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Cranking up the gain and backing off the 'verb, with a PAF-style bridge humbucker the sound is quickly in classic rock territory, moving from Oasis-style singing chords that retain note definition even with complex voicings, through an Angus Young metallic grind into more aggressive alt-rock levels of dirt. The sound is truly majestic throughout and is the definition of mush-free overdrive.

Switching to channel B provides more of the same, with the shape control below 12 o'clock. Winding up the shape control sees the dirt take on a more scooped characteristic without becoming too hollow or fizzy, just like a good modern Mesa Boogie when you get the EQ right. Palm-muted metal riffs get pretty scary here, in the best possible way.

Footswitchable attenuation really gives you somewhere to go in a live scenario when you need a volume boost for solos. Whereas a stompbox booster into a cranked valve amp at stage levels may add more compression and drive but not necessarily the required volume hike, switch out the attenuation and you can set it up to give a serious jump in level and headroom if desired. The untamed power section allows languid lead runs to sing out, and notes to bloom into feedback.

Switching to an old P-bass, the Thunderverb possesses an instant classic valve-bass tonality that manages to sound both warm and defined, huge and tight, with a grin-inducing growl emerging as you turn the gain control clockwise, up to a Nick Oliveri-style QOTSA graunch and beyond.

Due to its three-part EQ section, we found that channel A worked best for setting up our main bass sound. Channel B is then great for kicking in either a wall of fuzzy power or a fat dub sound, depending on the interplay between the immensely powerful shape control and the amount of gain dialled in.

The attenuator and 100-watt mode allow you to get some great overdriven bass tones, but 200 watts and zero attenuation should guarantee all the headroom you need in a live situation too. Our overall impression is that the Thunderverb would definitely make an impressive dedicated bass amp in its own right. Okay, so there's no multi-band graphic EQ or onboard compression, but that isn't likely to enter the equation when you hear just how juicy this amp sounds.