Fender has released the Mustang Micro Plus, a new update on the existing Mustang Micro.  The upgrade brings you 25 amp models, up from 12 on the regular Mustang Micro.  It also has an OLED screen, making adjustments of the amp models and effects a much easier affair than on the older model.  Charging is handled with a modern USB C port, which is nice since you will be doing this every 6 hours of play time.  Honestly, the battery life is the only thing bringing me down on this and who knows, maybe it wouldn't be that much of a problem.

The Mustang Micro Plus is selling for $149 USD.

https://www.guitarplayer.com/news/fender-mustang-micro-plus

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Boss is looking to grab the attention of traveling guitarists as well with the new Boos Katana Mini X.  While the Fender Mustang Micro Plus requires headphones, Boss's Katana Mini X is more of a standard traveling amplifier with it's own speakers on board.  Unlike most amps this size, it features a wooden cabinet construction with a custom 5" speaker and 10 watts of power.  All features are controlled with analog switches and dials - no menu diving here!  With it's USB C rechargeable battery it provides up to 10 hours of play time and weighs in at 6 lbs.

MSRP for the Katana Mini X is $149 USD.

https://www.gearnews.com/boss-katana-mini-x-mini-practice-amp/

With a 65 foot range, 8 hour battery life, USB C charging, and a price of only $45 USD - this might be a great option for those on a budget!

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/mooer-air-p05-wireless-system

Well, it's always better to have Mooer options, right?  Jokes aside, this little amp does look pretty interesting and has a similar feature set as Positive Grid's lineup.  This little guy packs 10 watts of power, USB C charging for it's 3,000mah battery, 52 amp models, 49 effects including an 80 second looper, and it only weighs about 4 lbs.  Is the quality as good as the Spark series?  We won't know for a while yet until more people get these into their hands.

MSRP is $179 USD, currently selling for $159 on Amazon.

https://www.gearnews.com/mooer-sd10i/

Positive Grid's new Spark 2 has 25% more volume than the original, double the processing power, and more features - like a looper!

MSRP is $299 USD

https://www.gearnews.com/positive-grid-spark-2/

This summer Laney released the Lionheart Foundry series.  A trio of 60w amps.  The LF60-112, LFSUPER60-112, and LFSUPER60-212.  All three sound great in the video clips I have listened to, and while I tend to shy away from the term "tube sound", I do agree that these sound pretty fantastic.

From Guitar World: "The LF60-112 ($429/£279) is the most affordable of the trio, offering the core spec for minimum outlay. Next up is the LFSUPER60-112 ($539/£349), which adds tremolo and chorus effects, with controls for Rate and Depth. Most intriguing, however, is the LFSUPER60-212 ($699/£429) – a vertical 2x12 combo."

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/laney-lionheart-foundry

Blackstar's Debut lineup has been quite impressive, and their new little amplifier is no exception.  The Debut 30E sports a 10 inch speaker and 30 watts of power.  Small enough to practice at home, large enough to practice with the band.  The official demo shows plenty of beautiful cleans, old school overdrive, punk rock distortion, and even some fairly thrashy tones.


MSRP is $209 USD

https://www.musicradar.com/news/blackstar-launches-the-tape-echo-equipped-debut-30e-practice-amp

Last month Quilter released the DirectAmp.  This is a new take on their existing SuperBlock amps, this time incorporating Fender, Vox, and Marshall sounds into one box - but not including a power amp, this is a preamp only.  The video linked in this review does show some decent tones, but I'm not sold yet and really want to get my hands on it myself.  Take a look yourself, what do you think?

MSRP is $399 USD and has stereo XLR output, headphone output, effects channel, and bluetooth input.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/quilter-direct-amp

Blackstar has decided to bring the volume up and release 100w versions of the Debut 50R.  That's right, not one but two versions.  The Debut 100R comes in 1x12 and 2x12 configurations.  Honestly, the 100R 1x12 is basically identical to the 50R except it has double the wattage.  This isn't really that helpful though as to get twice as loud requires 10x the wattage.  Bringing the power up to 100w really only adds about 3db of volume overall.  If you want this amp in a 1x12, just buy the 50R and save $100.

