Laney HC50R Hard Core

pretty much straight forward with 2 channels clean and overdrive w/ reverb. ext,speaker and a effects loop in the back that doesnt have send or return levels so my effects seem to just feed back when i plug em in there. so i just go right in the front.1x 12 inch speaker

i gotta admit i bought this amp thinking that laney was a real great company because tony iommi and others i like used lany and even though they all had tube powerd laneys i thought they were probly able to make a decent sounding solid state amp,WELL i was a little pissed at this thing because every setting{ on overdrive channel} sounded kind of thin and removed any trace of my guitars tone the clean channel was ok i guess and probably the best if i put a little bit of comp and overdrive and what ever else on it.it seemd to keep most of my strats tone and not get too tinny like the OD channel. but overall i cant beleive how much this thing feeds back its bananas i cant really get up to a regular basement band jam level without it screaming at me,and ive tryed les pauls and other single coil or mixed humbker guitars and they all feedback on this thing

i havent owned it long enough to know but im sure i wont keep it too long. but its surely built solid with a metal grill and a good wooden case,closed back and good corners and rubber feet

DOES NOT APPLY

WELL,ITS OK FOR THE HOUSE AND JUST DICKING AROUND,BUT IM NOT GONNA KEEP IT BUT MAYBE ITS SOMEONE ELSES CUP OF TEA. I LIKE MY FENDER TWIN OR MARSHALL JTM30 1X12 COMBO OR EVEN A PEAVEY CLASSIC 50/50 POWER AMP THOSE ARE A REAL GREAT RIG IF YOU USE EFFECTS PROCCESORS JUST GO guitar,processor,power amp and your choice of speaker AND IT CAN HANDLE ALMOST ANYBODYS KIND OF MUSIC AND THERES NO FEED BACK.

It doesn't do a whole lot, and amps really don't need to. That's why we have effect pedals and synths. But powerful sound is important to an amplifer, and this one doesn't stack up (no pun intended) to other amps (including other Laneys).

It is a good house amp, at 50W. I've always liked solid-state better, because: A. It WILL exceed tube technology in the future, if it hasn't already; B. It runs a lot cooler; C. It's generally cheaper, and D: It's a lot easier to find. This is, obviously, a solid-state.

For the time we bought it (1997-8), my brother and I were enamored by what it could do. We had only been playing guitar for about a year (but bass for about four), and we weren't knowledgeable about gear (like I am today). Now, ten years later, I don't remember it sounding that great; especially compared to the new crop of modeling amps.

It does suit my musical styles - I'm largely ska-metal on guitar - to some degree. The Electro-Harmonix Big Muff helps a LOT.

I always liked the fact that it was built well. Laney built this, a lower-end combo amp, in England, and (presumably) under the same quality control guidelines as their higher-end stuff. I've dropped it countless times, and it works. It's been in my basement for five years, and I'm willing to wager that it still works perfectly.

I'd never gig with it, though, but that's because:
A. I don't gig much anymore.
B. I'm a bass player, and this does not work well with basses.

No need.

If it were stolen, I'd actually be kind of relieved to get rid of it - we're hurting for space in our house.

But I'm going to try dissecting it - maybe I can link up the preamp portion to my computer, and run Guitar Rig 2 with it.

Good for what it is, but I'm a better musician, and I need better tools.

I lied...I have at least one more note. I tried plugging my HC50 into a 4x12 cabinet. Instant increase in bass response! Overall much better tone! I am now of the conviction that what sucks about this amp is either the speaker driver or the cabinet design. The amp itself seems to be exonerated, at least a bit. Mine may have some promise after all...I'm now tempted to cannibalize it, putting the chassis into a small head-type enclosure and using the thing as a stack. Or maybe I just need a new driver. We shall see.

Lessons learned: Think outside the box (literally!). Try absolutely every option you can think of.

Please see the previous two episodes in my ongoing love-hate relationship with my HC50. All the same knobs and jacks are still there.

You know, I still can't really definitively tell whether I like the tone of this thing or not. Some days it's acceptable, others it "sucks ass, major ass," as my bandmate would say. What I CAN now say definitively, having lived with this puppy for five years and through three bands, is that my original opinion about the HC50's weak bass response was essentially correct. I'm surprised at all the reviews in the interim that have complained about the lack of treble in this amp...for me the treble and midrange are overwhelming that I now have to routinely play with the bass at 10 and the mid and treb at 5, and there's still little bottom end. My main guitar, a Lotus str@t (see review) sounds okay through it, I guess, and my Epi Les Paul, now on its second replacement lead pickup (it's had two Duncans,a JB and a '59) sounds way better than it did in 1999, but it's still not a *great* tone. Passable, not great.

