Ampero II Stage - The Next Generation of Hotone Guitar Multi FX Pedals!

[@therollband1290]

I’ve been watching this channel for years and I got to say having Pete play the demos is the best idea these guys ever had. He’s amazing on the guitar.

[@GrungyChris]

I've had one of these for a couple months or so. It is my first modeler and I was a bit overwhelmed at first. Now I'm spoiled with the Bluetooth app lol. I dialed in several amp tones with third party IRs and they all sound great. Huge selection of effects and stomps. Have not been disappointed at all!

[@joellebrodeur1015]

It's really good. I only had mine for 3 weeks.

[@MrBlank0907]

People love to poke fun at cheaper units like this but I really think the Ampero stuff is some of the best on the market. Ive tried fractal, line 6 and Boss. The only one I’ve kept is the Hotone. Perfect mix of easy to use and great sounds.

[@mangoesDB]

same here. Went from Boss to Line 6 then to the ampero stage. For me the stage is the best to use. sure the line 6 might have more options, but I find the hotone a lot simpler to use especially with the touch screen

[@stoneysdead689]

The Headrush MX5 cost less and sounds better.

[@cirisirpula152]

Haven't heard anything but positive about this unit. Plus 700€ makes this more of a premium choice rather than budget

[@chaselegear4200]

$699 is not cheap.

[@stoneysdead689]

@@cirisirpula152 True- the price says "premium"- but the unit screams budget- 24 bit processing?

[@jorgeleonel6663]

Love my fender tone master pro as main unit & have the ampero stage as backup. The delay effects on the Stage are particularly great! Portable and powerful, perfect!

[@mangoesDB]

How does the stage compare to the TMP in regards to tone?

[@jorgeleonel6663]

@@mangoesDB these things are somewhat subjective, but I personally like the TMP dynamics and feel a little more; it sounds and feels slightly more amp-like to me.

[@christianboddum8783]

Kudos for having 5 scene buttons and bank up/down switches out the way. I could gig with just 5 different levels of gain (Clean,slight OD, full OD, stacked ODs, dedicated solo sound).

[@clydebillingsworth8574]

Intro jam is the best one I've seen in a hot second. Keep it coming all.

[@TheChristafershawn]

I own a Hotone Xtomp pedal and they actually have some pretty impressive sounds. When I first bought it, I did not care for the drives or guitar amps, but as they kept updating the patches by the end, the tones were actually quite good. In short this company makes some pretty mpressive technology.

[@LunaGuitars68]

I've had a Fractal FM, Boss's, UA's, Strymon's etc and the only pedal I've kept for reverbs and delays was my Ampero II Stomp.

[@eliasmsv3156]

The floor units are here to stay for sure. Great little thing

[@xxbutterflyboothxx4494]

I'd like to see more desk units, with floor switches. This is kinda more desky, because it has extra floor switches. But the HX stuff isn't conveniently changed if it's on the floor, lots of bending.

[@eliasmsv3156]

@@xxbutterflyboothxx4494 Agreed. Perhaps an accessory device that connects to this one but has knobs and touch screen that can sit on a table

[@Sonny-lx7je]

Peter's Inspirational Aura was rocking during the intro performance , loved it .

[@micawbermandolins]

Thanks for showing around this unit. Man this is the one to get right now.

[@joellebrodeur1015]

I got the Stage about 3 weeks ago. It's the first multieffect unit that I haven't either returned or sold. It does way too much for what I need it for but it's actually quite good. Sounds great through a Fender FR12.

