GH50L Review

The GH50L is a single channel master volume style head with footswitchable gain. It is capable of a huge variety of sounds, from sparkling clean through powerful crunch to full on monster tones and everything in between.

Features:	9.3
Sound:	9.3
Reliability:	8.3
Impression:	9.3
Overall rating:	9.1
Users rating:	8.5
Comments:	7

overall: 8.5

Featured review by: killingmoon45, on november 08, 2006

Price paid: $ 730.17

Purchased from: gak.co.uk

Features: Manufactured in 2006. Extremely versatile head. Works well for blues and rock and with the addition of a good distortion pedal, perfect for metal. This is a single channel amp with an extra gain stage through the Drive Switch and level. Kind of acts like a second channel, though the Drive is on the noisy side. The only feature it lacked is reverb, a Holy Grail fixed that. I use this primarily at home now but will be using it Live in the next few months. This amp is more than loud enough for medium to large venues, especially through my 4x12 cabinet. // 10

Sound: This head is basically a Marshall on steroids. Same basic sound, same responsiveness and same level of raw power but at a price tag mear mortals can afford. Clean channel/dirty channel are one in the same. Alter your guitars volume and tone controls and your pick attack and you can get everything from rockabilly spank to Zakk Wylde squeals. I use 3 guitars with this amp. #1, Les Paul Classic with dual humbuckers, #2, Fender Fat Strat with a bridge humbucker and dual single coils and #3, a DeArmond M72 with EMG81 and EMG85 active humbuckers. The head is noisy. With no signal, there is a very noticible hiss at anything above 2 on the master and gain settings. Turn on the Drive and that hiss increases with each step up. Prescense also adds to the hiss. Once you start to play though, the hiss vanishes. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I've never gigged with this amp so it's hard to say. So far, it seems to be reliable but until it's been on the road with me for a while I won't know for sure. I would never gig without a backup, no matter what the amp or Who made it. Customer support is slow, very slow. I emailed them about the hissing and they emailed back 3 days later asking if I had bought the head new? Duh! My local guitar shop, where I bought it, looked it over for free and no questions asked. They found nothing wrong so I guess this head is just hissy... Finding authorized anything is difficult as this amp is made in England and their website only lists distributors. The warranty is for 1 year but they extend it to 3 if you mail in the warranty card within the first 90 days. // 6

Impression: I've been playing for 4 years, own Fender and Marshall amps both solid state, tube and tube/solid hybrids. If this head were stolen, I'd probably go to jail for what I'd do to the thief. I would definitely replace it but would likely go with the GH100L next time. I love the simplicity of the head, the overall sound and the build quality most. My main dislike is the hiss. Honestly, this head sounds better to my ears than the Marshall JCM800 or the Super Lead. I wish it had reverb built in, don't use it often but it's nice to have. Still, I bought a Holy Grail so that's not really a problem. // 8

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: N_I_N-621, on october 02, 2006

Purchased from: eBay

Features: This amp is a single channel (with on/off overdrive), 50 watts, all tube (just enough for me, don't need anything more than that). I run it through a Carvin Sx series 2x12 cab with Celestion 70/80 speakers (the same speakers that come in the Laney matched cab for this amp). Not quite sure what year it was made. I play many different genres of metal, mostly thrash and death metal. Handles both very well, but if you're one of those Who like to play with scooped mids, look elsewhere. // 9

Sound: I run an early '90s ESP with a single EMG 85 bridge pickup, and the combo works great for what I want. Not too noisy (EMGs are great for that), not sure how versatile it is, since I don't change my settings much after I find one I really like. it's a bit hard to describe the sound, but basically I put it at bass: 10, mids: 7, and treble: 6. The amp is a little trebly for my tastes, but rolling off of it a bit fixes that. The Clean channel is OK, but it does distort quite easily (but hey, if you want clean get a Fender). The distortion is quite nice, not quite as tight as what I was looking for, but still great for what I play. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I have used it once in a gig, and it held up fine. The tubes are a little old (were old when I got it), so I'm going to change them out soon. They currently have (and come stock with) EL34 power tubes, but I got a pair of 6L6's (you can adjust the bias for those instead of the EL34), which supposedly will give it a more modern sound, but this is yet to be seen (or heard). // 10

