! from CT on May 2, 2018, By Michael Becker When recording through the redbox I dont have a cabinet hooked up at all, I just leave the speaker off power soak selected. Man, I'm old. But the Line 6 has a few issues - delay during channel switching being the worst. Thanks to my sales rep, Aaron Cieslikowski, in making sure I recieved my order BEFORE Christmas and for following up afterwards too. Store Hours, If you have any questions, please call us at I picked this amp after a lot of research and demo viewing and it delivers. Finally my 35 year wait is over. I have the full setup with the midi, app, everything, and it can be overwhelming at times, trying to set all the presets and get everything just right. There was word of the H&K forums that this amp was geared towards metal only. Noise gate is great. The iPad controls require a wireless midi adapter that costs extra. This is a great amp that sounds good and it's lightweight. The demo of the amp is great. I couldn't be more pleased with this monster. Even the lightest distortion caused gross noise, and I have quality pickups and shielding. Stunning when lit up. You spend more time trying to get it to work than playing. Crunch channel (this is channel is marshal sounding which was a relief to me and sounds good at low volume) 3. I made the Wifey mad for sure. There are so many presets that if you cant fit this into a rock band, there's something wrong. This amp is the end all be all and as of now I can see absalutely no reason why I would have to buy another before a very very long time. Bought this this for a quick hookup on stage for a Theramin. It's only as sterile as you make it based on your EQ, Effects and levels. from Northeastern NJ on January 3, 2017, Music Background: Church worship leader, gigging lead guitarist, By Robert And I'm done. The 4 channels are nice, The power soak is awesome, Noise Gate works great, and TSC makes dealing with tubes easy. I primarily play metal and have owned 6505 before this. Use my jcm800 live use the Tubemiester for recording and practicing an home. Its all in the settings of the amps gain, and in the fingers of the player. Loved it but could not get one channel to do it all, because its not designed like that. Plus, if you're in a band that changes out songs inside sets, you can dial in whatever you need at the push of a button. The "Power Soak" option lets you switch between watts the head is running at. I would almost compare it to the analog version of a kemper in the sense that you can get literally any sound out of it. I switched to JJ tubes for everything and it made it alot better (to my ears) in my opinion. But let me tell you, once you have all that you are golden. The combination of Tube tone with high quality digital effects make it one of the most versatile amps on the planet. USE THEM. It sounds great at all Watts and Volume levels. The GM-40 right out of the box sounds great!!! No more micing and it sounds great for FOH and for recording. Drop the highs and push the lows with some resonance and it turns into 80's metal. Running mine into an Orange 2x12 PPC212. Just today I put a cheap amazon clean boost on the ultra channel on 1 watt and was just amazed at how good it sounded. I can't wait to start tweaking! JavaScript is disabled. I did have some loud cracking and popping when I first got the amp, but that has diminished as the amp got broken in a bit. It NAILS rock, metal, jazz, funk, you just name it it's there. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to spend countless hours avoiding real responsibilities and just jamming endlessly. Feel like playing some Steve Vai? What an amp. The big plusno more sizzle. This amp I feel covers some great high frequency ranges. On its own you can get a really good metal tone, but if you stick a boost in front of it you will get bone crushing metal tones, and the built in noise gate definitely comes in handy here. I hate being negative but I think some should know about this amp. I'm not claiming this will be the case for everyone. Plus the midi footswitch works without a hitch in storing any created presets and channel switching or boost and fx triggering. I don't really know where to begin or end with this amp really because the good things to say seem endless. Also the amp was very toppy with the stock tubes. You are not going to go wrong with this investment. So one thing that IS important to me is the warranty. I can get all the sounds I want out of this amp. I think he has a mac version too. from shirley NY on July 8, 2019, Music Background: pro guitarist studio owner, By Dave It's has a super gnarly should when the mids are scooped. I love tubes but lately I have been using digital amps for the simplicity of it all. I'm sure its hard to trust reviews on products like this from people that spent so much on the product. I have a Triamp MKII, 2 Switchblades, a Grandmeister 36, Tubemeister 36, Tubemeister 18, and had a Duotone. I've tended to use it mostly in the lead channel where it's possible to get some great EVHesque tones while retaining a bit more clarity and sponginess compared to the full onslaught of the ultra channel. I can easily get shimmery cleans, British roar and modern high gain. The build quality is top-notch and so are the materials used - robustly weighted steel construction with heavy duty switches and knobs and a thick plexi front plate that cleverly