B-52 AT-100 Guitar Amp Head Review: A Ballsy Screamer

Before I plugged into this amp for the first time – I’d never heard of the “B-52” brand. I almost didn’t try it out, figuring it was another Randall or Crate wannabe budget brand. But I overheard this other guy going on and on and on about this “triple rectifier”, and the curiosity got the best of me. The AT-100 I tried out was plugged into an AT-412 100W cabinet. This is by far the most versatile amp you’ll ever play. I own several Marshalls, and have played many Fender classic amps. I’ve often wished that you could get both types of amps in one box without doing and electronic “modeling”. This is the first amp I’ve ever seen that does that. It’s got 3 channels, screaming overdrive tones, creamy blues licks, and classic (I mean classic) clean “Fender” tone. This amp is tight, it’s the bomb, the best of breed for any style you can think of from funk, to blues, or metal, classic rock, country – you name it! The closest thing you can get to this is a Mesa Boogie “dual rectifier” and it’s like $2,800.00! I’m sorry, for under $700, no other amp brand can even come close to what this thing can do. The ONLY flaw I could find is that this things gets VERY hot. All you gotta do (and many guys in Harmony Central mentioned this) is put one of those small clip-on fans on the back as a little added protection. Other than that – you gotta plug in and get one of these B-52 amps soon, before word gets out and the price goes way up!

B-52 AT-100 100W Tube Guitar Amp with Tri Mode Rectifier The AT-100 is a 3-channel, all-tube, tri-mode rectified beast that gives you unparalleled tone and astounding versatility. Whether you are playing to a stadium crowd of 50,000 or practicing at home in your garage, the AT-100 will produce awesome crunch, smooth mids, and crystal-clean highs. Capable of producing massive amounts of distortion, it can handle any style from blues to metal. The AT-100 is loaded with features including a Tri-Mode Rectifier that allows you to select among three different rectifier circuits: Solid State, Tube A, or Tube AB1. The overdrive section features two selectable high-gain channels and volume controls with a 3-band EQ. The assignable contour (mid-scoop) control gives you the ability to make each overdrive channel sound radically different. The Global section features Low-Res (Resonance), Reverb, and Master Volume.