Lab Series L11

i bought an L11 over 20 years ago,have loved it since day one.the "NIOSEY" fan crapped out, got replaced, and has been trouble free ever since.i agree with some folks about the dist.the distortion lacks the pure evil that lurks deep down inside this amp.i play an old SG,and enjoy the early black sabbath,zz top sound. what really worked for me,(reguarding dist), was a single pedal. i bought a RAT dist pedal and my sound problem was fixed. it has sooo much bottom end and sustain.heres some trivia-a LAB L11 half stack was featured in a cheech and chong movie,nice dreams. tommy plugs into it.i dig the deep crunchin "iomi"heavy rhythem stuff.i play in a three piece, and i split my cabinets .one on each side of the drummer. it fills out the sound quality really good.makes the band sound "FULL" the rat pedal kicks ass, all in all,my favorite amp.i saw "gamma" in kc, and saw one on stage. that says something for the lab L11.if ronnie montrose and sammy hagar played one, thats good enough for me.they will have to pry mine from my cold dead fingers. thank you guyz, rok-on

fan noise but excellent overall sound quality. lacking in metal type dist, but when pedal asstisted, awsome powerfull badass

fan crapped out

didnt have one

i bought an L11 over 20 years ago,have loved it since day one.the "NIOSEY" fan crapped out, got replaced, and has been trouble free ever since.i agree with some folks about the dist.the distortion lacks the pure evil that lurks deep down inside this amp.i play an old SG,and enjoy the early black sabbath,zz top sound. what really worked for me,(reguarding dist), was a single pedal. i bought a RAT dist pedal and my sound problem was fixed. it has sooo much bottom end and sustain.heres some trivia-a LAB L11 half stack was featured in a cheech and chong movie,nice dreams. tommy plugs into it.i dig the deep crunchin "iomi"heavy rhythem stuff.i play in a three piece, and i split my cabinets .one on each side of the drummer. it fills out the sound quality really good.makes the band sound "FULL" the rat pedal kicks ass, all in all,my favorite amp.i saw "gamma" in kc, and saw one on stage. that says something for the lab L11.if ronnie montrose and sammy hagar played one, thats good enough for me.they will have to pry mine from my cold dead fingers. thank you guyz, rok-on

fan noise but excellent overall sound quality. lacking in metal type dist, but when pedal asstisted, awsome powerfull badass

fan crapped out

didnt have one

I've got a 1979 Lab L11 with the original 2 4-speaker cabinets.
I've bought it in a second hand equipment shop 1990.
The great thing about it is that it sounds good however loud you play it.

I use the first -clean- channel when I play with pedals. The second channel, wich has more options for sound control (bass, middle with frequency selector, and treble).
No channel switch. It's plug and play.

I wish it was less heavy.

I mostly use it with a stack of boss pedals in front of it. Even with turbo overdrive and heavy metal overdive turned on, you can still hear there's a guitar in front of it.

It suits my style because I love to play loud, and it's quite good in playing loud.

The amp isn't noisy, but the fan is.

I would describe the sound as warm, massive. The compressor is excellent.

The clean channel never disturbs, even on 10.

The distortion isn't brutal at all.

It's almost 30 years old, and hasn't failed once. But one of the cabinet wheels broke off recently.

It's 30 years old.

I'm playing it for more than 15 years.
My Guitar is an epiphone hollow body.
I'm using Boss Turbo overdrive and Heavy metal overdrive.

I hope noone steals it.

I love the looks, I love the sound.
I hate the weight and the fan.

I've allways used compact solid state amps. It's beyond comparison.

The Lab has two channels, each with hi/lo [sensitivity] inputs; three band EQ and bright switch.In addition the main channel also has a parametric mid, multifilter and reverb control. Frankly I don't get much out of the multifilter. But for those who say the distortion sucks...you are wrong. This head is clean powerful and has versatile EQ. To me having this amp is like having a super reverb and a marshall 100w head.....almost.

I use an old SG with a p-90 rhythmn and a PAF lead pickup. I play 60s and 70s rock. I play thru 2 65watt Celestions in a homemade cab. This thing will fill any room with a clean rich sound for slower somgs. For danceable rock...just give it a little volume and it starts to break up pleasantly. For the Marshall[ish] sound: give the channel volume 1/2 to 2/3, max out the mid, adjust the parametric to anywhere from 800 to around 2400, keep the bass and treble at 5,6 or 7; ease up the master volume and let it rip. I get excellent results with my guitar...I don't know about you single coil players. I owned a vintage super reverb once and loved the clean sound. The Lab approaches that on the clean end and also provides a fine distorted sound. You can get all the crunch you could want this side of a metal band. The adjustable mid will not only change tone but also enhance the feedback frequencies which abound with my setup. I have never used a pedal with this amp.

