History:
some of you might have seen the post i made where i was looking for a 150 watt amp. i was choosing between fender stage 1600 and spider III 150... i happen to chance upon this "unknown" brand, and despite not having Celestion speakers, being only 100 watts and not famous (in my book), i actually ended up with this. read on to find out why. and oh, this thing is made in the USA and cost me 28,700 php.
heres the pic:
http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/6/5/0/228650.jpgit was too big so i posted the link instead.
Review Proper:
the most noticeable thing about this amp is that is is loud. i was choosing between a fender stage 1600 and a spider III 150 (all 2x12's) for an amp loud enough to be heard in a small/medium sized club. the only thing that wanted me to get the fender stage 1600 was that it had celestion speakers (same with the spider), but i really couldnt get it as loud as the b-52 LG. the spider on the other hand, had a lot of features but you have to spend more money just for a foot switch that would allow you to make use of its features. the b-52 win hands down on simplicity, volume, low noise level and the ability to make the room vibrate when you palm mute open chords.
the other features: reverb and chorus, are nice add-ons, especially the chorus... i A/B'ed it against a Boss CE-5 and guess what? the LG chorus comes really close that onstage, i dont think ppl will be able to differentiate between the two. the reverb wasn't very special, just the same as my 20 watt marshall valvestate.
there are 2 drive stages on this amp, and quite honestly, i think both have the same sound (marshall sounding) except the 2nd drive stage just has more pronounced highs and opens up the option to use a "contour" knob (just like i said, marshall sounding). i would have wanted 3 stages all in all with separate EQ's for each, but oh well, i dont think those features would be that useful since it will drive the cost up, not to mention, a lot of guitar players use pedals on solid state amps anyway. having said that, the distortion wasnt really special, yes it can do metal on loud settings, but i find it lacking more grit and dirt. it is not as bad as the Fender Stage 1600's distortion (as far as metal is concerned), but it certainly isn't enough. i can use the sound during emergencies (like i forgot my bakemono MT2), but i really wouldnt want it to be my sound. i also forgot to mention that the clean stage is actually louder than the overdrive state ... i do not know why they did this, maybe because like i said - a lot of solid state amp users use pedals. the clean stage sounds like a marshall's, it is quiet until you turn it all the way up where you can hear hissing. i do not recommend single coils here (i find the hum annoying, especially when amplified on a very loud amp).
this review took long enough, i think most clubs can use this ... however, if you are a serious guitar player, with budget to spare, i suggest you look for a tube amp or get a halfstack instead. don't get me wrong, this one's a great amp and i know of only a few guitarist in the "unsigned" bands section who can sound better than this... coming from me, as far as metal and volume is concerned, it kicks the Fender Stage 1600's (on sound) and the Spider III 150's (on functionality) arse to kingdom come. not bad for a 29K solid state amp.
to summarize:
features = 6
sound = 7
value = 9
reliability = survived a 200 person gig on a school gym and the master volume barely reached 12 o'clock. i told it was loud.
*scale 1-10*