[@ivonsmith4255]

Glad to see you guys reviewing this unit after everyone has done it too. It seems like the killer unit for that price! Ive been using Hotone stuff for 10+ years...their original tiny Skyline pedals are great I have 13 unit board

[@davedavem]

"It's like Knightrider" Man, I love a 42-year-old futuristic reference 😂

[@paulmyfinger]

Damn! Am I 53 already

[@fraenkiboii]

My main unit is a QC and I recently bought an Ampero II Stomp as a backup for the QC. What made me wanna try the Ampero II was the fact that they have two Diezel VH4 models. A blue face one from the 90s and a newer more modern sounding silver face one, which I've never seen in any other modeller tbh. And coming from the QC, I gotta say the sounds are pretty great! The modelled cabs are not that good, but I personally only use my IRs that I curated for me over the last couple of years. The software editor works great as soon as you made your way through the hundreds of different software package versions on the website. They kind of have a dedicated editor version for each of the firmware versions, which is kind of confusing. I'm usually picky with reverb, but I really liked their 140 plate model. Routing is not as flexible as it is on the QC, but that's to be expected and absolutely ok imho. I also liked the 100W Plexi SL model.

[@pCeLobster]

That shimmer was great.

[@playtheblues]

Thumbs up for the ZX Spectrum reference

[@stevehughes_5733]

That PJD is 👌🏻

[@VictorEMusique]

opening jam to me is perfect Sunday morning tone...

[@geovannivm]

Just came from the Simplifier video, which was amazing. Of course, for the player it might be different, but this one is amazing as well for us listening.

[@grumpyrocker]

For those with the smaller Stomp - it's just had a firmware update so it has the same functionality as the Stage.

[@grumpyrocker]

Well yes I think most people didn't think I meant you could install additional hardware with a firmware update.

[@jasmith85]

Thanks Lee..... you playing that song at the end just reminds me or the Miku pedal you did all those years ago.

[@tabichox]

I need this one so much

[@electrolinks]

Congrats on 900K subs

[@ayeapprove]

I have the Ampero Silver for 180 EUR for a couple of weeks now and I have to say, it sounds amazing but there are still some bugs. I hope Hotone will address them. It's got fantastic features and models for that kind of price. Sad to see the Stage doesn't have a expression pedal onboard.

[@alien4422]

I went from a Boss GT1000 Core to a Fractal FM3 to an HX Stomp. I now use Tonex software. My reasoning is that new modellers are coming out all of the time and rather than constantly chasing Tone I will wait until modelers are a perfect copy of the tube amp in the room sound and by waiting I will save myself a lot of money.

[@Ivan_Ku.]

Bought this unit for daily working stuff. It's amazing! No tweaking at all, compared to boss gt-1000. Super easy and nice. Finally a logical pre-amp section for playing in power -in . The pitch section kinda sucks, but amps/drives and reverb/delay are really good. A lot of stuff for acoustic guitar as well. As a traveling musician, I'm always using modelers and this pedal is the first, that made me happy. Ultimate working horse, I'm happy! Cheers!

[@joellebrodeur1015]

I don't use pitch effects, so that wasn't a deterrent

[@mr.d.572]

​@@joellebrodeur1015 What exactly is meant by pitch effects?

[@Ivan_Ku.]

@@mr.d.572 octaver and string shifter not very usable

[@alrangelal]

If you want a Detuner effect, use the Classic PS block on the -1 Octave mode and every 8 units (8.333 in reality) in the Position parameter equals to 1 semitone. After 4 or 5 semitones it starts to sound trash, especially with clean sounds, but for a half-step or even full-step down tuning it works great.

[@davedavem]

8 in 8 out!? 🤯 It took me years to save for all my shit and i could just sell it all and get this. But then I'd have less shit and be sad.

[@LegendarySnomann]

Finally a video, I already have mine and LOVE IT! I was afraid others wouldn’t get to hear about it

[@damasterkarej]

I am waiting for a video, when Digital John will come in and say to Pete 'that's my place' :D

[@wasakung122]

😂

[@jj-su5gm]

Thank you for selling me the Shabat bobcat. I was hoping Pete’s shoes would come with it. Guitar is awesome and so are you guys!

[@Jpetersson]

Really cool looking guitar!!! I want one!

