Laney GH50L

This amp was manufactured in June 1998, when they still used black grillecloth and tolex. As versatility goes, it blows me away! I have never owned a channel-switching amp, not because i avoid them but it's just not a priority for me. So, since I don't depend on channel switching to get different sounds i have no problem jumping from clean to overdriven sounds with just my volume knob, or, occaisionally my Morley Power Wah Boost which acts as a volume pedal in bypass mode. It's a single channel machine with an effects loop and a slaving mode(i love this). at 50 watts, some of my "duh, more watts is better!" friends think it's not enough(one owns a Triple Rectifier...) but i honestly have never really needed to go past about 5 or 6 on the master, although i'd like to. This amp works so well that for quite some time it was also my primary bass amp!

I am really and truly BLOWN AWAY, as i said above by this amp. My guitar is not a spectacular flame-maple-top Gibson SG Supreme, unfortunately. it is a 1999 Yamaha Pacifica 112M with a Gold Lace Sensor in the neck and a DiMarzio Parker Fly Special humbucker at the bridge. My style began as sort of a punk rock type thing, but about a year and half ago i realised i don't have to suck and decided that my true calling was 70's rock. well, no problem for this amp! plug into the low input and there you have it, classic rock grind without excessive saturation! in the high socket, you obviously get heavier distortion and less headroom before breakup. I use my amp with 6L6 tubes, actually i have purchased a set of Ei EL34 but have not had time to take it to a technician for biasing, so i was only able to change preamp tubes. this amp really grinds with the midrange knob all the way up and the resonance switch flipped down(less speaker damping, more of a vintage sound). as for cabinets, i have a a Yamaha S210-III 2x10 guitar cab from circa 1985, which i bought for a measly $50 US...don't take the price into consideration because this bland-looking black box rocks ass!! for bass purposes i also bought a Traynor YB-18A made in 1971 or so...it contains a single Celestion Greenback...except this Greenback is 18"!! see my review of that thing. anyway, one day i had my bass plugged into the amp, and i wanted to play guitar but i was too lazy to switch cabinets, so i just played guitar with the 18" cabinet. your gut reaction to reading that is probably "muddier than Woodstock '69" but believe it or not, this combination is unreal! the midrange is HUGE and i don't believe anything projects like this. lots of people go to ridiculous lengths to extend their bass response...case in point, the Riviera K312. well, i don't believe i will need a 4x12 anytime soon! there is really no icepick effect when you use this cabinet and all the highs you would need/want are there. with any cabinet, however, i have found the clean tones to be excellent. very clear, sparkly, and slowly plucked arpeggios always remind me of drops of water hitting a pond surface. totally smooth. noise is only a factor for me when you use the gain boost, also known as "drive".

and, to top it all off, this amp creates the sickest bass distortion ever!

As i say of my big ol' Traynor box, i could probably ask this cabinet to back me up in a gunfight.

Never had to talk to Laney.

I have been in the game for 4 or so years, and a loss of this amp would really sadden me...it has been my catchall amp and has never failed me in any way, mechanically or sonically. I only miss reverb sometimes, but often, i forget that there is no reverb because it sounds so good. to have reverb i use an Alesis Nanoverb.

Not the most versatile amp on the market. It's a single channel 50watt all tube head. THere is footswitchable gain but that's mainly to achieve overdriven or clean sounds. It doesn't work in live settings because the drive mode is alot louder. This amp wasn't intended to be a 2 channel amp. Otherwise all sounds are there from clean to raging high gain.

