Hotone Ampero II Stomp - Review

[Sedaxel]

That’s crazy never thought they would do that and like a month later after last update
They definitely seem committed to, also working on their software and GUI

No doubt they are pushing really hard. That´s great.

 

[GTR37]

Ok, so I tried the Tone Catch.

Signal chain:

1. Guitar -> A2 Stomp Input L
2. A2 Stomp Fx Send -> Lehle P-Split (for ground lift) -> BluGuitar Amp 1 Mercury Edition input
3. BluGuitar Amp 1 speaker out -> Bluetone Loadbox (reactive load)
4. Bluetone Loadbox line-out -> A2 Stomp Input R
5. Amp 1 set to :
   • Vintage channel (think Plexi)
   • Gain 6
   • Ch volume 5
   • EQ 5-5-5
   • Master volume 4 (no poweramp clipping)

First attempt ended up miserably. The capture sounded like a fizzy piece of crap.

Tried again, and this time I found the "Input R impedance" which defaults to 10KOhm. I switched this to 1MOhm and the sound came to life.
Did the capture again, and it got pretty close. I ran the Fine tuning process a few times playing chords.

Then I set up a patch like this:

View attachment 37094

Basically Scene 2 (RealAmp) turns off the Volume block and enables the Fx Send block. Then it's Fx send -> Amp 1 -> Loadbox -> Input 2 R on the second row, both going to my Bluetone 4x10 10" Greenback IR with SM57.

I don't have time to actually record this atm, but I think it sounds pretty close. The Catch is maybe a little bit less gainy and it's missing a little bit of "zing" from the upper frequencies. But this is about similar to what I remember getting out of the QC.

Pretty good for 2nd attempt capturing with this unit.

Yep same as ToneX and Nano
Seems to be slightly under gained and missing a lil top end , but easy fix with EQ

 

[laxu]

Yep same as ToneX and Nano
Seems to be slightly under gained and missing a lil top end , but easy fix with EQ

Yeah that's how it sounds to me. I tried messing with turning volume down on my guitar and playing softer and the capture reacted pretty well to that, just feel like I should raise gain a little bit and give it a tad more sparkle up top.

 

[laxu]

Some annoyances about the capture process:

• There seems to be no UI for it in the editor software, so you have to work it from the touchscreen. Works fine of course, but this is a case where the computer view would be nice.
• It doesn't explain the target level setting at all. It seems to reduce the level, and defaults to 0 dB. The target level meter looks alright, the sound seems fine and then you try the catch and it says that the input is clipping even though the meter was only on yellow and not red. So you have to tweak your levels coming into the A2 until the capture passes rather than being able to rely on the target level meter.
• It seems you need to have a saved preset with a cab or IR block in it to get a cab sim during the capture process.
• The Input R Impedance setting is on the next page and again not explained, so you have to just figure out that's the reason your captures ended up like crap. I guess the other settings are meant for pedals.
• It always seems to default to "save into slot 1" so you have to scroll through the slots to find the one where you want to place the new capture.
• The 16 character name length is an annoying limitation for putting any relevant info into the name. I could barely fit "BluAmp1 ME VTG 1" into it.
• There is no other metadata you could write, like a description.

Then the good parts:

• Connections are explained clearly, with graphics fitting on the small screen.
• There's no "wizard" type thing like on the QC where you have to go through a bunch of steps first.
• It's very easy to hit a footswitch to swap which you are listening in the capture process, so quick AB.
• The fine tuning does do something to hone in the capture. I do wish it was a bit more specific than "play chords on your guitar", like does playing harder and softer matter? Types of chords? Low or high on the fretboard?