[@musiqtee]

6:20 Yep, Pete… We’re both ‘nordic’ (and I’m even elder _[wrong word, sounds good…])_ so your association to 80’s sci-fi sits well with me… 😂

[@BackWoodsBillyCraftBeerReviews]

This type of technology is the FUTURE... We live in the USA . My wife and I each play 🎻 violin 🎹 piano and 🎸 guitar... We recently each purchased a Donner Arena 2000 . Which is similar. Cheers 🍻 🥃🥃 🎸 🎵🎶🎶🎶

[@mdkkhensani4015]

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!

[@joellebrodeur1015]

I commented on two other vids to cover this

[@landon.cunningham]

I tried it - they are on the right track but not ready for prime time. The fender stuff seems pretty good but the marhall amps are horrific. Needs some polish - but will be good I think. Personally I returned mine for now.

[@dawsonzinza1671]

Great unit. I am very interested. Please please please, can you do a video using it for line level instruments as well as vocal processing? No one is really showing off those features on youtube. Thanks!!

[@RamonChamadoira]

This was my wish too and you can drop the "really" in you sentence and write "at all" instead. I've combed youtube in the last months and there's nothing. A real shame that a product suitable for singers/songwriters has been only reviewed for guitar (exclusively) players. And actually not even: no-one has reviewed either what is like to mic an acoustic instrument into the unit. I lost the hope. Andertons won't do it either.

[@joellebrodeur1015]

I hadn't even seen demos for bass. There should be more in-depth videos on this unit, almost like a video manual. I do recall seeing in the Facebook group for Stage a user posted this being used for acoustic. I'd like to know how to use the vocal side of the unit and how to get it working. Manual does tell you what you need to use for both vocal and instruments at the same time.

[@dawsonzinza1671]

Andertons, can you please feature this unit on the Andertons Synths, Keys and Tech channel for vocals, synth, keys, acoustic, etc?

[@user-fd6tg3rn4m]

v nice, loved the vid guys.

[@postoffice146]

Review the Mooer Prime P2 portable multi-effect please.

[@bassman7878]

Would love to see the Bass side of Andertons get their hands on this please 🙏

[@jeyolangcayplayshizz]

I think you need digital john for this hahahahahahahaha. But awesome review as always :)

[@geovannivm]

@@sillysausage4549 Out of nowhere hate detected.

[@sillysausage4549]

? I don't hate the guy. I'm sure he is a pleasant person. I just don't find him engaging. Sorry if I offended your gentle woke soul. ​@geovannivm

[@freezeframeplease]

yeah, boomer hater soul detected​@@sillysausage4549

[@emmamcleod432]

​@@sillysausage4549lol you use the word woke unironically. Bald white divorced man detected.

[@kevone-eo6pq]

@@sillysausage4549 ya silly sausage.

[@aljohno72]

Bit early for Jingle bells Pete 😆

[@jefgirdler7232]

If he hasn't already, Pete needs to release a compilation of looper jams on Spotify and Apple Music or something.

[@silverfishla]

ESS Saber chip is an audiophile digital converter.

[@jaspersquire5931]

Battlestar Gallactica… is the 80s SciFi show Pete is talking about.

[@CoolPabloDeTodo]

and Digital John ?

[@rsuarezc229]

i own the quad cortex but i want this too xD

[@garycurtis5135]

I'm curious about the vocal effects that might be available, such as pitch correction, harmonies, etc. 🤔

[@uncccut23]

This unit’s amps and cabs sound way better and more realistic than Line 6 Helix and Boss GT-1000. I’ve owned all three. Especially Boss has really thin and unrealistic amps. This is almost the same quality amp simulators that Fractal has. The effects aren’t nearly as good as Fractal’s and I think both the Helix and GT-1000 have better effects overall. For the price, it’s incredible, especially the Stomp 2!

