Hughes & Kettner Statesman 40 watt

for features see below
it gives me enough features for 50s to 90s pop&rock cover music, that i play.
i work with fx pedals and an echopet 50 in the fx loop.
the reverb balance is an simple but really useable feature as is the switchable fx loop and reverb function.

to sum it up: vintage tone with modern h&k flair, california meets british and more in between.
first i had to invest some time to set the eq for both channels,
but I dont think the amp is too bright. if i set the clean channel for my taste the crunch channel was too bright. when i reduced the highs, the clean channel was too dark. BUT dont forget, that there is the TWANG button! To solve the brightness problem, i engaged the twang mode for the clean channel and lowered the highs down between 9 and 10 o??clock. and here we are: a well balanced clean and crunch channel.
the sounds of the modes are compareable with the classics: clean is mix of vox ac and fender tweed, with twang engaged is more blackface, crunch is plexi and in boost mode it is compareable with a marshall with master volume.
the more you crank it the better it sounds. the clean channel will break up at 11 o??clock in a nice smooth way, that reminds me of my cranked modded tweed deluxe. the crunch channel moves some serious air, great bottom end.
the reverb is very musical from subtle to deep.

no issues after one year...

very kind guys

i traded my h&k trilogy for this combo, coz 100w are too big
and heavy. the clean and crunch channel are more musical than on the trilogy. the trilogy is a tad too bright for my taste and is more suited for humbuckers. i also have a switchblade 50 combo, wich is also a great amp and a complement for the statesman.
if you only play at home, then forget it. it is very loud, mostly i play it between 2 and 3 on the volume dial. it rocks!

The features on this amp are quite good. I like minimal as long as it does the job. This is a 2 channel amp with a shared EQ but the two channels work well together. The first channel has a "twang" function and the second channel has a boost function. The ability to use 2 footswtiches to control channel switching and boost or FX loop and reverb is an excellent feature (one footswitch is included). Also the ability to control the ratio of the reverb between the 2 channels is another great idea.
Having the boost almost gives you a three channel amp. It mainly provides more saturation, and although you can't control the amount of boost, it sounds good at all volume levels.
Also in the looks department, this amp is a 10.

This is a hard one to rate. The distortion and overall chime on this amp are really good, but there are other problems that ruin the fun.
You can go from in the ball park of Fender spank to pushed Vox to Marshall Plexi. Sonically, this amp has all the tones I was looking for or could hope for in one amp, BUT the horrible EQ, the un-tamable brightness, and the crappy reverb ruin it. It could be my unit had a problem with the reverb. I had to max it out to hear it and then it was too bright and had too much dwell. This amp is already incredibly bright and dialing back the treble does not help. The bass control is equally ineffective and the mids control too much of the frequency range.
The distortion has a very fast attack, but also a quick release. This makes digging in a little too easy even on low gain and ruins the dynamics, however the fast release means the amp still manages to sound open. So while the quality of the distortion is excellent, it is a bit too compressed for my taste. If they fixed the EQ, tamed the brightness (maybe with a power amp cut like an AC30), and improved the reverb, this amp would be absolutely killer. As for the compression, I guess I could live with it if the others were working right.

I bought this unit new but it may have had an issue with the reverb, both otherwise construction looked good. Unfortunately, I had to sent this one back for a refund.

I emailed support before I bought the amp top ask about the effects loop. The answered the next day.
BTW, the loop (even though it is a series loop) is buffered and the impedances are very friendly for rack gear (low out / high in)

Pros - gorgeous aesthetic, excellent clean and overdriven / distorted tones, shared EQ not a downside, well built
Cons - it could be said it is a bit too bright and compressed on both channels, EQ is not very effective, horrible reverb

Bottom line, this is a decent chunk of change to spend on an amp. The failings it seems to have may be excusable in a cheap amp, but not one that's supposed to be of this caliber and price point. I suggest you look elsewhere. If you really want this type of amp, you can get a Hughes and Kettner 20th anniversary tube for 1/3 the price. Its 20 watts and doesn't have twang and boost, but buying this amp for over a grand is not worth the wattage and 2 features.
Its really a shame, I wanted this amp to be it and I really like Hughes and Kettner. I ended up with an Egnater Rebel and I absolutely love it! Tones are better and I saved several hundred dollars.

Made in 2007. German combo with four EL84's (quad), 1x12 speaker, two channels with shared eq, twang button on the clean channel, boost-button on the drivechannel. Footswitch for channelswitching and boost on/off. Second footswitch for reverb on/of and fx-loop on/off. speakers out, reverbmix per channel is adjustable (say more on the clean and less on the drivechannel). Easy to carry, so perfect for rehearseling or smaller gigs. Yet, still a lot of tubepower.

Hughes & Kettner did everything right with the Statesman. First of all: this amp has TONE! Second: it doesn't color the sound of your guitar. Telecaster sounds like Tele, Les Paul stays Les Paul. Third: I thought the shared EQ might be a problem, but for me it's not. Very nice finetuned by H&K. Fourth: all classics sounds you're looking for are here. Fender Tweed clean, Blackface open clean, Vox AC30, hotrodded Plexi (with the boost engaged). Reacts perfect to the guitarvolumeknob. Five: this means this is the ideal combo for a coverband. It's loud enough! Sixth: it handles pedals very well. Seven: it's well built. Eight: the in built speaker (can't see what is is, because it is a closed back-combo) does a perfect job, but sometimes i hook up a 2x12 Koch-cab. Nine: Nice classic look with brown tolex and cream knobs. Ten: sensational tubecombo under 1000 euro? Yes, it exists. Absolute bargain with fabulous tone. Has became the choice of a lot of proplayers, for rehearsels or smaller gigs.

No problem yet. Built very well.

No experience yet.

Been playing for 25 years. Also own a Orange Rockerverb 50 Head, which sounds fantastic, but has proven to be less reliable. The Statesman Quad 40watt fulfills all the demands of players, who want (classic) tone for an affordable price. Sounds lovely with my Fender Am. Series Telecaster with John Suhr-pickups, my Yamaha 311ms Tele with Tonezone-T and Dimarzio Paf and my Yamaha 503 SA Troy van Leeuwen Signature which has three p90's. Puts al lot of competitors in this pricerange to shame. Killertone, killerprice!