This is the best sounding amp I've tried. It needs to be used with the right setup however. The right cab and the right tubes. My tubes of choice are EL34's and I run it through a Marshall 1960AX cab. This setup rules. This amp with EL34's and a vintage 100w marshall cabinet demolishes anything else. I'm able to get great 80's shred sounds as well as blues and classic rock sounds and good warm jazzy cleans. For live settings I set it up to just have a little bit of dirt and grind. I use mostly superstrats with medium output humbuckers in the bridge and single coils in neck and middle positions. I get all the sounds I need. While setting the amp slightly dirty and get great bluesy sounds with the single coils and I can back off the volume to about 7 or 8 on my guitar and get good clean sounds with single coils. Dime the guitars volume and switch it to the bridge humbucker and get great hard rock rythm sounds. Switch on an overdrive or any boost device and get searing lead sounds. This setup is awesome. This is honestly the best sounding amp I've ever tried. This is my second GH50l. I sold it at one point to buy a Mesa. I didn't like the Mesa. I also had a brief stint with a marshall dsl50 and a Marshall 1987x reissue. I also tried peaveys in the store and also some bogners. Nothing sounds as good as this cheap amp. It's not even very noisy at high gain. To me this sounds alot like a 50watt HiWatt head. Pretty much a modified marshall sound with more gain, low end and more agressive biting tone. Combined with the marshall cab I can achieve Randy Rhoads and George Lynch sounds as well some good early Van Halen sounds. This is my main style of music. I write alot of instrumental ambient groove music similar to Satch, Vai and Vinnie Moore and this amp gives great crunchy rythm sounds as well as soaring lead sounds. THis is an amp that you record an entire album with without effects just straight into the amp. Paul Gilbert style speaking of which also uses this amp on his solo albums which are great and I'm a huge fan. Like I said I had a GH50L but I figured since it was so cheap that there had to be something better. I was wrong I spent thousands on other amps and was dissapointed except for the 1987x reissue but that was a limited amp although I got great sounds out of it. It was also fairly expensive and then I saw a GH50l on ebay and bought it for $250 so here I am. Back again with the amp I love. Nothing beats this sound. It's a super marshall on steroids with a way more punchy tone. Like I said it needs a good cab. I used to use it with a 2x12 and originally didn't like the sound but now I'm in heaven. There is nothing better to my ears and I will never go away from Laney ever again. I get everything from warm jazzy cleans, to great blues sounds to total metal mayhem. I can't ask for anything else.

I had my first laney head for 2 years with regular gigging. No problems. Not any signs of fatigue. These amps are really tough and well built.

I've never tried to contact them. I don't know.

What can I say. I am sold on this amp. You eventually learn how to work with a single channel amp. Almost all the greats have. Most channel switching amps don't fair too well. Either they are lacking solid clean sounds or the dirty channel doesn't have enough guts. This amp just alot of great tone. That's it. Nothing works better for me. This is a very responsive amp that cleans up extremely well and loves effects and overdrive pedals. I'm so glad I managed to find a good one for so cheap. I'm happy now. This in combination with my custom built guitars and the vintage marshall cabinet is the best damn sound I've ever achieved. Another thing, this amp doesn't sound very good with the stock tubes. It only really suits metal in stock form. High gain ruby preamp tubes and sovtek 5881's. Not my choice at all. I use JJecc83's and JJel34L's. This is my sound all the way. I get some great george lynch sounds especially similar to the Back For the Attack album. You know what I'm talking about. That roaring British EL34 tone. For rock it's the only way to go for me. That's all from me.

This is an update of my previous review. This isn't a feature rich amp. It wasn't really intended to be either. Unfortunately I was forced to sell this amp due to a severe change in my music career. Alot of people are complaining that the drive switch isn't useable. What the hell is wrong with you people. It's not a second channel. This is a one channel amp with footswitchable gain. The drive switch is simply a way to access either clean or distorted sounds it wasn't made to be another channel and it wasn't intended to be used as channel switching for live use. duh. It says it right on laneys website that it's a one channel amp. Learn how to read. If you wan't clean and distorted sounds in a live setting either you use a dual amp setup which you should probably do anyway to have a backup or set it clean and use good distortion box or effects processor.

