B-52 Pro Audio LG100A Head

I play old metal, Old Metallica style, and the sound is good for that, but I also like my share of Industrial, and the Effects loop is a nice feature! The amp has a little hissing on gain, as any other, but it seems to be quite clean if you run your effects through the back. I like the fact I got the foot pedal free with it and I love the 2 seperate gain chanel feature.

I play a Jackson reversed-neck Dinky with EMGs. When I went to buy a new amp, at first, I tried a Marshall MG100 Half stack, but (Luckily) Guitar center had no more in stock, So I tried this, and it blew me away. It's very close to a tube amp sound, and the distortion sounds better than what I've heard in any Marshall or Peavy. It doesn't sound too harsh in any chanel, but the clean is quite a bit louder than the Distorion chanels, so it takes some major EQ.

Until it was stolen from me, I never had a problem, I only had it for about 1 year, but I giged with it and it seemed to stand up to the abuse of ongoing transportation.

I've been playing for about 9 years and I've played and owned all kinds of Marshall, Peavey, and Fender amps, and this was by far my favorite amp for recording and for live sound. Plus, it looks more sleek than most Boxy Marshalls or Line 6s. Lots of power! It sounds louder than just 100 watts, and may have very well been. It's not too complex and doesn't rely on any computerized effects. No digital effects banks! Which is good for setting up sound for a live gig in a rush. Mine was stolen yesterday and I'm going back to buy on this week!

Check the homepage for the full details. Quick version, it's a 100 watt, solid state had with two channels and two different flavors of gain on the lead channel. Effects loop, reverb, yadda yadda.

I play old Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, etc. Heavy stuff, not today's wanna be heavy crap. I use a Jackson Rhoads V with EMG's (81 in bridge, 60 in neck), and I have a variety of cabs (4x12, 2x12, 2x15) for different situations. The clean channel is usable, but I wouldn't go much further than that. It's louder than sh1t, but doesn't compare to a nice fender clean. The lead channel is very good for a solid state amp. I am a "tube snob" who just bought the amp because I needed something to use at lower volume at home and the price was too good to pass up. While the lead channel doesn't touch my 5150, it definately is a huge step up over most of the solid state amps I have heard before. It doesn't have that thin, tinny quality that most solid state amps have. I personally wouldn't mistake it's tone for that of a tube amp, but it gets closer than any other solid state amp I have played. Plenty of gain, the first being very smooth, the second having more bite. Also has lots of chunk for a solid state amp. The bass knob on the lead channel boosts the signal at 50 Hz, way lower than most, which gives it more balls than your typical solid state amp. The distortion isn't "rip your face off" brutal, but it can still do some pretty good heavy tones with Gain 2. Gain 1 is strictly for blues or classic rock.

Haven't had it long enough to say, but it seems to be put together pretty well.

These guys rule. Like I said, I'm a tube snob, and I only bought their solid state amp because it was too good of a deal to pass up. Having liked it, I started to look into the tube version of the Stealth head. They emailed me the manual, schematics, etc, and within an hour or so of having made the request. Also very friendly, as in they thanked me for thanking them for being so helpful.

If you want a no-frills head for a fair price look into these. There are better amps, but for the money ($300 new at guitar center, under $200 used on Ebay) they are a heck of a deal. Like any amp head, if you don't have a good cab you are wasting your time, so if it doesn't sound great through your dad's old PA speaker, don't complain, get real gear.

Covered pretty much by all the other reviews. I am an engineering gear nut more than anything else and this unit shows that a good deal of thought has gone into the design. Solidly built and yu will get a hernia picking it up if you are not careful. Love tha fact that it comes complete - I bought a Line 6 and brought it back to get the B-52 and the Line 6 didn't have a basic foot pedal for the price. :-(

I have a wide range of guitars - Peavey FAT Strat, Epiphone DOT, Alvarez Acoustic with pickup. I play mostly for my own enjoyment and I play pop, blues and some folksy stuff. Some traditional rock, but I am not into heavy metal or big distortion. I like the way it sounds clean and with the different channels. I am not an accomplished gigger but I do have two good ears. Just a bit of white noise shows up with the contoured channel engaged so that channel is not completely quiet.

I have the combo and both are as I said above built solid. I have a Yamaha G-212 combo which is still going strong after 30 ? years and I put this rig in the same category. It will probably outlive me :-)

Great support. Called in and got return calls from the guy who designed it who is a musician and was obvious he enjoyed talking about both the product and music in general. I had a question on effects and he even referred me to a friend who is a big time road tech for additional help if I needed it.

Would definitely buy more B-52 products. If it were stolen I would replace - might consider their tube product if I were to replace but would definitely be another B-52 Product. I bought the combo with the 412 cab so the price includes both. I think the head is about $300 street.

I do not know exactly which year the amp I tried was made but it was at the store. It is versatile enough for me -perhaps too versatile as the reverb effects the tone a little to much (brittles it out). Nice reverb, but I don't like what it does to the tone. Oh yeah -this amp has good power. It has the smoothest sounding distortion I have ever heard on a solid state. It doesn't turn all harsh, glassy and brittle when you turn it up.