Also, having been in three bands with this amp, I will go on record and say that 1) it is indeed loud, and 2) loudness by itself is not what counts, as I've found out. Even with a pretty hefty volume, I've found that the HC50 gets lost in the din of the two Marshall JCM stacks my Floorian mates use. The bassless tone just does not cut through. If I turn it up, it just gets piercing, but it doesn't help. I dunno if I'm just doing something wrong. In my other band, in which I handle lead guitar with no competition (our singer plays acoustic through the PA) it fares considerably better.

As to the clean and dirty sounds...Clean is okay. Crunch is okay. Nothing spectacular but usable. I've decided that the Clean breakup at higher volumes is sometimes useful for lightly overdriven sounds. It'll never fool anyone into thinking glass and hot electrodes, but it does come in handy for those occasional Graham Coxon-style angular rhythm chords.

Bottom line: I think this amp was designed and voiced for solitary playing; ie as a practice type amp, or single-guitar band situations (I'm guessing garage, punk, etc). Mix it in with other loud instruments and you can forget it. If you've moved beyond thrashing with your buds after school, if you're actually to the point of playing actual gigs, get a stage amp. A 2x12 or something. I probably will soon. I have a craving for a Peavey, for some reason.

One major problem that has cropped up occasionally. There is some kind of intermittancy related to the effects loop jacks in back, so as the amp more or less cuts out completely after you've plugged into them and then unplugged. Some wiggling will help, but you get no sound at all save for some weak fuzzy noise of your guitar trying to get through if you bang on your strings real loud, like a distortion pedal with an almost depleted battery. Then the problem goes away. A ground short, most likely. This has been a major headache a couple of times, as we Floorian people had a Lexicon rack processor hooked up to it. (I now use my bandmate's Fender Stage 100 [?] DSP onstage until I get my hands on something better myself.)

Other than that, no complaints about reliability. Physically, mechanically, everything's holding up nicely.

Never used.

Okay, this is my final statement on the HC50. I have had it for about five years now, so I've had plenty of time to get to know it. When I bought it I was still a bedroom music-nerd, and although I wasn't necessarily pleased with the sound once I got it home (it sounded terrific on the sales floor at Sam Ash! what happened?) it wasn't involved in any mission-critical work. It was all still just personal amusement, essentially. Then I joined my first band. It was nice to at least have an amp--the first time I ever played with a band I didn't, and had to go direct into the board which sucked ass, major ass--but I began to realize just how unsuited the HC50 was to a semi-pro, gigging application. And not just from the user's pov, because in that band I was on bass and our guitarist was using it, so I could (or couldn't as it were) hear it from a distance. Now that I *am* using it myself in a band context, I find myself frustrated more often than not. It's the old feeling: it does works, but it doesn't work *well* for what I do. Onstage it just gets lost, on recordings it sounds okay only with heavy EQ. But it's not designed for either app, people. I don't even think it's particularly outstanding as a practice amp.

My recommendation: if you're a younger rock-oriented player who above all else wants a cheap and loud amp with a decent distortion channel, the HC50 might be a good choice as long as having a flexible tone isn't critical and you don't spend too much on it. But be warned: as you grow and develop as a guitarist, you WILL outgrow this amp, rather sooner than later. Those who have progressed to working-guitarist status aren't going to find much here to be impressed with, but they will probably not be looking at one of these anyway. For myself, I will probably look at things like Peaveys and the newer Kustoms for my next amp (not to mention that I will also try to find a 4x12 cab for my vintage Kustom head, see review).

And that's all I have to say on the subject.

Please visit my bands' websites:
http://www.floorian.com
http://www.twiggyandfrollywog.com (the first three soundclips here feature my Lotus str@t played through my miked HC50)

Pretty basic amp, clean and crunch and the option of adding reverb is ok. Haven't got my FX loop to work so I don't rate that too much. Hi and Low inputs are nice to have too.

Use Jackson Stealth with bridge humbucker and two singles. Metallica, Pantera, Sepultura style. Not too bad with the noise, although I do rely on the noise reduction on my Zoom box. Clean is quite good actually, but the crunch is apalling, need to use external effects to get a decent distortion for the style of music I play.

It's extremely solid, can take a bashing without the slightest signs of scarring. Very reliable, never had any problems with it.

Never dealt with them

I'd get Laney again, but possibly a TF320 - I would never recommend this range. I think an amp within this price range should be able to compete with an equivalent Peavy but it's left in the dark

1997 HC50R; Had it since early 1999.
Not very versatile - very one-sided to punk rock and skate music.
2 channels; clean and dirty; foot-switchable, 1 effects loop, headphone jack.

