Tech 21 Trademark 30

The variety of sounds can cover pretty much any amp sound you could need, without emulating certain models 1:1. The amp is very light and the sansamp output means it can be run into a PA with good results. Overdriven, or with a tiny bit of drive, this amp can get quite loud (relatively), though the clean sounds are quite quiet. As my gigs have been getting bigger lately, I've been using this amp purely as a 'sansamp' through a PA, without having to rely on the amps power. A 'sansamp' ('sans' is French for 'without') with an amp is a bit silly though, and I might replace with a GT2 or a character series pedal (probably the Vox one, as that is one sound not in the amp). This is not a cheap amp (at least not here in Europe) and definately no beginner toy! A beginner doesn't need all the sounds this thing can offer, nor the exceptional sound quality (though quality is always a good thing if you can afford it!:-). Footswitching wouldn't hurt, though I don't miss it. The included plastic cover is a great feature! Leather handle is very compfy.

Using it with a Strat and an Ibanez Artcore Jazz guitar with two humbuckers. The mellow sounding Ibanez works best set on 'tweed' and 'hot' or set on 'british' and clean. 'California' and 'clean' sounds too mellow for the Ibanez, though sounds great with the Strat. The speaker settings basically make it sound a bit bassier and mellow (US) or more crisp and bright (UK). Sound quality is outstanding, and can outdo pretty much any other non-tube amp trying to sound like a tube amp. From subtle breakup to full out distortion, it has everything you need at great quality. The reverb is a proper USA spring reverb and sounds great

I've been using it professionally since December in the Swiss Alps, carring it down the street at -10 celcius and doing outdoor gigs in the sun, the cold and even in light snowfall (I recommend covering the amp, or at least putting an umbrella over it). Only trouble I ever had was the reverb breaking down, though technically that is an accutronics product and not tech21. Was a minor problem I could quickly fix though.

Great! Lloyd wrote right back, just as the other reviews say, and cleary explained how to fix my reverb, and what to do if I couldn't fix it.

Great sounding, solidly built amp. I love it for it's lite weight and ruggedness. It's loud enough for small gigs, and the built in sansamp through the PA (or a power engine) makes big gigs a piece of cake. Only trouble is that the amp is huge compared to a sansamp pedal, but tiny compared to a larger, stand-alone amp. I often play by myself, transporting a small PA on a trolly with the guitar on my back. Often I need to walk a fair distance, or load my geat onto trains and buses. Therefore, I need to keep everything as lite as possible and I may just switch to the pedal. If you need a stand-alone amp, check out the TM60 with 1x12, 2x12 or 4x10. The TM30 however is a great comprimise. Highly recomended!

Enough feature where you are not overwhelmed.

On the Marshal setting...a dead ringer. This is the only NON TUBE amp that I own because it is the only one that pulls off the TUBE SOUND trick well.

I've opened up this amp...very well built and uses a very high end power transformer. I've seen enough amps to know this is a solid amp.

Answered all of my questions before and after I purchased this amp. Very helpful..

Believe the hype on this one. It is a true "tube" sounding amp with analog SS circuitry. Very impressed. I will be buying the Trademark 60 next...

Essentially, this is a Sansamp GT-2 in a small amp form. It does pretty much everything and anything. Best for recording, not a switchable live rig by any means.

I use this as a portable shit kicker and for rehearing and recording original tunes with my drummer. This little sucker will drive a Marshall 1960 cab to LOUD levels, but you have to make sure the cab is set to 4 ohms. Normally I use a Marshall 1959 slpx head with a Marshall 1960a and a Genz Benz G-Flex 2-12 cab on the bottom. This is my live rig and can only be described as GOD of THUNDERCHUNK. So when I showed up with this little fella ther was some chuckling going on, until I plugged it in and cranked it up. Then it was more like jaws on the floor..lol

No worries whatsoever. I take this to live gigs as a backup to the Marshall because I KNOW it will get the job done if need be. I'm serious, man. This was probably the best spent 300.00 bucks ever, although I have to say that by itself, through it's own speaker, it's not nearly as loud as when jacked to the 4-12 a 4 ohms. For the people who say this is a quiet 30 rms, they are probably trying to use this as a stand alone amp. Fine for home rehearsal, not good for loud band situations. But like I said, jack it to a 4-12 at a 4 ohm load and lookout. PLENTY of chutzpah for any situation!

Never needed it...