The big story here is the 2x12.  If you have been itching for that huge 2x12 sound, you can finally have it!  The bigger story, it's only an additional $20 over the 1x12 variant!

Sweetwater is currently selling the 1x12 100R for $379 USD and the 2x12 100R for $399 USD.  For reference, the 50R 1x12 is currently selling for $279 USD.

https://www.gearnews.com/blackstar-debut-100r-perfect-balance-for-pedals/

Laney is claiming that the new Lionheart and Ironheart Loudpedals provide 60 watts of power in a solid state pedalboard amp platform.  This certainly isn't a new concept as similar ideas have been done multiple times by many companies.  That said, this one sounds legit and I love the layout of the controls.  I also really appreciate that they include a reverb built in as this is super handy and cleans up the pedalboard nicely by not requiring an additional unit.

I do wonder how similar the circuitry is to the Laney LF60 combo amp that sells for $449 and has a 12" speaker.  The controls are almost identical and the sound seems pretty similar to me.

Pricing is listed as 399 GBP.  Sweetwater is currently selling them in the US for $499 USD.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/laney-martin-miller-tom-quayle-ironheart-lionheart-loudpedal-guitar-amplifiers

Last month Boss released the new Gen 3 version of the ever-popular Katana amp series.  Consisting of general model updates, this seems like a decent amp still but nothing to toss your old Gen 2 model out for.

https://www.gearnews.com/boss-katana-gen-3-amp-series-enhanced-tube-logic-tone/

Boss has expanded it's famous Katana line of amps to include a new headphone amp that fits easily into your pants pocket, enter the Katana:Go.  This is an interesting take on the headphone amp market and something that stands along with Fender's Mustang Micro amplifier in that it is a digital amplifier with multiple models, effects, and features.  One of the neat features with the Katana:Go is the app that you can use in Android or iOS to modify settings and saved presets.  You can also use this little guy as a USB C recording interface.

MSRP is $119 USD and they are available now.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/boss-katana-go-amp

There was a whole lot of stuff at NAMM, but most of it had to due with guitars, tube amps, or digital amps.  We did get a little bit focused on solid state gear though!

Blackstar has updated their ID:Core amps with the new v4 series. The new updates include: USB C connection, power reduction feature, and "other minor improvements to models".  While the power reduction is nice, the biggest thing for me here is the USB C hookup - finally!
 
Pricing is 219, 249, and 279 British pounds for the ID:Core 10, 20, and 40 respectively.

https://www.gearnews.com/blackstar-idcore-v4-revamped-and-now-with-new-1-watt-mode/

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Vox has updated their AmPlug series with the new AmPlug 3 range of headphone amps.  These new Amplug models have minor enhancements to each model and Vox has also adjusted the on-board effects to take advantage of "wide stereo" sound.

Pricing looks to be same as before, $49.99 USD.

https://www.gearnews.com/vox-amplug-3-7-new-revamped-headphone-amps/

I had a spare Isoblok I wasn't using, so I removed the built in plug and put in an IEC jack.

With Axe FX being around for 17 years, Fender has finally decided it's time for them to jump into the arena.  Being that Fender is a very traditional company, this isn't very surprising.  That said, this isn't just a little toe dipping into the water, this is a big SPLASH!  The Tone Master Pro is a full-on modeler featuring an 8 core processor, over 100 amps models, 60 second stereo looper, 7 inch digital display, and built in 4x4 USB audio interface.

MSRP is $1,699.99 USD.  With this price, it is definitely for the gigging musician rather than hobbyist.