Really great sounding amp that can give you anything from nice smooth clean sounds to extremely heavy metal but as stated you can't switch from these tones. Again it's a one channel amp. I really love the sound of the distorted sound. I originally had swapped out the crappy stock tubes and put some GT El34's and preamp tubes but eventually went with some JJ 6l6's and JJ Ecc83's. It made the amp sound really good. Nice, warm and thick. I've never liked 6l6 tube distorted sounds until I tried these. The clean sound after the tube change was rich and beautiful and the distorted sound could make your hair fall out. I've tried tons of amps and this has some of the best sounds I've heard. Unfortunately as stated above I had to get rid of this amp as I got a new gig now that requires alot of clean sounds so I bought a 68 Fender Bassman head from one of my buddies which gets great clean sounds. Not that the laney didn't have great clean sounds. It did but just not at the volumes I needed to be playing at. At these volumes it would distort a bit and it wasn't really a nice fender breakup it's kind of a cold sounding distortion, couldn't calm it down without backing off my guitar volume alot which wouldlower the overall volume to the point where I couldn't stand up to the other guys. Keep in mind we are playing some really big gigs sometimes outdoors so when I set the laney clean I had to have it up to about 8. At this point it's seriously overdriven. Although the Bassman also breaks up at these levels it's more of a slight warm overdrive than distortion. The bassman is also really responsive to touch as well so if I play lightly it's still but not overdriven but If I dig in it overdrives. Overall though the laney is a great amp with the best distorted sound I've ever heard from any amp. After having owned marshalls, a 5150 and line 6 gear. What I like about the laney is that it's a very honest amp. No b.s. Straight hard rock distortion without reverb, channel switching and anything else to get in your way. It also cleans up really well backing off on the guitars volume knob for that great 80's semi clean/overdriven metal sound. Very clear sounding amp as well. Just get rid of the stock tubes though. They are terrible. Contact bob at www.eurotubes.com for some new JJ tubes. They are the best currently manufactured tubes on the market. Don't go with crappy chinese or russian tubes ala ruby or sovtek.

Had it for 2 years with regular gigging and never any problems. Laney doesn't make crap. They make solid amps, which is why Tony Iommi has used them for so long. I gig at least 100 times a year and this amp has never acted funny. Replace tubes from time to time and don't throw it around or drop it and you will be fine. Don't put drinks on top of it either. duh. Very solid amp.

I've never dealt with them.

I really liked this amp but unfortunately I just didn't have the budget nor space to have different amps for different sounds. I love the laney's distorted sound. Great semi overdriven sounds as well as raging high gain. Completely natural distortion not fake buzzy chainsaw distortion ala Mesa. If I ever make my own studio and become a successfull recording and touring musician I will buy another and use it for recording and for my main distortion sounds. Keep in mind I am not trashing the laney's clean sound. It has great clean sounds just not at high volumes. It also doesn't really do the fender clean sound that well which I need for my new gig. This would make an extremely good recording amp which is why Paul Gilbert is now using them. I think he uses a VH100R for live gigs and GH series for recording. I'm not sure don't quote me. With the right tubes and cabinet this amp is untouchable for sound especially when you consider you that you can get your hands on one of these for well under a grand. Amazing. I'm not into marshalls that much anymore. Their newer stuff blows. I really liked the plexi's and JCM800's. I used to own a 50 watt plexi which I sold due to similar circumstances it was just to much of a one dimensional amp. Well that's what I have to say. I just wan't you to know that although I had to sell mine I still think it's a great amp and almost couldn't let it go. If I ever create my own little studio and need a good recording amp with a killer distorion sound. I know what to get and will bypass Mesa, Marshall and Peavey. Although their new XXX is good.

Does three things very well; clean, crunch, and roaring gain. The catch is you can't do it at the tap of a foot switch. It's "either, or". No lead channel.

The clean sound is very warm and well rounded. Crunch sounds as well, think Nazareth "Hair of the Dog" to Zeppelin. I absolutely LOVE the high gain tone. I am a big Paul Gilbert fan, and this amp can deliver that Racer X tone. The mid-range (middle) control is very responsive. The presence is negligible until around 8 to 10. I don't use it (0). Bass and Treble very responsive.
My gear going into this amp include: '98 ESP Custom Horizon Standard w/Tone Zone Bridge PU, Steve's Special Neck PU; '96 Fender USA Strat w/EMG PUs; Ibanez TS9 Reissue Tube Screamer; Ibanez Vintage CS9 Chorus; MXR Micro Amp. Cabinet is an ADA 2x12.

2 months with a used amp; So far so good.