It could look classier. Looks too much like a meat-headed, beginner's amp. Nonetheless, I use all the features except the cabinet extension and headphone jack (c'mon, really, who uses headphones? - the sound sucks).

I use the amp for all sorts of music. It's powerful enough, only because I go through the PA via a mic.

I'm using an Ibanez RX-60 with 2 single coils at the neck and middle and a humbucker at the bridge (my friend calls it the "shredder" - 'nuff said). The clean channel is pretty good, but could have a little more body in it. Good for funk and percussive lead/rhythm.

The dirty channel is nothing short of crap and gets really noisy with the gain turned up (sqealy and hard). It also lacks a lot of bass. I find myself turning the treble way down and the bass way up! It really only suits puck rock stuff (not metal - it's too weak for that). You're probably best off using this channel at lower gains for styles with light distortion.

I run a couple of Boss single effects through and the quality is good.

Never had a real problem. Sometimes I get an occasional rattle from a relative frequency of some note I play and a couple of times the sound cut out with the effects loop. Otherwise I FULLY TRUST this amp.

My laney footswitch stuffed up and they replaced it under warranty for free (1 year warranty). I could access the manual on the laney website at http://www.laney.co.uk

Otherwise I haven't really dealt with them.

I've been playing pretty full-on for over 5 years. I own a Boss digital reverb/delay and chorus and a Yamaha FG-401 steel string acoustic. I have a PRS Santana SE on the way. (I can explain - I'm a uni student and I have a small budget). If it were loss I'd get a laney Tube-Fusion - for a just a few more hundred bucks you get much more!
The HC50R is a bit of a let-down for a Laney. It's a good beginner's amp and its value holds with its price. I pretty much bought it because I was on a budget (still am) and I desparately needed an amp - It's one of the best in its price range though.

If you're just starting out and you can't spend too much, then this is a pretty good buy. But if you've got the money or you're heading to a more "professional" environment, please go for something else.

The bottom line fo this amp, is not bad for the buck. 50 watts, 2 channels with seperate eq's and reverb for a little over two hundred dollars.

Clean channel is good enough for the bedroom, but don't ever take this one to a gig. The sealed back makes the bottom-end in clean and distortion over-bearing. The distortion is thin and unnatural sounding, and I would advise not even switching to it unless necessary. Doesn't sound so horrible overall with some type of effect unit run to it.(Ex. Digitech RP series)

One of the most solidly buil amps ever made. I've dropped my twice, pretty hard, and never had problems.

Never dealt with them.

I've had this amp in my bedroom for five years, and for the price it's not bad. It's is the loudest amp you'll ever hear in this price range, but you don't really want to hear it more than once.

Feel free to read all the other posts for features.

After having this for 5 and a half years, i realize this thing sounds AWFUL. The clean channel does not allow much treble into the mix, and sounds muddy. The crunch channel sounds even worse. I usually use the clean channel and run a pre-amp into it. That sounds REALLY bad at high volumes. It sounds fuzzy and waaaay too bassy. It's just really really bad. I thought it was great when i bought it in 8th grade. Funny how things change.

It is very reliable, if you want that good old awful tone.

Never had a problem

I bought this amp about 5 1/2 years ago and thought it was teriffic. After playing through some friend's amps and in guitar stores since then, i realize this is terrible, terrible tone. Just say no kids. I heavily recommend that you DO NOT buy this amp!

Effects Loop (Usefull), Reverb (OK), Distortion (rubbish), Headphone Jack, 2 inputs, No Lone Out, Just One Master volume, no gain. This amp has more than enough power for me (occasional gigging, but mostly used at home).

I use a strat copy, and love a clean sound, so this amp suits my style of playing. Occasionaly I would like to use distortion but the built in distortion here is not up to the job.

Well it has never broken down on me yet. Have used it at gigs without any backup.

