Photo from Hotone
When I was asked to write a Review of the Hotone Ampero II Stage, the first thing I thought was, what could be interesting about another Amp Modeler and Multi-effects pedal?
With so many options on the market, how difficult it is to find a place for a new unit that basically does the same thing as everyone else, from the QuadCortex (which it is clearly inspired by) to the Fractal FM9 in the big leagues, to the less expensive like the ToneX Pedal or the HX Stomp, but the devil is in the details and it is the small differences that can make us choose one or the other.
So after playing with the Ampero II Stage for a few days I think it is full of details that give it a place in this populated city.
Unboxing
The first thing that caught my attention is the similarity in the packaging of the Ampero II Stage with the Quad Cortex, especially the pedal cover inside the box, which is... let's say "very similar", but when seeing the unit we can find many differences with the QC, the design is not minimalist, we have a Master Volume and a general control dial that is used to scroll through the menu, even though the screen is touch, which is appreciated if for some reason we can’t can use the touch screen, then we have 3 dials rotary switches that are not buttons (Helix style) to modify the parameters of each element and finally a first row of 5 pedals switches and a second row with a Modes Switch (dedicated and non-programmable) on the left and two pedals switches on the right to change banks but they are also programmable for any function.
The full color touch screen works properly and the size is appropriate to see while standing up, on the right side we find a LED light strip that changes color when we operate the equipment and serves as a visual guide of what we are doing, for example going down. or raising a parameter or moving the Expression pedal, I don't think this is a game changer, but I guess it gives it a cool feel.
Finally we have a small lock button that is used to block parameter changes during a Show and disables the potentiometers and the touch screen, leaving only the foot switches operational.
All the connections are located at the back, which we will review in detail later.
Inside the box we find a box for the cables that are a USB-C to USB-B and an adapter from USB-B Male to USB-C female (I would have liked it if the cable was USB-C to USB-C and the adapter to USB-B). And finally the power supply (which a priori seems much more solid than the QC power supply) of 18V and 1.3A, but it catches my attention that the Ampero can work at 18V or 9V, which is very convenient in case we have to replace the source, since it is easy to find a 9V 1.5A source.
Little more than that inside the box, a couple of cards with basic instructions and nothing more.
Construction:
The metal casing looks solid and the buttons and potentiometers seem to be of good quality. I think it is a pedal that can efficiently withstand the abuse of the stage. The size is comfortable (300x180mm) and with a weight of less than 2 kilos it can be carried in the pocket of a standard guitar softbag, something that is a great advantage for session musicians.
The full color screen is a little smaller than the QC but enough to view all the information and the Touch works correctly. A peculiar addition to this pedal is the small Lock button that locks the Touchscreen and the potentiometers so that unwanted changes are not made while we are at a Show, I liked this detail.
Connections:
I like the way the connections are grouped on the rear panel, with two inputs, One ¼ Tip Sleeve (TS) instrument jack with 3 input mode selector and One XLR or ¼ (TS) combo jack with 5 input mode selector and mic preamp (max. gain of 52dB), turning the Ampero II into a complete recording platform, as it has 8-in, 8-out USB audio interface with 44.1 to 192kHz sample rate switching and Reamp function support.
Then we have an FX Loop and 4 output options, Two 1/4″ Tip Ring Sleeve (TRS) unbalanced and Two XLR balanced stereo output jacks. Also the two ¼ jack connectors for external expression pedals and finally a separate section for the MIDI IN/Out with ⅛ minijacks, a ⅛ Auxiliary Input and finally the headphone output also ⅛. In my case I also have the Ampero Press II, which is the expression pedal and switch that works with two ¼ TRS jacks and is easily assignable to any function, it can be a Wah wah, or a master volume, or controlling the Gain of a Amp or Decay of the Reverb or tempo of the Delay, etc.
Guitar Thrills Broadcast
Sound:
So far, nothing new under the sun, but my first real surprise was when I plugged in my headphones and started testing the sound. The first thing I always do when trying a new Amp Modeler is start from a blank Patch and add the most basic things, a Marshall JCM800 (with all potentiometers at 5) with a 4x12 Vintage 30 Cabinet and a spring Reverb, without Overdrive, Compressor or Noise Gate, and the result was a suprise, I never got such a good sound doing just this with other Amps Modeler, I always have to adjust some things or add something else to sound good (for my taste) but that simple the Ampero II Stage sounds how you want it to sound, and my surprise was greater when configuring my second basic Preset, a Twin Reverb with a 2x12 open back Cab, without almost any additional adjustment, I managed to sound very balanced the first time, something similar happened with the Hi Gain Amps, like 5150 or Rectifier, but This doesn't mean that all Amps sound equally good, but I guess it's not easy to make 90 Amps Models and 68 Cabs and have them all sound good.
Moving on to the Effects, I don't remember the exact number, but I think there are more than 100 effects and in my experience I didn't miss anything, compressors, OD and Distortions for all tastes with 4 groups, Overdrives, Fuzz, Distortions and Bass, the Variety is assured, and the quality is more than enough, highlighting the OD Green 9 and the Rebel distortion. As for modulations, we also have many options and I don't intend to go into details because this would become a Manual of hundreds of pages, but I think we have everything we need. But the litmus test for me is usually the Pitch shifter, and in this case the result is good, or very good, it depends on how demanding we are, I think that for a live situation and playing with a band it is practically imperceptible, such Maybe I wouldn't use it to record an album or a solo guitar, but for 90% of the cases, it works fine. The Reverbs are quite varied, with 13 options, of which I highlight the Tube Spring for general use and the Cloud for spatial effects.
As I told you at the beginning, it is easy to get the Ampero II to sound good, but if we want more control, we have a global parametric equalizer and we can add different equalizers anywhere in the sound chain, but in my case it was not necessary, It was a little more difficult for me to find a sound to my liking in the HiGain, but by trying with several Cabs I managed to do it, but I must give an outstanding note to the noise management, with a JCM800 type Amp and with medium gain it is practically not necessary use a Noise Gate, and this is not usually the case in more expensive Amp Modelers.
Operation:
Possibly this is the weakest point of the Ampero II, I think the OS can still improve to be a little more intuitive, it was a bit difficult for me to understand how to configure the scenes and I had to read the manual for this, I also think the display could be improved on the Scenes Screen because they are not very easy to read from a distance and for example the possibility of configuring the colors of the pedals with the scene display and things like that could be improved. I can't say that the OS is bad, it's just a little different from what I know (Helix, QC, Kemper, etc.) and it takes more time to get used to.
On the other hand, we have the possibility of using a controller software from the computer and we can additionally control the entire unit with the App from the cell phone with Bluetooth connection, this can be very useful to make quick changes to the scenario.
Summary:
Is the Ampero II Stage a good buy? Without a doubt it is, solid construction, professional sound, it has all the necessary functionalities and at a very convenient price. Should I buy the Ampero II Stage instead of the Quad Cortex or a Kemper Stage or an FM9? If money is an important factor, yes, the price difference is really very favorable to the Hotone, but if money doesn't keep you up at night and you want the best of the best, I think the QC and the Fractal have a plus that doesn't It's just Marketing, advanced configuration features and ecosystem support have their weight in the equation. But that extra is worth almost three times more? I don't think so.
Comparing it to a ToneX Pedal or a Nano Cortex is not fair because the Ampero is much more flexible and does not have any limitations like the other Amps Modelers in this price range have.
The Ampero II Stage is an Amp Modeler that can sound right on any stage or works perfectly in any recording room and if you are not very sensitive to Marketing I think it is a valid option for any guitarist.
A RECAP OF WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
