MusicRadar

There are various input and output sockets

1 of 2 » View in gallery

• Related News
• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

Sounds

Powering up and starting with the clean channel, we are greeted by a vast, pristine clean voice that just doesn’t want to break up, even at gig volumes with a Gibson SG Standard. The wide range of the onboard equalisation ensures that a variety of clean voices can be dialled in, from crystalline high-end sparkle to warm, fluid jazz.

Moving on to the crunch channel, spotless clean tones clearly aren’t on the menu. Whether or not the sound recreates a ’68 ‘Plexi’ with channels jumped and a Variac is subjective and largely irrelevant; the important question is, does it sound good? Happily, the answer is a resounding yes. At the lower end of the channel’s drive spectrum there’s a nice alternative clean voice, with a little valve-like edge and bite that blooms into a throaty Marshall-like roar as the gain winds up. With judicious use of the EQ, you can create truly muscular and convincing classic and alternative rock tones.

Flipping to the smorgasbord of dirt that is the metal channel, you’ll find acres of gain with easy harmonics and bags of sustain for languid lead lines. The middle control is a key component in shaping the overall sound, but it’s pretty powerful and only minor adjustments can have a big effect on the way the sound sits in a mix. If, for some reason, there isn’t enough gain for you on this channel - and there really is a lot - then switch to the insane channel.

Surprisingly, the lower reaches of this channel’s gain allocation are to our ears more useable than the equivalents on the metal channel. Wind up the drive and, as on other Line 6 ampliifi ers and modellers that feature the insane sound, there are obscene levels of bowel-disturbing dirt available to suit even the darkest of black metal lords. But it’s not all piercings and leather trenchcoats. Roll most of the bass off, and the insane channel delivers grungy garage rock fuzz - try engaging the onboard distortion boost for even more fireworks.

Great tremolo

The built-in noise gate tames extraneous buzz and hiss from the metal and insane channels effectively, but its fixed threshold means that you may notice it kick in suddenly and squash the tail end of very long sustained notes. All of the channels sound just as good at bedroom volumes, but crucially don’t wilt when wound up to gigging and practice levels.

In the effects department, the onboard chorus/flange sounds aren’t the warmest or most analogue-like, but they provide some useable textures nonetheless. More pleasing are the phaser and, in particular, the tremolo, which is very well voiced indeed with a dramatic choppiness that is musical and arresting. Disappointingly, the sweep echo doesn’t sound as grainy as the equivalent sound on the DL4 delay stompbox, and while the tape echo’s repeats grunge up nicely, some players may miss a straight digital delay. The reverb has an unmistakeably digital quality to its decay, but in a band context this isn’t really an issue.

If this head was equipped with just its clean and crunch channels, we'd still find it an attractive, versatile option at the price, let alone with two dirty extra channels and a useable set of effects. The HD75 isn't going to compete with the power and dynamics of the high-gain amplifier circuits that it models in a direct head-to-head. That said, even a second-hand Dual Rectifier is going to set you back well over a grand, and as for a 1968 Marshall Superlead...