Impression: If you play metal and like your mids, this is a great amp for you. Match it with some EMGs, or high output Dimarzios/Duncans this baby will scream. Considering that it was a pretty blind buy (didn't get much info off of eBay), the amp was a steal. If it got stolen, I'd probably try to do something about it, but seeing as I've had stuff stolen before and never seen it again, not much you can do. It would be nice if it had 2 channels, but it's not really a big deal. I actually have gotten used to simpler setups and find them easier to use in live situations. Not much to hate about this amp, it's pretty much got everything I'd need in an amp. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: Johnny Blade, on june 17, 2006

Price paid: $ 779

Purchased from: Music Focus

Features: This amp was made in 2004. This amp is 1 channel only, but you can still get clean tones by lowering the gain and raising the volume. It dose have FX loops as well. It would be nice to have some reverb though. I bought this amp head with a Laney GS412IS straight cabinet with 4 80watt mono speakers, not the cheaper clestion speakers either these are the proper English made HH Invader speakers which sound much better than the Celestions. Bought the whole lot for only $1025 Australian. // 9

Sound: I am currently using a Gibson Tony Iommi SG (tuned to C#) and an Epiphone Custom SG (tuned to D), pickups are Gibson Iommi Humbuckers. Playing mostly Black Sabbath this amp is perfect, Iommi using Laneys himself. It is noisy when you turn the Drive right up, but I generally I have it set about 7 and then there is no terrible hissing noise. This amp is mainly made for playing metal and rock. You can get nice Zeppelin tones, Cream and even Pink Floyd. The distortion in this amp is so good, no need for a distortion pedal, although I still use my Vox treble booster when playing sabbath stuff. This amp also sounds good in a bigger area playing solos with a long delay time. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I could depend on this amp, it seems very reliable. I would use it at a gig without a backup. Has never broken down yet and I don't expect it to. // 9

Impression: This amp is a perfect match for my style of music. I am currently in the process of writing my own music and this amp helps me alot and because I can get the exact sound that I want that inspires me to keep writing. I have been playing for about 6 years now and own a couple of other smaller combo amps. If something happened to this amp and it couldn't be used anymore I would definitly buy another one. I love the sound that I can get from this amp, I have been searcing around for about 3 years to get it. I was originally going to get a Laney GH100TI (Tony Iommi Signature) amp head, but was put off by some reviews saying that it was no good. I guess also that I don't want to mimic Tony Iommi, I mean he is a god but I would also like to write my own music. // 10

Comments

[RG_FANMAN]

Sweet reviews. I really want to try this head out!

[greemo]

i have this amp and everything said is right on the money....its so unbelieably versatile, i mainly play metal like pantera, metallica the usuall stuff.....so i boost the treb, lower mids n boost the bass n thhe gain up full n im telling you its perfect for what i need, im not currently gigging at the mo but in my room im only able to go up to 1-2 on the volume other wise my lava lamp shakes !! more than enough i think ...the only downside is yes....reverb...but i got me boss me-50 to sort everything out !! i couldnt ask for more out of my gear, maybe just one more guitar !! lol

[|\puto_rodas/|]

nnniiiccceee!!!

[JoelTheShredder]

how is this for phsycadelic rock

[ChazBcWarlock]

i like the last review

'i dont want to mimic tony iommi'
didnt you list that you had a tony iommi sg and a epiphone custom sg with tony iommi pickups

ermm what?

[Korzack]

...haha Whoops. TBH Iommi does know his shit though, so anything they put together in his name should be damn solid.
back to the amp - VERY sorely tempted to get this with a 2x12 marshall cab. I need a proper gigging amp to improve my sound anyways. Also, £610 or so from GAK for the lot... Not bad, I reckon

[MOLAAAK]

yeah i just got one the other week for $300
pwned