I have never had a moments trouble. It does what it does cosistently and beautifully.

I've played for forty years. If I were to lose this amp I would probably try to find another one. I know that musicians have their own individual tastes. But for the guitar I use and the sounds I need
60s and 70s rock...Roy Orbison thru ZZ Top...I can't imagine finding anything better suited for that range of sounds in one box than my Lab. I love it.

Very good sounding solid state made about 20+ years ago. 2 channels, both clean. 1 has a multifilter and reverb, the other doesnt. What does impress me about this amp are that it's 200 watts, the tube-like sound and the compressor. As I have found, if you turn the volume on channel 2 all the way up and just bring up the master you get that King's X distortion that Ty Tabor loved for their first 4 albums. Dont say it doesnt do distortion, because it does it well. It also has an effects loop that I'll never need.

I picked it up on ebay dead, so I first had to bring it back to life to see what it would do. It has a fantastic clean sound and a King's X distortion and that cool compressor. I play both a Yamaha Pacifica and a Samick LA30 (335 style), and it makes them both sound good. But my main amp is my Marshall, because it's tube and a combo. However, the reverb on this thing is sweet. Too bad they're so old...
Oh yeah. Thank you Bob Moog for creating this wonderful amp!!!

I'd bet my life on it. As I said before, I play thru a Marshall combo, and this is just a head. It was too easy to service, but I had the service manual. As long as the fan works, you'd never need a backup, unless you were worried about the age factor.

Norlin Labs, which at the time owned Moog Music (yes, the Synth people and Bob Moog) and was owned by Gibson when they were still Michigan. Good luck on finding parts if something major ever happens to it. Rame at Gibson could probably scare up some parts. Get yourself the service manual from schematicconnection.com and know a good tech, like me.

I've had an L5 (the 2x12 100 watt combo) which I loved. This reminds me of it. It's 200 watts, more than anyone'll ever need. It has a compressor. It has reverb and a multifilter which adds to the overall tonal palette. I just wish it had more gain like my Marshall. I just got it dead knowing I could fix it. I mean, what the hell am I going to do with a 200 watt head without a cabinet? But I would buy another one in a heartbeat.

Amp was made in about '79 or 80. I bought it in 1982 from the Sound Chamber (long gone) in Sacramento. 2 Channels, not switchable. Great sound, gigged hundreds of times without a back up, in clubs, parties. Plenty of power, 200 watts, used with lab series 4-12 cab, sometimes 2 (had a full stack.) Solid state, made to sound like a tube. I don't know if it did, i did not own a tube amp prior to this, I was only 19. I just wanted something loud, cool and taller than me.

Great clean sound, great rythm sound. Decent distorion, decent lead. Just a good unique sound, all rage when it first came out because it sounded so different from a Fender or Marshall. Fan a bit noisy. I used it with a band mostly so not an issue most of the time. Fairly versitle, nice sounds, loud and bitting.

Gigged for years, with no back up. This amp had the crap beat out of it before I even bought it. It was used on tour by the band Gamma and Ronnie Montrose. The Cabs have Gamma spray painted on the back. Then I beat the crap out it for another 10 years. I bet if I pulled it out of mothballs in my garage it would still fire up and play fine. This is one tough S.O.B.

Never called them, I was too busy drinking beer and chasing skirts. Damn, those were good times!

At the time, I had only played for about 4-5 years. i also owned an Lab L5, a couple Peaveys, and a Sunn. Now it's over 25 years. I might buy a smaller Lab on Ebay someday for old time sake, we'll see. I actually want a tube combo like a Reverend or Naylor.