[@nineteenninetyfive]

Serious question, why are stainless steel frets a luxury on guitars? I mean steel isn't that expensive is it?

[@sillysausage4549]

As with anything in the guitar world, there is a massive upcharge on any minor improvement. A Fender Masterbuilt strat might be one percent "better" than a Sire, but costs 20x more

[@amhotepleechannel3173]

Because stainless steel are stronger like hell. You need special tools for work on there, and for sure, more hours to work on then.

[@tonray9395]

Intro Jam: a Smorrebrod of Danish Soul with spicy Mustard

[@vonclod123]

ESS Sabre is the digital converter chip, digital to analog,

[@Sonny-lx7je]

In the future maybe make a few Videos about Busking , Start wiith the most affordable Guitar Busking Rig's first .

[@EntropiaGuitars]

The design, including the 2 large knobs and the 3 knobs under the screen is a bit too similar to an Eventide H90, don't you think?

[@Andre_Ons_Marshall]

Sounds great, I just can't be bothered learning these units. I’ll stick to separate pedals with knobs.

[@sillysausage4549]

Don't let Andertons ridiculous bias fool you. If you have half a mind you can learn everything relevant in an hour.

[@DarkEtherealRhythm]

Yeah keep taping and keeling down your gig away you old man.

[@danpeabody5687]

I guess I am just an old analog guy…sound pretty good though.

[@riplead]

Nothing wrong with that. I own a Kemper, and an Ampero. Tried the Tonex, Helix, etc., and like them all, but there's definetely something to be said for just firing up an amp, tweaking a few knobs, and jamming. Sometimes I get "option paralysis" with some of the digital stuff.

[@wizardz7938]

cheaper then Strymon Bigsky MX

[@GuitarBailey]

So should you run this through a FRFR or PA for home use????

[@jeeva5381]

What happened to Digital John 😭😭😭 I miss him

[@vit.khudenko]

Serious question. I can't decide if I should go with one of these OR build a traditional pedal board. Of course, I could just return it back if it doesn't sound great. But still if these digital things are so great why is the traditional pedal market still alive..

[@SteveGreyScratchGame]

maybe cuz traditional pedals still most reliable and since it's analog, there less latency and limitations unlike in digital things

[@tonyenglish5153]

If it were black it would look similar to a Fractal Axe Fx 8

[@brainycrunches2359]

If you don’t know how to dial in a multi fx unit it’s better not to show it.

[@user-oi3jz6fv8p]

Lee! Occasionally, when Pete is talking, once in a while, not every time ( that would be too much to ask! ), SHUT UP!!!! please.

[@franginos]

Hello, can we plug ampero stage into an external steinberg ur24c sound card.. THANKS

[@vivien1252]

Can it send MIDI messages to an external device like a JMP1 or whatever? Can't find it in the manual.

[@freezeframeplease]

i love andertons, don't get me wrong, but Lee cannot dial modern tones on digital/multiprocessors to save his life 😅

[@freezeframeplease]

@John-xd6ns yeah, you can sense the bias from Lee and Pete about digital units. shame tho.

[@sillysausage4549]

No money in these things. Simple as that.

[@freezeframeplease]

@@sillysausage4549 that's why they sell a lot and more and more guitar players are switching to digital. ok boomer

[@guntherstreit2478]

Hey guys I'm so confused what to get I play mostly offspring sum41 papa roach etc that sort of genre will this device work for me . Thank you 😊

[@Guitarsinthewild_Orl]

What is the guitar Pete is playing?

[@jasmith85]

These are becoming more and more popular with the cost of living being so so expensive that people can't afford the Pedal after Pedal so an all in one, specially with brands like Positive Grid and like this.

[@robinr22]

I think it's less the cost and more the ease of use. Individual pedals are such an utter ballache.

