BOSS NEXTONE SPECIAL - Is It Really That Special?

Jay Byrne talks about and demos a BOSS NEXTONE SPECIAL. Can this amp really do it all? It is outfitted with a WAZA CRAFT Blue Bell. Jay dares to ask the question: Is it really that special? Spoiler Alert: Sort of. Jay has already returned the amp and gone back to a Tone Master. However, he does stand by all the comments made in this demo so enjoy it if you are interested.
Gear Used In Video:
Boss Nextone Special: www.sweetwater.com/store/deta...
#boss #amplifier #bosspedals #tipsandtricks #loud #rockandroll #demo #bluebell #nextone #nextonespecial #goprohero9

[@tommanseau6277]

Solid, honest, accurate review. I've owned mine for just over a year. I don't miss my old tube amps after having this amp, not even once. I have some input that might help. The amp definitely reacts in a tube-like manner. It breaks up, sags, and feels similar to a good tube amp. The 1st thing you have to realize is that this amp isn't exactly duplicating Fender, Marshall, or Vox amps. It is replicating the general characteristics of them. The best way to come at this amp is to play through it for awhile. Don't try and force it. It is an amp the reacts to pick technique, attack, and has dynamics. Things to consider: 1. The editor software seems simple, but allows truly incredible amounts of fine tuning ability. You can spend a LOT of time tweeking the preamp, tonestack, poweramp right down to the power class your pushing anywhere from Class A to AB to straight up B (straight Class B sounds bad, don't do that), even the amount of sag. You really can go pretty Alexander Dumble tweaking the amp 2. With all that really granular amounts of adjustability, you can make the amp sound Marshall-esque, Fender-esque, Vox-ish, but just accept it for what it is. 3. This is not a metal amp. I agree that the best overdrive for it is the Blues Driver. The gain can get really muddy above 10 o'clock, so keep it lower for clarity. It just works better that way. 4. The extra knobs for the power amp EQ are really for fixing problems in the room or on a live stage. Get the tone you want prior to a live show, fix the problems (room too bright or too boomy) with the Bottom or Top controls, the Presence reacts like all other presence controls to add or subtract a little sparkle depending on the room. 5. It's possible to add a chorus effect through a couple of delay settings. Brett Kingman did a demo review of the 40 Watt years back and I was blown away by that little tidbit he just threw in there without so much as a special mention, just did it. So this amp is able to give you reverb, tremelo, delay, and chorus, which for a lot of us is all we really need. 6. Get the footswitch. It allows for 4 sets of channels (clean and dirty), the ability to turn on and off boost, delay, tap tempo, and reverb for each channel. It's really useful. 7. While I don't have a Katana, I think it would really be something great with a Katan Artist Mk ii 1/4 stack. Blending these amps would create a really full sound. I've seen this done with things like a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a small Marshall combo to great effect and could very easily see that working with these 2 series of Boss amps.

[@GB-rs8cz]

To clarify for people who are new to buying any type of audio gear, any amp can be used for any genre, any guitar can be used for any genre. Tubes are not best, solid state is not best, vintage is not best, new is not best. All of these things have clear sonic differences and people tend to use certain gear for certain genres, but there are no rules. If it sounds right, it is right. Stop wasting your money on things that sound marginally better and focus on playing and enjoying music. If something costs $5000 or $50 and it scratches that tone itch, so be it. Don’t believe the people and salespeople when they say you need something.

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

Hilarious that you think my broke ass is a salesman or shill for anyone but myself. Thanks for the compliment though.

[@JL-pd6dw]

Sounds amazing - you should have kept it!

[@bobdelair02]

Honest review 👍 what I understood for the Nextone, is that the signal path in fully analog, except for the time based effects but the control is digital and that the main difference between the Special and the others in the series soundwise comes down speaker and the cabinet material and obviously the output. The Special has all the knobs to tweak the sound where for the others you need the software to do the same. I have the Stage and swapped the speaker for a Celestion Alnico Cream. The stock speaker indeed sounded a bit harsh to my ears, but may indeed need some break in time… I mainly play clean to the edge of break up and I am totally happy with it ❤ Enjoy yours !

