Is The Hotone Ampero II Stage REALLY Great?

Thanks for watching my review of the Hotone Ampero II Stage! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Cheers!
Gear used in this video:
- ESP LTD Phoenix 1000 Deluxe
- Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s
- ML Drums by ML Sound Lab
- Cubase 13 Pro
- OwnHammer Impulse Responses
- Hotone Ampero II Stage Amp Modeler / Multi FX Processor
This channel is sponsored by:
OwnHammer: www.ownhammer.com/
ML Sound Lab (ML Drums): ml-sound-lab.com/pages/ml-drums
An original song of mine with me on vocals: • My First Song w/Vocals...
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe along with the bell and follow SDS at:
/ sonicdrivestudio
/ sonicdrivestudio_official
Join the official SDS Guitar Gear Forum on Facebook: / sdsguitargearforum
#hotone #amperoiistage #ampmodeler
Disclaimer: this video is sponsored but as always all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own!
Timecodes:
00:00 The QC, HX Stomp XL & FM3 Got Some Serious competition!
00:18 High Gain Metal Demo (LTD Phoenix Deluxe 1000)
01:50 Preset Details And Settings
03:09 Ampero II Press Expression pedal
03:30 The Hotone Ampero Models And The New Stage
04:16 The Touch Screen Workflow
04:50 What's New About The Ampreo II Stage
05:08 The New Footswitches
06:03 The Scenes Feature
06:20 Some Of The Main Features
07:28 The Ins & Outs On The Back
08:01 The PC Editor, Bluetooth & USB Interface
09:09 Clean Demo With Scenes & Effects (LTD Phoenix Deluxe 1000)
10:49 Preset Details And Settings
12:44 Classic ock Crunch Tone Demo (Gibson Les Paul Std. 60s)
14:19 Preset Settings & Details
15:09 Final Thoughts & Conclusion
Keywords: metallica, sonic drive studio, james hetfield, meshuggah, deftones, rhythm, guitar, amp, tube, modeler, line 6, helix, fractal audio, axe fx, fm3, fm9, hx stomp, tonex, neural dsp, quad cortex, gibson, les paul, custom, standard, esp ltd, phoenix, black metal, deluxe, 1000, ec1000, ec1000t, baritone, prs, mushok, 9-string, 8-string, ibanez, meshuggah m80m, fishman, fluence, seymour duncan, nw44, schecter, hellraiser, e1, apocalypse, ml drums, ml sound lab, grit, meld, cubase, slate digital, steven slate audio, phoenix-7 sc607b, sc608b, adam jones, will adler, tutorial, lesson, tones, settings, new, firmware, free, mesa boogie, marshall, orange, soldano, friedman, peavey, evh, laney, redseven, victory, wangs, lichtlaerm audio, walrus audio, engl, bluguitar, driftwood, hughes kettner, pedal, djent, death, rock, crunch, classic, ola, fluff, blackstar, randall, dsl50, jcm 2000, ds20hr, dsl1000hr, 6505, 6505mh, 1992 original, xxx, satriani, astro 20, slo100, diezel, vh4, vh2, ksr, revv, generator, jvm410h, jvm210h, jvm205, boss, tube screa,er v30, ownhammer, rock-box, essentials, low-tuned, bogren, sc20, sv20, plexi, jubilee, 2525, invective, mini, leviathan, iridium, mercury, preamp, jmp1, dual, triple, mini, rectifier, mk iic+, mkv, kraken, mkii, fireball, 25, 100, powerball ii, savage, special edition, founders edition, slash, 5150, iii, el34, 6l6, single, or15, tiny terror, dual terror, or30, ad30, rockerverb, 50, mkiii, purple, nightmare, archon, mt100, mark tremonti, tubemeister, black spirit, grandmeister, deluxe, toontrack, superior, ez, drummer, ironball, ironheart, ht, clob, venue, jj jr, emg, jb comparison, rig, capture, kemper, profile, free, preset, headrush, amped, digital, analog, hotone, ampero, roland, me90, leptop, daw, kreative devices, desktop, music production, mixing

[@SonicDriveStudio]

What do you think of the Ampero II Stage?

[@AcidPriestTV]

Amazing unit. Best bang for the buck in the modeler world.

[@guitaristus]

Chug

[@bjquebedeaux3597]

Love mine!

[@misterringer]

Sounds great. Did you try just switching between presets while playing? Wondering how that delay is. I know it has scenes but sometimes you just gotta switch haha.

[@brammanck]

What i dont get is that the ampero ii stomp has the same hardware, amp models, drives, reverbs etc. but somehow this product is more hyped then the stomp while they sound t same… interesting

[@RequiemDead]

I love that there is modeling technology at every price point for players, so no one feels left out.

[@kaidemen156]

Your demos never disappoint, that little box sounds massive.