NotYet

I've had this amp for about 3 years. If stolen I would probably try and get something with valves. Basically if you want a decent practice amp that can be used for occassional gigging, this is worth a look.

go to over all rating

When i got this amp i thought it was the world
then i joined a band
still thought it was ok
then i got gigs
oh my god
this thing sucks so much
i was told it was "great for practice and gigging"
the clean channel breaks up after bout 5
and the distortion is thin and it squeels
this was the dumbest decision i have ever made
please if you are a serious player dont buy this amp
you will be so very dissapointed

clean and overdrive channels, reverb, effects loop. it's pretty loud for a 50 watt, but not quit enough punch to cut through drums.

i play an ibanez sa160 with emg81 and 2 emg SAs. i play mainly deathmetal. gets very noisy (Squeels) at high volumes. i thought it was loud untill i jammed with it. not loud enough. clean channel is pretty good. distortion is weak, not hardcore at all. it'll do if you want to play blink 182 or other girly music, but if you want real overdrive, look elsewhere or get a peddle. i don't like it's tone either.. if you want a scooped, all-out destruction sound, it don't cut it. i blew the speaker with volume around 8 on crunch channel, so be careful.

besides the speaker blowing, it's fine. i thought it could handle 8 volume, but i guess not.

never talked to em

good cheap amp, but the last amp i bought a crate mx120r, blows this little combo out of the water, for only 100 bucks more. it's a good amp for not very advanced players who aren't picky about distortion or tone, and who don't need ear crunching volume.

I bought this amp in january 2001 and have loved it ever since. Even though its solid state it still cranks and is extremely loud for 50 watts. It has 2 channels and reverb with a line out and an effets loop.I use this amp for band rehearsals and just to crank it up on my freinds farm. It easily has enough power for me, but if i wanted stereo sound i might hook it up to a quad box not that it would need it

I use a crappy old yamaha through a cry baby then into the amp. I had a danelectro distortion pedal but after buying this amp i pawned it due to this amps great distortion whick i controll with a foot switch. I play all kinds of music from korn to ben harper and this amp suites them all. Basically i can play anything through this!!!
When i was choosing this amp i made sure the clean channel was never distorted and it wasn't (unlike a much more expensive marshall)
I can change the distortion from metal to punk and even just a really light distortion all by turning the crunch factor down

I would trust my life on this amp, its built like a tank and ive taken it to gigs and the thought of it *&%^ing up never crossed my mind

I"ve never had any problems with this amp but my friend bought the 25 watt version of this amp and he blew the speaker but laney replaced it free of charge.

Ive been playing for 6 years and watched my dad playing gigs for years so i have a fair idea about what good and whats shit this is certainly not shit If it were stolen or lost id call the fbi to find it and beat the theifs head in with a stick. I like my amp more than my girlfriend and think everyone should own one. While choosing to buy amp i had the choice between it, a peavey studio pro, and a marshall. The marshall had sick distortion but the clean channel would distort at about half way- it just plained sucked. The peavey had a nice clean sound but the peaveys distortion was crap. Then i played this beast- the clean channel was loud but crisp and clean and the distortion was as compressed as a marshall that why this laneys in my living room and a marshall isnt.
Just a last message if your looking for a new amp BUy ONE OF THESE THEY ARE AWESOME

I bought the amp in December of 1998. It has a very versatile sound, despite the name "HardCore". I have found good blues, metal, punk and clean tones from the solid state. It has two channels with EQ's for each. It has remote channel switching capabilities, but I never got the pedal to do so. I wish it came with the amp, it would be very useful. It has and effect loop, a headphone jack, and an extension jack. I primarily use this amp for just playing in my bedroom, but it can hold it's own with a full band setup (drums, bass and vocals).

I use and ibanez gax70 with two humbuckers. I play all sorts of music, but primarily rock, metal and punk.Like I've said before, the amp has no problem with any sounds. I have never found noise until around 9 out of 10 in the volume range, on the distortion, or around 7-8 on the clean channels. the distortion can go from a sllight overdrive to almost all out rage.

I would definitly use it for a gig, the amp is very durable to hold up in an on-stage environment. I have blown the speaker, however. I'm not sure why, because it happened at a very low volume while playing all alone in my room, at about 1 and a half. Very confusing. Other than that, I have had no problems.

I have not dealt with the company because the amp was over warranty when the speaker blew. I could make the repair myself installing a 90 watt pyle driver.

I've been playing for four years, and this is one of the best things I have bought for my rig. I have an old CMI "mustang" imitation, bought it for 25 bucks at a garage sale, a decent first electric, but very noisy, as all cheapo guitars are. I also had a digitech rp5, til I jumped on it real hard. I love the sound and size of the amp. I did try some other amps, some tube amps but I really liked the Laney.

HC50R Its a really good amp for the dolla. I got it for 230 dollars. For fifty watts of power it plays loud and I have no problem chasing down my other guitarists Marshal. It has two channels from clean to to a decent distortion. I think the distortion could be smoother but I don't use the gain so high cause it gets too noisy. I don't think it should be advertised as hard core. It seems somewhat misleading to any one who plays metal. We play metal but I like it for my unique sound. I hook it up to a Marshal cab and it sounds good. Its a good budget amp.