[@peppik]

Hi Jay! Great review. I think I'm gonna get me one. Used to have a Bluscube Artist. Great amp. Sold it. This one's gonna be a step up, I guess. Main thing for me: It has to be a solid state-amp, not digital. The clean sounds of the Nextone Special are awesome. Even the dirt-sounds are very good. Boost and delay are a gem. Adding the footswitch you can switch all the stuff you want. What else do yoe need (apart from a good bedalboard ;) ?

[@danstringer7610]

Good video!

[@63timfred]

Thanks Jay, I've been sweating over either a Tone Master, Katana Artist or Nextone Special. So confusing! This is a great video and I think confirms my preference for the Nextone. I used to have a Blues Cube (sellers regrets). Do you know what the difference is between the Nextone and the Blues Cube? Thanks again for your content. Cheers

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

Not those particularly but I would highly suggest the Artist over the Special unless of course you like the qualities of a Blue Bell style speaker.

[@doctorskull8197]

I’ve been playing electric guitar in rock bands for 50 years (yes, 50). I now use Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb. Only 23 ponds. Nextone Special 40 pounds. That’s it game.

[@leifkeane]

Nice.

[@tylerdurden2691]

I bought this amp a year ago and I absolutely love it. Great review. But I have one major problem. The headphone and line outputs sound like I have a heavy distortion pedal activated. I’m beginning to think I might have a faulty unit! Have you had tried the headphone output yet? If so, do you have a similar experience? Thanks dude.

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

Never tried it. Don’t have that amp anymore but I did like a lot about it.

[@robertsale9162]

I have this same issue

[@austinfailz]

Kind of want a Nextone Special and Katana Artist for a stereo rig. I'd set up the Nextone for a less driven sound while the Katana has more drive. In addition, the Nextone would just have a bit of reverb, while the Katana has no reverb and maybe some nice analog or tape delay.

[@muzikjay]

Wish they would make a two channel Katana Artist. I love the sound of the KA, but I love the flexibility of the Nextone Special. But the fizz is real on the lead channel. You think switching out the Nextone’s speaker with the Waze Greenback in the KA may strike a happy middle ground?

[@nicolasisaksson1175]

Great review, thanks. Would you get this over the JC40?

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

I think I would. They both have their place but the Nextone is way more versatile. However, I would get the Artist not the Special cause I don't care for the blue speaker in Special. I think the plainer speaker in the artist is better. But if you were using just pedals for your sound the JC40 could do the job but it would be louder when doing it.

[@nicolasisaksson1175]

@@efxloopjaybyrne Thanks for the reply! I do mainly use pedals. Did you mean the JC40 is louder overall or that the Nextone gets better tones at low volumes.

[@thesoundpurist]

more grit in the highs for sure. I tried it at the store and I'm a Nextone Artist owner. I'd prefer to have the Special but it's not like it's night and day. The Special get to the Marshall lead with a more "real" feel. The Artist for the "sag" and the Special for the "grit". I have the feeling that the speaker has the biggest impact on the sound overall.

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

The speaker plays a huge role with this amp. Not sure Boss nailed with either incarnation to be honest. I think something like a Creamback would be ideal for this amp. You might lose a bit of that clean sparkle though. Seems like the amp is 2 very different things depending on the channel and they conflict with the speaker. An all in one speaker may not exist for this amp. My opinion of course.

[@henrymillsiii4961]

Why did you go back to the tone master? Did you get the beige Tone Mastet with celestion speakers?