[@ExclusiVox182]

Thanks for making this video. I originally watched your previous video, "What's the best amp Modeler 2024?" This helped me decide to upgrade my old Boss GT100.

[@burtosu86guitar]

Well, the riffs are on point and I can see you are an phenixcionado 🤘🤘🤘

[@angrybalkon1471]

Great work and great demo, as usually on your channel!) I had first Ampero and i sold it. Now i have FM3 and Amperium Live. But after watching this demo, i want to try this stuff again) GAS never ending:)

[@gunnar8709]

May sound silly but I switched from Helix to Ampero II Stomp and never looked back. IMHO it's much easier to get a great tone out of the Amperos. The Ampero II Stage looks interesting but the Stomp + extra Hotone footswitches for 20 bucks do all I need.

[@bestboy897]

sick demo sounds fantastic

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thank you!

[@RGVik]

Good review! I've ampero stage - it's realy great in this value of money) great sound, userfriendly GUI,and great as sound card)) With OwnHammer IR - realy brilliant))

[@thibderobAKAfremen]

Hi Jon! In fact you can have various parameter settings in the different scenes. The scene 1 acts as a "master", it's only in this scene that you can add blocks, but if you edit a parameter in scenes 2 to 5, in scene 1 it will still be the original setting

[@kendalltweaver]

Yep. I was going to say essentially the same thing. The workflow can be a little confusing at first if you're coming from other similar setups (like Helix with its snapshots), but is easy to work with once you get used to it. I often use two or three amps per preset and switch between them with scenes and it took me a minute before I realized the best workflow is to dial in all the amp settings in scene 1 and only make relatively small adjustments in the other scenes.

[@Jonw8222]

Sounds great!

[@xanderjones6239]

I need one of these in my life

[@picksalot1]

Amazing Modeler, and full of useful features. The UI looks outstanding and easy to use. I'd like to see some head to head comparisons with other Modelers, dialing in tones to match their analog Amp inspirations. Is there anything important that you think the Ampero II Stage is missing? Did you notice any issues with long latency? Thanks

[@27retrodaze]

lol @ Engl Saga! Its weird they can use "Engl" but not "Savage"... Great work, Jon!

[@judgegroovyman]

Haha I know what you mean. :) In this case they called it “Engle Saga” for exactly that reason.

[@LonelyRocker]

Sounds great! Sounds like you! 😀 Great video!!

[@ianlahaye9476]

Sounds pretty dang good!

[@KillaFXZ]

I think that you made it sound great, just like everything you do!😎

[@22duke]

I was determined on spending big money on the Fractal FM3 or maybe FM9. Then the other day, I bought the little Ampero Mini - just to try how the Ampero universe works. Well I have decided to return it, and get the Ampero Stage II 😆 I’m impressed how easy it is to use. The sound, the whole layout, ease of use, and the editor. And the Editor that can I use on my phone or iPad with the Stage II, just sealed the deal. In same breath, It seems like the other respected brands has rested too much on their laurels. The Ampero series definitely looks much more user friendly and modern, including pricing. I just hope that Hotone now will keep backing up their product line with support, updates and firmware, instead of just launching new products. The origin of these modelers gives me a little doubt 🤞 Anyway I still believe the Fractal is the King of modelers, but I’m just a home studio guy, and I’ll guess the Ampero Stage II will be more than enough to satisfy my needs for countless hours.

[@WholeLottaBulldog]

I dont tbink you'll regret it; the ampero 2 is shockingly good ime

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

I started playing as a teen in the 80s. We would have sold our grandmas to get access to something like this. I’m also a big fan of physical devices. Not just because I’m old lol, but I find sitting in front of the computer swapping plugins in and out and different VSTs can lead to a whole lot of wasted time endless BS. Sometimes it’s really good to just plug in, pick a patch or twist some knobs and get to it.

[@danielferrera8773]

​@@lostinpa-dadenduro7555I think you are totally right. It's great having some good presets for just turning it on and play the hell out of them.

[@Badrique]

sick tunes

[@jconner3891]

Just ordered the fm9

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

The interface looks really clean. Has a bit of Apple aesthetic.

[@krailanuar]

love it... i think an update from old hotone ampero one n i have 1 unit n sound pretty good

[@SteveGreyScratchGame]

Can you make demo video of vocal effects on your mic?

[@GearStuffandThings]

Cool tools!

[@William_Earl]

How is the noise floor on this unit? How accurate is the tuner? Are the noise gates any good?

[@Maxischupp93]

For bedroom recording, what would you currently recommend? 90% metal rythm, most technical demanding stuff i do is blending 2 tracks each side eith different amps/cabs

[@manwestguitar]

In terms of amp modelling how does it compare to St. Rock Amperium Live?

[@mygic183]

Dude your writing and playing is tha shit! Damn

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks!

[@CPUrafael]

Great!