N/A

Besides the absence of a lead channel or switchable master volume, this is a great amp. I love the tone, sustain, etc. It can get VERY loud without losing definition. Other than a TT50, VH50, or VH100, this is my dream amp, especially considereing what I paid for it.

not feature rich. as the other reviews state: single channel with footswitchable 5th gain stage, no 'verb. but it does have resonance switch which is very nice and the presence knob adds tonal control.

okay, it does have a very nice clean, but you have to dial it in since it's a 1 channel amp. but this beast is made for gain though. this amp is almost identical to the lead (or B) channel on the VH100R without the reverb. simple and sounds great. I still stand by my other reviews, I'll take a Laney VH100R/VC50/GH50L/GH100L over a mesa rectifier/PV 5150/etc any old day!

As for the good that said the tone knobs don't offer any control: have your amp checked...or your ears. They are very responsive and it's impossible to get a bad sound out of these.

never had a problem with any of my laneys (okay, a bad speaker in the combo, but that was due to shipping!)

the Laney USA distributor is very helpful. the UK website, is near worthless. I've rated accordingly. call the US guys if you need something, they are VERY helpful!

been playing for ages. own lots of gear, owned nearly everything.

great amp for the money!

Single channel 50 watt all tube head. There is a drive switch which kicks on some extra gain and drive. There is also HI and LO input. I mainly use the amp with the drive switch with my guitar in the HI input. I don't really care for the drive switch too much because it won't get completely clean. It will clean up if you back off on the volume.

I'm using this with my custom warmoth tele with dual dimarzio virtual PAF's and a custom Zion radicaster. I run it through a genz benz G-Flex 2x12 cabinet(awesome cab, the best) Word of advice, ditch the stock preamp tubes they are junk. The stock power tubes aren't very good either but reasonable. I put 4 groove tubes ECC83's and 2 groove tubes EL34L's. Now this thing just roars and sounds extremely british. What I love about this amp is that you can have it set with alot of gain but if you roll off your guitars volume it really cleans up. It actually is extremely good at this so you don't really need 2 channels or footswitching with this amp. I sometimes use a klon centaur overdrive as a clean boost for leads and a fulltone wah and they sound great through this rig. I would rate it a 7 with the stock tubes and a 9 possibly 10 after the tube change. I dig it because I can roll off my guitars volume slightly and get a good crunchy rythm sound and then dime my guitars volume for leads and it really roars and screams with the best of them. It sounds like my old marshall JCM800 on steroids. Almost identical but with alot more gain. I play mostly hard rock and classic rock. I'm not into the numetal scene and I think that this amp in it's stock state would excel for that and thrash metal because the preamp tubes had so much gain. They are rubys in the first 2 stages and some chinese unlabeled ones in the last stages. It is harsh and hissy and unclear with the stock preamp tubes. Greatly improved after the tube changes. I've never been a fan of 6L6's either which is why I put some EL34's. What can I say it now sounds like a classic hot rodded marshall. Extremely senstive to playing dynamics and the guitars volume and control changes. I have to say that I agree with some other reviewers that this amps character stays no matter how much you mess with the EQ settings. What you get is what you get. Which is pretty much how marshalls are. Mesa's are more versatile. But for someone who likes hard rock get this or the gh100 and change the tubes and you'll have one of the best amps on the market for dirt cheap. the reason why they are so cheap to begin with is because they have crappy tubes and they aren't well known. Don't be fooled by mesa. They also use crappy tubes for the most part. I'm thinking of putting in the new Tesla ECC83 in the 1st position because it's pretty much the quietest preamp tube currently on the market and it's an exact replica of the classic german telefunken. It even has gold pins. This will really tame the amp and make it more versatile I'm told by watford valves. This amp in stock form just had way too much gain and was harsh. Don't worry about this thing not having enough gain. I'm a classic metal/hard rock player and I only have the gain on 5 put I crank the master volume and yields great results. Just ultimate rock tone. Blues licks also sound great through this amp. This thing has all the gain you could ever wan't. Another thing about clean sounds. Ruby preamp tubes just aren't good for clean so I recommend you get rid of the stock preamp tubes to make the amp more versatile. Now even with the gain cranked to 5 with the drive switch on if I roll back my guitars volume know halfway it will clean up and I mean clean, as long as you keep your pick attack fairly calm. What more can you ask for. I'm not kidding I like this thing more than my old JCM800. It sounds almost identical but with a wider distortion range. This is of course after the tube change. In stock form it sounds alot like a dual recto. This amp for $650 just annhialates anything that is reasonably priced. What do you think Tony Iommi has been using the whole time. Laney my friend.

