Laney GH50L

Laney GH50L. It's a single channel high gain amp. It's 50 watts, and it's all tubes. For what I do, this amp is perfect for me since I don't have to go clean to dirty/dirty to clean mid songs. It has a very versatile FX loop, and I dig how the EQ's laid out. One thing I wish it had is reverb. That'd make this amp complete!

I retubed mine with JJs 6L6s in the power section, and their EC83s in the preamp. It still has very pronounced mid range the Laneys are known for, but it seemed to have tamed the top end a bit, and added more bass to the sound by going to 6L6s. I'm still experimenting, but so far, I like the 6L6s better.

I use a Les Paul and a Strat. This amp gives me all the sounds I want. I mostly play rock, and it does rock so so well. The distortion on this amp is out of this world (not because how much gain it has, but the sound quality of it). Another thing it nails is that SRV bluesy sound. You leave gain on around 3 ~ 4, and turn the drive around 5 ~ 6 for a little sizzle... I love how that setting sounds with the neck pickup on my Strat. No matter where you leave the gain/drive, you will find a smooth tube driven sound out of this amp at a resonable level. I'm absolutely happy with it.

I've had it for about 5 years, but it's only been through 4 shows. It delivers every time I fire it up, and hasn't let me down yet. All i've done is retubing, and biasing the tubes. It's a solid amp.

Can't say.

As I said, this would be my perfect amp if it had reverb, but I can do without it. This Laney sets the standard on ROCK TONE. I love it, and I'd buy it again.

This is a 1 chanel amp but it is as versatile as a 2 channel. Plenty of effects loop features and lots of choice about cabs. For a 1 channel amp it has a lot of fetures

This amp does a range of tones. with lower gain on the amp and not o the bridge pickup the amp has a thick clean/crunch sound. with the drive off it makes some nice rock tones at heigher gain levels and more than enough gain with the drive on. I use it with humbuckers and it sounds great. it is quite noisy at high gain levels but still rocks. I use it with a home made 1x12 vintage 30 loaded cab

I got it used (ebay) and it has never shown any signs of breaking. it is very solidly built.

Never had to contact them

I have been playing for about 3 years and this is my first valve amp. If it were stolen i woul buy another, as it is awesome. I also have a marshall valvestate vs100 and this sounds much better then it. i chose it cause it didnt cost too much.

Don't let the 6 make you think I don't love this amp. Instead of Laney trying to make some kind of do it all Head they just made a rockin amp. No reverb, one channel it's a basic amp. If you want Marshall tone but don't want to spend the money on an 800, Plexi, Old Hiwatt, or a 70's Laney for that matter this is your amp. I would rather have an amp that does one thing great rather than an amp that does four things ok.

I've played though every amp Imagineable and I've never written a review for any Fender, Marshall, Vox or various others. I was looking all over ebay and other places for a early 80's JCM 800 which is a grat amp(I was playing through a 900 at the time, not a great amp) Every one I found needed a repair of some sort. So included in the cost of the amp was a repair bill to bring it up to full potential. I went to the local shop which had an '81 JCM 800, sounded like shit, the shopkeeper said it needed new tubes and filter caps and then it would sound good. Then he suggested I try the GH50L. For AC/DC-Zepplin tone this is the Amp. With the resonance and Drive off this am has no hiss even at high volumes.

I bought mine used. It was built in '03, but it looks and works like new. This amp is very similar to the JCM800, except it has even more gain! It is versatile because you can dial in many different sounds. However, it is single channel amp, and there is no channel switching. But, you knew that going in. It has more gain than I need, more EQ range than I could ask for, and is LOUD! I am using it with a Recto 2x12 cab loaded with V30s. It's bright, and has that lovely British honk. It came with TAD brand tubes, but they've been promptly replaced with JJ's EL34Ls and ECC83s. I can honestly say I can match, if not blow away Marshalls. The best part is, is that it only cost me $500.

Paul Gilbert is the reason why I picked up the guitar, and the reason why I picked up this head. I've been a fan of his tone for years, and he says Laney is his secret. I believe it now when he says Laney has the best amp distorion ever. I usually use it with Ibanez RGs, and I really can't ask for more. This is THE standard rock tone! But this isn't a one trick pony. It loves it some blues. Low gain, with mid drive, it is SRV city. It does clean very well, too. You just have to use the LOW input if you have a hot humbucker. This amp gives me the sound I've been after, for that it gets a 10.

