Tube Guitar Amp Versatility?

There is a wide spectrum of versatility when it comes to guitar amps.

At the skinny end are one trick ponies that produce a single, signature, killer tone.  They’re great for performing a narrow range of music or in a recording studio, but it’s likely that you won’t be happy if you play songs with any sort of tonal variety … and you don’t have the cash to buy an amp for every tone you want. 

At the fat end of the spectrum are amps that produce a vast array of tones and textures often providing too much flexibility at a high price.  While this may be gig worthy if the amp’s switching is easy to use, in our experience players faced with too many options have trouble finding and using them.  Their ultra-flexible amp ends up providing only a handful of tones – not good value.

The Heatseeker provides rock and blues players a useful range of great tube tones at a great price.  There are only three controls: volume, tone and the Character switch.  That’s it.  However, you may be surprised at how versatile such a simple setup can be.

Where does that place the Heatseeker on the versatility spectrum?  We think right where it should be!  Here’s why.

Useful range of tones.  Sweet chime and cluck; resonant overdrive at the point of breakup; churning-tight grind; girthy, full-on distortion.  The Heatseeker can produce them all.

Hear your guitar.  Of course, amps contribute mightily to your tone.  However, most players choose a guitar for its sound and they want to hear it.  The Heatseeker’s efficient circuit design doesn’t overshadow your guitar.  Plug in a bunch of different guitars and … you get a bunch of different sounds.  The Heatseeker ensures that your guitar is heard not just the amp!

One tone control??  Our tone control rolls off highs so you can adjust for different guitars and pickups.  Want to tame your ice pick single coils?  Want classic ‘woman’ tone?  Low down, jazzy blues?  Tweak the Heatseeker’s high-end response to suit your taste and the song without hindering the rest of your guitar’s tone. 

Multiple personalities.  The Heatseeker has only one tone related switch.  We debated long and hard whether to add it, but its versatility won us over.  The Character switch is a simple 3-way device that changes the amp’s voicing.  HOT is great for blues and smoky tones.  BURN ups the gain, provides classic rock overdrive and distortion, and tames sometimes-corpulent humbuckers.  MELT unleashes slammin’ bottom end that makes single coil pickups sound massive!

Variety at your finger tips.  The Heatseeker is very sensitive to volume changes – in a good way!  Try setting the amp to achieve the desired maximum volume and overdrive/distortion.  Then simply adjust the guitar volume to glide from sweet clean tones to killer lead tones.  VERY SIMPLE!

Pedal friendly.  Some amps don’t sound good with pedals in front.  Pedals can negatively alter a one-trick-pony’s characteristic tone.  Other amps need pedals to make them sound good.  The Heatseeker likes pedals (but it doesn't need them to sound awesome!).  Add an overdrive for juicy distorted tones at low volume.  Add delay, reverb or chorus for space.  Tremolo and wah pedals are a particular favorite!  If you want to use pedals, use ‘em.  They’ll provide an extra pallet from which to select tone colors.  And, they’ll sound great!

Gigging amp and practice amp.  The 18-watt Heatseeker is LOUD!  Field-testing proves that an un-mic’ed Heatseeker can easily keep up with a rock band in small to medium size venues.  However, turn the amp volume down and the Heatseeker morphs into a terrific practice amp.  Although the Heatseeker is plenty loud when you want it to be, its modest output power means that the tone doesn't suck when you turn it way down.

Recording amp.  Classic rock?  Smoky blues?  Jangley pop?  Anytime you need to dial in a warm tube tone the Heatseeker can deliver.  GREAT for recording!

Let’s face it, the Heatseeker is a simple amp.  However, we think it provides a surprising amount of useful versatility!

BUY TONE NOT GLITZ!