Electro-Harmonix 44 Magnum 44W Guitar Power Amplifier

[Clark Kent]

It's awesome! I just got mine a few days ago but I must say I'm extremely happy with this. It's way louder than a loud drummer with volume on 3 out of ten and it sounds pretty good. It does have that transistor vibe but a very slight one if you ask me. Hear for yourself! This is my Axe-Fx through a Mesa Boogie 2:50 first and then through the Magnum 44:



And by the way both power amps were cranked. Mesa had volume on half but the Magnum was louder with volume on one fourth.

Here's a clean clip also with loud as hell volume:


Mesa weighs like hell and costs 1500€, EHX costs 150€ and can fit your pocket and weighs almost nothing. Sure the sound isn't as good but it's not THAT far... definitely an amazing back up rig!

 

[JonWormwood]

I'm buying one of these to have the lightest rig possible.

 

[JeffTD]

I actually hear a big difference between the two, especially in the midrange. The EH44 is more forward and 'stiff' sounding while the Mesa has more give and 'squish.' That's unfortunate as I had really high hopes for the EH44 but I'll probably still get one as the tradeoff in price, size, and weight is insane.

 

[Clark Kent]

Yup, it's not a power amp you'd choose for recordings and I don't think that is the purpose of this product in the first place. In my case it's just powering up a 4x12 cab on stage and rehearsals so I hear myself and get feedback if I want it. Using ear plugs decreases the difference in tone quite a bit... and actually the 44 Magnum cuts better since it has less low end. The FOH signal comes from my Axe-Fx send with GuitarHack's Edge Sneap impulse. That's probably one of the best IRs out there if you ask me BTW.

But like Jeff said if you think about the price and weight issues you will most likely not care about the tone difference as much if it's for live use.

 

[drew_drummer]

I actually think it sounds pretty cool. I actually kinda prefer the EHX44 in the Mesa comparison... for those low chuggy chords... it just seems a little more punchy to me and has cleaned up some of the fizziness.

 

[hsnyder]

I think I prefer the mesa, but the magnum is awesome for the price.

I think for younger players on a tight budget this thing is perfect. An AMT electronics pedal (pick one of the ledgend amp 2 series) this thing and a 1x12 closed back with V30. Actually not just younger players, anyone who wants an easily portable decent sounding rig

Thanks for sharing

 

[The spark]

So these have a decent amount of headroom? Im wondering if one of these plus my ADA MP1 would make a decent practice setup.

 

[B36arin]

Seems like the perfect thing to tour with if you're using a modeler(Axe FX/Kemper). You can even bring two spares since it's so cheap

 

[Pot]

i´d love to ty one

 

[Clark Kent]

I'm sure if you put it up against a 100w amp you'll have to drive the 44 power amp to where it doesn't have clean headroom. Still it's plenty loud!

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

I'm sure if you put it up against a 100w amp you'll have to drive the 44 power amp to where it doesn't have clean headroom. Still it's plenty loud!

Bingo - to me, the 44 definitely sounds "furrier" and more middy to me compared to the Mesa (not sure how anyone could think it's more scooped ), but as mentioned for the MASSIVE size/power consumption/price difference, it's damn impressive! (especially since you said they were both pretty loud when you recorded 'em, Clark)

 

[Clark Kent]

Yeah.. I got it louder and cleaner by raising the Axe-Fx output volume instead of the master volume of the Magnum 44.

 

[Capitancambarro]

Bingo - to me, the 44 definitely sounds "furrier" and more middy to me compared to the Mesa (not sure how anyone could think it's more scooped ), but as mentioned for the MASSIVE size/power consumption/price difference, it's damn impressive! (especially since you said they were both pretty loud when you recorded 'em, Clark)

+1
Yeah, tube amp has more depth and a more 3d sound and is more loose, less stiff in the mids. BUT, I will definitely get this thing and use it with my Kemper for gigs. It's really an impressive perormance for a 150 Euro stompbox Poweramp. I have been using the Kemper Live with a 19" el cheapo poweramp that definitely is thinner and more SS sounding than this and it was still ok for on stage monitoring.

 

[JonWormwood]

So I got the magnum 44 yesterday. I'll have to do a comparison vs. the lee jackson sp1000. Quite different. Lee jackson has much more lows and sounds scooped in comparison.

 

[Wookieslayer]

Nice review and thanks for the clips. Always wondered how it would stack up against the Crate Powerblock though... which is 150w.

 

[DeclanWhite]

I had one of these for a while. sounded pretty sick with a pod x3 live, but in my tests it just didnt have the balls of the krank amp's poweramp i had at the time. maybe i should have played with EQ more, adding some low end to compensate etc...

 

[Clark Kent]

Sure a little bit of EQ helps to get that tubey feel.

 

[hoehlentroll]

It does have that transistor vibe but a very slight one if you ask me.

Nothing you can't compensate with a eq-curve ...
Damit you were first

 

[Drummerrrrr?]

I had one of these for a while. sounded pretty sick with a pod x3 live, but in my tests it just didnt have the balls of the krank amp's poweramp i had at the time. maybe i should have played with EQ more, adding some low end to compensate etc...

I'll let you know how it goes

 

[B36arin]

Bump! Has any of you guys been using one of these regularly? How is the reliability? And what do you guys think after having owned it for a while?