I've had this amp for about 3 months, so it's too early to tell. When I opened it up to replace the tubes, and bias it, I got to get a good look inside. Everything's tidy, and tucked. They used big gauge wires, and good components from what I can see. I think it'll last forever with proper maintenance.

They're in England, but they will reply to your emails. I've dealt with Gary from Laney, and he's helped me with biasing the amp. I was surprised.

I've been playing for about 10 years. I don't gig or play in a band any more, so I hope this is the last amp I'll have to buy. As I said, the sound I've been searching is right here inside the Laney. If you're looking for a simple amp that'll get the job done, this is your amp. Did I mention, it cost me $500? It don't get no better than that.

Cheers.

Single channel tube head (2*JJ6L6 + 4*12ax7) with a footswitchable drive option.
Presence, Bass, Mid, Treble controls shared by both channels.
Gain, Master volume (clean channel) and a single volume control (you clearly have to compromise if you want to switch between clean & overdrive, but more of this later)
Resonance switch is a nice addition to add depth to your sound
2 Inputs (hi/Lo)
FX loop, Slave in/out, LS oputputs 4, 8, 16 Ohms
Switchable bias el34/6l6
Not the most versatile amp I've come across, but I was looking for JCM800-like amp without the price tag of an JCM800
Looks quite sturdy and should withstand live gigging. I never gig without a back up, though...

Quite loud. I use it with a 2x12 Framus cab (loaded with V30's) and this things rocks!
I set my "clean" sound so it crunches when I hit the strings harder (Gain on 3, Master on 4 and all tone controls between 6-7). For OD/distortion purposes, I rely on my trusty JH1 (Visual sounds). Nice, thick sound that easily cuts through the mix.

bought 2nd hand (6 years old). When I first tried it it was all snaps, crackles & pops. The guy who was selling it offered me to have it fixed at little extra charge. Eventually, it came back fully serviced and retubed. It now works fine and hope it will last. ime will tell...

Diagrams, user's guide available from Laney's website.
If any problem should occur, I'll get in touch with the very competent amp tech who fixed this amp.

This amp suits my needs and fits my music style (heavy rock) perfectly. If stolen or lost, I would try to get hold of an amp similarly designed.

Not to many features, but everyting you need. Only one channel which you know when you are buying. It's a clean/crunchy and then you have the distortion, so it's kinda two channels. If you wanted you could get a clean and a distorted sound, you just wouldn't get as much distortion. But I don't use alot of distortion

Wow!!! I play a Schtor C-1 Elite (with Semour Duncan Livewire and a ESP LTD Viper 400 with stock active EMGs. The cab is a Laney cad, but with 4 Celestion Classic Lead 80s. It sounds so bright and clear and really gives me that attack I'm looking for. You can get: clean, crunchy, light dist, to heavy dist. Anything you'll ever need.

Nothing wrong with is so far, I've had it for 2 years. I've replaced the tubes, just because though.

I love this amp, it sounds amazing.

This is a one channel amp with footswitchable gain. 50 watts,effects loop.

I use only Gibsons,Les Pauls,Flying V,Explorer..all with EMGS.I play Metal/Hard Rock. I own a JCM800 50 watt that Ive had for years,and have prevously owned a Marshall DSL100 and Mesa Dual Rec.Basically Ive been searching for that 800 sound with more gain,since my 800 sounds great{think AC DC,crunch} but it needs a overdrive pedal of some sort for really heavy sounds,and lead playing.Ive always felt any type of overdrive{and Ive tried em all!}pedal adds an "artificial" sound which I never liked. The GH50L has all that gain built in and it sounds pretty natural.With the drive off and just the gain up,It gets the 800 style crunch,but with more high end,which some may or may not like.Its a little too "presence-y" for my taste,even with the treble and presence knobs low.Being a one channel head,you wont get crystal clean sounds but rolling down your guitars volume gets a nice clean/dirty sound,which ,for gigs works fine for me.With the drive on,and up ,this amp has the most natural sustain of any amp Ive ever played through,however it is noisy,as you would expect.Its a loud amp ,but not as loud as others I have owned.

the stock tubes,as others have said,are pretty crappy,and I had to replace them after just a few hours of playing.I put in EH12ax7s and it sounds way better.Other than that, this amp seems really well made.And on a side note..this is the LIGHTEST head Ive ever owned,which is pretty nice if you play often,Its WAY lighter than my 800.

havent had to deal with em..probably never will.