illuminates a beautiful sharp glow that looks completely high class and botique. This amp is state of the art and sounds great. But this misses the mark big time. It is free. The distortion sounds great to my ear. I was considering a Friedman a great amp no doubt and money was not an object. There where some reviews online that made me hesitant on the purchase but I am so glad I bought this. You wont regret it. The effects are really good. This is not possible. I expect it to sound even better when the Chinese tubes are replaced. Pull down the treble and the presence and you have a great jazz tone. Got it hooked up to a Marshall 4X12 Cab, All I can say is WOW. If you"re like me and like playing all different styles of music, this is the amp for you, it does it all. The crunch channel gives everything from mild bluesy to enough for great 80's rock rhythm. I wasn"t sure how much I"d like the clear front with the blue light. from katy, TX on July 16, 2019, By Frank Played it at church gigs, and with my original metal band. It's amazing on almost every setting. It is surprising of the power in this head, Don't let the 40 watts fool you, It was shaking the dishes in the cabinet and vibrating the windows from across the house. Unfortunately, I'm returning it. When you look at this amp with 40 watt tube amp, my first The only one that came close to this was the Randall RM 100but it was just toooooo loud. My only issue is that having owned the Triamp MKII and having played the new MKIII, I just can't downsize from there. The Redbox.Wow. Music Background: Making joyful noise since I was 6 years old. The ability to save up to 128 presets is also amazing. from Phoenix, AZ on September 20, 2017, Music Background: Worship and classic rock, By Robert Darnell Jr Would I purchase again For Sure! 5501 U.S. Hwy 30 W, Fort Wayne, IN 46818 I'm selling a few pedals off my board that I won't need any more Honest criticisms would be that wifi is not built into the product and requires another several hundred dollar purchase. on January 13, 2022, By Douglas Elliott I personally don't like to drive the gain much past 12:00 on any of the channels for my tones, but I've heard it used to great effect by other guitarists. It takes pedals well, but I love just plugging straight into it. on May 31, 2020, By Jeremiah Conner The 4,000$ one I'm sure is great. Each amp did one thing better then Switchblade but I kept missing it's versatility. After searching for months for a replacement tube amp for my beloved but extremely weighty Fender Concert Reverb II (80s era Rivera model), I discovered this lovely amp head. Oh, and the blue lights are exceptionally cool. Lastly, don even waste your time with playing single coil pickups on this. No problem. yeah, it's worth $ Buy the midi foot board with it so you can really dig into the effects presets. I have been waiting for this combination of amp versatility, effects and cab emulation all in one box for a long time. No more peddle board. Let me tell you, completely woke this amp up. The distortion had a sizzle on top, much like a Krankenstien which I am not a fan of. Pedal board it came with was just falling apart and I took good care of it. Exclusive deals, delivered straight to your inbox. I don't give credit easy but when it's deserved an I do I unleash. Add in the rackmount capabilities and you have the recipe for an all-in-one solution for pretty much any stage. I picked this up the other day, along with the wi-fi and pedal, I control it with my Ipad. And the ability to control it all with MIDI and save your settings is just the cherry on top, plus the direct out option to go straight to a soundboard is really nice. My PRS guitars freaking sing because of this amp and the matching cab. With this amp it is a great extension of the eq, if you understand how to use them. However, the EVH is an awesome head too don"t get me wrong, and it sounded killer on the the H&K 2x12. These are the magic buttons on this amp. Just think of what you could do for a rig with this amp as the center piece. Very responsive to how you play. from Kentucky on January 12, 2017, Music Background: Playing off and on since the late 80's, By Mike MacSherry You can use an expression pedal plugged in to the midi controlled but it will only operate the volume for the patch you are on and as soon as you change patches it defaults to what volume the patch was saved at. But on the clean channel, there isn't enough there. Yes, I know the GM-40 has effects too, and they sound good. from Midland, TX on July 1, 2022, By Greg Williams I have not tried the direct box yet, but I hear it is great. Wanna play Buddy Holly? A very versatile amp, able to deliver a wide range of clean to full on creamy distortion. electronic or Bricasti reverb / multi effects unit and create a sound so lush and gorgeous it would be to die for. The noise gate works half well though and doesn't dial down the sustain though will kill feedback if you are wanting that. I have been waiting on an amp like this for quite some time. I have no problem with the stock Chinese tubes and have no plans to swap them. Why??? Just get it already! Nice simple channel that breaks up nicely. I cant use it at anywhere near full volume in my music room - very powerful and makes my Friedman 2x12 sing and scream. I would like some more features! No USA warranty past the 3 months online after purchase.