AMPETE ‘One’ 100w Tube Amp – Reviewed by Gearcouch

Frank’s chain for the demo: Kiesel V7 (guitar) -> Ampete One (amp head) -> Two Notes Torpedo Live (loadbox/cab sim) -> RME Babyface (interface)

Frank’s tone in the demo is all from the amp, which is crazy. The level of super crunchy distortion that’s coming out of the Ampete One is pretty impressive for a tube head. It’s got that kind of heavy, extreme level of saturation that you’d normally only find in solid-state rig.

It sounds pretty damn tight too. No flub in sight. And there isn’t even a tubescreamer or OD pedal in front of the thing, tightening it up . Though, it would be interesting to see if there was much (if any) post-processing to clean up problem frequencies.

But should I really be that surprised it sounds sick. It is made in Germany. I think it’s illegal to make shitty amps over there. Or shitty anything really.

Reading through the amp’s manual and Ampete website, it’s clear that the company has a very clear vision for their gear. It’s really cool to see a brand with that level of self-actualisation. Check out this interesting little excerpt from the manual, explaining their goal with the Ampete One:

I personally don’t want Style, Voicing, Shift, Preset, Class A, Triode, Watt or whatever options. I don’t
like too many channels, switches, potentiometers. and I don’t believe in the all-in-one-device suitable
for every purpose kinda thing.

I don’t want the ingredients of a $200 meal in a 3 star restaurant, I want the cook to cook!

 

If you’re a tube guy and/or love a good German made amp, head over to the Ampete Engineering website to suss-out the full specs.