Ive been playing 15 years,If it were stolen or lost I might replace it,but would probably look around first.Overall this amp has great tone and balls. I still prefer my old JCM800 tone wise,but the Laney kicks new Marshall{DSL<TSL} ass. Id also take this kind of British distortion over Boogie fuzz anyday.If your into classic metal/rock tones definately check this amp out,for the money its unbeatable,and may be better than amps twice the price.

As stated before, this is a single channel amp. You have to learn how to use your guitar volume to clean up your sound. This amp has just what you need and no bells and whistles that just muck up your tone. I thinks it is really based on a JCM-800 with an additional gain stage to push more front end distortion than a stock JCM-800. There is a very versatile effects loop, many output choices for different cabinets, a slave output for running into other heads (I believe Tony Iommi runs his main Laney into 7 other Laney heads), a resonance switch for tightening up the low end thump, depending on what cabinet you are using, Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Master Volume, Gain (for preamp level) and Drive (for tube overdrive). There is also a Hi and Low input. On the back there is a jack for switching the drive off and on, the effects loop with level control, the slave in and out, the multiple speaker impedance outputs and a bias switch for using either EL34's or 6L6's. I believe this to be a very versatile amp even though it is technically a single channel.

I had to add my two cents worth because this amp is absolutely the best sounding amp I have ever played. There are "cleaner" sounding amps, but this amp just kicks ass in the gain department. For reference, I have a Marshall JCM-800, Mesa Nomad 55, Sunn Sentura II, and a Peavey Classic 50 4x10. The Marshall is great, but you have to put something in front of it to get enough gain. The Laney has it built in. The Mesa has really nice cleans and the gain channels are good, but they don't have that edge and cut like the Laney, the Mesa is almost "mushy". The Sunn is a single channel amp that has a beautiful clean sound and tremelo, it has to have something in front of it to get any gain and then you are on the quest of how may different pedals will do what with it, the Laney just works on it's own. The Peavey again is a totally different clean and a nice overdrive, but nothing like the balls of the Laney. If I had my way, my Laney would be on 24/7 because it seems to inspire me to play more and better. I think that is the best thing any amp can do. If you look at your amp and just wish it did something else than you won't get anywhere. With the Laney, you turn it on, let the tubes cook a while and then you just don't want to stop because it just keeps sounding better and better. I mainly use humbucking guitars and all of my guitars have Seymour Duncan JB's in the bridge position. When I play my strat, it gives you more of a cleaner sound with the single coils, but when playing with my Ibanez or Les Paul the distortion will rip your head off. I'll be honest, when you turn this amp up with the gain switch on it can be noisy, but I run a Rocktron Hush in the effects loop and it keeps the noise out and doesn't affect the sound at all. I am a huge Rush fan, but Alex never used Laney's, still, you can get some great old Rush sounds out of this amp. Guys like Tony Iommi, Paul Gilbert and Andy Timmons use Laneys and they have some great guitar sounds so I thought I would give it a shot and now it is my number one amp. Also, since I am a huge fan of the "English" sound
I retubed my Laney with EL34's and a new set of preamp tubes. All of the tubes are JJ's. Originally my amp came with 6L6's, but I prefer the EL34's. In that respect, your ears will be your guide. A word to the wise, even though there is a bias switch, when you go from 34's to 6L6's, or vice versa, be sure to check the actual current output on your amp. My amp was perfectly biased for 6L6's, but when I moved the switch to EL34 and installed my new tubes, the bias was way out of whack for the 34's. It is very easy to adjust, so I used my bias probe and set the bias internally for the 34's. Now the amp just sings. Also, I am using this head with a Marshall JCM-900 Lead 4x12 slant cabinet.

I take care of my gear and I don't see why this amp would ever give me trouble. As long as you take care of the tubes and the bias this amp should last forever. I'm sure if I dropped it down a flight of concrete stairs and then it fell into a pool of burning acid it probably wouldn't survive, but then again I would have followed it right down the stairs and I wouldn't survive either!

I had some silly questions and they emailed me within 48 hours, I think that is very respectable. I'd venture to say you would never hear back from somebody like Fender. Laney seems to care.

