AT-100 Review

The AT-100 is a 3-channel, all-tube, tri-mode rectified beast that gives you unparalleled tone and astounding versatility. The clean channel yields sparkling vintage tone that stays clean even at high volume. The overdrive section features 2 independent high-gain channels and independent volume controls with a shared 3-band EQ. The assignable contour (mid-scoop) control gives you the ability to make each overdrive channel sound radically different. The Global section features low-res (resonance), reverb and master volume.

Features:	8.3
Sound:	9.3
Reliability:	9
Impression:	9.3
Overall rating:	9
Users rating:	7.9
Comments:	23

overall: 9

Featured review by: Danelectro2112, on september 03, 2007

Price paid: $ 599.99

Purchased from: Musician's Friend

Features: The B-52 AT-100 is a truely versatile head. It has two channels (clean/distortion), each of which has the standard treble/mid/bass controls, as well as a master control for volume, low resolution, and reverb. The truely useful aspect of the distortion channel is the presence of the alternate gain select; the distortion channel has two volume controls, two mids, two trebles, and two basses. This, in essence, allows you to develop two completely unique distortions and choose between them at will through the footswitch, whether you need a solo boost or a mellower rhythm tone. A contour control offers additional control, especially useful in modeling a metal-based sound or likewise a more meaty sound. The clean channel is easily manipulated as well, with the standard trio of knobs as well as a bright Switch. Another extremely useful feature is the effects loop; any normal effects pedal/sound processor/modeler can be looped through the back of the amp and bypasses via the footswitch. This control is extremely useful, and as long as you don't own a gross number of pedals, can nearly elliminate clutter out in front of the amp. On top of the aforementioned features, the player has the option of selecting 4, 8, or 16 ohm capability, as well as which tube combos they wish to utilize (solid state, tube A, or AB). One has the option of a high or low input as well. // 9

Sound: While it may take a little while to grow accustomed to the EQ aspects of the AT-100, the tones that come out of this particular head are fantastic. The clean can be jazzy, crisp, or crunchy (with the right guitar/pickups). High volumes are of little variability, which is great for loud scenarios. The distortion capability is even better than the clean's, and perhaps this heads strong point. It's extremely versatile, as mentioned above, and it puts out a distortion that stands up against the best of them. It produces especially desirable classic rock and metal tones. There is really no need to use any sort of distortion pedal one while this head has such good distorion modeling. While on the subject of pedals however, the effects loop offers input and output leveling controls in the back to offer control over the strength of your effects in relation to the standard amp sounds. All this said, it is true that the second gain can be a bit noisy, and some sort of remedy may be in your best interest if playing at higher volumes, but high quality cables and new top of the line tubes may help out. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It's heavy, around 60 lbs., so you'll definately want to be careful while moving it. It's also without an incorporated fan, so it will heat up, but this has never caused me any problems, there's a good bit of natural ventilation through the openings on top of and along the front and back of the head. I've had the AT-100 for a few months, and it's never failed me, neither has the AT-412 that I run it through (I highly recommend the AT-412 too by the way, as it was designed to complement the AT-100). The skin of the head will scuff if you're not careful while moving it, but regardless of superficials, it's a sturdy piece of equipment. // 9

Impression: I've been playing guitar for 5, approaching 6 years, primarily classic and progressive rock, but also a good number of other genres, really anything that tickles my fancy. This amp has yet to fall short of my needs. As well as the AT-100 and the AT-412, I use a Les Paul Studio with stock pickups and run a DigiTech RP200 through the effects loop. All praise aside, I do wish the leveling controls for the effects loop were a bit more user friendly (the dials are small, out of the way, and you'll have to play with them whenever you use a different effect or mess with the amp's EQ. Also, it would be nice if you could assign different contour settings for each distortion, which you can nearly do with the gain buttons on the amp and the single contour knob, but it is quite difficult to get right. These two complaints however, are very minor. Overall, the AT-100 is a great head. It's got the tone capabilities of a far more expensive amp (the benefit of buying a lesser-known brand) and will fit the needs of players in numerous genres. Highly recommended! // 9

overall: 8.5

Reviewed by: TDAJGuitarist, on august 31, 2007

Price paid: $ 299.99

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: The Amp has three channels: clean, gain 1, and gain 2 (can be operated by footswitch or on amp). Has standard tube reverb. Can pick between two types of tube combos or a solid state for tone versatility. Has countour and resolution knobs for better tone control. Is switchable from 4, 8, and 16 omhs which makes it work with almost any cab. // 7