I've had it over a year and have not had one problem and I've taken on about 20 gigs or so with the volume in some cases above 7 or 8 which is extremely loud. What can I say it's a classic british rock amp. these things are meant to be played hard. I've banged it up a bit on the road and it doesn't worry me because this thing is a tank. This thing also weighs a ton. It's definitely a sold amp.

Non existent. Not that I need any but there is no phone number or email adress on their website. I don't forsee any problems in the future with the amp.

What can I say for what I need in an amp this amp easily delivers everything I need. If you are patient enough to work with the amp and also change the tubes you will be rewarded with awesome tone that is unique unlike all the mesas and marshall jcm900's and jcm2000's. This is the only amp that I could realistically only use one channel similar to your old marshall plexis and jcm800. You control the overdrive and volume with your pick attack and volume and tone controls on the guitar. It takes a pro to work this way than to be experimenting with channel switching which with most amps simply doesn't work anyway. Also that elusive black sabbath Iommi sound is in this amp if you load it with EL34's and put some decent preamp tubes in it. It does more than this but it is a sound that's possible with this amp. For my needs this amp just does everything. If I have the gain cranked halfway I can get all the sounds I need by tweaking my guitars controls and altering my pick attack. Anything from jazzy clean to blues breakup to raging hard rock and metal. I also got a very good Joe Perry type overdriven sound similar to Sweet Emotion. Simply awesome amp that in my opinion is the best kept secret in the guitar world. I don't know how you could do much better than this amp especially for the money even though I would pay as much for this as a new marshall jcm2000 because this amp is better although it doesn't have all the features. But consider this, all the best guitar tones in rock history were recorded with old plexis and jcm800s which were single channel similar to this one. When you add all kinds of gadgets you alter the reliability, sound and sensitivity of the amp. As long as you are a good player you only need one channel.

This in a new GH50L head with a grayish front. Sharp looking amp. 1
Channel.

I play this with a Norton Bridge Humbucker in an Ibanez S guitar.

My only gripe about the features is that the drive switch doesnt really make sense. It switches between high-gain and slight breakup. The breakup is too much to play clean passages but not enough to play standard rock rythym. It doesnt make sense that someone would want to switch between raging high gain and blues breakup. The switch should either go to a clean or to a good rythym sound. So the swithching is kinda useless.

Otherwise I knew what I was getting myself in for with a single channel amp.

I really wanted to like the Laney and based on the Glowing reviews and the fact that Paul Gilbert uses them, I expected a fantastic high gain sound.

The problem is that the eq is PASSIVE and doesnt really offer much tone shaping capabilities. What you hear is what you get. So you either like the sound or you dont. This sound has a large presentation like a nice tube head should, but unfortunately the preamp sounds like a buzzy footpedal. Now its not BAD per se (who doesnt enjoy a nice pedal every now and then)-- theres enough gain to play your solos and do your crunchy chords, but its grainy ilke a distortion pedal, the only solution I found to make it sound more amp-like was to reduce the presence and treble almost to 0, but its not quite the same thing, its still the same buzzing sound except without any highend.

The EQ doesnt do much, its still the same sound, much like a 5150. (which also has passive EQ) The sound is very bright and not so great for heavy power chords, it doesnt have a tight botom end, its kinda loose. It works out that you can hear the individual notes in chords even on high gain. This is more of a hard-rock sound than contemporary metal. Still high gain, but doesnt sound like a recto, nor a classic marshall sound, something differnt.

I really thought it would have a nice lead voice but its too buzzy to be inspiring. I got this for nice lead guitar tones.

I know these kinds of amps start to sound differnt when CRANKED (and I didnt get a change to crank it beyond LOUD in my basement). You know, the point when the speakers are distorting, the power tubes are saturated and everything is so loud you cant hear yourself think. I think this amp would sound good in that context, but then, most amps do.

Dont get me wrong, its OK, I have pretty high standards. If I was gigging in a band I probably wouldnt be so concerned with the tone although it doesnt inspire me to play. Maybe this thing reaches its sweet spot somewhere around the volume you would need if playing with a loud drummer.

So since I havent used it in a band context, Im not fully qualified to write the best review, I do know that its tone shaping abilities are less than desired.

