Fishman Loudbox Artist BT
With an impressive 120 watts on tap, this dual-channel combo offers both instrument and mic inputs, aux input, XLR output, built-in modulation and reverb, plus Bluetooth connectivity.
$659 street
Fender Acoustasonic 40
At only a hair over 16 pounds, this grab-and-go combo packs 40 watts into a rather small package. It has two channels with combination input jacks, independent 3-band EQ controls, digital reverb, and an XLR output that you can either use to record or feed FOH.
$199 street
Boss Acoustic Singer Pro
This portable gigging machine is specifically aimed at guitarists who want to add a new dimension to their vocals. Included is an automatic harmony setting that builds harmonies that correspond to your guitar chords in real time .
$789 street
TC-Helicon Harmony V100
Built around a single 10" Tannoy speaker, this 100-watt combo offers independent channels for guitar and vocals, modulation, and effects such as pitch correction and harmony. Another bonus is the TC’s BodyRez control, which adds resonance to acoustic signals.
$639 street
Blackstar Acoustic:Core 30
A 2x5" amp that is also an audio interface? Not only does this uber-portable combo offer options tailored for the recording guitarist, it also has independent vocal and guitar channels, built-in reverb and chorus, plus switchable EQ shapes.
$179 street
Hughes & Kettner ERA 2
Designed in collaboration with amp guru Michael Eisenmann, this combo—which includes two 8" custom woofers and a 1" dome tweeter—offers a whopping 400 watts along with three different types of reverb plus chorus, flanger, delay, and phantom power for the vocal mic.
$1,219 street
Orange Crush Acoustic 30
Usually, boxes of this color and shape are found crushing eardrums, but this 30-watt, 8" combo can not only run on batteries, it packs a ton of features in a rather small chassis. Features include dedicated mic and guitar channels, plus dedicated XLR and 1/4" outputs, and an effects loop.
$399 street
Vox VX50AG
Combining a full 50 watts with the company’s Nutube tech, this svelte combo can handle coffeeshop gigs and late-night practice sessions with ease. Each channel features independent EQ controls, digital reverb, and phase/phantom power options.
$299 street
Roland AC-33
A fully featured, gig-ready combo that can handle nearly any one-person show, this box includes feedback controls, a looper, and Roland’s famous chorus effects. It also has a line out, aux inputs, and the ability to run on batteries.
$599 street
Rivera Sedona Lite
This high-end acoustic combo is an incredible tool if you want to go the hybrid route and need a single amp for both electric and acoustic. It also includes a six-spring Accutronics reverb, an anti-feedback equalizer, plus a customized input for Expression System-equipped Taylor guitars.
$2,249 street
When Gary Clark Jr. took over the scene with his debut Warner release, Blak and Blu, he did it armed with this 2007 Epiphone Casino packed with the stock P-90s. “Red” stays strung with D’Addario Chromes (.011–.014–.018p–.028–.038–.049).
This ’90s Ibanez Blazer, a gift from Gary Clark Jr.’s mother, is where it all started. The Blazer stays strung with D’Addario Custom Nickel Roundwounds.
Gary Clark Jr. worked with Gibson to help create a Gibson GCJ Flying V prototypes. Clark carries two of them on the road and both rock a trio of Gibson Custom Shop P-90s and D’Addario .011–.049 strings.
Here is Gary Clark Jr.’s second V prototype.
In 2017 Gibson built Gary Clark Jr. this signature SG with Gibson Custom shop P-90s.
Gary Clark Jr. has long been associated with the Fender Vibro-King. Currently, he tours with a 2012 65-watt head version that sports a 100-watt transformer with modded bias points on the back of the amp.
The Vibro-King feeds a Fender 2x10 closed back cab loaded with Fender 10” speakers.
Depending on the venue, Gary Clark Jr. will often add this 2013 Fender Princeton at low volume in rooms when the big amp loses tone from lack of volume.
Gary Clark Jr.’s pedalboard is run entirely through the effects loop of the Vibro-King, so his guitar plugs straight into the front of his amp. Down front he has a TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Noir, Fulltone Octafuzz, Function f(x) The Cannon Dual Fuzz, Strymon Flint, Dunlop Gary Clark Jr. Cry Baby Wah, Function f(x) Clusterfuzz, and a Hermida Audio Zendrive.
This yellow sparkle number is Eric Zapata’s go-to on every gig. It’s a Moollon S-style axe based on vintage ’60s Stratocaster specs. He outfitted it with Don Mare pickups with the bridge pickup reversed. Zapata strings it up with D’Addario EXL115 Nickel Wound strings (.011–.049).
Eric Zapata’s other Moollon is this lefty Esquire-style axe.
For something a bit different, King Zapata plays this 1959 Supro Belmont made by National Valco. The pickup looks like a humbucker but it's actually a hot 9K single-coil. This vintage beauty features a Brazilian rosewood fretboard, solid mahogany body, and a maple neck.
Eric Zapata uses a dual-amp setup where both amps run into a single cab via a Radial Headbone VT. On the bottom is an Amplified Nation Steel String Singer, which was based on a Dumble Steel String Singer S/N #005. It contains four 6550 tubes running at a staggering 150 watts. The power section is articulate, punchy, and stays clean at extreme levels of volume. It also has a cathode follower driver tube, which is an additional 12AT7 located in the power section. The cathode follower adds output with extremely low distortion.
On top is a custom built Royal JPP100. The Royal and the Steel String run into what started out as a Marshall JTM45 4x12 cab, but he converted it to a 2x15 loaded with Electro-Voice 15L speakers.