I've been playing for 30 years and right now this is my favorite amp. I actually like all the amps I have for vastly different reasons. I really don't want to get rid of any of them, but the Laney is the only one that really inspires me to play and play better. It is also the first amp that I really don't want to use effects with because I love how it sound on it's own. Sometimes I use my RMC wah with it, but that is just the cherry on the cake. Eventually I'll add phase, chorus and delay, but right now I am just in love with the primal distortion of guitar into amp setup. By the way, the EQ controls are very responsive and you can get some very different, but very usable sounds out of this amp. You can back off the treble and get a very singing smooth distortion or add a little treble and get more bite and clarity. It is also very reactive to guitar volume and pick attack. Back off a little on the pick attack and it sounds almost classic then hit it a little harder and it screams. I love this amp and would definitely get another if some bastard had the audacity to try and steal this thing from me. Get a Laney and get the TONE you are missing! Even new, these things are well worth the price.

Laney GH50L: 2005

I play all types of indie, experimental, punk and Garage rock. The amp is great for the types of music I play.

Features: 50 Watts
Inputs HI & LO Jacks
Channels 1: with footswitchable Gain
Equalisation Bass, Middle, Treble
Master Presence Control Yes
Switchable Resonance Yes
Preamp Valves Premium ECC83
Output Valves Premium EL34
Switchable valve bias (5881 / EL34) Yes
Class A/B
Link Jack (Line Level Slave) Yes
Footswitch FS1 (Not included)
Speaker connections Connections for 1 x 16 ohm, 2 x 16 ohm, 1 x 8 Ohm, 2 x 8 ohm
FX Loop(s) Yes (Switchable Insert / Side Chain) with return level
Weight 20 kg
Dimensions (mm) 674 x 231 x 250

These features are great! Love the resonance switch. Dialing in tone is easy. Wouldent mind some Reverb. Anyway, I love how loud this amp can get. 50 watts is more than enough. I got mine with the stock tubes. They sound great imo. I will be getting some JJ's very soon, so i'll keep you guys posted.

I have a Fender American Standard Strat. With stock pickups. I run the amp through a Mesa Boogie Recto 2x12. All I have to say is WOW!!! I AM IN LOVE!

My favorite playing is using the neck pickup. Man, the cleans are incredible. This amp is not noisy at all. I crank it up, very nice.
Sounds ok at low volumes. Add delay to the cleans and you are playing the most beautiful tones out there.

For distortion, this amp screams from rock to metal. I use a SD pickup booster. I flick the resonance switch on the amp and pedal. And my tone is soooooooooooooooooooooooo fat.

I was thinking of getting a guitar with humbuckers but with the pedal my tone is fat.

I want to be real, so I will give it a 9.

Hopefully nothing will happen. I think this amp will last.

I emailed Laney with some questions. He replied within 48 hours.

This amp is a winner!

Single channel, mid-90's model, footswitch-able gain. Plenty of cabinet options, and great effects loop.
Power? It's SICK loud. Reverb would be nice, but why sacrifice the tone with adding a bunch of bullshit? I give it an 8. If this amp were 2-channels w/reverb, it would be a 10. Still high ratings based on it's features/layout for a single-channel high-gainer.

I play a stock Gibson SG Standard, and boost it with an MXR Wylde OD. With the additional gain stage disengaged, it gets a REAL NICE bluesy tone, again, boosted.

As far as the distortion, with an OD in front, it gets into 5150 territory. I find a mean, pissed off Marshall tone, which leaves the DSL in the dust, PERIOD. I run JJ E34L'S, which maintain that British EL34 growl, but nice and thumpy, warm, and actually quite brutal. I highly recommend these tubes, as well as a change in preamp tubes over stock.

I play metal with NO PROBLEM! The tone is SICK! Suits me just fine.

No problems. I bought it used, (very clean, well taken care of), for $450. The absolute BEST DEAL out there on an all-tube tone monster.
I suspect it will not give me any troubles.

Laney is pretty responsive to emails. Of course they're in the UK, so answering questions tend to take a day or 2. They don't seem eager like some though, just "there". Seem like good people though.

