Bought one of these 2nd hand just based on the specs. Amazing. So flexible. Sounds excellent DI'd or through a speaker. On a side issue I control my entire rig using a BOSS ES-8. The IRT footswitch uses a 5-pin DIN cable (same as a MIDI lead) but Scott Salmon at Nautilus FX Systems in the ACT (who also built my board) made me a little box that converts the 5-pin DIN to 2 TRS sockets so I can use the control outs on the ES-8. Really excellent. Allows you to switch all of the stuff you normally control with the great Ironheart 4-button footswitch. You can find him on facebook.
I bought this amp as a result of watching this review. I love it - the cleans compete with my vintage blackface Princetons, and the drive/dirt goes where the Princetons can't even dream about. For about 1/4 of the price...
I really loved your demo!. I didn't like other videos on youtube because they just played with ultra high gain and i couldn't hear all the sound range that this amp can achieve.
Thanks Brett, you absolutely “kill it” with your review videos. Most informative vid I’ve seen for this unit... I’m gonna grab one up and check it out. Seems about perfect!
This is the best demo of this amp on UA-cam IMO! I just got one of these (used) for £200 which is less than half the RRP. Not as gainy as I'd like but using a Maxon OD-808 in front gives me as much as I need. Love it :)
I got one for like (used/ good condition) 300$ shipping across Europe I'm very happy with it Both clean and rock Not a metal guy Also great playing by Brett 🙂
This video played a great part in my decision to get one of these, thanks Brett. I got it not so much for the High Gain metal tones, which it has in spades, But more for the flexibility of the preamp. This review is by far the best to demonstrate it's versatility The gain channels really do do some nice overdrive/bluesy tones too when dialled back (8 to 9 0clock'ish). Haven't explored much of the back panel goodies yet but I'm sure I will eventually...
I have two of these and re-valved them. First one last year. Sovtek matched EL84's and Sovtek 12AX7's one of which is a balanced phase splitter V3. Re-biased a little hotter and this is amazing. Best amp I've owned and I've had a few. Just re-valved no2 and that is similar. Amazing amps.
That sounds glorious! I don't know how much tone shift there is using the Palmer cabinet or the SM57, but man does that sound great. The pre-boost is a fantastic feature. Great demo, it really did speak for itself.
Laney is way ahead of the completion when it comes to recording. The pulse is only the beginning. The Ironheart IRT Studio USB and Lionheart L5 tube amps are fabulous for recording. The D.I outputs the unaffected, input signal on the left and the amped signal on the right. The amp signal is taken from the output transformer. Output tube glassy cleans to distortion! The competition takes the D.I signal from the preamp. That’s a monstrous, daylight and dark, difference! KUDOS to Laney!
I love mine! It does cleans and high gain very well, but the cab sim isn't great (and the USB has a big latency without asio4all drivers). I've put it in a rack with a G-major and a Mesa 50/50 Poweramp (the Laney has a dummy load so you can just use the fx out) and a voodoo control switcher with a midi pedal to control it all. The mesa adds the thickness I needed for my prog metal band, great tones!
I'll soon be 60. I got to see Black Sabbath on the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath tour. I've been a Laney fan since 1970, right after a friends big brother turned me on to "Paranoid." I have seen bad customer service. I have seen great customer service. But I have never seen a company appreciate and take care of their customers like Laney. Laney tops everything I've ever been associated with. I'm not in the "Rock n Roll Hall of Fame." But Laney treated me as if I were. I'm not a touring rockstar. But Laney treated me like I am. You can have your M's and V's and all in between, but as for me, make mine LANEY.
Not much. Just the usual hiss of a high gain amp. I noticed a slight boost of noise however, that is when you change the level of effects loop from line level (0db) to instrument level (-10db).
hi Brett! Great demo and fantastic device... I guess you've surely noticed the wonderful tiny laney's IRT PULSE.. Any chance you'll be reviewing it soon? Thanks, it almost 6 years now that i keep getting inspired by your fantastic gears' reviews.. Keep going strong! Take care, cheers from Florence, Italy.
