t h e ga s station Channel-switching combo round-up Words Nick Guppy / Photography Joby Sessions Can multi-channel amps deliver all the tones you need for gigging? Here’s our pick of four modern channel-switching combos Total Guitar summer 2018 TGR309.gear_test.
the tg test V intage or vintage-inspired gear is great, but often it’s not so flexible. While many classic guitar amps had more than one channel, like Marshall’s Super Lead, Vox’s AC30 or Fender’s Twin Reverb, the idea of being able to use a footswitch to remotely change channels didn’t really take off until 1980, with Mesa Engineering’s Mark 2 Boogie. Today though, channel switching is the norm and many modern guitar amps offer two, three or even four channels, often with other switching functions.
t h e ga s station PRS SoNZeRa 20 £699 PRS quality at an affordable price MaRSHaLL dSL40 £739 Marshall’s top-selling amp range What’s a Sonzera? What’s the DSL40 all about? The Sonzera is a PRS-designed Chinese-built range of amps that promises to deliver PRS quality and tone at an unheard-of price. The name means ‘great tone’ in Brazilian and there’s no skimping on quality with a smart, well-proportioned poplar ply cabinet, hand-wired power valves and a superb Celestion V-type 12" loudspeaker.
the tg test BLaCKStaR Ht CLUB 40 MK II £649 This best-seller gets a makeover PeaVeY VaLVeKING MKII 20 CoMBo £719 ‘Affordable boutique’ range What’s new about the HT Club 40? What’s the ValveKing all about? In a word, everything. Blackstar’s talented design team went through every aspect of their best-selling HT series looking to see how it could be improved without losing the familiar character that’s proved so popular over the years.
the tg test Head to Head A quartet of combos with multi-switching abilities A 102 ll four combos fire up smoothly and quietly with little or no hiss and hum, and all seem to work equally well with humbuckers and single coils, thanks to wide-ranging EQs and voicing options. Despite its relative lack of features, the PRS Sonzera 20 packs serious tonal authority, with stunning clean and high-gain voices.
t h e ga s station FINaL VeRdICt Which multi-channel amp is the right one for you? o ne thing that became clear while testing this quartet was how closely matched they are. With the exception of the PRS Sonzera 20, three of the combos have very similar features and capabilities. Players who spend a lot of time in the studio should check out Blackstar’s HT Club 40 and Peavey’s ValveKing; both have a wide range of subtle tone variation together with low power options and direct-to-desk connectivity.
