Top 5 Disappointing Amps I've Played

I discuss the top 5 most disappointing amps that I've played this year. These amps either didn't live up to the hype or they just plain sucked.

[genghisghost]

your description of the blackstar is exactly what i feel about shitman flatulence pickups. they’re a meme of active metal pickups

[richardfuller]

Hilarious opening, brightened my day. Yep it's easier to crack a safe then get a good gain tone on the mkv90! keep up the good work :)

[angusorvid]

The most disappointing amp I ever played was a Recto back in '91. I found it cold, muddy and just plain harsh.

[GuitarsAndSynths]

Mezzabarba MZero and Uberschall are great with clean boost in front of amp and EQ setup right. What overdrive pedal is your favorite and why?

[progrocker]

The Mark V needs the loop drive to be boosted to around 2:30 with a master volume set to 10:30. With these settings, Channel 2 becomes a roaring metal alternative to Channel 3!

I have a Herbert Mk3 coming in late April. Can't wait to test it against the Mark V, but honestly with the above settings, I don't expect the Herbert to be much better. Looking forward to being proved wrong though!

[inourvendetta]

You should try the Randall Kirk Hammett nobody has videos on that!

[NobotyBoi]

The Mark V sounds much better with EL34s, less sterile, more saturation. But still lacking low end IMO. For some reason, I still prefer this amp live with a Maxon 808, mid heavy amp that always cuts thru the mix. Eventually will be using all EVH in live situations.

[mickeygiesbers]

Funny thing about what you said about Petrucci’s live tone, I’m man enough to admit, last time I saw DT live, I literally got emotional of John’s lead playing… it was like you said, the combination of his playing and just that tone man… it hit me… I know from experience that the JP2C isn’t my amp (I’m definitely a Recto guy) but MAN his live tone is phenomenal.

[geetar_guy]

You’re spot on with the mark v! The 90w can be dialed in to sound pretty good but it’ll take forever and you’ll get ear fatigue. I was able to get multiple great tones out of the mark v 25w in less than 10 minutes.

[AlessioCx]

What do you think about Diezel VH4, Mezzabarba Trinity, and Marshal JVM410?

They are my favorite amp, based on what I listen on YT and read about.
Soon I will buy JVM.
I’m thinking about to have JVM for crunch/british sound, Mezzabarba for crunch-modern sound, and Diezel for brilliant and tight modern sound.
What do you think?

[anahowana]

Great job ! Keep it up ! Tone is our saviour ! Cheers from Morocco

[jessebreakspear]

the Blackstar HD metal 100h sounded like a solid state? I wonder if they ran the plate/cathode voltage low I heard that tends to make tubes into basically a gimmick that don't sound any better than transistors. anyways awesome vid big time good to know what NOT to buy before you try.

[jasonsapp]

Had a MKV 90w head ...same outcome for me....had really high hopes but even modest gain would cause feedback unless constant on/off with guitar made money when I sold it...keep thinking of checking out a MKV 35

[ronnymilianowicz]

I wouldnt even trust NASA to dial my amp! 😂

[chrismartin]

Great video. We clearly see eye to eye to eye on the G20. I was super pumped about getting one until I got it. I played it for an hour and boxed it up to return it. The clean channel was amazing but the high gain channel was terrible to my ear. It was overly dry and bright and even boosted I couldn't dial in anything I found that would justify the price point for me. The MT-15 I have punishes the G20 for half the price and I bought a Captor X so for a little less I have all the same capabilities with far better tone. I wish it would have sounded better because I'll never be able to afford a Generator and I love those tones. Horns up from Texas! \m/

[Zygnus]

Regarding you what you say about the Blackstar, there are apparently a lot of arguments out there about how much it really is a tube amp: if you open it up and look at the circuit, there's apparently a lot of semiconductors in there, so some people argue it's more of a "hybrid" amp. Great video, your reviews and demos are what actually made me pull the trigger on my Savage Mark II, and I'm very happy with it.

[Earth-Worm-Tim]

I bought a Mark V back in 2016... "and it was at this moment I knew I F'd up" and that's when I switched to the digital side lol. Seriously though, I paid a good chunk on money for that amp in hopes of it being a beast, but the level of disappointment relative to the amount of money I paid for it was EXACTLY why I bought the Fractal AX8. It's hard in todays guitar world to justify paying the money $$$ for amps when the tone may or may not work for you, and you can just buy captures or profiles fine tuned to sound EXACTLY like the sound you want. However, this is where your channel comes in, and I gotta say, I've come full circle with this thing because NOTHING compares to the sound a real amp and cab, so I just bought an EVH Stealth. You good sir were a primary contributor to that decision. I still need want to see you shootout the Stealth 100W with the Herbert MK3 though. I really want to buy the MK3, but I have to know it can hold its own with what IMO is one of the best modern metal amps ever made in the EVH Stealth 🤘

[bjorndirckx]

It’s nice to hear honest opinions, I can totally agree on the H&K triamp, I owned the mk 2 version of that amp and I had sort of the same experience, it didn’t sit well in the mix, sterile and didn’t motivate in any way, as for the ubershall I own the rev green version of the standard ubershall not the twinjet and it sounds amazing and it’s one of the best amps I own and have owned until this point, and if u ever want to play through a blackstar again I can recommend the series one 200, that amp is brutal, OD 1 for ripping rhythm playing and OD2 for saturated lead .

[natethebesttt]

Didn’t like the uberschall? Saved me a buck and a headache. I appreciate that.

[stevemoore]

So glad I found this Chanel.
Just nabbed a used vht/fryette 120 deliverance. I'll be keeping this amp.