Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170
If your sound comes from stompboxes rather than your amp, you may have looked at the big, heavy box you cart around with your pedalboard and asked yourself, why?
Well, now there’s an even better reason to ask that question. Seymour Duncan’s Powerstage 170 is a compact power amplifier that’s small and light enough to fit into a pedalboard, yet provides a whopping 170 watts RMS into a minimum of 4 ohms. It’s beautifully engineered, with a brushed aluminium fascia featuring a perfectly executed 3D version of the famous ‘S’ logo. There are tone controls for bass, mid and treble, sitting over a large volume control that can be hand- or foot-operated, although the knob is so nicely finished we’d be wary of scuffing it with our size nines. Underneath the knobs, there’s a trio of small but bright status LEDs, while on the rear there are standard jack sockets for signal in and speaker out, together with a mains rocker switch and a grill for the miniature cooling fan.
Inside, the Powerstage 170 is beautifully made, with a high-quality printed circuita board holding most of the components. Despite being small, the Powerstage 170 is built to serious professional standards and should handle anything thrown at it, figuratively speaking. Keep your beers out of harm’s way though, as the Powerstage 170 gets its juice from 240V AC.
Sounds
The Powerstage is electrically quiet, with practically zero hiss and hum. We tried it with a couple of analogue effects alongside a small digital modelling multi-effects pedal and a 2x12 Vintage 30-loaded 8-ohm cabinet, into which the Powerstage 170 should be making about 100 watts RMS.
Dialling in a good sound was quick and easy thanks to the on-board tone controls, and the high headroom added extra zing and presence to all our effects and amp model settings. There’s no preference for guitar here, we used a variety of single coil and humbucking instruments and every guitar’s sonic signature came through with clarity. Even at the reduced output, there was still plenty of clean headroom with bouncy, dynamic guitar-friendly feel that made every sound a pleasure to use. Switch your effects into bypass, and the Powerstage is a superb clean channel, with tone controls that work smoothly at guitarfriendly frequencies.
Verdict
It’s not the cheapest power amp out there, but you get what you pay for and the Powerstage 170 is a top-quality product, built in the same California workshop as Seymour Duncan’s legendary pickups and pedals, with the same reliability and robust construction. It looks and feels justifiably expensive, and the clarity of sound at any volume level is very impressive. At just over a kilo it’s supremely portable and a perfect partner for your pedalboard. If your arms are aching from lugging a heavy head or combo around, the Powerstage 170 could be your answer to portability, as well as righteous tone! [NG]