HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Make it loud here.
User avatar
sookwinder
Mods
Mods
Posts: 11179
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:47 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia

HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by sookwinder » Fri Jan 22, 2021 6:14 pm

OK guys this will be a short posting essentially because I have just bought one of these Nano heads from HOTONE and the sound and quality ia wwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy beyond any expectations I had. There may have been previous threads but I have not seen any.

A month or so back, just before I managed to secure a new job, I saw that many stores on AliExpress were having sales, yes it was xmas, but the prices were so low that I suspect it is because no one in the world was buying anything especially from overseas, from China.

Lots of ads came up and then I noticed one for the Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads by HOTONE (HOT - TONE is apparently how one pronounces it). It was the SONICAKE Official Store: https://sonicake.aliexpress.com/store/g ... 5738BrMwyJ
And the prices were really low.

I have a ZVEX NAN HEAD amp that uses mini valves (from about 10 or 15 years back) and I have used it for some over driven stuff, but in reality given the lack of tonal pallet I do not use it that much. But I looked at some of the online reviews of these heads that can fit into the palm of your hand and they got pretty high marks. They can handle 4 - 16 ohm cabs, are 5 watt and (seriously) could be used in a small room gig. There is the facility for FX loop to be added, headphone/line out and line in. On paper not fucking bad !

So I looked at the range of amp heads that is in the Nano Legacy and straight away (while the reviews say it is awesome) I ignored the Tweed style amp) and there were lots of high powered sounding amps and stuff for Kraut Rock, but one did catch my eye. The Hotone Nano Legacy British Invasion head. So it is a VOX AC15/30 style amp.
Image

Now I dislike VOX amps, always have, yes a lot of the great music that I listen to has been recorded with VOX amps but that still doesn't change the fact that to my ears they sound two dimensional and flat.

But I do know that in the right place a VOX amp used well in a studio recording and can add something.
So I thought ... well given the price is about US$60 - 70 (the prices .. the sales discounts seem to change every now and then) which isn't a lot in the scheme of things and retail they have been US$150 or more so I could always flip it later if I didn't like it.

A week or so back it arrived and straight out of the box the sounds it made are superb.
The unit is very well made, solid with a sense of thought that has been put into the design. In short I cannot fault the construction or layout. I plugged the unit into one of my 2x8" cabs that uses 60s Jensens and was blow away by the sound. The VOX sound that it creates is spot on. When my guitarist played it (he had a 15 and a 30 in the 70s) he said it sounded better than the original VOXs he played back in the day.

There is almost no noise at all (something I can't say about the ZVEX NANA HEAD). It is dead quiet.
We used a guitar with TV JONES filtertrons and have continually been amazed at what this amp head can do.
When the gain is turned to 8-10 it starts to get a marshall-esque tinge to the sound as well.

If you want a VOX sounding small practice or recording amp head and you have a US$65 burning a hole in your pocket then I can highly recommend this unit.

I have subsequently ordered the Hotone Siva Boogie Clean Tone Guitar Amp Head. This one is meant to replicate the Bogner Shiva and is probably the only other sound/amp that I would have use for, but the others are still worth looking at.
relaxing alternative to doing actual work ...

User avatar
Jonesie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:00 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Jonesie » Sat Jan 23, 2021 7:45 am

I just watched a bunch of demos of these and actually ended up going with the tweed one. I'm excited to give it a shot!

User avatar
Jonesie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:00 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Jonesie » Wed Jan 27, 2021 9:43 am

Just got my Tweed one in the mail. I have to say, this thing sounds fucking great. Really nice through a cab, and outstanding with a pair of headphones. Takes pedals well and does the Neil Young thing but also has a great clean tone. Highly recommended!

User avatar
Firecat
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 636
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:07 am
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Contact:

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Firecat » Thu Jan 28, 2021 3:53 am

I have this old radio that I found at my grandfather's place years ago. I've always liked the idea of having a guitar amp built into it, but never got it done because it would probably cost more than what I'm willing to spend and I don't have the skills to do it myself. This tread gave me the idea of just installing a guitar speaker and put one of these little amps inside 8)

Image

Image

User avatar
Jonesie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:00 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Jonesie » Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:30 am

And a picture to show how hilariously small these amps are.