[@tonedowne]

@@robinr22 I think it’s a bit of both. If you want a switcher which will enable you to switch multiple pedals at one time, it will cost you more than one of these units. But yeah individual pedals with a jungle of power and patch cables, stuck to a frame with Velcro, just has so many fault points that something is very likely to go wrong. I don’t gig my pedals as a result. I just use my modeller as a multi FX.

[@robinr22]

@@tonedowne True!

[@joellebrodeur1015]

I'm in both worlds right now, pedals and the Stage. I do like both. I like the Stage for trying out a bunch of stuff I don't need to buy. I also like pedals to a degree for mucking about or having a more simplified rig. I do hate the weight of a board (even the small ones), the expense of a decent power supply and the bloody cables. At times, I just prefer to go straight into an amp without anything. I just think pedals today are becoming more of a flex to brag about than a tool to be used. They're bloody expensive if you're getting Chase Bliss or other complicated pedals. It begins to make sense that a multieffect unit is a better solution although not perfect. Still frustrations with those and inherent issues. I have a Boss IR-2 as my backup rig.

[@solvirgo9372]

How do we know who won the tumnus?!

[@RyanMcQuen]

I wish the looper was longer than 60 seconds.

[@flynn_22]

do you have to use the amp sim like can you use it with a valve amp and just the pedals??

[@GrungyChris]

Yes, you can build the effects chain however you like.

[@joellebrodeur1015]

They didn't even touch the section where you can set the signal chain depending on your setup. You can turn off all cabs or amp sim. If it sounds like shit, the manual says to switch to a preamp module instead. This also has an effects loop.

[@martinclayton7260]

I've been liking all your videos, and I still haven't won anything? Is there a multi-effects pedal that you can set one amp on one side, and a different amp, and effects on the other side, as a stereo pedal?

[@picksalot1]

Impressive modern Modeler design. But, as far as I can tell, the built-in Looper does not have an "auto-sensing" feature that automatically starts recording when you begin playing. Can anyone confirm this? The absence of that feature renders Loopers nearly useless for me. Thanks

[@JohnvanCapel]

I'm honestly starting to feel like John Connearn was kind of brought on-board on false premises - here we have yet another video about a digital product, and no *Digital* John in sight.

[@ALTRON3]

proceed with knight rider please

[@Tom_Dancer]

6:10 "Pete doesn't like the woh woh..." Pete doesn't like what? I can't make that out.

[@freezeframeplease]

I think it refers to the fact that this processor doesn't use a c13 power connector, and uses a proprietary power supply. I've seen Lee and Pete talking about it with power supplies and other multi effects in the past. NAMM '24 MXR/DUNLOP booth was one of em

[@dy3662]

Wall wart

[@Tom_Dancer]

Aaah, thanks. Never heard that term...

[@dy3662]

Welcome!

[@bassyey]

Beware. Ampero barely gets updated.

[@kennylyon1934]

Where is the tap tempo?

[@joellebrodeur1015]

Tap tempo option is available when you're in stomp mode. Far right footswitch controls that feature to set the tempo.

[@kennylyon1934]

@@joellebrodeur1015 Thanks, Joelle!

[@brianb4877]

I don’t get the hype. You mine as well save up for the superior modelers. The sound is no where close, so if it’s going to be an alternative, they should at least market and price it as the “cheaper alternative.”

[@joellebrodeur1015]

You have to hear it in person. It's better to build your own presets. Every single aspect of the effect and signal chain can be fine tuned. Every patch has its own overall volume control aside from the output volume from the device. It's a quality built unit.

