AXL Thin Amp

I bought this amp years ago when i was a beginner, at the time it suited my needs. It has all the basic settings such as gain, bass, treble and middle. It also features a load of DSP effects such as chorus, flanger etc. The blue coloured plastic shell case is light but not very durable and does not bode well at high volumes. The output of this solid state amp is stated at 10 watts although it does tend to sound alot quieter than that.

The two 4inch speakers packed into the small casing gives the amp a very choppy kind of sound and virtually has no sustain. In the manual it suggest that the amp only is suited to single coil guitars however i found that a humbucker drove the amp a bit better. The amp surprisingly has a fair bit of gain but strangely when i turn up the volume it seems to cut out the gain making the amp clean. when jamming with people i always had to place the amp high up as the vibration (from the drums, bass, other guitars etc) seemed to cut it out. also when playing with higher volume levels (around 7 out of 12) it also seems to cut itself out with the vibration. The styles of music i used to play on it ranged from blues to rock to metal. it seemed to handle them ok. Another thing to add is this amp does not really like being used with pedals as it sort of crackles and the signal breaks up when using them.

I have to say that it isnt very reliable due to all the problems i have had with it. i didn't consider sending back to the manufacture to see if there was a problem with it because it wasnt worth that much. i would never gig with it because 1 it has problems, 2 its not really that loud and 3 my valve amp is 1000x better.

I didn't bother with the customer support.

When i first got it i thought it was great but as i learnt alot more about guitar and amps and started playing friend's equipment and trying stuff in guitar shops i felt as though my amp wasnt as great as i thought. I was also a bit curious with the problems it had but that never stopped me playing it everyday.
I didn't pay that much for it so i couldn't really expect that much from it.
If someone stole it i would be sad as it was my first ever amp and even now it sometimes comes in handy for the odd thing. if i had to get another small amp for some reason i would probably get a Roland Micro cube as they are quite good for a little amp.

I thought the thin amp is a great little design light and easily carried in the well made case . The volume is excellant and the various effects included are amazing for such little money I PAID #50 new from a local music shop. (London).Great for summer parties in the garden or on a boat.

I am using a Gretch electromatic junior jet that I prefer max. base setting on pickups as the amp is a little top end.Too much gain gives distortion so I do not personally go there.

I would only use the thin amp at a party or small crowd informal do.
For gigs I use a Fender chorus 100watt.

I would buy another one if it were lost good value for money and a versatile design.

I heard the Thin Amp at a guitar show about 2 weeks ago, and I thought it sounded pretty, darn good. I stood in 8 different positions, rangeing from about 3 feet in front, to well over 15 feet away, and listened with bodies between me and the amp, and a direct line of sound from several angles; again, I liked the sound. I thought the amp sounded quite full considering the compactness. I doubt I would be able to use it for any club gigs I do, unless the amp was ran through the PA. Still, I'm a sailor and thought what a great piece of equipment for my sailboat (I have an acoustic w/small Crate TX-50-D Limo for it/vocals/and a Korg DP-80. I'm kind of kicking myself for not picking it up (it was offered with all accessories for $100.00-used). Still, perhaps another time. I think one could do a great deal worse in finding something compact, portable, and decent sounding.

Nice little black plastic single-channel solid state travel amp (sorry to sound so cruel - I actually like it). I comes with a bunch of in-built effects and the usual headphone jack, etc.

It has more than enought power for the average hotel room or lounge-room. It is certainly not designed for anything larger than an intimate setting. For what it does, it is one of the best things I have come across.

It even comes with its own gig bag, that looks like AXL bought from the computer section of one of those office outlet places. But even it is well thought out and just goes in the aircraft overhead locker along with everyone else's computers.

The sound is, well, 'thin'. What else would you expect from something called a 'Thin Amp'? It is somewhat 'toppy' in its sound, as befits something without a great depth of cabinet, size of speaker, or amount of power behind it.