Sound: I use an Ibanez ARX and an Ibanez RG with stock Ibanez Pickups. The first thing about the sound of this amp is it sounds really great when clean, it's one of the best sounding amps on a clean setting that I have ever heard which really supprised me, and even more suppriseing is that it really stays clean even at high volumes. The Reverb is decent but not amazing. Gain 1 is more of a punk or old school Metal gain tone depending on how you set it up. Think, Iron Maiden and The Sex Pistols. Gain 2 is much more heavy. Something you would use for a more heavy metal tone, Very crisp sounding and has decent bottom end as long as you turn the knobs right. Gain 2 is closer to my style tone{Hard Rock, Metal}but it's not quite beefy enough for the style of music my band plays {Hardcore, Metalcore} So for the band I keep it on clean and use a DigiTech Grunge pedal for distortion and just use the amps regular tube distortion outside of the band. That setup is perfect for me. The other thing is that this amp is way loud, perfect for shows, but a bit much when your by yourself. It also is very peticularly when on gain 2 so a noise reductor is highly recommended. I use the standard Boss Noise Suppresor and it takes away all the unwanted sound and leaves the sounds you want, Great pedal. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Its very heavy on one end but light on the other which makes it hard to carry around. I have only had this head for about a month now but it hasn't failed me yet! I haven't heard of anybodys getting screwed up nor have I seen any in the repair department of guitar center. So I am assuming they are sturdy amps. // 9

Impression: I have been playing for 4 years and I have had 2 years of lessons. The cabs I have are blank cabs with Custom Celestion Speakers. I want to get Celestion V30's, but the Customs sound good and really work with the B-52 head well. I play all sorts of styles, and this amp is good for just about any style except really really heavy stuff. Unfortunatly for me, My band is a Hardcore band so I need to use pedals to boost the distortion but all around it's a great amp. If I had the money I would buy a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. But this is much cheeper and still a great amp, it's actually in alott of ways, Simalar to the Mesa Boogie amps. It's just not quite as awesome. // 9

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: bmanchego, on september 15, 2008

Price paid: $ 1200.00

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: The features on this amp keep everything simple, you can basically plug in, do a little tweaking on the EQ and shred away! It has three channels. Channel 1 is clean, very nice clean channel, very warm especially on the Tube A. You can also go for a more Vintage sound depending on what style of music you are playing. Channel 2 is a great distortion channel. I use it more for soloing with the contour control you can dial in a great lead tone with searing notes. Channel 3 is another distortion channel and I use this one for my rythmn channel.

I play in a heavy metal band so this channel is perfect. You can get killer low end and at high volumes if you ease the gain back it will cut right through the mix. It also has a master volume, reverb, and low res which is very nice to have. You can choose between 4, 8 and 16 ohm ratings which is very nice depeding on what cab you have or what type of range you are going for. I put mine on 16 ohms and run mono but have been testing it running it at 8 ohms stereo and 4 ohms. I think I get a better range with the 16 ohms. My only gripe about this amp is that the distortion channels have to share an EQ and that the amp does not have a built in fan, but those complaints are very minumal and buying a little fan and an EQ pedal would basically solve those problems. Overall I love this amp and would recommend to anyone if they are looking to get a killer tone out of an amp but don't want to doesn't have the money to spend big bucks on a head then this the amp for you. Killer tone and you can get a half stack around $1200.00 USD. Other features include having the option to choose between Solid State, Hybrid, or Tube Amp, Line out for recording with it's own level, High and Low inputs, effects loop with own footswitch selector, and a 4 pedal footswitch with extra long cables (very nice) for running it anywhere on stage. // 9

Sound: I use RG's to play on this amp, one with Seymour duncans and one with EMG's. I can get any sound out of this amp between my guitars and the amps incredible settings. I play heavy metal and progressive music and it can handle everything. You might need a noise gate on channel 3 but if you kick the gain back a little bit you actually don't have any problems. You can basically play Vintage or classic rock all the way to Metal. Jazz, blues, funk. really anything. The clean channel is truly amazing, one of the best I've heard, very warm. You can get awesome metal tones through the distortion channel, no need for a distortion pedal at all unless your going for overkill, which I don't recommend. I really like having two distortion channels, one for rythmn and one for soloing. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I have had this amp for 2 years now and have had no problems at all. The only thing is the outer material is kind of easy to damage sometimes if you move it around alot, it's quite soft material, but besides that, it very durable. That is just cosmetic details though. I really like the color and the face of the amp as well as the shiny silver logos. // 9

Impression: Overall, this amp is great for any player playing any type of music, you can dial this amp in for any style. I have been playing nearly 10 years and have owned several different amps including a Mesa Boogie Nomad, and I would compare this amp to that one anyday. I use a Crybaby from Hell and a Delay pedal and just rip away. I definitly would buy this amp again if needed, for the money, you can't beat this amp, you are going to get killer tone for thousands less than other high end amps. // 10

Comments

[ready2breakdown]

wow i cant believe you got this head for only 300 bucks! I also can't believe that you use a friggin distortion pedal through this head!!! Friggin hardcore bands man! Use a friggin EQ pedal and push the 100 and 250 bands up to get some bass!