10 - Fantastic value indeed. If you're him-hawing around about buying one, drop your cock, and grab your socks. In it's price-range, it IS the $%^&. As a matter of fact, it rips a new @$$%^&* into the JSX, Triple XXX, and DSL's, based on tone alone, IMO. It is in-your-face aggressive, raw, a POWERFUL. It will surely hang in a band mix, and cut through better than some twice it's price. This is NOT just a great value, it's a GREAT AMP in it's own right. Don't let the price fool you - it's a wolf in sheep's clothing - a Marshall killer indeed. AWESOME amp, even if they wanted $1000 new.

Remember this is a single channel Hi Gain amp.For a Single channel to have so many features (ie;swichable gain,series/parallel valve effect loop,slave and resonance switch)is unbelievable for the price.

This is such a versatile amp.It does super cleans,crunch an awesome hi gain.Iuse an Ibanez RG565 and a handbuilt JEM,both with Evolutions in the bridge.
I play mostly Metal/rock,but play other style aswell,and this amp does it all.All uou need is a decent amp and guitar(use your guitar's vol control!!).I use a Gmajor in the loop to give me a bit of depth and a Vai wah.thats it ,no overdrive.The Laney has mor than enuff!

No probs in 10yrs,1000=gigs.Change tubes annually(JJEL34's)

Very helpful on Email

Been using Laneys on and off for 20yrs.They have my sound.The GH L's are simple no brainer amps with an awesome sound.....ask Paul Gilbert!!
And they are cheap .......and English!

Update to an earlier review

I forgot to mention, that an external EQ is a must,(should be pretty obvious) as with most of other brands/models of tube amps. The amp`s own eq is NOT effective enough, nor it is supposed to be. With 6l6GC powertubes(JJ/Tesla), the sound is even better, than el34`s. Sinister as hell! This amp fucking grinds!!!!!

p.s. MXR KFK is GREAT, give it a try, if you're looking for an EQ.

around with the knobs, and you`ll find what you`re looking for.

2002, Very versatile for all kinds of music, I am into heavier styles. The features are well described below. It also has plenty of power for even larger venues.

I am using currently an U.S.A Jackson soloist and an ESP Jeff Hanneman neckthru guiars. Both are humbucker type of guitars. It has no exessive noise considering it an extremely high gain amp. The distortion sounds are very tight and vulgar sounding, and cleans chime like a bell. You WILL NOT find better sounding amp at this pricerange, or even considerably higher.....Remember to set the speaker impedance higher than the amps output impedance, for example, speaker 8 Ohms, amp 4 Ohms, this will take care of the unwanted speaker breakup distortion and the original signal from the amp will retain its tightness and sound quality. My amp has JJ`s EL-34`s, by the way.....

I have had it for few weeks now, bought it used. No problems so far.

I have been playing for 24 years now, own couple of other amps, but this is by far the best sounding I have ever had. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely buy another one. I wish it were a 100 Watt head with an optional 50/100 Watt powersplit switch. It would be perfct, but it is very close.

Single channel amp. It has drive boost and a resonace switch. Amp has a self bias so you can switch tubes from 6L6's (mine) to EL34's.

CRUSHING. This amp is exactly what i was looking for. Fans of single channel Marshalls ( 800, Plexi, etc...) will love this amp. This is not a amp for nu metal so if you are a sloppy distortion hog please look elsewhere. Tone is so subjective, some like a Mesa, some like Marshall some, like Fender, and so on. I like the British distorted sound so this amp is right up my alley. Its has smooth mids, just the right amp of bass with getting into nu crap territory, and you can set the highs to be piercing or smooth depending on what you are looking for. This amp has all the punch to cut trough in any situation. i was looking for a Zakk Wylde on steriods tone and i now have what i think is it. The cleans on this amp with single coils remind me of SRV's Little Wing. I will give it a 9 only because i know (for proably 4 times the cost of this) there is something better.

No problems yet.......knock on wood

Never used them

I have played and owned many, many amps. I have played for 18 yrs. My opinion of a good tone and yours may be different but for me this king so far. Let your ears be the judge and don't be afraid to turn those knobs. I don't know how many people i have seen play through a tube amp with the volume on 1 or 2 and then say "this sucks" or "my solid state sounds better then this." It is a tube amp CRANK IT UP.