I use a LesPaul with 490 and 498 pickups, A Floyd Strat with dual Dh1 humbuckers, and a Destroyer with a single distortion pick up. It can get noisy with the Strat on the gain channel, but it handles athe other two very well. The Strat sound great on clean. It is very rock-n-roll and heavy sounding enough for me. The distortion isn't too brutal There for I have to play it brutal.

Has never failed at all. And in some cases I always works better than the house amps at my bar.

Never needed any. Iguess if it failes I'll probably go for a bigger Laney VH100R

I've been playin for fifteen years and have gone through a few guitars and three amps. Dollar for dollar this is the best amp. But if I had to replace it I would go bigger and better, but still a Laney

I play every style of music under the sun. When I decided to go from a practice amp to a larger 'gigable' amp I chose this one primarly because of its cost. I paid like $250ish for it and I'll tell you its pros and cons.

Pros:
- Its cheap
- It can get pretty loud (50watts) and cuts right through the drums so you can be heard.
- It has a good clean channel

Cons:
-It has lousy distortion (I use an effects processor so I only use the clean channel)
-It squeals when it gets loud
-It looks dumb when your bass player has a half stack

I have a Roland ready strat and a Gibson Les Paul Standard and to tell you the truth that dumb 2 input thing makes no difference. It has really lousy reverb. And the overall sound is created by my processor not the amp. If your like 15 and want an amp that you can gig with in your high school band save your parents money and buy this amp. If you are over 17 and can play F#maj7 in more then 2 positions then this amp is not worth your time. My friend just bought a Marshall for $100 bucks more then this and I would go with that if I wasn't poor when I bought this.

Its built like a tank and it sounds like one too.

Hell if it breaks I'll throw it away. I don't want it fixed.

Like I said if you want to play barre chords and jump around to impress cheerleaders then this is fine. If you are experienced and want a cheap combo look more because this thing is not for you. Trust me if you are in high school. Don't flatter yourself and buy a halfstack to play covers. That pisses me off when I see little kids with better equipment than me and they play Nirvana covers that sound like a dying cow. If you want to know about this amp or have Q's about your situation I'd be happy to answer them.
Now I upgraded to a Laney Halfstack with the sweet TF800 head and that is a great amp. (But not for kids)

It's a 50W solid state amp. I have had mine for about a year now. My previous amp was a Crate GX-15, so obviously I like this one better. I think it looks extremely cool, with the black metal grill protecting the big speaker. It seems to be very sturdy(and heavy!). It has two channels, clean and dirty. There is a built-in spring reverb. There are input options for a footswitch, headphones and lo/high inputs for guitar. There are effect loop input/outputs in the back. There is also an output for an external speaker. I think it's enough features for its price.

I have a Les Paul with Seymour Duncans pickups('59 and duncan distortion). I play anything to rock to alternative and even some blues. For the price I paid, and I bought it new, I must say it is an honest amp. It is EXTREMELY loud, so I believe it could be used by professional musicians who need to gig a lot and need cheap and reliable amps. The distortion is extremely weak, and I believe this is the main problem with this amp. I never use the distorted channel, since it is very, very weak. It sounds horrible. It doesn't come anywhere near a Marshall or a Mesa or anything nice, even solid state. The clean channel is great. It is clear and loud and it responds nicely when you change the equalizer settings. Actually, I don't care to the distorted channel because I have like three or four distortion stomp boxes, and they really satisfy me. This amp is not noisy at all. If you don't mind using stomp boxes for distortion, instead of the amp dirty channel, I believe this amp is a great choice for a beginner guitarrist ( 1 to 2 years ), or for a musician on a budget who needs to play gigs for a living and need a simple to use, honest sounding and cheap amp.
Again, the distorted channel is not anywhere near "hardcore", as it is adverstised. But as long as you have a multi-effects or some stomp boxes, I believe this amp can serve you well until you can afford a "super" amp.

I believe it is very reliable. Unfortunately, my reverb stopped working, but I guess it is my fault. The day I bought the amp, I just put a cable from my stereo in the guitar hi input, and with the volume around 5, just hit the play button on my stereo to listen to "One big rush" by Satch... :) Man, what a stupid person I am. Not only it was so loud that my ears almost exploded, but several neighboors came complaining and then the reverb was gone... :( This is punishment for a stupid guitar player, I think. Yet, even after the incident the amp has been working flawless for a year, no noise or buzz or radio stations. It is a sturdy and reliable amp. An amp to be used and taken to gigs. Not like a boutique amp you never take outside your room.