A great little beast as long as you use it the right way. If you're expecting an AC-30 kind of 30 watts, you're gonna be disapointed. Try it like I suggested and you'll be in for a BIG surprise!

It's a single channel amp with, frome the left to the right, a gain pot, a three postions amp switch (tweed, british, california), a three position mode switch (clean/crunch/overdrive), a three position speaker switch (u.s/u.k/flat). The traditionnal 3 equalisation knobs, a reverbe pot and a master volume. Only the on/off switch and you have all.

The amp have an effect loop on the back, a direct out, a headphone out, and a cab out (under 4ohms).

This combo fits a 10" tech21 custom speaker (that his probably designed by eminence).

The main default of this amp his that he was built for home applications... It's a shame, and I will it explain in the next section.

The sound his awesome. Oh, I'm hearing the crowd who say "it's not expensive, it's not sounding"... so I let you in your dreams.

I'm playing this amp with a Dean Flying V usa exotic custom and a warrior soldier. I have tryed many other guitars and always found interessant soundvariations.

The first his that this amp color extremely the signal. It takes the character out of your guitar and lay his personal touch on the sound.

The sound range goes from a round belly clean that, it's true, his familiar with the bassmann. But this sound his more excited. It feels in a way very chirurgical clean, or in the other way, too pushed. But it's an interesting mode that allow funny soundexperiences. To a chimering marshall clean with a lots of highs. In this mode too, the cruch his coming very fast.

I must notice that the stage between clean and crunch his not so musical.

The tweed crunch his warm and give perfect fit for modern pop sound who must bite but stay warm at the same time.

The brit crunch his very interesting. Good detail in the sound, direct, with a lot of bite, it's perfect for american rock rythm, or for solos with a respectable amount of reverb. A little word about the reverb. Excellent ! Not at Fender or orange scale, but you can push it to the limit and the reverb his singing with harmony and don't seem harsh. Excellent.

I don't like the calif channel so I will not speak about.

The overdrive brit section give more pump and balls to the sound. Some guy's whould say it's less chirurgical as the crunch channel and more tsunami sounding. It's a little bit true. The sound his perferct for the music I'm creating. It haves the direct and tight sound with focused mids, that only a transistor amp could reproduce. with the grain and caothic harmonics of an overdriven Marshall 2203 in the back, but with more precision. So it sound, in a way, familiar to a randall warhead (but not the same grain).

An excellent amp, I started recently to use this amp live. But I must get through a tech21 poweramp who allow me to hear what I'm playing. I'm using for cd records and home. Very versatile in this way. But you have not enough power for live.

I know, for live you have a trademark 300 and 120, but I tried these amps. Their don't sound near so good as the trademark 30 (it's the mix between speakers and the specifical preamp on this amp that giving this great sound).

Never problems with my amps

Good service before the sell. Nice swiss agent but have not ever the time.

Excellent amp that can become a legend, if fits in the right hands. Too bad that tech21 his not more known.

I'm not sure when this amp was made, but I assume it's recent. Has three amp models, eah with switchable from 'clean' to 'hi gain' to 'hot' (but not footswitchable). low, mid high controls, reverb n master level. also
has DI out, FX loop, headphone out and ext spkr out. Keep in mind that nothing is footswitchable!

Now before I mention sound quality, I'll make it known that this is a VERY quiet 30 watts. Even for solid state. And additionaly, you can't get close to that max volume with a clean tone (which, in my opinion is just taking tube simulation a little too far; solid state still has some advantages that should be used...such as headroom).

I am using this with an Ibanez AS73 (ie 335 copy) and can get most of the tones I need out of it; blues, jazz, rock etc etc.

Although it is very versatile and most of the sounds you get out of it are high quality, there seems to be a couple of drawbacks:
-I am having trouble getting consistency between different strings, ie anything I play on the high 2 strings is much quieter than the lower strings. Yes I've tried many eq settings, and no it's not my guitar because it doesnt happen with other amps.

-The tone can becaome quiet peircing in the upper midrange, even with only some overdrive. It really has that 'Ouch' in it. (not the good ouch). An good EQ pedal would solve this..

It isnt a noisy amp, and for metalheads it has far more distortion than you'd ever need.

Solid state, no tubes to fail. I gig with it.

Haven't needed to

I've been playing for some time, owned a few amps. I bought this because I needed something small (sick of lugging around a 125w combo that I can't turn past 2 without damaging someones hearing)

For the price range, it beats most amps; the main competitor is the roland cube but this is definatley better.

It would be great if it was as loud as other 30w amps.