One of the best presentations I've seen so far! I just ordered one for myself today and I'm pretty exited already. Looks like you can have a load of fun with this bad guy. Sorry for the question but I'm pretty new with the guitar stuff and I read it everywhere.. what is a DAW? Greetz from Germany
hello brett,What do you thing about this amps. (Fender hot rod Deluxe 3, Marshall Dsl40c, Irt studio + 2x12 Celestion Vintage 30) If you can buy only 1 amp from this which amp is you prefer?
How would this stand against having a head with DI like Bassbreaker 15? I'm trying to decide between the two for my home recording. Any thoughts and comments?
***** Indeed I did. I bought the IRT15H which for the money is killer. I wish I had the time and talent to make videos like you do, fiddly eye candy notwithstanding. There is a dearth of videos on this line to be found so yours is quite welcome.
I own the Laney IRT and in my opinion the cab sim of the USB interface sounds crab xD It's that weak that it almost sounds like the amp signal without box.
Haha ooh wow! The rate of obsoletion these days is... staggering? This puts my Blackstar and H&K so called recording amps to a quick rest. I think I'm a bit jealous really. Well, I don"t know. Maybe. Great recordings will always be possible no matter the method; you just have to work a bit more for them. That's not such a bad thing. I certainly wouldn't refuse one if these sexy babies though. I'm happy for you, it's certainly in capable hands. Thank you.
Not sure if you'll get this, but can put out a guide on how to setup the amp for direct recording? I very recently bought one, and running it direct into my computer, the gain sounds very, VERY fizzy and overly-gainy for what I have the amp set to. I have ASIO drivers and everything, but it still doesn't sound great.
Forest93 Yeah, it is, and I get the sim out and the DI out from the direct recording, but the simulated output is so grainy and dirty compared to the real cab sound. Not sure where to go with it, really.
well i also do not like the internal cab sim. It's always turned off. I am using the Palmer PDI 09 or the Two Notes Torpedo Wall of Sound 3 Demo. These 2 options make your amp sound so much better.
Forest93 Yeah, that might be a possible purchase for me, maybe not any time soon though. Guitar is more of a hobby, it'd just be nice to be able to easily record as well :/
hey buddy I have a quick question, I'm using the Laney irt as well and I'm wondering how you can monitor your tone while recording through USB. I am using cubase 7 can hear the metronome and drums but not my guitar until after I've recorded and am playing back, how do you live monitor
You have to choose what the output monitor is. When you use the laney with usb it is automatically detected as the output monitor because it sends some usb signal. But this is not correct. That's why you have to select your audio Interface or your soundcard as the Output Monitor.
yes it has a headphone out and a DI out and an usb out and has a built in dummy load (some thing to prevent the amp from dying when it is not plugged in to a cabinet) this amp seems so versatile and I've seen many good sounding demos so I'm just about to get one myself....
This is probably the best demo I've seen of this for non-metal use. Thanks much!
Hands down the best demo you will find anywhere on this amp , Well done and thanks!
This is the best demo so far for this Laney IRT-Studio. U did show us the versatility of the amp. Thanks so much Brett..
Just got this delivered yesterday. Can't wait to dial it in
Bought one of these 2nd hand just based on the specs. Amazing. So flexible. Sounds excellent DI'd or through a speaker. On a side issue I control my entire rig using a BOSS ES-8. The IRT footswitch uses a 5-pin DIN cable (same as a MIDI lead) but Scott Salmon at Nautilus FX Systems in the ACT (who also built my board) made me a little box that converts the 5-pin DIN to 2 TRS sockets so I can use the control outs on the ES-8. Really excellent. Allows you to switch all of the stuff you normally control with the great Ironheart 4-button footswitch. You can find him on facebook.
I bought this amp as a result of watching this review. I love it - the cleans compete with my vintage blackface Princetons, and the drive/dirt goes where the Princetons can't even dream about. For about 1/4 of the price...
Just brought one. It is simply awesome. I think the best cab emulation I've ever heard.
I really loved your demo!. I didn't like other videos on youtube because they just played with ultra high gain and i couldn't hear all the sound range that this amp can achieve.
i've ordered it. This was a real authentic sounding example. Hope Laney pays you well.
