HOTONE Multi-Effects Pedal Processor Touch Screen Guitar Bass Amp Modeling IR Cabinets Simulation Dual Effect Chains with FX Loop MIDI I/O Stereo OTG USB Audio Interface Ampero II Stage

I bought this unit to upgrade from a Line 6 POD HD500x that served me well as a professional player for many years. I was looking for something that I could throw in my carryon and had most of the things I needed to perform.What can I say? I can't really complain about the unit! The footprint is easily the smallest of any multieffects unit I've used. The modeling is great, especially the clean amp models which I found on both the Helix and my older unit to react somewhat differently than the real thing. Edge of breakup tones sound fantastic, and the high gains don't really ever get too fuzzy so long as you know what you're doing.As I usually fly to my jobs either in the hotel or cruise industry, this piece of kit is not only a viable and convenient solution, but has tonal possibilities that continue to surprise me. Excellent.One extra point that a lot of other multieffects units don't have, is that this unit can be programmed to have individual amp model "scenes" as they call it, where you can tweak the gain/tone/etc settings of an amp model and attach them to a foot switch. This is a game changer as most other units require you to take up DSP power by having multiple amps in one patch and bypassing them. With the Ampero you simply have one amp, set it to a clean setting, there's scene one. Then breakup, scene two, then high gain, scene three.Did I mention this thing rocks?

I had zero expectations about this unit. I've played the Kemper, Fractal, Line 6, Tonex, and others. As far as raw tones, it sounds great - I'd say it's somewhere between the Helix and the Fractal, the latter being the best. However, Fractal's interface, if you've ever tried it, is a cluster of boxes and menus with endless tweaking options. Some may like to tinker, as I do at times, but more often than not I want to get right down to it! The stock rigs on this unit are garbage, as with most units, but building a new rig from scratch was simple and intuitive. It took me 5 minutes to build a rig and get exactly the tone I was looking for. While the Helix can load IRs, they don't come stock. The Ampero has tons of stock cabs plus dozens of Celestion IRs built right in. My only complaint is the. power supply is a small 9V, which is good for mounting to a pedalboard, but I prefer the IEC cable because I always have a spare. Minor detail. This sucker is CHEAP but plays and sounds EXPENSIVE. My only concern is whether Hotone will continue supporting it with software upgrades as Line 6, Kemper, and Fractal do regularly.

I have been playing guitar over 20 years. I own more than 10 amps, 20 guitars etc. Its always fun to have stuff that will give you joy when you are playing. This unit is easy to use and cool to look. It sounds great. The only missing part was that, it doesnt have a platform that people can share their tones. At least thats what I thought at first but actually there is, its hidden in the phone app. That makes it complete. 5-stars is hard to get but Ampero II deserves it.

Easily on par with ANY of the modelers available. The extra buttons and scene modes are a HUGE update from the Ampero 2, which was already incredible.If I have one complaint, I would wish for it to have an external amp control switch output, so I could just run this in 4CM for effects with my tube amps, and be able to change amp channels in one stomp. For now, the Voodoo Lab Control Switcher works perfectly via MIDI, but is bulky.

I ordered this to replace my Valeton GP-200 as it seemed to have a lot of similar models of amps and effects with some additionals thrown in, and it has a mic input which is a great option for me as a singer/guitarist. I ordered this over a larger purchase of a Neural DSP Quad Cortex, but after about a week with it I sent it back and I'll be getting the Quad Cortex.Note that I don't think this is a bad piece of equipment at all. I think that the form factor is really good overall with multiple foot switches for effects/patches/scenes, a nice big touchscreen that's responsive, and plenty of I/O options to satisfy most users. However, I didn't find that the modeling was significantly better than the ones found on the GP-200, nor were there any mic/vocal-specific options that I could find that would make use of the microphone input and capabilities that are such a big part of this update from the Ampero II Stomp. Sure, there are reverbs/delays/etc. that you can use for vocals, but I've seen on YouTube that with an XLR-to-1/4 inch adapter you can run a mic through an Ampero II Stomp which has the same effects.I found the user interface a bit confusing, too. If there's a touchscreen, it should be intuitive, but gettin back to certain screens like the stomp/effects chain view was left to a small 'button' at the top of the touchscreen. There are multiple views available to the touchscreen (effects chain, patch block, preset effects, etc.), but they're not necessarily easy to get to without consulting the user manual extensively. It's probably something that one would get used to in time, but I didn't decide to keep it long enough to get so familiar with it to not need to look at a manual a lot. I'm not sure how this would play out in a rehearsal or gigging setting, but making quick changes on the fly may not be the easiest thing to do if you accidentally end up on a different screen than you'd anticipated and need to figure out how to get to a different one quickly.I also didn't think that having just 6 blocks per row would be much of an issue, but if you're trying to craft a vocal-and-guitar patch, you might just run into a limit if you're looking to build an effects-heavy guitar sound. The amp and cab take up a block each, so that leaves just 4 left; it may sound like plenty, but toss in reverb, distortion, a compressor, etc., and you'll quickly hit a wall. If you're just needing this for a single instrument/input at a time, you should be fine with 12 blocks as long as you don't hit the DSP limit (see more below).Another UI issue: lack of a DSP 'meter' to know how much you're using or have left when you're building patches. You'll find out when you've hit a limit when effects/amps/etc. are greyed-out, but until then you're left guessing.One of my biggest complaints was that, while there were a lot of different ways to set up the foot switch actions, it wasn't necessarily global or completely editable. Buttons 6 and 7 (bank up and down) can be changed to patch up/down in each individual patch, but not globally or permanently. At the very least, the Valeton GP-200 switches have this feature, and it's great for arranging things just how you want them. That said, the switches feel solid, are soft-click, and are very responsive.I didn't notice any significant latency switching between vastly different patches (an acoustic guitar patch to a high-gain electric patch, for instance), and the Scenes feature is one that people have wanted for a while with the Ampero II Stomp, and this feature was similarly seamless. Again, make sure to read up on how to set up scenes within a patch, and know that this changes the foot switch actions per patch as well.I did find a feature that wasn't mentioned in the manual (that I saw, anyway) or mentioned in online reviews and YouTube demos: using the Effects Return input for an additional instrument. I was able to set up a patch for my acoustic guitar using this input by tapping on the 'In' block and then selecting the Fx Return rather than using one of the two standard inputs. It worked like a charm, and it then gives you basically 3 inputs to use rather than just two. I know the Quad Cortex's manual makes a point of this, so I figured I'd try it here and see if it worked the same; sure enough, it expanded the inputs and I can see this being very handy for a singer-guitarist who uses multiple guitars, someone who uses multiple instruments (guitar/bass/keys or acoustic/electric/bass, etc.), or a couple of musicians at the same time.Having said all of this, I think if you know ahead of time what to expect and find that it meets your needs, this is a fine unit to buy. For me, it was just similar enough to the GP-200 in terms of sound and capabilities, and I was looking for something decidedly better to upgrade to. It's got a plethora of amps, cabs, and effects to play with (take my advice: forget the "12-Stringer" effect, it's just a polyphonic octave effect that's glitchy and doesn't sound like a 12-string), and I think it'll keep you busy crafting your particular sound(s) for a good while. The Ampero II Stage is a good unit indeed, but I think there are a few limitations to it that keep it from being a great unit.

I use this at church to play my electric guitar. I upgraded from the pod go and this thing has been amazing to me. I have had some issues with the expression pedal I got for it and have not been able to get in contact with hot one support for assistance, so their customer service seems to be lacking but other than that I am very pleased with this board. much better than the pod go in my opinion!