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NY Amp Show - Metropoulos Amps
With Metropoulos Amps at the NY Amp Show, we get a look at their 1966 Era JTM 45/100 Replica and 1967 Era 100 Watt Replica.
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Metropoulos Amps
Attack—essentially the rate and intensity with which a note rises in volume from its point of creation—is one of the coolest musical expressions you can mess with. If you play an instrument from the violin family it’s a fundamental part of your vocabulary. It’s used frequently in synthesis to conjure spooky, low-gravity atmospherics, and it’s an essential tool for taking the front end off some psychotic Moog sound that might otherwise explode like a foghorn six inches from your ear.
Guitar players know the potential of this effect well too. Volume swells can drastically recast a guitar line—evokingreverse tape,pedal steel, and deep space. But doing it well is not easy. Even on guitars like theStratocaster that lend themselves to volume swells by design, it takes technique, practice, and usually a very flexible pinky finger to make it work right. Electro-Harmonix’s Swello, which has origins in the attack filter section of the POG2, can do a lot of that work for you. But it’s capable of more than simple swells, with the ability to generate envelope filter- and wah-like sounds, big synth-style pads that are ripe forlooping, and much stranger fare.
Swing in Smoothly
Though they can be mellowing, soft attack and volume swell effects aren’t always subtle. For many players that prize precise, immediate attack, they are anathema. Swello—especially in the sans-filter “green” mode—is great at backgrounding the effect and making it more subliminal. At the lowest attack levels, you can use Swello in a capacity similar to a compressor to soften picking irregularities. At slightly higher but still subtle settings, it imparts a beautiful legato quality to melodic lines—especially enchanting in understated or deeply ambient delay and reverb contexts. At much slower attack rates, it evokes lush pedal steel tones and remarkably natural volume pedal or cello-like effects. There’s a lot of range to explore in the attack control alone.
"Swello ’s capable of more than simple swells, with the ability to generate envelope filter- and wah-like sounds, big synth-style pads that are ripe for looping, and much stranger fare."
While the Swello’s control set is minimal, players without experience in synthesis or in using filters and envelopes with guitar may find them less than intuitive. This isn’t a shortcoming of the EHX design—it’s simply inherent to the complex interplay between filter and attack effects. If you start twisting knobs casually and with no particular intent you can end up with filter and attack combinations that make a guitar sound 30 feet underwater—if not altogether absent. So, it pays to move slowly though these controls, observe the sensitivities in their interactions and pay attention to how very small, incremental changes—as well as where you play on the fretboard—can alter the response and output. Though getting to your destination can be tricky and require patience, there are many surprises to find along the way.
Overtone Organizer
As a player that uses volume swells as both an expressive tool and crutch, I loved Swello’s very natural volume pedal and cello-like effects. But I also own a POG2 and treasure that pedal’s capacity to add -2-octave content to an upswelling tone. That can be a preposterously big sound with reverb (the low synth parts in Vangelis’ Blade Runner opening sequence and the Golden Gate Bridge foghorn at the distance of a couple miles are a couple handy points of reference). And there’s plenty of it here when you get a deep resonant peak, slow attack, and filter modulation working in sync, and hang out on the low strings.
As with the POG2, boosting the high frequencies can make the pedal sound less organic—and at times even a bit cloying. Some settings also introduce digital artifacts, most noticeable in the quackier, mid-forward envelope filter-style tones. These sounds can be fun, but they’re not the Swello’s strong suit (and may disappoint players that demand vintage Mu-Tron authenticity from envelope filters). That said, there are plenty of ways to use high-frequency emphasis for pleasant coloration and to shape the attack, and at many such settings the output is largely free of digital aftertaste.
The Verdict
Swello, as the name suggests, specializes in very cello-like volume swells that sound organic, and enable you to keep your fingers on the strings and your feet away from expression pedals. At less than $150, it’s a great value for the slow-attack effects alone. However, players who explore its compression-like dynamics and the vast, unconventional tones found at atypical filter frequency and modulation settings will discover that the Swello is far more than it appears—truly greater than the sum of its parts.
