GEAR EXPO 2024: If you think amps are boring then think again. 2024 is seeing guitar amps in all shapes and sizes and pedals with all sorts of amp features built in. Not only that, but it's shaping up to be the amp year to take you back to the future, with models that hark back to the past, and some that are very much packed with tomorrow's technology…
This might be one of our smaller guitar buyer's guides for Gear Expo, but the list of amps and pedals we have assembled within it is fascinating, demonstrating more than any other category, that with amps 'it takes all sorts'. Some of the models here are recreating bone fide classics (stand up Vox), while others could be future classics (your turn Victory Amplifiers).
And talking of the future, Kemper has managed to cram its next-gen amp profiling tech into a cheap (ish) pedal, and conversely we're going back in time, to circa 1974 with Taylor. It's a funny old amp world…
Vox Sppecial Edition Red AC10C1, AC15C1 and AC30C2
Vox is launching a special edition of its famous AC Custom amps, but says they will be 'extremely limited' in quantity. There are three models in the range: AC10C1, AC15C1 and AC30C2, and alongside a 'classic vintage red' finish, they each boast black and gold diamond fret cloth, and a classic Vox rectangular badge.
The AC line has been made famous by its high profile users that include Queen’s Brian May and (of course) The Beatles. With such a history, Vox has stuck with what it does best and resisted any moves away from its winning formula.
As you might expect, the AC10C1 is a 10-watt amp. It features two EL84 and two 12AX7 tubes and a 10" Celestion VX10 speaker. At the top of the new range, the AC30C2 is, naturally, a 30-watt amp and it boats a pair of 12" 8-ohm Celestion G12M Greenback speakers.
Vox hasn't said how 'extremely limited' the numbers will be, but the prices are £599/approx $756 for the Classic Vintage Red Vox AC10C1, £829/approx $1,046 for the AC15C1, and £1,299/approx $1,640 for the AC30C2. They will be available from April and there's more from the Vox website.
Line 6 POD Express Guitar and Bass
The first Line 6 POD brought amp modelling to the masses, a truly affordable and accessible product. Line6 has continued developing products under the POD brand including the POD Go, and now we have the all-new POD Express Guitar and Bass.
Each POD Express has five rotary controls and two footswitches making accessing your sounds fast and traditional. Both units also have seven amps, seven cabs, and 17 effects. They each also feature a looper, tuner, tap tempo, noise gate, headphone output and USB C connection. Two footswitches can be also be plugged into to change presets and turn effects on and off.
Pod Express Bass's amp models include Grit, Vintage, Punch, Modern, Round, Deep and Studio. There are also Distortion effects including Boost, Overdrive, Disort and Fuzz. A Synth section features Octave, Growl, String and Mutant effects.
In the Compression section you get Optical, LA, Deluxe and Limiter types, and both the Modulation and Delay share a rotary with Chorus, Flanger, Phaser and tape Delay options.
Pod Express Guitar has Reverb and Delay areas but no compression. Delay features Analog, Digital, Tape and Pong controls; Reverb has Spring, Hall, Plate and Space types. A Modulation section has Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, and finally a Distortion mode has Boost, Overdrive, Distortion and Fuzz.
Both units cost around $179 / £190, great for players looking for a portable tone unit. There's more information on both units at Line6's website.
Taylor Circa 74
Taylor has announced its first ever acoustic amp called Circa 1974, and older reader will probably agree with us, that it does look like a radiogram that you would have had in your living room circa 1974. Which is kind of the point…
The amp has a mahogany case and stand, and features a Class D solid state 150-watt 2-channel amp combo. It has a 10-inch full-range speaker especially suited to acoustic guitars and vocals, and each channel includes a three-band EQ and reverb.
It's not all '1974', as there is very 'up-to 2024 date' Bluetooth connectivity, and auxiliary inputs let you run other stuff in such as backing tracks to play along with.
It might look like it came from 50 years ago, but there was apparently quite a bit of research involved in the amp's creation, especially to broaden its usability for Taylor electro-acoustic guitar players and beyond. As such the hi-end frequencies feature added warmth, and there are even on-board presets for pickups and mics including Fishman, LR Baggs, Shure and Telefunken.
The amp is clearly part of Taylor's 50th birthday celebrations and would make fine present to mark a golden anniversary. A reasonably costly one though; the Taylor Circa 74 is $1,199.