Fender has also released two full response self-powered cabs that are made to pair to this.  The Tone Master FR-10 and FR-12, both with 1,000w of class D power.

https://www.gearnews.com/fender-tone-master-pro-floor-revealed-a-new-helix-killer/

Brian Wampler has released his new take on the Bad Monkey overdrive - actually, two versions!  The Triumph Overdrive and the Phenom Distortion are 3 band EQ, toggle switch, crunch machines and apparently Josh Scott (JHS) loves them.


These pedals are listed for $99 USD.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/this-may-be-his-best-drive-bad-monkey-champion-and-jhs-founder-josh-scott-is-blown-away-by-wamplers-new-dollar99-overdrive-and-distortion-pedals

TC Electronic has released three new pedals that they say mimic three of the most sought after tube amplifiers of the 1960's.

Here is the trio:

DC30 - Modeled after the 1965 Vox AC30 Top Boost

Combo Deluxe 65' - Modeled after the 1965 Fender Blackface Reverb Deluxe

JIMS 45 - Modeled after a 1965 Marshall JTM45

The DC30 and JIMS 45 come with additional boost footswitch while the Combo Deluxe 65' comes with a switchable reverb.  All three units have in, out, and DI with cab sim.

These pedals are currently retailing for $149 USD on most online merchant sites.

https://www.gearnews.com/tc-electronic-ampworx-vintage-series-classic-60s-amp-in-a-pedal/

Hotone, known in these parts for their nano amp series mini heads, has released the Ampero Mini.  This is a small pedal-sized modeling amplifier with a touch screen interface and two stomp switches.  Using two 24 bit DSP chips, this little guy can utilize as many as 9 effects simultaneously.  It comes with 199 effects, 52 amps and 50 cabinets available. You can also change microphone type and position simulation.  Lastly, it includes 100 drum loops to use as backing, and has a built in stereo looper effect allowing for as much as 100 seconds of mono or 50 seconds of stereo loop!

These new little modeling platforms will be coming in 6 colors and selling for around $290 USD.  If you're into modeling amps and don't have the money for some of the fancy ones - this may be your next jam!

https://www.gearnews.com/hotone-ampero-mini-smaller-cheaper-and-powerful/

Fellow electronics enthusiast Paul Marossy (of DIYGuitarist.net fame) has done a 3 part series on The Honey Amp...as well as a bonus fourth video.

Thanks for the honest thoughts on this Paul, great job on the videos as well!

Part 1: Scratch Building the ssguitar.com "Honey Amp"

Part 2: The ssguitar.com "Honey Amp" - Sounds

Part 3: The ssguitar.com "Honey Amp" - Waveform Study

Bonus video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_iZyBNgoIE

Mooer has released two new digital amps with two different takes on functionality.  The Mooer SD30i follows the concept driven by Spark.  Basic onboard controls, and deeper control through an app on your mobile device.  The Hornet 05i brings things to a whole other level of simplicity in the hardware, only allowing a physical volume knob (which doubles as the on/off).  All other changes to amp settings on the Hornet are made through an app only.

While I love simplicity, I personally don't care for being tied to a mobile device any time I want to make a change other than volume.  They may have taken it a bit too far in that direction.

The Mooer SD30i is a 30w amp with 2 x 4" speakers while the Hornet 05i is a 5w amp with 2" speaker.

Retail price for the SD30i is currently about $370 USD.  The Hornet 05i is substantially less expensive at about $140 USD.

https://www.gearnews.com/mooer-sd30i-modelling-amp-sparks-competition-for-positive-grid/

https://www.gearnews.com/mooer-hornet-05i-intelligent-amp-5-watts-feature-packed-amp/

As we run low on stock of Honey Amp kits (currently no more kits with speakers, and limited PCB and PCB w/parts kits), I have taken the time to look through where these have shipped.  We have shipped kits to 12 countries, with 22 states in the USA being represented.  Not bad!

I'm currently gearing up for working on the second version, Honey B.

Thank you to everyone who has watched the videos, shared opinions, purchased kits, and built these fun little amps - it's been a blast!