Since it was first introduced in 1958, Vox has released myriad iterations of the AC15 combo—built variously in England and Asia, and offered in both hand-wired and PCB formats. The new AC15 Hand-Wired suggests a strictly old-school ethos, but several of its features—most notably a move from EF86 to 12AX7 preamp tubes—are deviations from vintage form. That does result in a different feel in some situations; at times it sounds and feels more like a half-power, 1x12 AC30 than a vintage AC15. But this iteration is arguably more flexible than its predecessor, too.
Channel Crossing
Given the microphonic tendencies of EF86 tubes, the switch to 12AX7s is an intriguing and practical move. Elsewhere among the tube complement, there’s a 12AT7 for the preamp and phase-inverter, two EL84s in the output stage for 15 watts RMS, and a GZ34 tube rectifier. It’s all housed in a classic Vox combo cab measuring 22 1/4"x23 1/4"x1 1/2".
The AC15 Hand-Wired’s normal channel has just a single knob for volume. But its voicing can be tweaked via a bright switch and the tone cut knob in the master section, and there’s also a boost switch to increase gain. The top boost channel features volume and dedicated treble and bass controls, but no boost or bright switch. Both channels have high and low inputs, and the latter can be handy for taming hot humbucker-equipped guitars.
The fine-tuning capabilities of the amp extend to the footswitchable, tube-driven, spring reverb circuit, which has a tone control in addition to its level, enabling you to fine-tune the frequency emphasis of the reverb itself. Send and return jacks for the effects loop—along with a bypass switch and a –10/+4 dB level switch for compatibility with both rack and pedal effects—are smartly positioned along the lower edge of the upper-back panel, rather than on the underside of the chassis. Dual speaker-outs have an impedance switch for 8- and 16-ohm operation. (The combo’s Vox-labeled Celestion Alnico Blue requires the latter.)
Vox was careful to reproduce the windings of a vintage AC15 output transformer circa 1963, which results in a heftier chunk of metal than you might expect in an amp this size. Vox makes up some of that weight by using slightly thinner plywood for the cabinet walls, which are just less than 1/2" in thickness—matching vintage specifications and, in Vox’s estimation, enhancing resonance and dimensionality. As with many AC15s past, the transformer and alnico speaker help push this new edition to 50 lbs, making for a surprisingly heavy combo of this size and output power. It might have been nice for Vox to slim things down. On the other hand, the amp might lose what turns out to be a strong, audible vintage spirit without those heavier design elements.
Chiming In
Paired with a Gibson ES-335 and a FenderTelecaster, the AC15 Hand-Wired plated up many impressive slices of vintage Vox tone, with plenty more versatility on top. With all knobs at noon and the boost and bright switches on the normal channel engaged, the two channels sound remarkably similar. There might be just a touch more grind and sparkle on the top boost side, but it’s close! At these levels, both channels still summon plenty of break up with a Telecaster. Switching to the ES-335’s humbuckers predictably kicks the overdrive up a notch at the same settings.
The boost switch on the normal channel isn’t always a breeze to manage. It delivers a pretty big jump in gain and, with it, a slightly ragged edge at some settings. With both boost and bright switches down, though, the normal channel is rich, warm, and muscular, and makes an excellent, adaptable platform for gain pedals (in my case an Analogman Prince of Tone and a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe). Knock this normal channel volume up to around 2 o’clock and it segues into toothsome sounds that dip into clipping under heavier pick attack.
Arguably the most delectable tones are found in the top boost channel with all three knobs set to around 11 o’clock. Here, the AC15 Hand-Wired achieves its closest approximation of vintage Vox tone: chewy midrange, lots of chime and sparkle in the highs, and a dynamic edge-of-breakup touch sensitivity that you can control and vary via pick attack. Cranked up, the top boost channel roars with a throaty, shimmery vintage lead tone, although at the expense of the delectable dimension and clarity achieved at lower volumes.
