For a long time, your average guitarist would only discuss a little solid-state or digital amp like the Mini Amp 50 stompbox from Baroni Lab in Genoa, Italy, in the context of using it as a backup should their badass tube amp bite the dust mid-gig. But quality designs like Baroni’s latest class-D offering now make the prospect much more intriguing for both practicality’s sake and tone’s.
With an output of 40 watts at 8 ohms, a speaker-simulated out, an effects loop, a 3-band EQ, and a pre-loop footswitchable distortion circuit, the Mini boasts full-range fidelity—with healthy bass and sparkling trebles and upper mids—and a tube-like responsiveness that’s somewhere between a brawny “American” design and a lower-powered “British” flavor. That said, with master cranked, the Mini breaks up and gets about as loud as a similarly set tube amp of half its wattage.
My only complaints with the Baroni concern the distortion circuit: While there’s plenty of crunch, saturation, and singing sustain on tap, engaging it—even with drive at minimum and drive volume at unity gain—reduces the Mini’s clarity, note articulation, and bass oomph. A separate EQ for the preamp (like Baroni’s 100- and 200-watt models have) would likely help alleviate this.
Test gear: Gretsch G6609TFM Players Edition Broadkaster, Goodsell open-back 1x12 with ceramic Weber Blue Dog, Goodsell closed-back 1x12 with ceramic Weber Silver Bell, various pedals.
Recorded through a Royer R-121 into an Apogee Duet then into GarageBand.
Clip 1: Gretsch Players Edition Broadkaster (neck pickup) into MXR Reverb then into Mini Amp—with drive circuit disengaged, master at 4 o’clock, bass and mids at noon, and treble at 3 o’clock—into Goodsell open-back 1x12 with ceramic Weber Blue Dog.
Clip 2: Clip 1 rhythm track plus lead track on Gretsch Players Edition Broadkaster (neck pickup) into MXR Reverb then into Mini Amp—with drive at minimum, drive vol. at 10 o’clock, master at 4 o’clock, bass and mids at noon, and treble at 3 o’clock—into Goodsell open-back 1x12 with ceramic Weber Blue Dog.
Ratings
Pros:Nice, tube-like tones. Handy effects loop and speaker-simulator output. Potential gig saver.
Cons:
Drive circuit decreases clarity and lacks its own EQ. Class-D output not as loud as similarly rated tube amp.
Street:
$249
Company
baroni-lab.eu
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
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Keith Urban has spent decades traveling the world and topping global country-music charts, and on this episode of Wong Notes, the country-guitar hero tells host Cory Wong how he conquered the world—and what keeps him chasing new sounds on his 6-string via a new record, High, which releases on September 20.
Urban came up as guitarist and singer at the same time, and he details how his playing and singing have always worked as a duet in service of the song: “When I stop singing, [my guitar] wants to say something, and he says it in a different way.” Those traits served him well when he made his move into the American music industry, a story that begins in part with a fateful meeting with a 6-string banjo in a Nashville music store in 1995.
It’s a different world for working musicians now, and Urban weighs in on the state of radio, social media, and podcasts for modern guitarists, but he still believes in word-of-mouth over the algorithm when it comes to discovering exciting new players.
And in case you didn’t know, Keith Urban is a total gearhead. He shares his essential budget stomps and admits he’s a pedal hound, chasing new sounds week in and week out, but what role does new gear play in his routine? Urban puts it simply: “I’m not chasing tone, I’m pursuing inspiration.”
Wong Notes is presented by DistroKid.
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LR Baggs HiFi Duet High-fidelity Pickup and Microphone Mixing System