Eric Zapata combines pedals to create spacious, ethereal effects. On the floor, from amp to guitar, Zapata runs a Carl Martin Headroom Reverb, ’70s MXR Loop Selector, ’90s Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, ’80s Ibanez Analog Delay D-80, Sonus Halo Vibe, Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere, a ’60s Vox 847 Wah, a ’70s Shin-Ei 8tr Fuzz that was rehoused by Analog Man, and a Scott McKeon germanium fuzz. Other than some proprietary power solutions, a Voodoo Lab PP2 supplies the juice. Zapata’s pedalboard was built by Mason Marangella at Vertex Effects.
On top of Zapata’s rack sits a ’70s Roland Space Echo Tape Delay.
American Stage Cables:https://www.daddario.com/AmericanStageRR
RatingsPros:Great sounds across all channels. Flexible programmability. Cons: Optional footswitch is expensive, but critical for best functionality. Street: $879 Hughes & Kettner Black Spirit 200 hughes-and-kettner.com
| Tones:  Ease of Use:  Build/Design: Value: |
Hughes & Kettner is a reliably forward-thinking amp company. With their blue-lit fascia, multi-knobbed control panels, and high-gain tendencies, they’re about as far as you can get from retro-obsessed. And the new Black Spirit 200 couldn’t be more emblematic of these modern-amp-design leanings.
The programmable, 4-channel, solid-state amp features a host of built-in effects, can handle about a zillion presets, and includes the company’s Red Box AE+ DI/speaker simulator. But the most newsworthy deviation from tradition here might be the Black Spirit’s total abandonment of tubes—enabling 200W of power in a compact head that weighs less than eight pounds and can also be set to operate at 2W or 20W output power.
Complex Yet Simple
The Black Spirit’s front panel appears busy (little surprise, given its many capabilities), but it’s more intuitive than it looks. Push buttons enable several functions, including turning on the power, storing presets, and accessing effects. The three leftmost knobs are dedicated to master volume, presence, and resonance. The next seven knobs, however, serve dual functions. In default position, they control sagging, noise gate, treble, mid, bass, volume, and gain. When the “FX access” button is pushed, the functions switch to a cab-type selector (with eight selectable knob locations), reverb, delay level, feedback, delay time, modulation type (you can choose chorus, flanger, phaser, or tremolo), and modulation intensity. A final knob enables you to choose from four channels—clean, crunch, lead, and ultra.
Preset options abound on the Black Spirit, which makes 128 programmable locations available as 32 banks of four presets—and is, well, probably more than you’ll ever need. As with many amps and pedals that have preset options, amp knob positions stop correlating with what you hear as you switch between presets. But there’s an iOS app that lets you visualize and remotely interact with all the parameters in real time (an Android version is in the works).
If you really want to maximize the Black Spirit’s potential, getting the optional FSM-432 MK III MIDI board is key. It’s a little pricey, at $219, but if you play live and change sounds in real time, it’s arguably essential. This seven-button footswitch lets you directly recall presets, use virtual effects in stompbox mode, or tap delay tempos. It’s very well made, and switching between presets is seamless, without any popping or noise.
Saving presets is easy on the Black Spirit. You press the store button for two seconds and it overwrites the current preset. If you want to save the preset to a different location, you push the store button quickly and use the footswitch to assign the location where you want to store the sound.
Hughes & Kettner exhibited restraint with the effects selection. Rather than throw every effect under the sun into the unit, they’ve included staple effects that cover the needs of most guitar players. There are limits beyond just the effects count. You can only use one modulation effect at a time, for example. But if you depend on more esoteric effects, you’re not out of luck: You can simply patch external effects in via the effects loop.
Generating Splendid Spirits
I tested the Black Spirit with a Celestion-equipped 1x12 cabinet using an Ernie Ball/Music Man Axis Sport. I started with the clean channel set with presence around 9 o’clock, resonance around 1 o’clock, gain around 7 o’clock, and sagging, noise gate, and all EQ controls at noon. I also applied a little slapback echo and reverb. The sound was clear, with a slight put perceptible compression— perfect for muted, single-note, pop-funk rhythm figures. Adding chorus gave the same settings a dreamy, atmospheric texture perfect for lush, complex chords. Using the crunch channel with presence at around 1 o’clock, resonance around 1 o’clock, gain at 10 o’clock, and sagging, noise gate, and all EQ controls at noon (plus a touch of flanger), I generated rhythm sounds with an aggressive bite.
The lead and ultra channels are excellent for heavy styles, and can cover the gamut from thrash to modern, detuned metal. I got great results with the ultra channel’s presence around 1 o’clock, gain at maximum, the noise gate around 1 o’clock, and sagging and all EQ controls at noon. Having a built-in noise gate helps make these over-the-top sounds useable, though at these gain levels, fast 6th-string chugging felt a bit muddy. I was able to solve that problem by reducing the resonance, which meant output with less body but a lot more clarity. The sagging control is useful for these kinds of dynamic adjustments, too. More aggressive sagging settings gave the amp a more liquid feel, making quick, upper-register playing much easier.
The Verdict
At $879, the Black Spirit is not cheap for a solid-state amp. Interestingly, the Black Spirit’s tube-equipped siblings, like the GrandMeister Deluxe 40, are only a couple of hundred bucks more. But given its deep clean-to-high-gain tone-shaping capabilities, this amp will be worth the money to many players—particularly on the shred end of the spectrum and those into the notion of a compact, self-contained amp/effects setup that can fit in an airplane overhead and handle an arena-sized gig. Factor in the Black Spirit’s Red Box direct-out capability and you’ve got a very enticing and utilitarian package for the price.