Single channel amp with resonance switch, presence, bass, mid, treble, and to drive knobs. Got all the features i need. 50 watts, 6L6 tubes( can be swithed to EL34's)

SSWWEETTTTTT. This amp was what i have been looking for. Tight, Punchy, and clear as a bell. This amp Sounds like a Marshall JCM 800 on racing fuel. From the moment i played the first notes through this baby i knew it was the one. I can not get over how much punch this amp has. It cuts through drums and bass like butter. Well as i said earlier it is a one channel amp but there are an array of tones in this sucker. I love the clean with its chimey tube muscle and the gain goes from Rolling Stones to Zakk Wylde. As with any one channel amp, you have got to use your guitars tone and volume knobs to vary the sounds. If you play any amp where you hide behind the muddy gain please read no further this amp is not for you. But if you are a fan of tranparent distortion and understand good tone do yourself a favor and grab one of these. This is rated at 50 watts (ha ha). I played with a guy with a "other name brand amp" and me on 3 and him on 7 was about eqaul and his is rated at 120 watts. I could go into detail about the tones in this amp, but if you have ever used a single channel Marshall then i promise you this will make your current amp collect dust. Sorry kid this is not a Nu-metal amp, this is for the adults. Go try one now if the British tone is what you are after.

No problems yet

never used them

I have been playing for around 16 yrs. and i think this thing is one of the best i have played. Just for thoughts i have owned or been around Mesa's,Marshalls, Peaveys, Crates, Line 6, Fender, Badcat, Vht, Bogner, and Soldano. Most of them in some form or another make a decent amp with strong and weak points. But, IMO i think Laney is towards the top of the heap in making a great Rock/Metal amp period.

Laney GH50L is a 50 watt single channel valve driven amplifier.
This puppy comes stock with a Sovtek 6L6 duo for the power section and 4 12x7 preamp tubes. This amp features a standby. Lo and Hi input Lo for the Ballsy guitars "featuring Humbuckers" and High for the Lush of Single coils. Features an overdrive circuit that is switchable from the front panel or footswitch. A "Presence" switch that enhances your highs. Resonance that simulates a form of compression that bottles up the bass offering a slightly tighter low end. Variable speaker outputs for maximum compatability with different cabs... helpfull when dealing with speakers with a different tolerances "Ohms".re-biasing from 6l6 to el34's at the flick of a switch "handy". A valve coupled effects loop that comes with a rotary to control the level of effects output. Slave in and out for chaining amplifiers. I bought this amplifier because it was too much for what he wanted "I think he wanted something with integrated effects and was intimidated by a tube amp in its raw form.I payed 400$ for the head and the 4x12 cab ... a GOOD deal.

Now for the sound.... Factory this amp is very raw,grainy, and loud.I was never satisfied with the stock sound and chose to replace the power section with mesa el34's.... this evened out the tone and the harmonic was better but the amp was still very "Flat sounding" and lacked character but..... after much research in the tube area cramming my skull with much info I finally purchased a full re-tube kit with JJ E34L's a balanced ecc803s "blanaced triode" for the phase inv. 2 ecc83s graded HOT for high gain and then a standard ecc83 in the v4 position all for about 70$.... This combomation LIVENED up this amplifier. The tone is thick and creamy WONDERFULLY harmonic's .. not quite as beefy sounding as a marshall... or as crisp as a deluxe reverb but somewhere in between. The high's are trimmed and not piercing , the low and mids are where this amp comes alive. The amps natural drive is so appealing to me now that I am contemplating laying my rat and option5 destination overdrive pedal aside for the footswitch to punch in and out the amps natural drive that is as smooth as they come. Clean this amp is smooth and crisp and starts to break up around 7 in the preamp offering a slight vintage drive. This overall sound is very appealing to the "Shoegazer" in me. To sum it all up the tone is truly "Unique"

"Cab Info"
4X12
__________celestion_________
(g12m greenback) ( Vintage 30 )
( vintage 30 )(g12m greenback)

"Custom not original config"

Solid for a tube amp. The amp features a 30 sec warm up time from power-on that saves the tube section a bit. The Standy can also add to the life of the tubes by Keeping the tubes primed and warm but reducing the load or demand. So when you are gigging this amp you can more safely and effectively prime this amp before you deliver.

The site is helpfull with manuals... they offer copies of their manuals in pdf format.. easy to locate.
I consult a local tech prior to speaking to laney .. Im not fond of tech support over the phone..

