B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head 

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

Great tube amp for the price. Some other reviews talk about how it isn't good for metal. I played around with different sounds on it, ska, punk, metal, rock, country, etc. it is a very reliable amp. If you think it doesn't have a good sound for (genre), you just fiddle around with the gain, cutting the mids, fooling around with the reverb and you end up with exactly what you need or want.

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I went from a JMP 1976 marshall head to this B- 52. I have much better tone and depth. I was blown away!

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

You won't find a better amp in the price range, and from a functional and tone standpoint, this has everything i need from an amp. Great cleans, great high gain and versatile distortion that can be set to taste. The only thing it doesn't do great is that edge of breakup SRV thing, due to the gobs of headroom on the clean channel, but an OD will get you close. Swapping out the preamp tubes for JJs got rid of the usual high gain noise issues. This amp can hang with the best of 'em, and i'd question the motives of those who slam it. Also, the speakers in the combo and AT412 cabs are top notch. Paired with the matching closed back cab, you get a nice tight low end for metal. The tolex is a little fragile if you worry about that sort of thing. Thanks to internet bashing, you can find these cheap used, go for it. Or you can spend an extra $1500 to tell your buddies your tubes aren't PCB mounted...good for you. At the gig no one gives a darn. If you're a gigging musician playing pretty much any style, you can't go wrong with this amp. I'm on my 3rd AT100 due to constant gear selling and trading, and I keep coming back to this. Thanks to b52 for making an amp like this available without selling a kidney.

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I bought this amp used at a Guitar Center about a year ago. Even though I do not believe many amps can come close to a marshall, this one did. It sounds perfect. You can get any kind of tones you want. The cleans sound amazing and crystal clear. I prefer the gain 1 channel for the crunch sound. Sometimes, my boss super overdrive through the front. Tone at 1, no gain, and level maxed out.

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I play my Les Paul Studio through this amp and it sounds fantastic no matter what genre I'm playing...Everything from hard rock to sweet clean sounds you can dial in anything really. When it is cranked the distortion really sings. Just be prepared if you like to push the knobs to 9 on your gain...the amp gets super feedbacky and noisy but this can be mitigated with a pedal if you can't handle it. The clean is nice and full when i play it on my rthym pickup setting which sounds best. I would reccomend this amp to anyone that doesn't have tons of cash to drop but still wants awesome tube sounds and great versatility.
With one clean and two different distortion channels, you can really get a wide range of sounds out of this amp. The high gain distortion channel is a more modern channel and the other is more crunch sounding. Reverb is OK but could be beefed up a little for sure, possibly with a new tube. Unfortunately the FX loop was a little dissapointing, I could never dial in the volume correctly on it so I just run everything into the input on the front which isn't a problem really. The low end resonance and also the contour knob also help shape the sound you want and are a nice feature. The rectifier knob is cool, but I usually just leave it in class A/B mode.
I have played hundreds of shows on this baby and it has never failed me in over 3 years since I bought it new. It is rugged and will last if you take care of it. Sound quality is pretty good, although i recommend buying a different cab than the one B-52 offers, it will sound even better plugged intoa nicer cab.
For the money you really can't beat the versatility and great tones that you get out of this amp.

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I have found the B52 ATX100 head to be not only a light on the wallet but also a heavy hitter on the tone. I am a gigging musician and have owned the amp for almost a year. It has given me little trouble so far, and I hope to keep it for many years to come. Here are the pros and cons. PROS: Tone is versatile. In both inputs the clean channel is easily comparable to a good fender especially on the bright setting and the reverb is a quality plus. In the low input OD1 can give you a good JCM800 tone and OD2 sounds wonderful scooped. In the high input both OD channels are tighter with a bit more gain available. I fact, I compared the B-52 side by side to a Mesa Mark V and the OD1 channel on the B-52 can get up to a good Mark IV gain sound while OD2 sounds smoother and heavier than the Mark V's highest gain setting. The bass response is MUCH tighter on the ATX than on amps like the Peavey valve king or even a 6505+, and the ATX works extremely well with scooped tones via the contour knob, making this amp great for djent metal, deathcore, metalcore, grindcore, or any genre requiring a tight over the top high gain tone. The amp also sounds good with the mids up and the gain rolled down for rock, hard rock, heavy metal or even blues. CONS: This amp head is heavy, I would recommend getting a fight case for it with wheels. Also, with the gain all the way up this amp does hiss pretty loudly, but this sound is not audible when playing and is easily remedied by putting a noise gait in the effects loop (it sounds BEAUTIMOUS this way!). All in all the ATX100 is a phenomenal buy, and competes with some of the best sounding amps I have ever used or heard. Highly recommended.

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

This amp is a monster for the price. The cleans and reverb are incredible. The gain is good, but not perfect. If you boost the gain with a Maxon OD808 or other Tubescreamer on the drive channels, you get instant brutal metal tone. An EQ pedal in the loop can also help tailor the tone, but is not necessary at all.. a Tubescreamer as a boost is really the key for metal. My only other gripe is that I wish it had a presence knob.

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

Let me start out by saying im not partial to tube or solid state amps. I believe Whats most important is that it sounds good and is reliable. I have seen these amps in the stores for years and never considered buying one because the price was so cheap i figured they must be junk. I was at the Namm show a few days ago and I decided to try one out just for fun. I was blown away at how great this head sounded, even through the "el cheap-o" demo guitar. what I liked most was the amp had a really aggressive tone that you usually cant get in most heads without using effects. The clean channel was a simple nice clear clean channel, nothing fancy. I dont think its fair to hear people comparing this amp to a high dollar mesa, soldano,VHT or 5150. this a $600 amp that sounds amazing. personally i think it blows away most the stock marshalls ive ever played through. I cant speak for the durability or quality cause i dont own one.

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I've had this head for over a year now and this thing snaps necks and caves in skulls the distortion on this beast is nothing less than sick; tons of character. I put a MXR Ten-band eq through the FX Loop and there was nothing but beauty in destruction. Don't listen to the guys who tell you to buy Marshall, Boogie and 6 months worth of house payments to get a good sound, B-52 makes a great head, you'll be more than happy.

Comments about B-52 ATX-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I just bought this used from musicians friend and it sound great. It is very versatile and can reach from a classic rock type sound, to a nice hardcore/metal tone. The only complaint I have about this amp is when I turn it on, it has a loud buzzing sound that goes in and out for maybe a minute, and then afterwards once the tubes have warmed up a hissing, feathery type sound is heard in the background, but that also goes away in about a minute. I'm not sure if its like this because I bought it used but other than those slight inconveniences when I turn on the amp, this amp rocks!