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More versatility than you can shake a switchblade at

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• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

As a basic example, the Lead channel is voiced to give the classic British-style overdriven rock tone (think classic Iron Maiden rather than Led Zep, though), while the Ultra option gives that huge and saturated bass-heavy scooped gain sound. However, this is putting things too simply – as we'll discover, this is a very versatile amp indeed.

To add to this adaptability, there's a mono FX loop to be thrown into the pot, the status of which – in or out – can be stored along with the remainder of the amp's settings. So, if you have a specific effects box you just can't do without, run it into the FX loop either in series or parallel, have the unit on all the time and allow the amp to choose it for you – at your behest, of course.

The only control that isn't programmable is the master volume, which does allow you to tailor the output to the venues in which you play. Of course, this may colour your carefully crafted tones if you go from the Dog and Duck to Earls Court in a single tour, but with 128 patches, you can always squirrel away some substitute tones with different EQ, just in case.

The cabinet we used for this review is H&K's VC412A30 4 x 12, loaded with a quartet of Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. It retails for £610. You can opt for a cab of exactly the same spec, aside from the provision of four Celestion Greenback 25s, for no change in price. Alternatively, and in the spirit of providing all relevant information, you can go for the Switchblade combos, which are loaded with Eminence Rockdriver 60 12-inchers.

Sounds

We're not going to get into the eternal 'solid-state versus valve' debate here because in recent years, the tonal comparisons have become just too close to call. However, spending even just a few minutes with the Switchblade, you start to understand that pressing a single button in order to obtain a great tone is a luxury you wonder how you ever managed to survive without.

It's difficult to know where to start describing the basic performance, other than to say that any gigging semi-pro or pro guitarist will be blown away by what this amp can do. It can produce everything from a clean tone sprinkled with a classy chorus good enough to rival that of a JC120, to a crushing Metallica rhythm sound that Mesa's Randall Smith would probably applaud.

We actually had fun trying to come up with combinations of styles that might fox the Switchblade, but a disco AC/DC covers band, gospel Bolt Thrower tribute or even 'Slayer Pops' failed to raise a metaphorical sweat. Seriously though, each of the four channels sounds wonderful and the modulation effects are certainly of a high enough quality for you to consider replacing those trusted BOSS stompers, without too much tonal compromise.

The on-board effects aren't as controllable as dedicated effects units, of course, but that has to be our only niggle here: the reverb and delay are both truly excellent and that'll do us nicely. The lovely warm, clean tone and subtle crunch tones benefit most richly from the complement of valves. Also, as we've stated many times before, the indulgence of being able to step on a button and have the same sound but louder for audible solos never fails to make us grin like loons.

The final gold star the amp receives is for the asking price of £999. Even though this doesn't include a dedicated cabinet, the quality of the tones and straightforward nature of the operating system make the Switchblade head something of a snip, and of course that's before you go price hunting on the street or online.

We fully understand that playing though a quality all-valve amp is a wonderful experience, especially if you can do it regularly, and as soon as the phrase 'on-board digital effects' is whispered, the perception is that all the warm gooey nature of valve overdrive is negated at a stroke. There's no such problem with the Switchblade, which is an amp that mixes old-school valve prejudice with the open-endedness that modern technology provides, without any tonal compromise whatsoever.