[@dansmith543]

just got mine 3 days ago and it’s fantastic. i’ve had units from boss, line 6( hx stomp) mooer, and this trumps them all, it is by far the most intuitive pedal out there, the touch screen is the best on the market and once you dial in the sound you want it sounds amazing. can’t wait to gig it 👍

[@stoneysdead689]

Imo the Headrush MX5 sounds better- and it's about 200 bucks less. This thing runs 24-bit processing- the Headrush is 32 bit floating point- and the headrush has a really high sample rate- it's basically CD quality- 48khz I think. That stuff really starts mattering if you're using your modeler as an interface- but it also has a big effect on the live sound of the unit. The higher the sample rate, the higher the audio resolution- it's no different than a digital image, the higher the resolution, the more detail you can see. In this case, the higher the sample rate, the more detail you can hear. These little details are what make a tone sound organic or digital- a high resolution will sound real; a lower resolution will sound digital. You can beat the Headrush MX5, it's by no means the best on the market- but you'll pay for it. The only units I've heard that beat it- cost about twice as much as it does. Edit: I should mention that when I first got the MX5 I hated it- out of box it sounds pretty harsh and fizzy. The trick is to update the firmware and download some 3rd party IRs- York IRs are what I use- they make it sound 10X better.

[@emmamcleod432]

CDs are 16 bit 44.1khz

[@stoneysdead689]

@@emmamcleod432 Oh yeah- you're right- well good, then it's better than cd quality.

[@Worlds_Worst_Guitarist]

I have the Pedalboard, and honestly the Stage sounds so much better! And its even easier to use and has an On Screen Editor.

[@stoneysdead689]

@@Worlds_Worst_Guitarist I didn't say the pedal board was better- I said the MX5 is better- and it is, by a long shot. Just the stats tell you that- without even needing to listen to it.

[@soumyaranjansarangi5818]

well i do own this unit and i can use 192k resolution ... so this point about being unusable as interface is null and void. besides the mx5 doesn't have an app or any software. touch screen is laggy. has no bluetooth support(which u will appreciate in this unit live btw). both have different users and use cases. I digress.

[@TheLadsBandLive]

Hmm... PJD guitars, eh? 🤔

[@MichaelJohnsonAzgard]

Dinosaurs using imperial and Pete is meant to be European.

[@pauleuro123]

Imperial measurements are real measurements. Decimalisation = Dumbed Down 🤪

[@freezeframeplease]

​@@pauleuro123lmfao

[@sillysausage4549]

Who the hell wants to use a system pioneered by the French?

[@peterfernance2131]

I think it's pronounced 'Hot Tone' Lee not Ho Tone

[@GordonPavilion]

Hot One?

[@eliasmsv3156]

At NAMM in heard the booth say “Huh-tone”

[@steveliberty]

I love this channel. BUT ... this video was a bit too obviously a sales pitch rather than an objective review. Yea, I know they all are. But this one went too far in the wrong direction. Any truly objective comparison between the Hotone Ampero II Stomp / Stage and the HX Stomp / Stomp XL would have brought up the fact that the Ampero effects are somewhat limited, pitch effects are basically unusable, the MIDI implementation is weak and very disappointing, and the live control is totally inferior to what Line 6 and others offer. And perhaps the most important thing (to me) is that Hotone provides extremely infrequent and mostly insignificant updates to their firmware. If you know anything about the Line 6 HX Stomp and Stomp XL, you know that NONE of these things is the case with yhose devices. Is the Stage a good device? yes, defintely. But the raves and comparisons are, at best, very poorly informed, and at worst, just not honest. And in case anyone is wondering, yes, I have owned the Ampero II Stomp (the stage wasn't out yet), and found it and the company such a disappointment, that I sold it. And at this price point, it needs to be the best thing in its class, and IMHO, it is not even close.

[@ryanturner9509]

Interesting post dude, it does come in handy having a decent 'end user' opinion sometimes. It can reminder us to, (in the words of Tim Leary) TFYQA, think for yourself and question authority. Whether that authority is 'the Man', your Mam or indeed The Andertons Fam 😎✌️

[@user-bu3qw1we4d]

Pete is talking at the sam time as Cap, not nice...

[@user-bu3qw1we4d]

Could Pete stop interrupting please?

[@przemyslaw1235]

Sounds bad😢or you did something wrong😅