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

I got the regular black version. I'll be honest with you regarding the Nextone. I wanted to love the Nextone but I fought it every step of the way. Something about the Blue speaker in the Nextone was off. There was this horrible fizz in the distorted tones that I couldn't dial out. I had read this about the amp but figured I'd try it anyway. Oddly enough I had also read that the Artist, the model below it (the Nextone), did not have that problem. Probably because it used a different speaker. But I never went that route cause I really liked the panel on the Nextone Special. Anyway I exchanged the Nextone for a new one and the new one was a bit better but still exhibited the problem. So since I was using the Nextone for mostly clean and edge of break-up style tones I figured why not just get my Fender Deluxe back. I knew what to expect from it and as a clean slightly broken up amp you really can't beat it. So I have the Katana Artist and the Tonemaster Deluxe now and I have no desire to buy another amp. So for me those two amps cover the gamut of tones. Add pedals on top of that and the sky is really the limit. So if someone had an interest in the Nextones I would suggest the Artist over the Special. Mainly for the speaker. I think if I had bought the artist I would still have it. The special is well, not so special in my opinion. That fizz was driving me crazy and I know it was the blue speaker cause I tried the Special with the Greenback style speaker from the artist and 90% of the problem was rectified. OK rant done.

[@musicalcompanion5890]

is it the same sofware as the Katana or its own suit? does it contain waza tone profiles?

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

It’s it’s own thing. You cant load profiles into it. It’s simpler.

[@edwardsmith9801]

Cool amp.

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

Not bad. I have already exchanged for something else cause I wasn’t digging the speaker and I couldn’t afford to swap it. However I would recommend the artist as probably the sweet spot of the line.

[@LifetimeBiker]

I am curious , Which TM did you go to and was it Black or Blonde ?

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

It was black and I am currently back with a black deluxe tone master. I couldn’t deal with the speaker in the Nextone so I exchanged it. The deluxe seemed to work well enough for my purposes. The Nextone was great but the lead channel and speaker were a bit problematic.

[@LifetimeBiker]

@@efxloopjaybyrne Thanks for the reply , I was thinking you may have gone creamback version after saying about perhaps one of those would be a good option for the Nextone Special.

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

@@LifetimeBiker I opted to go with something else because I couldn't justify another $200. But I do think the creamback would be an improvement on the stock speaker in this amp.

[@JohnDoe-jc3cl]

Use a Boss DS-1. I use that with my Ibanez “ Powersound pick ups “ because that’s all I got. I get into Fastway “ Say What You Will “ territory. Is that Marshall enough for you? And 1976 Van Halen “ Honolulu Baby “ territory. That’s Marshall enough for me. Maybe the tone is just in my hands. Could I sound better with a SDuncan JB, or a $149 Wolfgang, probably. But at some point you’ve just got to shut up and play your guitar. And especially concentrate on the melodies and solos Ds1 and a next tone stage. Is the speaker broken in? I have no idea. I’ve been playing it for a couple years

[@brockrutledge9241]

need more honest reviews like this not paid ones

[@user-vu5dt9lb4d]

I tried tried a used model the first generation and it was bad, the clean channel wasn't clean, I might have found the only bad one but I will never buy one. The amp was in great condition, the owner said he had ordered a Katana and returned because he did not like it.

[@thesoundpurist]

I tried it with Bill and Becky Lawrence L500's and it surprising it can deliver 80's hard rock tight metal sound. Because of the "bottom" option, that I used when I got where I didn't with my Artist. With the editor and a bit of patience you can get very close with the Artist IMHO

[@matzer8846]

Soooo .that was an intermezzo sort of ... great amp ... but maybe it should be used as a head and be paired with a 4X12 with different speakers ...

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

Fully agree.

[@rodimusprime9599]

You went back to the townmaster? Lol that's funny. I do that kind of stuff too. You get the amp thinking it's the real mcneil, then you realize it's some fake sounding teddy ruxpin and return it and go back to the amp you know which now sounds much better

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

The grass is always greener. Most of the time it’s brown and dead. Lol.

[@jordymaas565]

breaking up is hard to do...

[@nicolasozzi4441]

Troppo compressore

[@jimrhondaorozco309]

I just can't get myself to ever try this amp.. I'm not a tube snob but my ears just say no....Could be because of listening over you tube but it sounds like a direct guitar to me. Just my humble opinion

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

Honestly the Katana Artist is better and a bit more versatile.

[@cazziebb1707]

I stay away from amps that have 50 knobs.

[@efxloopjaybyrne]

Not such a crazy idea. Lol.