The store I bought it from has agreed to take a return, no questions asked. If you are interested in trying a Laney, I recommend them: Grand Central Music. They advertise on ebay.

This amp doesnt suit me. Even though it is in the style of music I play (hard, instrumental rock) its farther from the tone I was looking for than the MP-1 I was using previously. (Wish I hadnt sold that).


Ive been playing since the late 80s and have used rack based systems the majority of my time so I'm used to having alot of control over my tone. This amp gives you one sound. Period. I'm not about to spend time with a parametric, tube changes etc. to try and massage it into something I'm looking for. ITs too far from the mark to begin with.

I think this head is similar to a 5150 in alot of ways. Perhaps a 5150 with more brightness, more grain, and without the peavey midrange honk (which I personally like).


I would recommend that anyone interested give this amp a try because it may be just what you are looking for. I think it would be great in a band context.

I suppose this will be a 2002 amp, has the switchable EL34/6L6 job on the back, along with 2x4, 2x8 and 1x16 ohm outs. Standard-ish EQ with presence, gain and master with footswitchable gain boost. Loop functions in one of several ways, but I don't use it. The level control can be variously used as an extra master volume control for fine tuning.
In fairness, the amp is relatively obsolete next to some of the more space-age digital things with onboard coffee machine and anti stagediver missiles. However, the rating has to be given next to what I need it to do, and it does most all of that.

The guitars used a generally a Guild Bluesbird and a Big Apple Strat, but it does see others at the input occasionally. Both these guitars are fitted with big sounding Seymour Duncan hummers, but the Fender has a coil split sound which sees some use.
I usually set the thing with the master and gain to give a cleanish, punchy sound for whatever the venue is. The cabinet is a Hughes & Kettner TC4x12 with Greenbacks, so the sound is sort of warm and not too strident, with a bit of friendly breakup round the edges. Switching the gain boost in from here gives a good Marshall-y sound with midrange to the fore. The only complaint from this setting is that the gain boost seems to increase the treble content, and it can be tricky to get the clean sounds clear enough without too much spitty, shrill edge in the driven sound.
It is also more than capable of delivering a foundation shaking metal chunk with the resonance in and the mids down (though I preferred the sound with the mids high at the amp and then cut by a graphic EQ in the loop). These sort of sounds generally have a tendency to get lost in the overall picture, but I thought the combination described gave a good fight in being heard without overpowering.
I've never had it sounding like a blackface Fender, nor an AC30, but then, I've never set out to do that. It might be possible given the right speakers and cabinet to get this amp to sound wildly different from what I describe.

Interestingly, the gain boost does not appear to make a huge clacking noise when engaged. The amp itself is pretty quiet due to the ingenious toroidal mains transformer design that Laney uses in all of its amps.

Ultimately, again, this amp plays a good game for the money you pay for it. Not up there with the likes of Cornford, but not so far distant, the main problem this amp has is that going from clean to drive sounds with the same EQ settings and what have you is a compromise.
Still, you could for the price of some of even the lesser imported amps and indeed some of the homegrown talent, get a couple of these.

Not been put to the test. It hasn't failed in the few shows/rehearsals it has been used for, but it has never had to cope with flat out abuse for anything more than a couple of minutes.

Website is decent but lacks the detail necessary to really delve.
No destruction manual with it, and no pdf on the website. Doesn't need instructions to pilot, but still...?

It's a good buy for someone who wants to have power, and a range of decent sounds at their disposal. What you sacrifice, and for some this will be of no object, is the ability to use that range within a set, due to the nature of the amp itself.
I prefer the sounds this amp makes to those available on the Marshall DSL amps, partly because I found the Laney to be more robust and rely less on outrageously puerile levels of gain to get the sounds. As a comparison point, I found the most satisfying settings on the DSL to be on the 'clean' channel with the crunch button (whatever it is) engaged.
So, although it doesn't get full marks in any category, because of the price, it has to get 10 here.