Ahhh My L11. This review could just as easily be for my L5, or L7 as they all use the same preamp, the difference being that the L11 puts out 200 watts and has a cooling fan
(more on the fan later) while the others have no fan and put out 100 watts. A quick note about the power of these amps. My tech had my L7 on the scope to check out a compressor problem. He was a little hesitent about cranking this old amp to a full 100 watts to check it out.I said go for it. To his surprise there has no harmonic distortion at this level at all. If your interested in Lab amps your probably already familiar with the features on this amp. If not every other review on this page will tell you about them. I use these amps to play clean (TWANG). A good clean amp with personality is hard to come by. I can make my 100 watt marshall dsl 100 all tube amp play clean but for me its got zero on the twang factor. Its like pluging into a high powered HI FI amp. My lab amps have replaced my collection of vintage fender amps which I had always looked up to as the holy grail of clean (twang). My fenders ( 1965-1967 vibrolux reverb, super reverb, bassman, showman, twin reverb ) sounded great, but really needed to be cranked to get the tone and sustain I wanted. The problem was I hardly EVER played in a place where i could do this whether at home or at a gig. ENTER THE LAB AMPS

I play a mid 80s strat and tele through this amp. Single coils all the way. Im playing R&R, blues and R&B. For me this amp is like having a blackface vibrolux or super reverb on steriods. I get the tone and suatain I want at usable volumes because the amp has great tone to begin with (thank you Mr Moog) and it has this magic little knob on the right side of the amp that gives me all the suatain I could want. The COMPRESSOR is the magic THANG on this amp. I get the feeling its a hardly understood feature . When its really cranked (to the left) it really squashes the notes and gives you a ton of sustain. Its great for special effects or holding notes for a long long time. As you back it off (to the right) you start getting more punch and volume and it acts as a limiter, just keeping the loud shrill notes on your guitar from standing out. It really smooths things out. I dont have to pay so much attention to my guitar playing technique . Put the pedal to the floor and go. This feature alone makes me sound like a much better player than I am. Ive tried outboard compressors on my old fenders and it just wasnt the same. I lost tone (presense) and and I could never get them to sound natural . I admit I didnt try every compressor on the market, but when I stumbled over this lab amp it was the answer to my quest.I slowly started selling the fender collection and adding to my Lab collection. By the way the reverb is very nice. Its got the big accutronics spring tank, just like the old fenders.

Because of their reliability Im slowly selling off some of my Labs. At first I started picking one up whenever I could afford to so Id have one just in case it broke down, got stolen or I needed parts. These amps are pretty straight forward for a tech to work on, schematics are available (try schematics.com). There are no tubes to wear out and replace. Ive had the power transistors resoldered because the joints had gotten old, however the transistors themselves were fine. If you read the schematics you will learn that Moog disigned so many failsafes into the amp that they are just about bullit proof. Ive held off submitting a review of these amps for years because I didnt want the value and price of these amps to get jacked up. Im convinced now that they will hold up for as long as I want them.

The company no longer exists. If you ever read this review Mr. Moog--- THANKS for a great amp. You are a real tonester.

Sorry if Ive been a bit long winded. There are a few more things Id like to mention. In my own quest Im looking for fender Plus tone. Many other tones are available (not hi gain, without a pedal) with a tweek of the EQ or frequency sweep.Good speakers help , I have a 2, 3, and 4x12 cab and my fave speakers are eminence. Ive tried celestion vintage 30s which sound great in my marshall but have gone back to eminence in the labs (more fendery). If you own an L11 or planing to get one, here is a mod that will enhance its owning pleasure a thousand fold. CHANGE THE COOLING FAN. The stock one is really annoying (I cant believe how polite everyone has been regarding this). when your practicing by your self it sounds like there is a loud vaccume cleaner going in the room. A new fan can be ordered from DIGI-KEY
1-800-344-4539. part no. CR119-ND . Its a whisper fan, much quieter. They run just under $30. plus shipping. Dont try to run an L11 without a fan.They can get real hot. These amps are a teriffic value

This amp has many fine features, including a built in compressor that's very subtle and doesn't squash your notes. The reverb is nice, but not Fender-like. There is a parametric EQ which helps with shaping your tone, although I've never been a fan of these kind of EQ's. There's a control labeled "Multifier", which doesn't seem to do anything - maybe mine doesn't work. Dunno. Other than the speaker jack, and on/off switch, I haven't paid any attention to what else is on the back, since I never use loops and such. I think that there is one though.