This is a great demo - how amps should be demo'ed!
Thanks for the demo. This gives you a good spectrum of what this amp can do.
Great demo of some very varied tones. Thank you. Getting one for my studio on the back of this video !!!.
Thanks Brett, you absolutely “kill it” with your review videos. Most informative vid I’ve seen for this unit... I’m gonna grab one up and check it out. Seems about perfect!
Loving my Ironheart amp too. It can do most anything.
This is the best demo of this amp on UA-cam IMO! I just got one of these (used) for £200 which is less than half the RRP. Not as gainy as I'd like but using a Maxon OD-808 in front gives me as much as I need. Love it :)
yes this and the JACK TAMMARAT one :)
I got one for like (used/ good condition) 300$ shipping across Europe
I'm very happy with it
Both clean and rock
Not a metal guy
Also great playing by Brett 🙂
This video played a great part in my decision to get one of these, thanks Brett.
I got it not so much for the High Gain metal tones, which it has in spades, But more for the flexibility of the preamp.
This review is by far the best to demonstrate it's versatility
The gain channels really do do some nice overdrive/bluesy tones too when dialled back (8 to 9 0clock'ish).
Haven't explored much of the back panel goodies yet but I'm sure I will eventually...
I have two of these and re-valved them. First one last year. Sovtek matched EL84's and Sovtek 12AX7's one of which is a balanced phase splitter V3. Re-biased a little hotter and this is amazing. Best amp I've owned and I've had a few. Just re-valved no2 and that is similar. Amazing amps.
It all sounds good in your hands Brett
Awesome sounding ,flexible Sol-Cal !
Brilliant review! Wish we'd heard some of the reamped/DI sounds this thing can do too, but really nicely done!
That sounds glorious! I don't know how much tone shift there is using the Palmer cabinet or the SM57, but man does that sound great. The pre-boost is a fantastic feature. Great demo, it really did speak for itself.
Great demo and riffing! Awesome tones overall.
Stellar demo.
Laney is way ahead of the completion when it comes to recording. The pulse is only the beginning. The Ironheart IRT Studio USB and Lionheart L5 tube amps are fabulous for recording. The D.I outputs the unaffected, input signal on the left and the amped signal on the right. The amp signal is taken from the output transformer. Output tube glassy cleans to distortion! The competition takes the D.I signal from the preamp. That’s a monstrous, daylight and dark, difference! KUDOS to Laney!
Hi Danny you mean the usb when you say "The D.I outputs the unaffected, input signal on the left and the amped signal on the right." not the xlr D.I ?
I love mine! It does cleans and high gain very well, but the cab sim isn't great (and the USB has a big latency without asio4all drivers). I've put it in a rack with a G-major and a Mesa 50/50 Poweramp (the Laney has a dummy load so you can just use the fx out) and a voodoo control switcher with a midi pedal to control it all. The mesa adds the thickness I needed for my prog metal band, great tones!
I'll soon be 60. I got to see Black Sabbath on the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath tour. I've been a Laney fan since 1970, right after a friends big brother turned me on to "Paranoid." I have seen bad customer service. I have seen great customer service. But I have never seen a company appreciate and take care of their customers like Laney. Laney tops everything I've ever been associated with. I'm not in the "Rock n Roll Hall of Fame." But Laney treated me as if I were. I'm not a touring rockstar. But Laney treated me like I am. You can have your M's and V's and all in between, but as for me, make mine LANEY.
My literal dream amp
Fantastic Tones!
Great Demo. Best one of this product.
Great demo!
Great demo man!...Thanks a lot!
I have one and I love it!
Is it noisy when using a lot of gain. I do not play loud. My volume is pretty low thx
Not much. Just the usual hiss of a high gain amp. I noticed a slight boost of noise however, that is when you change the level of effects loop from line level (0db) to instrument level (-10db).
hi Brett! Great demo and fantastic device... I guess you've surely noticed the wonderful tiny laney's IRT PULSE.. Any chance you'll be reviewing it soon? Thanks, it almost 6 years now that i keep getting inspired by your fantastic gears' reviews.. Keep going strong! Take care, cheers from Florence, Italy.