I have been playing for 12 years 7 of those years "Active".
I have alot of gear... Here are a few items..
I own a fender 65 deluxe reverb "Re-issue"
Fender 62 Jaguar "U.S. Re-issue"
Seagull 12+ Cedar top
67 Hofner Galaxie
After A re-tube and a better heartbeat in the cab that featured stock 4 H-H 12" speakers...
I would recommend the head and one of the newer cabinets that feature celestions in their cabs.

To get the head up to speed I would suggest 1st Eurotubes.com Bob is a great guy and offers a great deal of info,JJ electronics knows what they are doing. Dougstubes.com for more variety.
NO HH LOADED CABS!
The GH50L is a great value.

See the other reviews all I can say is USE YOUR VOLUME AND TONE KNOBS and its very versatile. I am rating this beast for classic rock and metal. Thin Lizzy to '87 Whitesnake type stuff.

Yes its true this is a tone monster,forget distortion/overdrive pedals you wont need them, honestly the distortion is that good, why do you think Paul Gilbert uses Laney and Andy Timmons and these guys can play a bit and could use any amp out there. I use the effects loop for delay and put a Boss ns-2 in the loop too as I have the DRIVE pot at 7 and it can hiss like a snake but its worth it for the sound. So yes it is noisy at high gain sounds. Back to the sound, its the best I've heard, makes your solos sound huge and holding a note even at lowish volumes makes you sound like Gary Moore on steroids. I'm bored now so just buy one and stop pissing money on names on amps.

Been playing 10 years, gone through MARSHALL/MESA/SOLDANO AND NUMEROUS RACKS etc etc etc tried everything and finally got THE sound shame it took 10 years and thousands of pounds and this bloody thing cost peanuts. I would like to compare it to a CORNFORD MK50H as thats the only amp I think could kick its ass, shame about the ?1000 price difference. Check out JAN CYRKA too, he used the GH50L for the majority of his sounds on his albums and he has a beautiful tone, hes a bit good too. Fek it just buy one and thank me for sharing my good luck.

The chassis says 95'. Pretty straight forward one channel all tube amp with an effects loop and footswitchable gain. I got mine used, which I think was played with to use different resistors in the power amp section(I could have gotten a sunburn from the tubes running so hot). Anyhow, I run this with a THD Hotplate since this is one LOUD amp. I loaded it with re-issue Mullard EL34's and Groove Tube 12AX7-M's with a Golden Dragon for a Driver Tube. There really is a difference in the tubes you select.

I pretty much like a distorted sound that cleans up somewhat when I roll the guitar volume back a bit. I have a bunch of Strats and Les Pauls that I use from gig to gig. I like to change guitars around when I play so none of them get jealous.

Clean channel.... I don't need no stinking Clean channel.

When I got the amp, the sound was OK but I had to roll the treble and Presence back alot to keep it from cutting my head off. I've since added several resistors and capacitors to the design to change the sound. The result it a ballsy basic sound that really gets great when you activate the Drive switch. I think the Master needs to be turned up to about 5 to get the power tubes working.

The distortion was a bit harsh to me before the modifications. Now it sings pretty nicely. Really, how many Distortion sound do you want a one channel amp to make. I have several pedals to alter the sound for variation. I give it a 9 with my mods.

The driver tube went tits up a while back. It made me really think about a backup unit since I had none and no tubes. I give a break to a 95' unit here.

These guys don't let you write them with questions. I don't think there's much support unless you live around the corner in England.

I've beem playing 25+ years. I owned or played a number of amplifiers. I can't see paying a ton for amps for the name. Look for the schematic to see what you are really getting. If you want an all tube amp that you can mess with to get your sound, this is a great amp at an unbelievable price (new or used). I have a Marshall 800, a modded Sovetek Midget 50H, a Trainwreck clone(from a Fender Bandmaster by me incidently), and a Line6(that's not that bad). This one's definately in my small Hall of Amps collection.

Read below for the specs. Keep in mind, this is a single channel, master volume amp. As for features, for what it is, this thing is loaded! Tube biasing switch, multiple ohm matched speaker outs, switchable distortion, resonance switch, slave out, and serious effects loop routing options. Not too versatile, but enough extras to suit me fine.

