Laney AOR Lead 50 Head

50 watts, all-tube (ECC83/EL-34's). Amp features 2 footswitchable pre-amp stages that share the EQ controls, so it's almost like having 2 channels. You've got the typical Laney "pull boost" bass/mid/treble knobs here as well. Other features : line out, impedence and voltage selectors, dual inputs, standby switch. I believe these were manufactured in the mid-80's, I bought this one about 10 years ago and have been using it ever since. The only feature I wish it had is a good spring reverb but that's a minor complaint really.

I mainly play 70's/80's hard rock using 2 Fender standard strats, one with stock p/u's the other with Seymour Duncan SSL-1's and various Boss pedals (Marshall cab). You can get that ballsy Marshall-type crunch by adjusting the pre-amp levels. Great amp for metal players, similar to a JCM-800 at a fraction of the cost. It's a LOUD 50 watts. As the last reviewer mentioned, it is amazingly quiet in high gain mode. Very little background hiss. I recently switched to Ruby tubes (which I highly recommend) and I seem to be getting even more gain out of it. It has a pretty decent clean sound as well. Not great but good. Like I mentioned above, it does the Marshall thing well and has a pretty good clean sound....everything in between is a little questionable. It's not the most versatile amp in that respect, so I can't rate it a 10. I can get some decent blues tones by putting a Boss Super Overdrive in front of it though.

I've had this amp for 10 years now and have never had a problem with it. I retube it about every 2 years. I've never even had to replace a pot or a jack. Granted I baby my equipment and I don't travel much with it but this amp has stood up well. I couldn't ask for more.

Never dealt with Laney at all. I bought it used, so I can't comment on warranties.

Great amp for the money. If you're looking for that Marshall sound, save your money and buy one of these babies! You can buy them used very reasonably. Not real versatile but great at what they do. I own a couple other nice amps but I always seem to come back to this one.

Not sure about the year, as I bought it used. Mono 50-watt tube-powered head, EL34/12AX7, your basic British setup. Weird layout of gain and volume knobs, takes a LOT of fiddling about to find the right sound. I like the pull-boost on all three bands of EQ. Hint-pull them all...rather than boosting when pulled, they act more like they're cutting when pushed in. The FX loop is non-adjustable and pushes a pretty hefty dB boost through your pedals...a bit TOO much for me, as it seems to drive my H&K Tube Rotosphere a bit too hard. Selectable ohm switch and selectable ac voltage switch on back, which is pretty cool. You could conceiveably use this thing with any cab setup in any country in the world. Good looking head, too. Basically a semi-two channel amp (switchable gains, either via footswitch or front panel), but only one set of EQ shared by both. Typically British LOUD...50 watts is PLENTY with this head. One strange thing about the inputs...it has what appears to be a low and high input, but there's a BIG difference between the two, like an active boost on the high input. I gave it an 8 only because it shares an EQ for the two channels.

What I run through it...a Telecaster outfitted with EMG alnico pups and an active EMG treble/bass expander in place of the tone pot. Just for the sake of the review, I ran an '83 Gibson LP Custom (bone stock) into it as well, not much difference. I use the FX loop, but mainly for my delay and various modulation-type pedals, so that's not really an issue. The amp is pretty quiet, but sounded a bit sterile with the stock tubes. I put in some OLD 12ax7 tubes (dated 1960), and it warmed up a bit. Definitely sounds like it's got some transistors lurking in the distortion circuit, no big deal. I play country/hard rock, so I have to have versatility...the amp has a little trouble there. If you get the distortion channel sounding right, the clean channel suffers a bit, and vice-versa. Pretty quiet amp, though, even when you have the INSANE amount of gain going. This sounds like the ultimate Metal amp when everything's cranked, but here's the kicker...it has a remarkably good clean sound! The way it works for me is setting it on clean and running a Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor overdrive in front. I wouldn't recommend sticking an overdrive in the FX loop...it'll get pushed so hard you'll be squealing like a banshee. However, by putting the OD in front of the amp (between the guitar and amp), everything comes up roses. The distortion can go from a nice, clipping overdrive up to full-on hardcore, but you pretty much have to leave the amp on whatever sound you set, as the switching is a bit useless in this area.

This amp hasn't even given me a HINT of breaking down. So far, it has been VERY consistent in performance and sound. Seems very solidly built, nothing's come loose or rattled around.

Laney is still around and going strong, and they answered a question about getting an owner's manual pretty quickly, but that's the only dealings I've had with them.

I've been playing for over 21 years, and have had numerous amps/gear. This amp isn't my highest-rated amp I've owned but it's pretty far up there. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably replace it with something else, just for experimentation's sake. If I found another one at this price, however, I wouldn't think twice about buying it. The durability and clean, powerful sound are terrific. The switching options and difficulty in getting a good balance between clean and distortion on the head are its only downfall. If it had a simpler gain structure and separate EQ for the two channels, it'd be the best head I've ever owned. It can sound ALMOST as good as a Fender clean, and can out-Marshall a Marshall on the overdrive, but you pretty much have to pick one or the other. I had a Hiwatt before this one, and the Hiwatt's tone and features killed this Laney, but the durability of the Hiwatt wasn't as good as this Laney. If I could combine the two, I'd have the ultimate amp!