Never dealt with them

I hope to buy a better amp in the future. However, for its price, this amp is lots of fun. YOu can gig with your friends, since it is loud and sturdy. The clean channel is very good and it will accept all kinds of effects and distortion boxes. As I said before, if you think an amp distorted channel is very important, go shop anywhere else. But I bet you won't get anything near this price. As long as you have some distortion boxes, this is an amp you can play loud and take to gigs and abuse because it is very realiable and sturdy. But it is a solid state amp and it sounds like it. If you want valve like tones or anything high end, start saving your money because it will cost you a lot more. This amp is fairly priced and it can give lots of fun, as long as you accept the limitation of the distorted channel.
I have a Marshall JH-1 Jackhammer pedal, Boss OD-3 overdrive and Tube Works Real Tube with a real valve, so I really don't miss the distorted channel.

Two channels, clean and "crunch" footswitchable, hi and lo inputs, fx loop, headphone input, external speaker output. Quite a few features for such a chep amp.

I use a LTD Explorer with an EMG-81 in the bridge position. Good clean sounds. Distortion is OK, but not bad at all. It sounds thin and too solid-state(Because thats what it is). You can get a mix of the Puppets and Ride the Lightning tone with gain, bass and treble at full, and mids at zero. Kind of noisy, but again not bad for the price. This thing can get LOUD! I dont think i've ever had the volume past 5. Good for a band setting.

I've had it for 2 years now and it still works as good as new. Dependable, in my opinion.

I've heard better amps, but like I've said before it's a lot of amp for a really good price. Great if you're on a tight budget and need a cheap loud amp. I don't really use the distortion anymore, because i use my Boogie v-twin(which ROCKS by the way). I also have a Boss-NS2, OD-3,GE-7and Korg Px3(also extremely cool). With the Boss EQ and clean channels both scooped you can get a REALLY good clean sound!Wish the distortion was more tube-like and versatile, but still good.

THIS IS AN ADDENDUM TO MY PREVIOUS REVIEW///
I just ran a head to head test of my HC50 between my Epiphone Les Paul and my Harmony H80T stratoclonester, and I realized that my previous reaming of this amp's sound was a bit skewed by the fact that I've been using my LP on this amp a lot recently. The strat sounded worlds different, and BETTER, than the Paul?a much more even, brighter tone than I remember, somehow, while the Paul in fact still sounded whiny and unpleasant. This leads me to believe that it's a problem with the guitar/pickups, not the amp. So keeping that in mind I'm going to raise the amp's sound quality rating a bit, since I know it's capable of better than I gave it credit for...please disregard the previous. I hope this backpedaling doesn't make me look like a total doynus :-P

Still not a perfect amp, but not as wretched as my stupid Paul led me to believe. (Maybe the weather has something to do with it?) The lesson learned here is to TRY a couple of different guitars on an amp before condemning it to Wormsville! I'd still rather have a Twin Reverb, tho.

Two channels: clean and dirty, switchable. Each channel has three EQ controls; I usually leave the midrange full-off, but sometimes I'll turn the bass down for a vintage surf-type tone. There is a decent spring reverb in this unit. Nothing really fancy in the features department, but has everything you NEED.

Okay, I have to say right off that I'm NOT impressed with the sound of the HC50. I'm the kind of guitarist who likes to experiment in his home studio with a wide variety of sounds (alternarock, jazz, hard rock), so I would like my amp to be capable of producing a good clean sound which I can then modify to suit. I don't just mean a clean CLEAN sound, but good fidelity whether clean or dirty channel is used. Not here, IMO. There seems to be way too much midrange on both channels for my taste, even with the mid control completely down as I use it. It has this hollow, nasally whine that I really don't like, and it's even worse when the reverb is on. I think the dirty channel produces a mighty muddy distortion, which is fine I guess if you're playing live, but since I play basically in my home studio, it's not so great; I use a variety of pedals instead, mostly my Boss orange box and my DOD Classic Fuzz. I use two guitars, an Epiphone LP Limited Edition and a Harmony H80T strat copy (amazingly, for the amp's dirty channel the Harmony actually sounds better!) Perhaps I shouldn't expect such high fidelity from a guitar amp, but this is the only serious amp I've owned...the other amps in the muzik shops always seems to sound so much better :-P ALso, the clean channel is very disappointing at high volume?it breaks up into muddy distortion as well! The one positive thing I have for the Laney is that it is in fact a LOUD amp. Maybe it's a bad matchup: a studio-bound twiddler with a macho stage amp...

Never had a problem with it.

Wouldn't know...