Ok this is a new update of my review since my amp broke down last. Since then i have got a better cab, a Laney 4x12 Tony Iommi model closed back model (dunno what other laney cabs r like)

Now, with a decent cab, i can evaluate the sound better. At the moment my strat is busted so im evaluating the sound with a BCRich - EMG81 Bridge. Clean its sounds very full and warm but the EMG is pretty craptastic at clean tones. Neck pickups sounds great but im guessing a guitar more suited to clean tones would fair better in this department.
Now distortion is where this amp reigns. Like the previous guy said you need it at a decent volume level to hear this amps potential, which is unlucky cos i have neighbours so i have to use a MT-2 metal zone while using this for practice, but when i get to use this in a band situation it'll shine. With a high volume and the amps distortion high the heavy metal tone is great, again anything metally will sound great with this amp, but nu/shit-metal, pop (blink, greenday) will sound crap. Im gonna put new valves in this amp as it will definetly make the tone/quality better (its hard to believe when u hear the great sounds the stock valves have). You often get a fizzing/fuzzy tone when playing at low volumes, high volumes and better valves will rectify this problem. Sometimes with this amp i feel that i need a more saturated distortion (i.e. gorerotted/cannibal corpse/at-the gates/napalm death). but i think new valves will make this problem go away, or i could use a dist pedal.

well i havent had ne problems since it was fixed

seems quite good

in a word greatttttttt. metal/blues/rock sounds perfect on this amp. Maybe not enough dist for death metal but if u tweak it you can get a loada sounds.

For a single channel amp it's got everything you need except a reverb which would have been the icing on the cake.lots of cabinets options, 3 options for the FX loop: insert between preamp and amp with a knob to set the overall level of amp +fx,parallele interface with the knob used as a dry/wet level and bypass.The boost drive is footswitchable and can be used as a lead channel sharing the EQ with the normal gain.
Therfore it is more of a dual channel sharing EQ than a simple single channel.

I use an Ibanez RG 570 and a Marshall 1936 2x12 (great cab by the way) and also a marshall powerbrake to be able to play at sensible levels and let the valves do their job.
Let's make it clear:this amp is very very loud and don't expect to use the distortion if you are in a bedroom with neighboors,let alone the drive boost!To comment on the previous reviewer,I'd just say that he probably gets a buzzy sound because he doesn't use the amp section properly,it is a valve amp and the master needs to be at a minimum of 3 to start giving nice sounds,and it is by then amazingly loud!!!!
THE SOUND OUT OF THIS AMP IS SIMPLY A DREAM FOR ANY HARD ROCK/METAL FAN!it is very,very musical with a lot of distortion and remains clear.it is the best distortion I've heard alongside Mesa but it's voice differently,Laney is Laney and nothing else.there's buckets of distortion if you need it.
with the gain at 10,the boost at 7 and the master at 5 it gives The sound any metal ,hard rock fan would die for: a powerful,tight bass,with a very smooth sustain,warm and compressed ,very distorded sound,it just sings and make you want play more and more.I run a Boss GT-6 FOR THE FX ONLY in the insert FX loop and that's it,the king is happy!it's very easy to chnage from near clen to full distortion just by rolling the volume of your guitar back and switching the boost off,just be ready to have a massive volume boost when the extra drive is on!
It will cover any ground as long as rock is covered,from AC/DC to Metallica,the sound is full,rich,melodic,3 dimensional,tight...
Clean sounds are fine nothing special,do thei job properly.
I'm going to rate it as hard rock/metal amp becuse it's been designed for it,but it will do far more than that.
IT has A BLOODY KILLER TONE,are you getting the picture now???!!

I've had it for 4 months and no problemo,it's build like a tank,worth at least twice it's price,very,very nice and well build,it's pro stuff

I play original hard rock and metal it is perfect for that,sounds absolutely awesome.If it were stolen I'd buy another one or maybe a VH100-R (but the power of it is really scary),or a mesa if I were a rich man,but this one is really really good,professional metal sounds my friend.I wish it had a reverb and the difference of volume beween clean and full distortion wasn't that big!
REMEMBER:IT IS UNUSABLE AT BEDROOM VOLUME WHEN THE GAIN AND DRIVE ARE ON AND IT NEEDS TO BE AT MINIMUM 3 ON THE MASTER TO START DELIVERING.
This amp is a bargain,they compare it to a Marshall jcm 800,which is totally stupid as the Laney is so much better,Laney deserve full respect for the GH series.I love it and I am very hard to please and peaky about tone quality