I had the Tubemeister 36 some years ago but found it too bright no metter what I did and i had a lot of effects on the side including MIDI board and so on. Sine then I have been looking for the "SOUND" but also had to consider a bad back. After trying a lot of different things I decided to try the Line6 Helix. I had a lot of fun with it but I never really found the sound I had in my imagination. At the same time I became aware that I spent more time programming than playing. The Helix was also pretty heavy, so after reading and watching reviews I went for the Hotone Ampere. It was easier to find sounds closer to my ideal sound but the unit had some serious flaws (?) producing unwanted digital distortion.
SO.... I came across the Grandmeister 40. It contains almost everything I need and and lot of what I want so I decided to go BlueLight again. This time the essential effects are build in, the weight is absolutely on the healthy side and the specifications for the power soak, the Red Box for emulated signal to FOH, the Line out and the speaker out was sounding very attractive. I realized from the beginning that it would be best to order the H&K MIDI footswitch too. I was right !!
First test on my PA from the Red Box was far freom a success. Harsh treble and speaker-destoying bass made me wonder if I yet again had found the wrong amp. But tweaking the Red Box, changing the choice of speakers and using the the built in EQ's turned everything around.
I really need an amazing sound to the FOH and my personal monitors regardless if I use clean or "demolish everything" sounds.
To make it short - I found what I was looking for. The sounds in my presets are now the best in my 47 years of playing - and I have tried more amps than I dare to count - not to mention the money spent on Mesas, Marshalls, Engl..... You name it and there is a risk that I been there too.....
This amp produce - for the first time- true tube amp + really great passive cab sound - but on the Red Box output. My PA system sounds incredibly nice and so do my personal monitors. When playing I get this wonderful feeling of satisfying surprise again and again on all four channels.
On day 3 I decided to use my 2x12" V30 cab and except for a different EQ'ing it sounds so great that its hard to believe.
Dont let the 40 watt scare you. At home I use it in the 1 watt mode, in the rehearsal room in the 5 watt mode and live in the 20 watt mode - if the venue is big.
The remote MIDI board is a joy to use except for the boost switch that does not work in preset mode - only in stompbox mode - yes - you can change the use of the switches between preset or stompbox mode on the remote which work fast and precise. A joy when you play live.
The programming is pretty easy but has some strange combinations for different settings. But H&K was clever enough to put a label on the bottom of the amp with the combinations of knobs to press. Brilliant !!
So - why only 4 starts on functionality ????
Well, when you make an amp with all essential effects, have a remote pedal the support expression pedals and external switches you would expect not to bring more gear....
To me it would have been perfect if it had a build-in tuner in the remote MIDI board or the amp itself and if you had a switch that could copy the Red Box settings to the line output. This way you could have your own active monitor along with the passive guitar cabinet.
I know sound is as individual as taste in beer and women but no matter if you play in the studio or live music from the 50's pop, laid back jazz or want to blow the audience til hell at a metal festival - this could be your last amp. Just remember that the responds differently to different guitars / pickups. So if you bring several guitars to your shows you could use the 32 banks with 4 patches where one bank refers to one guitar... I just hope 32 guitars for the gig is enough =:o))