I've been steadily developing my playing for 15 years and until only recently I never owned a decent amp, until I bought my HC50. I must say I was considering others, primarily a Fender Princeton, but the price of the Laney couldn't be beat. It sucks that with all the power the HC50 has (as noted by others, it can be VERY LOUD for a 50W amp) it has such severe limitations in tone/sound quality. I would probably save up a few extra weeks and find a good Fender or Crate amp if I had to do it all over again.

This amp is a well built 1x12 s.s combo. I only really got it because it was available at such a cheap price. I like to play easy listening and death metal. Not so good for the metal, but overall the amp. is farily loud. Has a footswitch but no effects loop.

Right, well this amp has been marketed primarily as a high gain amp. It would certainly be fine for certain types of music you would expect to use distortion i.e. punk, however this gain is perhaps where the main problem with the amp lies: It is terrible for lead playing. You can forget such luxuries as two handed tapping etc... As a result I use a DOD FX86 Death Metal pedal instead of the distortion which works far better. So basically leave the distortion alone. On the brighter side though I was extremely impressed with the clean channel. It responded suprisingly well to my Jackson Stealth, producing some quite convincing jazz and blues tones. The reverb is pretty good too and acts to really add to the sound. Overall I would say this is a versatile amp, suitable for most styles off music save for the fairly pathetic lead tones. I really couldn't give it a high mark as I've played on so many superior amps.

As it is a Laney solid-state amp. then you can safely bet that it isn't going to explode without warning. No problems so far.

As I've never had any problems, I've never really had to deal with Laney so I suppose in terms of customer support this is n/a.

A suprisingly versatile amp. considering its so called 'High-gain' status. Good if you want to sound like B.B King or Green Day. Bad, very bad, if you want to sound like VanHalen. You probably should get a distortion pedal to supplement the 'crunch'. However if you don't mind purchasing some real distortion then the amp is very reliable and responsive. For the money it was great, but I wouldn't spend too much on it.

This is a relatively new, budget solid state amp. I t has basic eq for clean and "crunch". However, it unforunately has NO GAIN! This is it's biggest failing but I'll elaborate later. Features compared to most amps are very basic indeed. It doesn't even allow you to disconnect the preamp from the speaker/amp like other better Laney models but Hey, it's a low priced amp aimed at the new guitarist!

I'm using an Ibanez RG with a lot of Rocktron, Boss etc fx and a Big Muff For distorsion. The amp distorsion is ok. It's no where near as powerful and heavy as other people here have said. Clean is good though, bright and crisp. Here's the BIG problem however. You cannot really assess an amp in your won home. It need to go into a band situation to really test it. I found that my friend mere 30W Laney GC-30 was far superior in sound becuase it has a gain. It didn;t go as loud but the fatness of the sound allows for a really great sound that was more easily audible than my 50W amp! ANY distosion sound is far to thin on the HC50, it desperately needs gain. I want to sell this amp now because of this.. it's a shame I'm really gutted but quality has been sacrificed at the sake of cost. Another thing is the 12" speaker! That's insane for an amp of 50W! The amp isn;t powerful enough to really drive a speaker of that magnitude so you would expect some gain but there is no gain control! For a Laney this amp has poor sound.

Never broken so I guess that's a ten. Built like a tank too.

One year warrantly

I've been playing three year and am in a rapcore band. If it were lost I would be pissed off but only because I've got no money to get a better or new one at the moment. I like the great clean tone. I HATE the fact that the speaker to too large and there is no gain. Don;t get me wrong, LANEY amps are fantastic but don't do what I did and get this because you thought you were getting a lot of wattage per ound/dollar. Laney are wrong to market this as a rock amp, it's far too weak for that. It would be good for blues pplayers but if you have money get a much better model woth more features. POOR for a Laney.

I find that this amp is really geared towards high gain sounds which it does well enough.Better witha cab though

Noisy and hisses alot but the distortion is good when with bass and drums.I play a hamer through it

Never let me down but it pisses me off when one day it sounds great and the next crap

Never needed to.......

Good little amp for the money as im a student(short on cash) its my gigging and practice amp

Good solid state amp... cheap (only $250) from AMS or Musician's Friend (i don't remember which). It's a GREAT amp, i love the clean and distorted channels. I haven't used the effects loop because i run my guitar through some pedals and then into the amp. I play in my room AND with my band. i have never turned it up over 5, it's plenty loud! i don't have a footswitch,but if i got one of those, i wouldn't even need a distortion pedal (although it is fun tweaking with all my pedals)

Very versatile distortion!!! It kicks! I play alternative/rock and it works great for that. I use a Les Paul copy (Ibanez, 1977) with Gibson pickups. I don't like the low end sounds, but that problem is my guitar... I NEVER use the bridge pickup. The distortion is great because you can adjust it all the way from mellow to HOWLING. good for any style.