On the other hand, the effects and the gain dial provide signficantly more scope than my old Pignose Hog, and it is about a quarter of the weight, thereby making the Thin Amp eminently transportable.

It seems reliable and has given me no reason in 3 months to doubt its quality of component parts or the manner in which it was put together. Time will tell.

No opinion

I have a Line 6 Spider 112, a Roland Cube 30, a Pignose Hog 20 and a little plastic Marshall. I really like the Thin Amp for what it is and I think the gig bag was a really great idea. There is nothing I hate about it, and even its 'toppy' sound is not a significant detractor (at least for me).

Yes, I would buy another it this one was stolen. I have compared it with the usual suspects. It is streets ahead of the original Pignose and beats the Hog on both versatility of sounds and portability. The only thing that came close was the Roland Microcube and it wasn't in the race for portability, although I did like its sound more than the Thin Amp.

It has tried to pack a lot of effects into one small box. It has only one chanel, where you can turn the gain off (clean) and up to 12. It has 4 types of ambient sounds, 4 types of chorus, 4 types of flanger and 4 types of vibrato, all of which have an adjustable dry/wet mix as well as spereate reverb and delay. It comes with a 3 eq band and is built with 2 4inch speakers. It also has the headphone port and you can plug in a CD player. It comes with a car plug to go into the cigerrette lighter, but to me, this is a gimmick. I'd never use it. I don't tend to drive to a place, and have the urge to stop to play some blues (or what ever style I choose).

If i'm practicing at home, I stick my POD through my computer so I only use the Thin Amp for teaching. And for that it is perfect. It is so easy to move around and use.

It's only 10 watts, and i didn't need to have the volume up more than 3 (out of 12). It does get very loud.

I've used a gibson sg (with EMGs, USA Dean Hardtail and a Hamer cali through the thinamp. I normally play with the Hughes and Kettner Duotone (valve amp). However, I won't be comparing the two!! It has a slight Z sound. Listen to the high gain amps from marshal or peavy and you can hear a Z sounding distortion. Personally, I hate it (this should give you an idea of what amp sounds I do and don't like). However, there is a lot of tweaking available within the Thinamp to get a nice sound. You could not model the amp on something else, but you can get a sound you would be happy with..

There is a little noise when it is just sitting there (with the power on!)

At the volume I was using it, there was no distortion on the clean, but I didn't have it up loud (only about quater up on volume)

For lead guitar sound, it actually sounds really nice. For heavy metal rhythm sections, not really that good unless you are playing thrash (early metallica, pantera). The sound reminds me VERY SLIGHTLY of the Boss distortion effects metal zone (when the gain is up), which I personally don't like. Overall for rhythm, it's good for crunch / blues / and classic rock sounds.

The effects are fairly naff. The reverb is average, the delay is quite good. The others are ok, but I would never use flanger or tremelo. I hardly ever use chorus. However, if you've never used effects before, or are not too fussed by them, this could be ok for you. Personaly, I don't like effects, but have had to use a little reverb and delay to give the guitar sound more guts for heavy music.

It seems reliable. Guess it depends on how you use it. If you drop it often, I don't think it will last well. It is made of plastic, but it feels strong. I dont' get the impression it's going to snap or crack of anything.

I wouldn't use this at a gig. It's a 10 watt amp. who would use it at a gig. I may use it at an open mic if I needed to use an effect, otherwise, i would just plug my electro-acoustic through the PA.

The plug is a bit cheap. I wouldn't be suprised if the lead on the power plug breaks first, but they are cheap to buy. Standard 12 v.

No idea.

I have done my best to compare the thinamp to other amps of the same price, instead of comparing it to the equipment I have, which would be unfair. As I said, I only use it for teaching and for transport. For that, it's perfect.

It works quite well for high powered lead guitar, but it's a little weak for rhythm guitar work, unless you like the standard 'thrash metal' sound, where it could be perfect. It reminds me of my Boss ME-30's version of the Metal Zone (when I had it). Personally, I love all metal other than thrash! Having said that, it's only a small amp. What do you expect for about #100?