Hah... everything sounds great in Brett's hands)
true
One of the best presentations I've seen so far! I just ordered one for myself today and I'm pretty exited already. Looks like you can have a load of fun with this bad guy. Sorry for the question but I'm pretty new with the guitar stuff and I read it everywhere.. what is a DAW? Greetz from Germany
Hello Brett. Great demo. Can I do 80s hard rock and hair metal with this amp?
hello brett,What do you thing about this amps.
(Fender hot rod Deluxe 3, Marshall Dsl40c, Irt studio + 2x12 Celestion Vintage 30)
If you can buy only 1 amp from this which amp is you prefer?
when you have those D.I. and USB options at the back of this thing, is an audio interface really neccessary? apologies in advance.
Just put a order in for mine
I think I've just found my next amp.
impressive!
I am thinking about this unit.. How is the DI working on this thing? Is it any usable DI?
How would this stand against having a head with DI like Bassbreaker 15?
I'm trying to decide between the two for my home recording. Any thoughts
and comments?
If I vomit from watching the floating lens flares, it ALL you fault Burgs! :-)
Haha. Sorry! Did you manage to keep it in? :)
*****
Indeed I did. I bought the IRT15H which for the money is killer. I wish I had the time and talent to make videos like you do, fiddly eye candy notwithstanding. There is a dearth of videos on this line to be found so yours is quite welcome.
hi, do you think it can serve well in live session as a handy piece of equipment when a guitar amp is not feasible?
How does it sound direct in comparison to the Axe FX?
When using the xlr out does the unit need to be plugged into a cab?
not bad at all... how does the USB interface sound?
I own the Laney IRT and in my opinion the cab sim of the USB interface sounds crab xD It's that weak that it almost sounds like the amp signal without box.
Brett have you tried this through a PA setting? Curious. Sounds superb in this setup!
Haha ooh wow! The rate of obsoletion these days is... staggering? This puts my Blackstar and H&K so called recording amps to a quick rest. I think I'm a bit jealous really. Well, I don"t know. Maybe. Great recordings will always be possible no matter the method; you just have to work a bit more for them. That's not such a bad thing. I certainly wouldn't refuse one if these sexy babies though. I'm happy for you, it's certainly in capable hands. Thank you.
Not sure if you'll get this, but can put out a guide on how to setup the amp for direct recording? I very recently bought one, and running it direct into my computer, the gain sounds very, VERY fizzy and overly-gainy for what I have the amp set to. I have ASIO drivers and everything, but it still doesn't sound great.
Is the cab sim activated?
Forest93 Yeah, it is, and I get the sim out and the DI out from the direct recording, but the simulated output is so grainy and dirty compared to the real cab sound. Not sure where to go with it, really.
well i also do not like the internal cab sim. It's always turned off. I am using the Palmer PDI 09 or the Two Notes Torpedo Wall of Sound 3 Demo. These 2 options make your amp sound so much better.
Forest93
Yeah, that might be a possible purchase for me, maybe not any time soon though. Guitar is more of a hobby, it'd just be nice to be able to easily record as well :/
then you should download the Two notes torpedo wall of sound plugin. 2 Cabs are for free! One is a Marshall 4x12 which sounds perfect.
hey buddy I have a quick question, I'm using the Laney irt as well and I'm wondering how you can monitor your tone while recording through USB. I am using cubase 7 can hear the metronome and drums but not my guitar until after I've recorded and am playing back, how do you live monitor
You have to choose what the output monitor is. When you use the laney with usb it is automatically detected as the output monitor because it sends some usb signal.
But this is not correct. That's why you have to select your audio Interface or your soundcard as the Output Monitor.
great job Brett! When are these available in Oz?
I believe they have been for some time. See: www.australismusic.com.au/stockists/
And thanks! :)
Can you run this without plugging it to a cabinet?
yes it has a headphone out and a DI out and an usb out and has a built in dummy load (some thing to prevent the amp from dying when it is not plugged in to a cabinet)
this amp seems so versatile and I've seen many good sounding demos so I'm just about to get one myself....
Niklas Nisch Thanks for the info.
can use my pedals with this ???
Of course