Laney Ironheart Reviews...

[jawsguitars]

How many out there have played the new Laney Ironheart? What's your take?

[6Tones]

I had one for a few days.50watt head
The clean channel was ok,average
The 2nd gain channel was disappointing,was hoping for semi breakup bluesy tones but it just added a unpleasing type of gain.
The lead channel again was a bit harsh.
It wasnt a terrible amp by anymeans but I found the tones on my other amps much more musical and pleasing on the ears (Rebel30,Bogner alchemist,Blackstar HT) to name afew.
If your just going to play agressive highgain with BITING tone then the amps worth a shot.
The amp has great features to offer just the tone wasnt there for me
Good points: The Wattage knob was very effective,almost like a global master volume.
Goo Eq section features but I couldnt dail in a tone I loved..just average tones..
The carrying handles on the top sides of the amp GREAT feature,every head should have this!

[XmasTree]

ive only seen youtube vids and i was VERY CLOSE to buying the 5w combo

[Sikor]

Originally Posted by XmasTree

ive only seen youtube vids and i was VERY CLOSE to buying the 5w combo

He asked about Ironheart series, not Lionheart series amps

[Ized]

I have the 60watts version and I absolutely love it. I wasn't expecting to be blown away but I compared it to a Mesa Recto, an ENGL Invader and a Diezel Einstein in the shop I tested it with. The clean channel is fat and juicy, it's transparent enough to allow the twang of my strat to come out very nicely for funk stuff and takes pedals well. Push pull pots also allow you to deepen the bass, shift the mids or fatten up the treble to compensate thinner sounding guitars or single coils, for example. The rhythm (green) channel reminds me of a GH50L I've played...more towards the plexi side, but it can be set darker or brighter if you will. It also cleans up well even on full gain. Note that both clean and rhythm channels share a common EQ so it may not be flexible enough for those who are really anal (I'd recommend an ENGL or Diezel for those guys)

The lead (red) channel is what I would consider the selling point of the amp. It's tight sounding enough for djent but not over-bearing all out saturated like a Mesa's gain on full, for example. It still cleans up well with your guitar's volume knob, which was quite a surprise. With the built-in pre boost kicked in (works like how most metal guys use a TS9 to tighten the front end of high gain amps) you can get some tight and liquid lead tones. The amp is also quieter than the Mesa too which surprised me.

The amp also has a watts control (60 to 1 watts) which is nice for practicing at lower volumes. I stay in an apartment flat with neighbours above and below me. I can play this amp at 4 am and it still sounds better than a twin reverb with the volume set at 0.5.

Overall, the amps all had their own flavours and tone is subjective so keep that in mind. But at the price the Ironheart was going for, its a no-brainer really. In fact I liked it so much I'm even ordering the matching 2x12 cab to go along with it. It probably won't replace a high end high gain amp like a Diezel or ENGL, but it compares very favorably and I daresay it had a slight edge over the Mesa. At this price point, its pretty much a no-brainer for me.

Bottomline is its affordable, quiet, modern yet surprisingly versatile, and sounds great! Oh and last time I checked, Kiko Loureiro (Angra), Christopher Godin, Mattias Eklundh (Freak Kitchen) and Killswitch Engage is using this amp. I've always thought Laney needed a modern high gain amp and I think this would be the ticket.