Ive tried this out many times, but every guitar I have used has had humbuckers. I like classic metal -I am not into NU Metal whatsoever so don't think that this amp is only good for that -though it is. I have o admit I do tune down just a little now and then and this amp sound really awesome when strings are dropped. I compared it to another amp I really liked side by side -the MArshall Valvestate VS100R. AT first I liked the valvestate hands down, but when I turned it up another notch I realized this thing came alive while the valvestate's sound started to fall apart. The mids and highs were much harsher on the valvestate yet no as responsive as they are on the B-52. The Valvestates bottom end was more prominent but not as present as the B-52s. I could easily tell that the B-52 would cut through a mix much better and easier than the Valvestate that tends to hide behind the band because the B-52 mids and highs (as I said before) are more solid. I want to own one so then I can really try it out and hear how it sounds on 4 or more -I can tell there is a whole new world to be opened up. I already have the cab so I'm all set. The Valvestate didnt totally lose though. I prefered the cleans on the VS100R -they were warmer and the reverb didn't effect the tone so much. I would alo use the VS100R for leads -because again the reverb doesnt split up the tone. I also think that the VS100R is more versatile, I can imagine more styles of music such as blues being played on it. The B-52 wins for raw metal madness and that is important to me. So I s'pose I'll use the B-52 and my AVT50 which gets doesnt even compare to the B-52 for rhythym. I don't want to bring such a revolutionary piece of affordable equipment down so I'll give it a 10 in this category -the rhythym is just that damn good -i you try it out at the store -dont be shy- turn it up some and compare it to other amps -you'll find this one to have much richer and solid tone.

It looks tough eneough -but I don't know so I wont rate it here.

I've been playing for about six years now. If I owned it and it were stolen I'd replace it. I love the smoothness and strength of the overdrive which allows it to be played at just about any volume. My girlfriend thinks it looks prettier than the AVT50 head... but I don't know. It packs a hell of alot more balls. The number one thing I'd like to see changed about it is the reverb. Not the reverb itself (that sounds great) but the way the reverb alters the tone. It makes your settings sound completely different than how you set them. I do plan on getting one... hopefully soon. Definitely a fantastic value.

This is a solid state 100w head, and I won't bother listing all the features, because about ten other people already have...

There is a nice sound to this amp, more so the clean channels then the distortion. Although a s/state, it has a warmth to the clean, where the distortion is not my taste, but does have possibilty for a good hard rock tone. My only gripe with this head would be how early the quality breaks up. I run this head through two B-52 4x12 cabs, and although this is loud as holy hell, when you set the master at about 60%, you can notice a dramatic break up in the sound.

I have been gigging with this head, and the two cabnets for over a year and a half, hauling everything in the back of my truck almost every weekend, and it holds up incredibly well.

I have dealt with the b-52's customer support on two occassions. The first was due to a technical question I had regarding the equipment, which was answered within 5 minutes of dailing the number, and they were very knowlegable and helpfull. The second time was for a warranty issue for the casters on the bottom half of the stack, and they sent me out replacements free of charge, and with no hassle. I wish all customer service ran like this company's. No joke.

For the price I paid, the quality is incredible. Including some minor issues here and there with the sound quality at high levels, but nothing is perfect, and this amp is no exception. The positives do out weigh the negitives by far, and I have reccommended B-52's products, and this head in particular to anyone in the market for a quality half or full stack. (*just a note, I have the B-52 100w stereo stealth tube head on order...and plan on keeping the LG100A as a backup)

- no
- 95% yes could use a little more gain for what i play, but nothing a pedal can't fix
- it has three channels (clean,gain 1, and gain 2), yes to channel switching, yes to effects loop, and yes to the phones jack
- gain is all i like in an amp, i like the straight sound. if i want another sound i would rather use pedals anyway
-right now i use it at home jamming, but will soon be gigging with it, and yes definetly has enough power. but nothing can have too much power

- i am using a 1960 les paul classic reissue with emg 81 85 pickups
- it suites it very well. my style is more metal, blues background
- not too much noise, but in the house right next to it it has more
- a nice clean sound and heavy as hell. only those two nothing else
- nope not mine
- out of a scale of 1-10 the brutality is an 8

- i have only had the thing for a week but so far so good (knock on wood)
- same as above

- same as above only have had it for a week
- but the warranty is four years on electrical and lifetime on the box

- i've been playing for seven years, and have too much gear to even start to list
- i would definetly buy it again, i can't beat the sound for the price
- not much to love it's just a usual amp, but only thing i hate is that it isn't a known brand
-yes, line 6, marshall, and mesa/boogie, i picked this one because it sounds like a marshall which is the one i wanted and is over a thousand dollars less
- it only need more gain
- for the price you can't beat it and it kicks major ass

Features have been mentioned. Good for many rock styles and tastes. If you're a big effects person, the only "effect" it has is reverb, but it's a rather nice reverb. Good for adding a little flavor to your solos or clean channel. Distortions are the best I've ever heard on a solid state; best when paired with B-52 cab (B-52 cab is actually the source of power since the speakers are especially bass-worthy and bring out the best in the distortion). Beyond that, it's a good overall amp. If you're looking for some kind of Line 6 cyber thingy or even a Crate amp with some digital effects, this isn't your slice of cake. And if you're a tube fanatic, you may be very surprised at how good this sounds for a solid state, but nonetheless, is still a solid state.

