Product: Laney HC25B Combo
Price Paid: US $139
Submitted
09/28/2001
at
11:45am
by
Sandy the Goat
Email: sandythegoat<at>yahoo dot com
Features
:
7
My amp was made in April of '98. It's definitely versatile enough for the hardcore, punk, & Skacore I mostly play, and even the rare funk, jazz, mellow ska, or slow melodic session. It has 2 imputs: one for passive, and one for active basses/ preamps. I've never used the active imput, so I can't comment on it.
The HC25B has 2 channels: normal, and dumb- I mean, compressed. The engineers at Laney shouldn't have even wasted their time adding this useless compresser. I would have rated the amp a little higher if not for this "feature."
I mainly use this amp at home, but it actually holds it's own at backyard parties and such.
Sound Quality
:
7
Decent sound, nothing too great (a laney is NOT a fender, or a hartke.) I usually play this amp with an Ibanez GSR 100. It serves it's purpose. Doesn't distort at high volumes, except if you turn the gain way up. The gain's a little noisy, though. It actually takes well to pedals, I've used it with bass overdrive, and bass chorus.
Reliability
:
10
This is an amp you can depend on. I've had this cookie for almost four years: lugged it often, had it bump around in cars, knocked it over, played it loud with an overdrive pedal, and jumped on it. It still plays like the day I bought it, and none of the the knobs or imputs are loose at all. I know people who have have had other amps for shorter periods of time and had to replace them.
The ONLY time it ever cut out was when my stupid ex-friend played his trebbley fender and a Metal Zone through it... but that's just begging for damage.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I've never dealt with Laney.
Overall Rating
:
9
I've been playing for over 4 years, and I've had this amp just about as long. I got it when I didn't know anything about the kind of sound I wanted. I didn't know then that shelling out a few more dollars for a fender was actually a good investment. If it was lost, I'd probably replace it with a Hartke or Peavey 30W. I love that it is so durable, and portable (30 lbs isn't too bad, even for a small bodied girl like me.) I hate that it dosen't have a stellar sound, but at $139, I got what I paid for... perhaps a little more.
I'd recommend it for a person who is just learning bass or as a practise amp.