The amp’s master volume, by the way, is very effective at tailoring the AC15 Hand-Wired for a range of room requirements, and is essential for smaller venues. This amp is loud when maxed—probably a lot louder than you’d expect from a 15-watt 1x12" combo—which is another classic characteristic of the AC15. It’s worth noting that things can get a little ratty with the master below 10 o’clock and either channel volume up high, but that’s par for the course with such circuits.
The Verdict
Vox’s new AC15 Hand-Wired combo does a good job of capturing much of the vintage-voiced spirit of the classic while offering many features that are must-haves for modern guitarists less burdened by complete vintage correctness. And if it’s not a point-perfect reproduction, it honors the sound and spirit of the original—and looks the part onstage, too.
Way Huge didn’t leave much to the imagination when it branded this fuzz the Doom Hammer. But that doesn’t mean it's without surprises. Jeorge Tripp’s latest design is based on an op-amp Big Muff that he modified for a client in the 1990s—primarily with the aim to tighten the low end. You hear Tripps hit that target when you play the Doom Hammer alongside other Big Muff types, which are massive in the low end and can sound comparatively sprawling in that frequency. But rather than merely heavy, the Doom Hammer’s combination of taut lows and the pronounced midrange one associates with op-amp Big Muffs is nasty, buzzy, punky, and brash. For all the desert-rock swagger in the name, the Doom Hammer is just as effective at lending contrast to heavy bass in a mix. And for any stoner rock power trio that has had to work against a wall of bottom-end sludge on stage or in the studio, it’s a practical and intriguing solution.
Fire Breather
Though it’s not hard to hear Big Muff lineage in the Doom Hammer, it can sound vastly different from most Muffs at identical fuzz, output, and tone levels. I didn’t have an op-amp Big Muff on hand for comparison, but in my experience with that circuit, I’ve found they have as much in common with other Big Muffs as they do differences. But Tripp’s recipe puts extra distance between them.
The Ram’s Head and Sovtek Muffs I used to A/B with the Doom Hammer, for instance, each exhibited the creaminess in low-midrange frequencies that makes David Gilmour obsessives ecstatic—particularly with the tone control at more modest levels. The Doom Hammer, however, sometimes has a buzz-saw aggressiveness that evokes a 1960s transistor fuzz swinging on a wrecking ball. And at low output and advanced fuzz levels it can quite convincingly play the part of Tone Bender. More modest fuzz and tone settings strike a more even balance between classic, buttery Big Muff sustain sounds and buzzier ones. And here it’s great for cooking up Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin’s questing lead tangles and Robert Fripp’s snaky synth-like lines. Indeed, the Doom Hammer, for all its midrange emphasis, can be flexible and adaptable.
The Doom Hammer, however, sometimes has a buzz-saw aggressiveness that evokes a 1960s transistor fuzz swinging on a wrecking ball.
Playing a bit more in the spirit of the Doom Hammer’s name (with an SG in drop-D, ’natch) I was still struck by how much less bossy it is in the bass range than a Ram’s Head or Sovtek. But again, this can be an ideal recipe for adding punchy contrast to the bass bomb coming from your bandmate’s Rickenbacker 4003 and Orange stack. It lends snarling aggression to big dumb rock riffs and drones, and detuned guitars sound less buried in blunted, washy overtones.
The Verdict
Jeorge Tripps’ knack for spinning new magic around fuzz formulas—whether with the wild Way Huge Atreides or the more straight-ahead Swollen Pickle—is a gift to fuzz freaks. Because, let’s face it, sometimes ferocious barrages of distortion can start to blur when ears are tired and you’re on the hunt for a different path. The Doom Hammer’s tight bass, and the resulting more prominent midrange, offer a discernibly different texture to work with, however, all while retaining the essential mass and menace that draws a player to a Big Muff in the first place.
The bedroom or the garage: In a game of Family Feud, those humble locations would likely be the top answers for the question “Where do music careers begin?’ I was relegated to the latter for the sake of my parents’ sanity. But nothing stops a career cold like a garage in winter, so an amp that ensures you can sound good while sharing tight quarters is a truly valuable thing. Blackstar Amplification’s Debut Bass 25 fits that bill.
