Johnson JA-4F Barn Burner

??? 2.5 Watts RMS
??? 4??? Speaker (Sound very good)
??? Auto Tuner (Chromatic with Note and Sharp/Flat/OK Leds)
??? Drive Control w/ Clean, Tube, Overdrive & Gain Settings
??? 1/4??? Input
??? 1/8" Headphone Jack (On Back)
??? AC Adaptor (Not Incl) but any std. 9V 600mA center neg. will work)
??? 9V Battery Compartment For Added Portability (on Bottom)
??? Classic, Compact Design with Wood Style 50's Look
??? 6-1/16??? x 5-1/8??? x 3-1/16??? at 1.8 lbs

Also known as the Barn Burner. Housing is polished varnished wood with vintage styling and woven grill cloth.
Finishing is good, but not great however it should hold up for a small practice amp. Certainly retro and a good conversation piece. It does not have reverb as stated on their website! The speaker is not very loud - duh its only 2.5 watts, but it does drive my 60-ohm headphones well.

This little amp has a four position DRIVE knob that offers a very respectable punchy clean setting, acceptable TUBE setting which does have a subtle slightly driven tube amp sound with not much compression, hard OVERDRIVE setting with acceptable distortion level and not too harsh. Tha GAIN setting will please the heavy metal fans who love pinch harmonics. All in all this is the best sounding mini amp I've tried. It blows away the Pignose, MicroCube, and most other mini amps I've ever owned or tried out. Even listening through headphones is quite pleasant and not sterile or strident.

I can say that the construction of the amp is very good and it should hold up for bedroom practice sessions. I wouldn't throw it around though. The case gives it some heft and it sits nicely on flat surfaces without falling over with guitar or headphone cord tension. I opened it up and checked out the circuit board and it is a surface mount component design put together very well. The pots are good and have a positive friction feel, not like the cheap kinds on other mini amps. I suspect it will take a beating. The 9V battery lasts about 5 hours continuous full volume playing.

I've never owned a Johnson brand, but they have a very good website and the dealer I bought it from had a good working knowledge of this product. The warranty is a 5 year limited warranty which is unusual for amps in this price range.

I've been play for 35 years and am a true gear whore with 26 guitars, 11 tube amps, and countless pedals. I've put this little guy through the paces. I've plugged in my Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and Fender American Series Strat with Kinman pickups and it really does sound very good with both. I can't say it is awesome or sounds exactly like my CeriaTone JTM-45, Vox AC30, or Fender Deluxe Reverb, but it does beg playing for hours. Use your standard compliment of pedals for compression, reverb, chorus, delay, etc. and it will make for very satisfying playing sessions. I would buy again if lost or stolen.