Lunchbox Amp Blasts 121dB from ZT Amplifiers

[ztamps]

ZT Amplifiers, Inc. is a new company out of Berkeley, CA with two main goals: 1) Make really small guitar amps that are unbelievably loud, and 2) Target musicians in China (there are a LOT of guitarists there, and rock is still fresh and exciting). That's not to say the amps won't be sold worldwide - of course they will...

The little guy is called The Lunchbox because it's made from an actual lunchbox (8"x9"x4"). With a 6.5" driver it puts out 121dB without strain. And yes, there is low end. No amp this size has come anywhere close to the output of this thing. SRP $199.
The bigger guy is called The Future Amp, a single 12" driver in a sealed cabinet, and can cause severe hearing damage at over 130dB. SRP $399.

Both amps feature variable gain and reverb. They will be shown at NAMM and will be available Spring 2008.

These amps are not toys. They are designed for professional, real world use.

You can hear clips at ZT Amplifiers, Inc.

Let us know what you think!

[H-Rezz]

Man thats impressive for such small amps , great sounding clips !

Anyone thinking of buying an amp sim should think twice

$399RRP plus sure Sm57 $99=$500....

[audiothings]

i'm interested in the smaller one. how much does it weigh? can you please describe the signal path used for the sample recordings? $199 list or street?

btw, thats one very strange (linear) navigation system you have in your website.

[elambo]

I guess if money were tight, it would be worth looking into. I strongly prefer the Orange Tiny Terror and imagine most people would as well. The TT is not as loud, but is "loud" really a necessity for a $400 amp? Most guitarists I know that play venues big enough to need that much power have a budget that extends past $400. Good luck though.

[audiothings]

I strongly prefer the Orange Tiny Terror

tutt

the product you "prefer" it to is months away from release.

personally, i thought the demos sounded a bit 'digital', but the variables that could have caused it to sound as such are numerous, which is why i requested to know the signal chain.

in any case, if its light and doesn't cave in at higher levels, it'd be just the ticket for our jam sessions with friends and a small audience. we ain't no audiophiles after a few drinks

[ztamps]

Good to hear some input. I'll address a few points:

The Lunchbox weighs about 8 lbs. (or as much as a typical Telecaster). $199 is our estimated List price, not street price.
Not sure about the signal path. The guy who did it is traveling overseas and tough to reach at the moment. I know he owns some good mics but not sure which he used.
We put those clips up to give people some idea, but I've never heard a clip online that really sounds like an amp does live. We're still working with the voicing but what we have coming out of these guys already is pretty nice.
As far as loud being a necessity for a small amp, no it's not, and there are plenty of small amps that are fun to play around with at home - but they aren't usable in a band situation. The whole purpose behind our designs is to get massive output (and good sound, of course) from small amps, because we've found that quite a lot of people want that. Not everyone wants to haul a 85 lb. 2x12 combo to every rehearsal or gig. You can throw the Lunchbox in a backpack with your cables and a few pedals and you're set. We know there are players who won't give up their Marshall stacks (or what have you), and that's ok. We're betting plenty of players will welcome the option we offer.

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

[PlugHead]

Love it!

Pls. let us know when it hits the street...

regards,

[ztamps]

Thanks, PlugHead. I will surely post here once we start selling.

Anyone who wants a notice by email when we start shipping, just shoot a note to us at info@ztamplifiers.com and we'll put you on the list.

[Jax]

I think it's pretty damn cool!

The dirty sound in the clip (although again not the best way to compare) is a lil' too dirty for me, but it could be cool for single string leads.

I'd love to see how this amp takes a distortion pedal or two. The cleans are clear and a good foundation for throwing dirt in with pedals.

Btw, how do you change the speaker?

[Jax]

And yes, the navigation of your website is almost as bad as getting poison oak...

Change it.

[ztamps]

Funny, I like that. Well, the website is very preliminary. We made the nav like that to "assure" that people get the whole story since we're so new. By January we'll have standard navigation.

Thanks for sticking up for us, by the way.

The gain is variable. The "cranked" clip is, well, cranked full throttle. It does get pretty sweet when you back it off.

As far as changing the speaker, we're still working out the mechanical design so that's TBD. We'll try not to make anyone have to curse like a sailor. But the driver we're using is very solid so your chances of having to dig into it are slim.

[PlugHead]

bump...

The Lunchbox amp is now shipping - I ordered one a few days ago, and await it's arrival.

Will submit a review once it lands here and I get some mileage on it!

[Reptil]

ummm

I want something like this
with
+12V connector for car battery
line input

would make an awesome ghetto blaster for on the motorbike or beach.

[js1]

I visited the web site, and went to the "Buy Now" page. Regular price is $289. Special price is $0!

I can afford that!

js

[radiospace]

I thought from the thread title this was going to be the world's first 500-series guitar amp. (now that would be a small amp...)

[girevik40kg]

First post here and had to chime in. This is a really great amp and I got mine from an online dealer for $260.00 and free shipping. It is really loud and sounds great for recording and live gigs. I cannot believe that it is so small and so loud! It's cool.