Well, I've looked all over the internet for info for these amps, and there doesn't seem to be much. I've found that people either love these amps, or hate them. The ones that hate them seem to have that "There's no tubes, so it sucks" attitude. The ones that like the amp seem to be divided into two categories: One that say's that the clean sound is great, but the distortion sucks. Or, the distortion is great, but the clean sound sucks. I tried mine out in the shop and was impressed by both the clean AND distorted tones. It was pretty beat up looking and they let me have it for all of $100! Last night I took it out to the gig (I play in a blues/roots band and need that mildly distorted tone that seems to only come from tubes). I plugged it into my 4x10 cab, turned the volume full up, and the master about 3/4 to full up, using the compressor for an overall volume control (the compressor, when dialing back, drops the volume). BEAUTIFUL tone! VERY tube-like! In fact I've played through LOTS of tube amps that sounded WAY worse. Great note definition, and not farty on the low end. It doesn't get very distorted, so it's not a hard rock, or metal amp at all. I've found out that country pickers love this amp, and I can see why. I played my 52RI Telecaster straight into it and got a great tone. The distortion cleans up real nicely when rolling the guitars volume back - just like a tube amp! I've got several tube amps, but I think I'll let them rest for awhile and use the Lab onstage.

As I said, mine looks really beat up, but works great (except for the multifier control, which I still haven't figured out). I think that the fact that it's taken such abuse and still seems to work fine speaks volumes for its reliability.

Norlin is long gone, so not much to say there.

I've been playing since the mid 60's and have played through many vintage tube amps. I currently own a Sovtek Mig-50 head, a Peavey Classic 50 head and 4x10 cab, a Peavey Classic 20, and an old Airline tube amp from the early 60's (I think). My co-guitarist in my band has a Fender Bassbreaker combo (it's a 59 Bassman circuit with two Celestion Vintage 30 12" speakers), a Mesa/Boogie Rocket 44, two Laney LC30's, an old Gibson 4x10 Ranger, a 62 Fender Tremolux, and a silverfaced Champ. So, we've got lots of fine tube amps to compare this to. We're both very impressed with the Lab, and he's currently on the lookout for one.

I played straight through it, except for the last set when I had to fill a request for Santana's "Europa". I plugged in my Morley JD10 and the amp took to it pretty well. I was able to get that infinite sustain on one note that Carlos is noted for with ease. I think this is a great all around amp overall. Maybe not 100% as good as a good tube amp, but REAL close. Close enough for me. I recorded last nights gig from the board onto a CD burner. You know how sometimes your ears will play tricks on you when trying out amps in different environments? So, I recorded the gig just for reference, and was still mightily impressed with what I heard back. This amps a keeper!

This amp is old, if you are looking for one good luck. This thing has a great EQ though and anybody looking for the perfect clean head it would be hard to find one that could this thing. However getting a good distortion out of this is hard as hell i still cant get it just the way i like it. Also this thing has more power than you can need playing guitar(200 watts). I would like to give this thing a 10 because it does sound so good clean, but it is near impossible to get a good distortion out of it.

I have an old 71' sg and a newer sg-I. The old one sounds great through this, really nice and warm. I play a mix of everything except country and they all sound good. The fan on the side however is a bit noisy. Again though getting a good distortion from this thing is hard. I have bought 4 different pedals just to try and find the right one. The Boss DS-1 does work alright though, just not much lower end.

I could definetally depend on this thing it is like a tank except it is made of wood, and a little bit lounder than one too. the only thing i have had to do is replace the power cord it just started to fall apart on me, but this thing is ancient so what do you expect.

Never had to deal with them, and if you do i am sure they aren't around anymore

I have only been playing a couple of years, but i found that if you buy good gear from the start you save yourself alot of money in the longrun. I have 2 Gibson SG's and about 15 effects pedals of all kinds and an acoustic guitar. If it were stolen i would probably be pissed and hunt the bastards down, that is just the way i am. I doubt i would ever be able to find another one.

This amp has many nice features which are usually only found on expensive gear. Massive EQ capabilities, frequency and filter knobs added, compression, dual channels (so you can play your acoustic and electric through the same amp - very nice), effects loop, 200 watts of power. If it had reverb on Channel 1 I would give it a 10.

This amp excels in the EQ and tone department. It not only has the standard Low, Mid, High knobs, but also added are Frequency and Filter knobs - so you can dial in just about any tone you are looking for. It also offers Compression. The clean sound is rich, warm, and punchy. I am playing it through a 4x12 Peavey Cabinet. I have been able to get a usable overdrive sound out of this head. First, turn the master volume down, then over drive the channel by turning the volume knob to 10, then (this is the important one) turn the frequency and filter knobs to color the distortion the way you like it. Granted, it will never sound like a Dual Rectifier, but it is good for Pearl Jam or Stone Temple Pilots type overdrive. The overdrive sound is just not practical to use if you plan on switching back and forth between clean and distorted; because this amp does not offer channel switching. I use this amp for its clean sound which is superb.
I use a Boss Distortion to get my heavy sounds. But it is the amp that gives my distortion pedal its huge sound. This head has great tone.