Wow...I had no idea Laney made such a sweet sounding amp. You need to know that my main influence is old school hard rock, and this amp does not dissapoint. Think Ratt, Dokken, Racer X, and all the sounds are there. Originally, I was going to get the amp just for it's clean channel and run my PODxt through it, but the distortion is wayyy better on it's own. You can dial in a very warm clean sound, but I agree with others that there's that magic 'sparkle' missing somehow. I would think that Laney really focused on making the distortion the amp's forte however. Noise? No more so than any other hi gain amp I've owned, and even more refined than most. Anyone that claims this amp doesn't have enough gain is smoking crack.

I've had mine for 6 years now with no issues whatsoever. The day I purchased the amp from my local music store, it had no output. A quick inspection revealed that the speaker output jack had a solder come loose. One minute with the soldering iron fixed the issue, which is also the last one my amp has ever had. I can say that I baby all of my gear, and rarely have issues with anything I own, so I'm glad my Laney is no exception.

As much as I love my amp, Laney's support (or lack thereof) sucks. Their website has absolutely NO e-mail address, physical address, or contact information anywhere. Thier site only provides links to their dealers. Amp comes with 1 year warranty on amp, 90 days on tubes, and another 2 years if you submit the registration card.

I love my Laney! In fact, I bought the 100 watt version of this amp a few weeks ago. As a point of reference, I also currently own a Marshall JCM 800, and a Peavey JSX. I have owned Mesas and most recently an ENGL amp as well. Laney amps are the best kept secret out there! It's really a shame that Laney's marketing is so lame, because they made a winner with this amp! My only complaint with the amp is it's super huge logo. They could have made it a bit more subdued, but instead it's able to be read from hundreds of feet away. It's styling shows that they're shooting for the Marshall crowd. Since I already own a JCM 800, I can honestly say the Laney sounds more like a Marshall than the Marshall does! However, it tends to have more punch and sounds much warmer to me than my Marshall does. I also recently tried the TT50 triple channel Laney head, and it's distortion didn't seem to sound as nice as the GL series. I love the ability to re-bias the amp with a simple switch and swap EL34's or 5881's so easily. I can own any amp I want, and at ANY price, the Laney is the best choice I've made in amps in a long time.

Single Channel with Switchable Gain Stages
6L6 or EL34 Power Section
4 12AX7 Preamp Tubes
Effects Loop with Level Control

Basically, it's stripped down and simple, so there's less to go wrong. It's not going to have 30 different tones inside of it, but it will do the rock tone extremely well.

This amp is probably THE best value on the tube amp market today. I picked mine up for $600 new, and spent $40 getting it retubed and biased and it is the best sounding amp I own. My signal chain is as follows:
Les Paul Studio w/ Duncan JB or American Tele w/ Noiseless
BOSS SD-1, BD-2, BF-2, and TU-2 into either
Laney GH50L, Modified 1983 Marshall JCM 800, or Peavey Classic 30. The cab used is a Marshall JCM 900 slant with 2 Vintage 30's and 2 G12T-75s.

As far as clean goes, this is not a Fender amp, nor is it supposed to be. The clean is passable as a clean tone, but it doesn't really "sparkle". I would not use this amp for ska/country, but as a rock clean tone, it gets the job done.

The distortion is where this amp shines. It is higher gain than my 800, and due to the extra 12AX7 in the front end of the amp, it compresses a little more. Whether you like that or not is another topic. I find that it gets a really nice hard rock tone, and this amp is also warmer due to the midrange being there as opposed to Marshalls, which tend to have a more nasal mid control. I changed the output tubes to EH EL34s and had it biased a little hotter and it made the amp seem much more alive. I would say that now, the amp has the gain of a Peavey 5150/Mesa, but a very typically British tone, without the midrange boxiness that a JCM800/900/2000 can tend to have.

I toured with this amp for two years, I've changed the output tubes once, the preamp tubes twice, and that's all I've done to it. As far as gigging without a backup, tube amps are inherently an unstable creature, and when you gig without a backup, you are asking to have something go wrong, so I never gig without a backup. But if it came to the point where I had to, I would feel best about this amp being my #1, as it is newer and the wiring inside is very well done and clean.

As above, I haven't had to deal with Laney, so I've got nothing here.

This is by far the best sub-$1000 amp head on the market right now. I put it up against a $2500 Roccaforte amp, and the Roccaforte beat it, but it was a narrow defeat, and considering the price point, this amp was the value winner.

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!