Small for All
The Debut Bass 25’s small-space friendliness starts with its compact footprint. At 14" high and less than 10" deep, it’s unobtrusive to say the least. The control panel, with just volume, low, mid, and high EQ controls as well as a push-button boost, is about as simple as they come. The knobs themselves are smooth and accurate, with the feel of a high-end amplifier. Two 1/8" jacks accommodate headphones and an aux in for running backing tracks. And for additional tone shaping and punch, Blackstar included an OD switch that adds more depth.
Sings at Sensible Volumes
I tried out the Debut 25 using a Bluesman Vintage El Dorado (a passive J-style bass) and a Warwick Streamer I with active pickups. Beginning in more traditional style with the El Dorado, I set the volume relatively low and the EQ controls around the mid-point in their range. Here, I was struck by how fully the sound enveloped me—and by the amp’s ability to preserve the El Dorado’s character with such clarity. By dialing the midrange back a couple notches, and boosting the bass by the same amount, I found a sweet spot that made the El Dorado sing—all at a volume suited for the woodshed.
When the OD switch is engaged, the EQ is still effective and can shape big tones that move from swampy to in-your-face.
Active pickups pair nicely with the Debut 25 too, if the Warwick is any indication. I remained impressed with the range within the EQ controls. With the Warwick, the most pleasing tones came with the high-frequency control kept below halfway—push it much further, and things get a little too crisp for my taste. When the OD switch is engaged, the EQ is still effective and can shape big tones that move from swampy to in-your-face. The amp can also be loud with or without the OD in the mix. More than once, I had to remind myself that the amp only houses an 8" speaker, because when I turned the volume up my floor was quite literally shaking.
The Verdict
I’m glad the Debut 25 found its way to me. I confess, I haven’t plugged into a low-watt practice amp in a very long time, and all I can say is that I wish an amp this small, powerful, and tonally rich had been available when I was starting out. My only gripe might be the absence of a dedicated XLR out, which would extend the amp’s utility in live situations where sound re-enforcement is available. And while its modest $299 price tag is a bit higher than some of its competition, the Debut 25 is anything but ordinary. It offers a wide range of tonal colors, and can hold its own at any volume, whether you’re in the garage, bedroom, or beyond.
OC Pedal Co. was formed in 2024 by Santa Ana native Evan Haymond, a session ace who toured with Jack Russell of Great White in the 2010s. Not surprisingly, OC Pedal Co.’s U.S.A.-made LA HABRA Hard Clipper evokes many of the crunchy sounds from that era.
Less is More
The LA HABRA’s control panel is minimal, with just two knobs—volume and tone. There’s no gain knob, instead you get a gain switch that lets you choose between two clipping profiles. In the right position the pedal employs op-amp clipping. Set it to the left and a set of LED diodes are activated. With humbuckers, the gain switch set to LED mode, and the tone knob at 11:00, the LA HABRA produced a toothy sound that, sure enough, produced power chord sounds that sounded more than a little like Great White’s cover of “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”
Though the lack of a gain knob may leave some players feeling limited, the tone knob is a powerful tool for shaping the characteristics of the distortion, and with the tone knob at its darkest setting, the LA HABRA still delivers ample definition. Move the tone knob up to around 3:00, though, and there’s enough clarity and treble detail to make leads sizzle. To my ears this is where the pedal shines, and bumping the tone knob all the way up (with the gain switch still set to the LED clipping mode), the sound is super aggressive without being over-saturated.
In general, with the gain switch set to LED clipping you get a high-end boost and hear and feel more compression. Op-amp clipping tames some of the highs yielding a more balanced output, which is particularly noticeable when the tone knob is set to 3:00 and above. I generally preferred the gain switch set to op-amp clipping but each clipping mode yields sounds that can work in many contexts.
The Verdict
The LA HABRA has plenty of definition for melodic parts and is tough enough for bluesy riffs. For legato shred-type playing, there were times when I wished the pedal had a little more gain. But LA HABRA has a knack for feeling amp-like, particularly in terms of dynamics and touch sensitivity—much more so than many pedals that occupy this mid- to high-mid-gain category.