I use it with dimarzio pickups, (Air Norton in neck, Steve's Special in bridge), settings are very good either loud or turned down. Solid state allows it to retain good clarity at a lower volume, while still having the ability to be really powerful at high volumes. I like it the most for the way it attentuates bass tone (especially with the B-52 cab), because that's what I focus on most with my distortions. It allows me to get the best amount of bass bottom and still have clarity. I am not a nu-metal player, the lowest tuning I ever play is dropped-d flat, so these insane bass subwoofer amps don't do it for me. I still need screaming solos and good grunge and chop in my chords and palm mutes. The bass tone though keeps my distortion and mutes sounding meaty and have good impact while still maintaining a normal rock tone and sound. I play prog rock, metal, and Hard rock and this amp pleases me.

had it pushed off the cab and dropped onto the floor a couple times during a gig, worked fine even months after; although I didn't have it for much longer than 6 months so I'm not sure of its extended reliability

never dealt with

I've been playing for about 6-7 years and gigging about 4 of those years, and if you're short on cash (like I have in the past) this is the best bang for your buck... and I do mean bang. It rocks for a solid state and for it's price, there is no competition. If you have the bucks for something better, obviously you could get something better, so don't be knocking this half stack just cause it ain't your Marshall's baby, because there is no denying how good of a deal this is. Finally, a GOOD, SOLID-STATE half stack for players who want to take their music seriously, but haven't the cashflow to get a big-deal brand name. I personally have sold this head, but am about to get the B-52 ST-100A which is the screaming tube version of this head (not sure if that's what ST really stands for, I made that up). B-52 gets a good grade in my book for being good with quality and not just sticking a brand name on the tolex and pumping up the price.

We all know this a 2 1/2 channel amp. The reason I say 2 1/2 is because the "third channel" doesnt have an eq. Thats fine with me though because I only use the thrid channel for distortion. Its the best solid state amp I have ever listened to. 100-120 watts (I am not quite sure which it is but who cares). I love the volume controls for the effects loop and the line out.

I am using a Jazzbox with humbuckers on it. Its a good guitar and it sounds great with everything. I mostly play MELODIC hardcore/metalcore. Thing rocks my socks. I use gain 2 because it gives me tighter low end and the highs cut through a lot better, think As I Lay Dying-94 hours.

I have had this amp for less than a year and I am already saving for a new amp. But thats how it goes you know? It will deffinatly be my back up head if I need one. And the cab will always be part of my rig, I love B-52 cabs.

Just bought one and love it. Paid $600 for the combo at Guitar Center. I tried the Marshall MG100HDFX and the B-52 blows it away. The Marshall sounded great for palm mutes but it lost a lot of tone and punch when chords were played. The B-52 DOES NOT lose any tone or punch. I play mostly thrash and death metal and some hardcore/punk like Pennywise style. The 2 distortion channels are good but have a lot of bass to them...So, I use a DOD Death Metal distortion pedal running on the clean channel of the head and I get more treble and the sound I want. The distortion channels have slight feedback at higher volumes, but when using my effects pedal, no feedback occurs. I like my guitar playing to be very loud so I can feel the sound and ground shaking. I've had it up to 5 on the master volume and I could only take it for a few minutes...THIS THING IS STUPID LOUD!!! I practice with it on around 3 on the master knob. Sounds good loud too. I got it with the slant cabinet since I wanted more sound directed up at me since the cab is on the floor. My advice is to try the Marshall and the B-52, I'm sure you'll agree that the B-52 sounds better.

2 distortion, 1 clean, reverb, head phone, effects loop. Beauty in simplicity.

I use a 2003 Peavey Predator Plus TR7 (don't confuse it with the cheap-ass Predators) 7-string with dual humbuckers. Nice, Crunchy channel 1 distortion. With the right settings I can play all the old school Korn I want. Channel 2 distortion good for cutting, lead riffs. Clean channel with reverb kicks ass for undistorted metal riffs (clean solo in "One", clean interlude in "Did My Time"). LOUD!

Dunno. Just bought it, but I've been playing on a B52 that my son's guitarist owns. He's had it for a year or so with no problems.

Dunno.

I've only been seriously learning for a few months, but on and off for 15 years. I've had smaller Crate amps, I bought the Crate GLX212, Vox AD120VT only to return them. They had nice effects and sounded great...at low volumes. GC, I am sure, is tired of me returning the "CRAP" that I've bought from them. I played every solid state amp in the store (including Marshalls) and they all sounded like crap. What sold me on this is the sound clarity at extremely loud volumes. I can now jam without worrying about the drummer not being able to hear me on the Vox (turned up all the way on UK Modern, full gain, full volume, full master volume). The Vox had a HUGE amount of negative feedback, which disappeared when I plugged into the B52. As for effects, well, after returning the Vox and getting the B52 half stack, I now have store credit to get a decent effects processor. I guarantee I won't return this one!