For more info visit Taylor Guitarsand Sweetwater.
Victory Amps The Deputy, MK Clean and MK Overdrive
UK brand Victory Amplifiers has three new amps: The Deputy, MK Clean and MK Overdrive, but you might have to start saving if you want two of them, as their retail prices nudge £5k a piece. So why so pricey?
We'll get to that shortly, but first let's cover the most accessible. The Deputy is a collab by Martin Kidd and Andertons presenter Pete Honore. It is a compact 25-watt single-channel tube amp and covers everything from 60’s blues clean sounds to late 60’s and early 70’s rock. It has a three-way voice, bright switch and reverb built in.
Prices for the head are £1,349/€1,579/$1,499. The 112 cabinet is £719/€839/$869 while the 212 cabinet is £919/€1,079/$1,129.
Now to the pricier MK Clean and MK Overdrive offerings, clearly Victory's premium lines, and the 'MK' standing for Martin Kidd, head designer at Victory and "well known in British amplification circles".
They are handmade valve amps based on the mission statement: 'Build the best single channel clean amp & the best multi channel overdriven amp you’ve ever made'. The task took MK four years and, as we hinted at earlier, the resulting amps come at quite a price. The MK Clean is £4,799 / €5,549 / $4,999 and the MK Overdrive is £4,999/ €5,799 / $5199.
You can also order them in a choice of panel colour, handle, corners plus a wide selection of leather coverings supplied by Muirhead Scottish Leather, who also supply the House of Lords, Rolls Royce, The Orient Express and Aston Martin. How much these extras cost is not clear yet, but with those names being some of the existing customers, we're thinking it could be a 'if you have to ask you can't afford it' type scenario.
All the MK amps are finished with a final nod from Martin himself, who adds his signature before they leave the Victory factory in England. We'd kind of like him to hand deliver them too for that cash.
More info at Victory Amplifiers.
Kemper Profiler Player
Kemper is well known for its effects and amp modelling, with its Profiler Amp using seemingly black magic or alien technology to profile any amp combo you can wish for. Its new Profiler Player is a stompbox that could deliver much of this technology to a whole new audience.
The Player has 136 different effects settings from the Kemper Profiler FX arsenal and around 444 presets. It has the full suite of Kemper amp tones, said by Kemper to be "nearly identical to the Amp section of its famous big brother". It will also load in any amp Profiles from the vast library of free and commercial ones currently available.
Player’s signal chain has four effect blocks and an amplifier stack. "Up to two effects can be placed 'pre' the amp stack, and another two 'post' the amp," says Kemper. "And obviously, you can run the Player alongside your real pedals.
"The post-amp modules of the effect chain are ideal for delay and reverb effects. Both delay and reverb offer 'spillover' at any time, meaning the sonic tail is not cut off when changing to another rig."
So it's sounding like Player could be the best of the Kemper profiling world – amps, effects and access to a vast library of profiles – all in a compact and more affordable box.
And how affordable? It might be expensive for an amp/effect pedal, but there's a lot to like here. Kemper Profiler Player costs $698 / £649 / €698 and is available to order from Andertons and Sweetwater, but Thomann is currently offering it for £599. That said, the best price seems to be direct from the Kemper website at just £499.
Lerxst By-Tor Drive pedal
Lerxst By-Tor Drive is a new pedal in Alex Lifeson's Lerxst line of signature gear. It is, according to Michael McWhorter, founder of Mojotone who collaborated with Lifeson on creating it, "a British-voiced amp in a box pedal designed to capture the sound of the 50-watt Lerxst Omega in pedal form."
By-Tor is named after the Rush song By-Tor And The Snow Dog, and is a boost and overdrive pedal combo. According to Lexrst, the pedal "is a compact, pedalboard-friendly version of the Omega that promises to replicate the head's same intensity and growl that the tube amp is known for."
The pedal is capable of everything from light and crunchy drive to overdriven tube-like chaos, Lerxst claims. There are familiar Drive, Tone and Level controls, and the order of the Boost and Drive sides can be switched with a toggle.
"The By-Tor pedal sounds awesome and looks really scary," Lifeson says of the pedal. "If you like awesome, scary stuff you need one of these. Or two!"
The pedal is available now priced at £299 / $399 (approx), and there's more info at the Lerxt Amps website.
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