I have not gigged with this amp but if I do; I will not take a backup. This amp was ancient when I bought it and it is still in excellent condition. It was made very well.

I have been playing guitar for about 12 years. I have owned many amps, my current amp is an AX2 by Line 6. Sure the AX2 has some great distortions, but it lacks that WARM CLEAN TONE. I have read many reviews of AX2 users and they all have the same problem (myself included): how do you get the AX2 to sound good clean? When I played through the Lab Series L11, it was the clean tone that made me want this amp. It is easy to distort an amp, but the amp itself has to sound great clean. I don't know if I will even use my AX2 anymore, my L11 has twice the power (200 watts vs. the AX2 100 watts)and a wonderful tone. I wish it had reverb on both channels and the effects loop seams a little noisy, but that was probably my rack gears fault. If this amp was stolen I would be upset, I know I would never be able to find another one for the price I paid ($112.50). I love this amp.

Lab Series L-11 head. This thing has a gang of features for an older amp. 2 channels, frequency sweep, multifilter, reverb (spring), compressor, and 200 watts. I'm rating this category at an 8, because with the advent of amp modeling technology, digital amps have more to offer in the feature department. Otherwise, as a first amp, I'd give it a 10.

Sound. Distortion-wise, forget it. This is *NOT* the amp for you. I tried to get this amp to sound nasty, but never succeeded.
But if you want crisp and clean, its brisk and mean. Tones are clear enough to make the saltiest bluesmen fall in love. I've played alot of various music through it--reggae, blues, country, pop--wherever you need clean guitar. Rock/Metal meisters need not apply.
I've played: 72 Fender Telecaster, Cheap-o 80's "Starforce" guitar, Fender Am Strat, Gibson Melodymaker, and a Gibson LP Standard through it using a 2x12 cabinet. I've even played an acoustic through it and always sounded good. I currently play a 75 Fender J-bass through it, paired up with a matching Lab Series 4x10 cabinet. GREAT sound.
Rating- Distortion:3 Clean:10

What can I say about the reliability? Its a solid state, and built like a tank. I've had my amp for 11 going on 12 years. I've never serviced it and it has never broke (obviously).

I've heard these were made by either one of three companies now. Gibson - the parent company - you probably could get some kind of support there, but I haven't needed it. Lab Series - went out of business, so good luck there. Norlin - I've never heard of these guys...

I've been playing guitar for 12 years. This was my first amp, so I'm kinda biased about it, but its been a great amp. I have a Marshall bass amp. I switch my playing time between the two. I only wish that the company didn't go out of business, I'd like to see what a new/updated Lab Series amp could do.

Very similar to all the other Lab Series models except this is the head version. Tons of knobs, inputs, an effects loop, 200 watts you'll never use, even that compressor knob that no one else has. Basically two channels with hi/lo inputs on both, reverb on the second, also a multifilter knob on that channel. Giving it a 10 rating because it goes beyond what most amps have.

Well, I'm using two great Ibanez guitars and I've used various effects through this as well. Playing this through a Marshall 4x10 cab. I play a very wide variety of styles, but this amp doesn't suit them all. Distortion??? Brutal, awe inspiring, massive.... no, these aren't terms synonomous with this amp. Distortion is, well, crappy. But wait!!! The clean sounds you hear from this thing are AMAZING!! I guess it can be compared to a Roland JC120 (except no chorus). For the clean sounds, this is a brilliant piece of amp. No noise, but there's no tubes (which in my opinion is usually bad, but not in this case). Well, there is a fan, but you get used to that. Try turning up the reverb and adding some slow phaser and... well, it's enough to almost make you weep. My rating would go something like this: Amp as Distortion Machine: -3 Otherwise: 9

This thing is huge. No tubes in it, so you don't have to worry about dropping it while setting up or slipping on ice or something and breaking one of those glass beauties. This thing is old (late seventies), and i don't know how many people owned it before I did, but it's obviously held it's own since then. Mine is in near perfect shape.

I don't think you have to worry about this. Norlin= dead

My goodness, for the price, you can't find anything better. These things are actually pretty easy to find (well, I don't about the L11, but the others are). I'm also using an awesome Soldano head (if you haven't played through one, DO IT!!!), so all my distortion concerns are solved with that. However, this amp is nothing but perfect for me and anyone else. You probably won't find one for over $150 and trust me, you will NOT regret it. If I found another one, I would definitely buy it before anyone else got to it!!