[AllWthnMyHands]

You don't need pedals for this amp. You just need to learn to EQ it properly. My band plays metal and my lead guitarist uses that amp and it sound amazing. I play with a Peavey 6505 and they mesh very well. Stock ibanez pickups don't have that great of a dynamic range.

Awesome amp.

Checked.

[muso_ chris]

now i want one.

[ThorOfValhalla]

yeah, all these guys are right, the onboard distortion is gravy on this thing, overdrive/distortion pedals are completely unecessary. if tweeked right, you can get a rough bluesy sound or a downright raunchy metal gain. best thing i've ever played!

[RyRock]

How the hell did you get one for 300 dollars? Even if it was used, these things go for $700 new, so you must have shown some skin or something man.

[DOOdooroCK]

RyRock wrote:

How the hell did you get one for 300 dollars? Even if it was used, these things go for $700 new, so you must have shown some skin or something man.

lol showed some skin

and i agree with him. does this come with a footswitch?

[myvaliantleap]

Yes it comes with a footswitch, at least new it does.

[ollytodd]

300 bills good buy man!
stop using pedals and eq the shiz to make those tubes purr..

[Demonikk]

Anyone know where I can get one of these in the UK?
I don't wanna resort to a hybrid Randall

[myscreeename]

shiiit... 300?? i bought mine and 2x12 b52 speaker cab and it all added up to like 800. but it was used.

great amp though. i love it

[evening_crow]

He probably only bought the head which is why it only cost him 300.

[i_eat_souls]

i have this head and it rocks, i got it for 300 as a floor model but it was just like new and i knew the guy that sold it to me. This head is awesome, i run it through a crate 400W cab and it is great for playing live, but when i'm alone i cant really turn the master past 2 for fear of going deaf

[Crimson_tornado]

Couple with the fact he might've paid £300 rather than $300 - which would be more like $600

[lo0zerkid34]

no, i know for a fact that he paid in american money. this guy was in my guitar class and i played in his band for a brief period

[DOOdooroCK]

should i get this or save up 4 mesa boogie, or a diff high gain boutique amp thats under $2,000

[TDAJGuitarist]

I tryed an EQ pedal and it didnt do the trick...The distortion on the grunge pedal was good....I Recently switched over to Mesa and it was well worth it...Best tone of my life.

And to answer the questions about the price....Had been having problems with previous amps I bought and I basically sat in guitar center and Complianed for an hour till I got it for 300$....And yes...Its US dollars.

[Guitarguy310]

I need a little assistance...I am stuck between buying a B-52 AT100 or a Fender Metalhead. Personally, I think the B-52 sounds better, but I'll need to buy a noise gate, case, etc. The Fender MH has a noise gate, but you can only use one effect at a time, including the fact that the head itself IS a case. So, with all that, I'll be spending Please gimme some feedback.

[strings-N-stuff]

Killer amp!

[Axe_Burner]

Man I sat down with one of these at GC the other day! I liked it a lot. It seems made for old Metallica and such, that's what I played on it and that's what the guy after me played on it too. It's got that nice thrashy distortion to it. I want one!

[John Spartan]

Best head ever created, i've got the Hed sitting on a lovely LS 412 slant cab.

And i play hardcore to man, and my sound is perfect so dude you should be ashamed for putting a pedal up to that!!!

[bmanchego]

ThorOfValhalla wrote:

yeah, all these guys are right, the onboard distortion is gravy on this thing, overdrive/distortion pedals are completely unecessary. if tweeked right, you can get a rough bluesy sound or a downright raunchy metal gain. best thing i've ever played!

I agree completely! I own this amp.....I've had it about 2 years now.....I love it...you can get a killer distortion on this thing without distortion pedals....My only complaint is that the distortion channels share the same EQ.....Its basicall an Inexpensive version of a MB Dual Rec...without all the little tweeking options....I own the AT-412 also which is very nice....but they have another cab (B-52) with Celestion 30's in it.....I think I might go buy a straight and slanded and trade in my AT-412...All in all, I love this amp, well worth the money and more.....plus not many people have it so I can build my sound around it and not have every other player sound the same...as everyone owns a MB or Marshall

[jabba777]

This amp is great live and at practice, but for recording you might want to borrow a peavey or a higher-end head. There's too much natural bass in the EQ of this amp to get a great recording tone. I'm saying this and I play in a hardcore band.