Image

User avatar
redchapterjubilee
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1775
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:01 am
Location: AVLNC

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by redchapterjubilee » Sat Jan 30, 2021 7:12 am

Flipped over to watch demos of the BritishInvasion and man does that thing sound like an AC.

User avatar
sookwinder
Mods
Mods
Posts: 11179
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:47 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by sookwinder » Sat Jan 30, 2021 7:38 am

what am I telling you !!!! :D

I don't even like VOX amps and I bought this thing !
relaxing alternative to doing actual work ...

User avatar
Jonesie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:00 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Jonesie » Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:51 am

I ended up buying a Captain Sunset too, which is a Soldano SLO-100 clone. I don't usually like high gain heads, with the gain literally on one this thing was crunchy as fuck.

...I love it.

I started jamming on "Unchained", "Blood and Thunder" and "Zero". It nails the sounds. If you want something that's just stupid high gain for the cost of a pedal it's highly recommended.

User avatar
Shadoweclipse13
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 12435
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2014 9:22 pm
Location: Stuck in the dimension of imagination

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:23 pm

Do these need a cab connected, or can they be run with only headphones connected?
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

User avatar
Firecat
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 636
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:07 am
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Contact:

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Firecat » Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:32 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:23 pm
Do these need a cab connected, or can they be run with only headphones connected?
Pretty sure it's fine without a cab. They're solid state so don't need a load.

User avatar
Shadoweclipse13
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 12435
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2014 9:22 pm
Location: Stuck in the dimension of imagination

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:34 am

Filipe wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:32 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:23 pm
Do these need a cab connected, or can they be run with only headphones connected?
Pretty sure it's fine without a cab. They're solid state so don't need a load.
That is very tempting now...
Pickup Switching Mad Scientist
http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

User avatar
Jonesie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:00 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Jonesie » Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:02 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:34 am
Filipe wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:32 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:23 pm
Do these need a cab connected, or can they be run with only headphones connected?
Pretty sure it's fine without a cab. They're solid state so don't need a load.
That is very tempting now...
The reviews I read online said they don't need a load. I ran the tweed through my headphones and they sounded great. The headphone out doubles as a line out too, so if you wanted to do some quiet recording it should work out well.

User avatar
Firecat
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 636
Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:07 am
Location: Ghent, Belgium
Contact:

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Firecat » Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:15 am

Jonesie wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:02 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:34 am
Filipe wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:32 am


Pretty sure it's fine without a cab. They're solid state so don't need a load.
That is very tempting now...
The reviews I read online said they don't need a load. I ran the tweed through my headphones and they sounded great. The headphone out doubles as a line out too, so if you wanted to do some quiet recording it should work out well.
I'm a bit confused by the headphones/line out. As I understand it, there's some kind of cab simulation on this output, to make it sound decent for headphones or direct recording.

But what if you want to use it with a cab simulation pedal or DI with cab simulation like the Palmer PDI-09? Would you connect it to the line out, the speaker out or the send?

User avatar
Jonesie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4047
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:00 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by Jonesie » Tue Feb 02, 2021 9:55 am

Filipe wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:15 am
Jonesie wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:02 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:34 am


That is very tempting now...
The reviews I read online said they don't need a load. I ran the tweed through my headphones and they sounded great. The headphone out doubles as a line out too, so if you wanted to do some quiet recording it should work out well.
I'm a bit confused by the headphones/line out. As I understand it, there's some kind of cab simulation on this output, to make it sound decent for headphones or direct recording.

But what if you want to use it with a cab simulation pedal or DI with cab simulation like the Palmer PDI-09? Would you connect it to the line out, the speaker out or the send?
I'm not sure on that. I'm hoping someone's able to help you on that though.

User avatar
sookwinder
Mods
Mods
Posts: 11179
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 6:47 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: HOTONE - Nano Legacy Amplifier Heads

Post by sookwinder » Tue Feb 02, 2021 11:18 pm

there is internal systems to check what cab load the amp is using … maybe it can sense the difference between line out load and headphone loads.
I haven't had a chance to use the headphone jack on my unit. May try this weekend
relaxing alternative to doing actual work ...

Post Reply