If I was comparing it to anything (from combo to stack) it would get a flat 0, but it would be wrong to compare it. For what it is, and for the price, I'm really happy with it.

This is supposed to be a desktop practice amp. I couldn't stand the sounds for more than a few minutes. This amp was purchased at a newly opened music store owned by a friend of a friend. I paid $149 + tax. Ouch. Lots of knobs that logistically don't make a lot of sense. I guess for what it is, it does offer a decent amount of sounds, albeit lousy ones.

Any humbucking pickup sends this amp into o.d. right away, even with the gain at low settings. it actually says something in the manual about this- something to the effect of the amp is designed for Strat type guitars and humbucker equipped guitars will require EQ adjustment. Forget about bass with a HB- too flappy, and 4 in. speakers do not flap well. Single coils sound thin, brittle, and buzzy. The effects are not too bad, but put on top of the basic sound of the amp, they do not fare well. The amp is tinny sounding at best and it vibrates like crazy. I know I should not have expected too much from a digital amp made in China, but my Pandora PX3 is a Dumble compared to this amp.

The tilt back legs are a nice feature but the weirdly shaped knobs are so small and hard to turn that when you press against them to get a grip, the amp moves. The speakers do not inspire confidence either. I have a feeling that if this amp was used at any reasonable volume for any length of time, these speakers would sound like Hound Dog Taylor's amp on helium.

N/A

I play professionally at least 3 times a month. I thought this amp would be cool to have sitting on my desk in my rehearsal area in the basement. I was way wrong. If this amp were lost or stolen I would be thankful. Good idea, lousy execution. I am giving this amp to a buddy's 10 year old son who just started playing. By the time he learns 3 chords, he'll know it's crap.

New portable amp, about the size of a laptop computer. Has Flanger, Tremolo, Chorus, and Ambience sounds to choose from, as well as separate Reverb, and Digital Delay controls. A lot of stuff for a small portable amp.

I love portable amps and had seen this at a trade show. I found one on eBay for a BIN (Buy-it-Now) of $100 including shipping, so I bought it. What the Hell. I keep a musical "slush fund" for interesting things like this that I find on eBay.

Oddly enough, this amp arrived the same day as a Roland Micro Amp that, also, I got on ebay for around the same price. I first started playing through the AXL Thin Amp. My wife asked me to turn it down. The sound was kinda cheap, tinny and toy-like.

When I started playing through the Micro Cube, my wife came back in the room and said (no lie), "Honey, that sounds good. Is that new?" At that point I knew which one to keep.

I really wanted to like the Thin Amp. It had a cool look, lots of different effects and controls and was portable, even arriving in a nice padded laptop soft case (standard). But there were 2 things about it that bugged me: 1)they claim it's portable, but they didn't (at the time of my purchase) make a portable rechargeable battery for traveling, and you cannot even use regular batteries - you have to use the supplied AC adaptor. 2) The sound sucked. The 4" speakers, for whatever reason, just don't sound that good.

The controls are hard to dial in correctly. They're kinda "goofy" to me. And the effects didn't sound all that great to me. They were cheap and weenie sounding.

I'm sure that the effects probably sound OK going thru an amp or into a recording console, but I never made it that far. It was listed on eBay the next day. I ended up not just keeping the Micro Cube, but bought 2 more. Yeah, I'm kinda impulsive and weird, but when I find something I like, I stock up. The Micro Cube blew this AXL away that bad.

Only kept it 24 hrs. Don't know.

I'm sure they're nice people, but never had to deal with them.

I play professionally in a band called the Hellecasters. I also write a column in Guitar Player Magazine on eBay auction finds.

I collect small, portable amps. I just love 'em. But...they have to sound good for me to keep 'em.

I'd give it an overall 2 out of 10. Sorry, but it didn't sound as good as half my other, cheaper battery powered amps. Bottom line: buy a Micro Cube.