BOSS NEXTONE ARTIST & STAGE AMPS

£439 to £615

Boss’s punchy and compelling Katana modelling amps were well-liked in the

Guitarist office, so there was some excitement when we learned Boss had launched another new concept in high-quality, non-valvebased amplification, dubbed the Nextone amp series. Designed with the tone-tweaker in mind, the main idea is that you can instantly switch between four selectable, Class A/B analogue power amp circuits, offering 6V6, 6L6, EL84 and EL34-style performance at the turn of a dial. The classic valve voices are summoned up with Boss’s convincing Tube Logic tech that was devised to model every important element in the signal path of a classic valve amp, without actually using valves. On the basis of Roland’s Blues Cube, which utilises the same tech, the approach seems to work pretty convincingly. The Nextone amps also feature Boost and Tone switches for adding crunch and sparkle, plus built-in delay, tremolo and reverb effects.

Meanwhile, the Nextone Editor for Mac and Windows lets you delve a bit deeper via the tone stack type, EQ, sag, bias, effects, system settings and more, so you can fettle the sound and response. There are two models in the range: the 80-watt Nextone Artist combo with a single 12inch speaker for £615, and the 40-watt Nextone Stage, also with one 12-inch speaker, for £439. www.boss.info/uk