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LANEY TF200
List: $705
Unlike Peavey & Marshall, Laney’s range of hybrid amps (tube/ solid state fusion) features a real tube in its pre-amp section for uncompromised drive warmth. The Chinese TF200 is one such unit, with a single ECC83 tube, 3 channels & a 12” speaker for your tonal needs.
This is a typical 3-channeled amp, one featuring a clean section while the other 2 give the player a drive variation. The switching system is plain simple & the knobs are all well laid out in a row to prevent confusion- there’s virtually no manual reference necessary, just plug in your guitar, read the labels & play.
The clean tone from this amp is a workable offering, nothing fantastic or Fender-like, enough to appease chord mongers & some jazz licks on your boring days. The DRIVE 1 channel is a crunch channel aimed at light driven tones, ala blues & hard rock, nothing intense, even when the drive knob is maxed out. To address personal hostility in your music, kindly refer to the DRIVE 2 channel, this one simply screams metal from the start. For a quick scooped setting, Laney has the ENHANCE knob ready for middle frequency fine-tuning, in addition to the conventional mid control available in the main EQ section. Also unique to the Laney technology is the VIBE switch which effectively enhances reverb for an arena-like quality. However, I personally believe that this feature to be worth activating at high volume levels…
The drive tones on offer cover expansive grounds adequately- blues/ rock/ fusion/ metal; they are all there. The major let-down here is definitely the amp’s lack of bass. This is evident from both the drive channels even when the bass knob was on full tilt. It’s rather depressing because the amp was fitted with a 12” speaker as default, a very versatile dimension as many of us here would attest, sadly not in this Laney. If you are even drawn to this amp, it’s because of the ECC83 driven tone; in fact, you’d hear some warm midrange coming from this one as opposed to a full transistor unit.
For those of us who would only part with cash for a worthy investment, it’s rather difficult to commit you into believing that the TF200 is a good consideration especially with the apparent lack of bass. However, if a warm tube tone is your game & you wouldn’t mind hooking up an EQ pedal for bass enhancement, the TF200 would be an interesting purchase.