I've had it a year, and i hasn't broken. I don't think it will. I've screwed up my fair share of guitars, but even I couldn't break this amp! Go buy one tomorrow!

never have... probably never will

almost 4 years playing... not that long, but by now i know what i want. if it got stolen, i'd buy another one within an hour!!! overall great amp! and the only thing i will hapilly play for under $700!!! :)

Two channels, clean and crunch. Seperate 3-band EQ for each channel (Low, Mid, High). Effects loop, speaker out, headphone jack, footswitch jack (no footswitch included, I paid $25 for a 2-button Laney Footswitch with it. That controls channel switching and reverb). There is one control for reverb, that is it..all solid state, 1 12" H & H british made speaker. Metal grille plate. Good features for the price, I think it could use a built in chorus, but I'm not picky.

I use it with a variety of metal axes to play METAL. I use Jackson, ESP style, and Ibanez. It haS A GREAT clean tone, for a little 50-watt solid state thing. Nice dynamics. The crunch channel has tons of distortion, but it is pretty fuzzy after a while. I use a boss metal zone with it to get more punch and less fuzz.. I also use it with a crybaby, danelectro chorus, and boss flanger. I like it with my pedals.

It has proven itself to be okay, but I've only had it for two weeks.. so I'm not gonna comment.

I didn't get a power cord with the damn thing, so I called and got one in THREE days. Very cool. Never had other experiences.

I compared to some crates, marshalls, and peaveys, and this had the best clean tone. I didn't judge the distortion that much in the store because I knew I could make it wail with my metal zone and guitars.. I really like it. I got it to replace a stolen Peavey Bandit. I also own a Marshall Super Lead, a Mesa/Boogie Triaxis rack system, and a Crate BLue Voodoo, and a fender twin. I like this for practicing. It won't get you great tube distortions and sparkling, complex tones, but for the price it beats any other practice amp!

As far as features go, the Hard Core has two inputs, hi and lo, but only one can be used at once. Two channels, Clean and Crunch, foot switchable. There is a Clean Volume knob, and Treble, Mid, and Bass knobs for the clean channel. For the Crunch channel, there is a master volume, a knob labelled "Crunch Factor" which adjusts the amount of distortion without changing the volume. There are also Treble, Mid and Bass knobs for the Crunch channel.
Other features are reverb (which is also foot switchable), effects loop, a headphone jack, and a speaker out, which is damned useful, meaning you can plug it straight into a quadbox if the need arises! :)

Before I review the sound, I've got to say that I don't really know enough about good guitar sound to be a fantastic judge, but i'll try!
First of all, this amp is LOUD! It seems louder than your avwerage 50 watter to me. The loudest ive put it so far is 5, and that was easily loud enough for a small gig. I play mainly metal/rock, Metallica, AC/DC, Megadeth, and a bit of blues (Clapton). My guitar is an '87 Fender Jap Strat with Duncan Actives replacing the stocks. With this amp I can get a very nice Angus-y type distortion by putting the crucnch just below 7, the bass about half way, very little midrange, and treble at full. A classic Metallica (Puppets, Ride the Lightning) sound can be achieved by midrange at 0, bass at about 3 and treble at full. You can any range of disrtorted sounds from this amp, whether it be a Dave Gilmour clean type sound, that just distorts if you play it hard, to full on death metal grind. The clean sound is clean, surprisingly enough, although sounds very bassy to my ears. I was trying to get a clean Hetfield type sound, like on the front of "One" or "Welcome Home", but couldn't get it trebly enough even with the bridge pickup selected and the treble turned to full, and bass and mid at zero. This "bassiness" is true of the distortion too.
I can't really say how the sounds are at high volumes simply because I haven't cranked it yet due to fear of being kicked out of the house ;) Although the crunch channel is fairly hissy, moreso when the crunch is cranked.

Having only had it a week I can't really say, but being solid state there shouldn't be too many problems. It has a three year warranty, and one year on the speaker, so that should be some testament to its reliability. laney make pretty solid amps. My school's amp is Laney, and its been to hell and back, and still works fine.

Doesn't apply so far, and I'm expecting it to stay that way :) 3 year warranty, 1 year for the speaker

This is a fantastic amp as far as price and quality goes ($560 is cheap for Australia, we get ripped off :( ) I like the distortion, I like the clean sound. I compared it to a Crate GX65, it won hands down, and my retailer told me that the whole batch of 65's blew up, due to Perth's fluctuating electricity levels or something. Didn't happen anywhere else in Australia, so they weren't carrying them anymore anyway.