[@coreblo77er]

Question: Can you record and save loops and export them as files?

[@lassekalhauge4801]

Awesome - both tone and playing ❤ What IR’s are you using? For sale?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

OwnHammer! For sale at OwnHammer.com

[@lassekalhauge4801]

Perfect! And thanks for the quick answer 😊

[@avidia_music]

Awesome vid!! Did you have the chance to try the Whammy simulation?? Is it any good?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I have not... I should!

[@daroanvimusen]

Great demo !! Can I use the SEND/RETURN with TR jack (mono) ? because it's stereo, but....

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I would think so! I haven't tried the loop

[@Zordid0]

Does it have a polyphonic whammy? And it if does, how good is it? How good is it?

[@AmbitiousRealismCreates]

Thank you for the excellent video! Since you have a relationship with Hotone could you maybe ask them why their MIDI out jack can not pass Program Change messages? This is a huge miss for them. I use the Two Notes Opus in the loop for cab sim and power amp modeling but I have no way to take advantage of the 1/8 inch MIDI out to control patches on the Opus.

[@GallowayJesse]

Apparently there is supposed to be an upcoming firmware update to make the MIDI out work properly. No idea when it'll happen.

[@carlos_castanaut]

​@@GallowayJesseHotone promises a lot...

[@JiosX]

What is that Green/Yellow bar? Looks like it's some kind of a pre-amp feature where yellow is above the recommended or am I wrong?

[@chadwallace9713]

Damn that’s a must buy and I hate multi effects pedals 👏👏👏🤘🤘

[@KreativeDevices]

🔥

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

Can you mix and match preamp models with a power amp model ? Like take a Soldano preamp section and put it through the power section of a Vox for example ?

[@RicHSAD2]

Yes and no. You can pick the preamp of any of the amp models, but there is only 1 power amp "model". That power amp is customizable however (tube type, depth, presence, sag, etc.), so you can make it sound any way you like.

[@daliborjovanovic1715]

I just want to know your opinion, Boss Gx100 vs Ampero Stage 2 I try to search in web this, but bad luck Which one is better?

[@Benson.BereTV]

I mean everybody said that it has vocal processing support. But no one demos it. Is it still not yet supported bt software or something? Im torn betweem this and headrush core.

[@Damian9126]

I feel the same way. I'm looking for someone to introduce the vocal effects. I can't decide between Headrush and Ampero II. Does anyone know of a helpful video about this?

[@patrickpierson6079]

Good video. It would be better to use the ir or speakersims that come with the unit or maybe use your is for comparison... We all know that 50 percent fron the tone come from the speaker

[@scottslaten6664]

I'll wait until the scenes can change effect parameters lol. Other than that, it's amazing!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

I was made aware that apparently it has been possible! Haven't tried it yet

[@user-vt7xj5er6g]

Hi, guys! I have ampero one, it works for me, but now I'm kinda confused. Should I upgrade to ampero 2? Stomp or stage? What are your thoughts?

[@ChakraOver9k]

Stomp

[@aujizaharudin]

@@ChakraOver9k whyy

[@onuremek2975]

I kindly ask you if there's any sound difference of Ampero 2 Stage and Ampero 2 Stomp?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Not as far as I'm aware

[@onuremek2975]

@@SonicDriveStudio I guess according to the specifications of hotone, it looks same but is it possible to make a comparison video between these two ?

[@JiosX]

Goddamn that wah is so fucking throaty

[@ChiAeNima]

I don't know if you have tried them but if you would have to choose between this Hotone Ampero II Stage, the Mooer GE300 lite or the new Mooer GE1000, which one would you choose. Which one do you think sounds better, the amp simulations. Having already the Hotone MP100 and the Mooer Preamp Live, is it worth to upgrade with one of those three? Thanks in advance. Regards.

[@WholeLottaBulldog]

Hotone Ampero stuff is a league above the Mooer stuff, in my opinion.

[@NissansAndGibsons]

Hi there, this looks super promising. Good to see excellent products at cheaper prices. Could you please do a video on how you might integrate something like this into a rig with a tube amp with effects loop, where you utilise both the amp tone + multi effects from this unit, then cut the preamp of the tube amp out of the signal path, and use a moddled amp into the tube power amp section? Kind of best of both worlds set up.

[@MetalheadOv666]

I did this with an HX stomp and 5150iii 50w tube head and 212 cab. Also had a cpl boost/OD pedals on my pedalboard and had the best of all worlds! This seems to be the same as the Helix stuff so u can definitely do what you’re talking about.

[@ozmusic3035]

so you listened to the mahavishnu great rendition liked it ampero lack of bite...

[@xanderjones6239]

How does this compare to the ampero ii stomp?

[@SonicDriveStudio]

It has more features and IO, in terms of the sounds it's basically the same

[@xanderjones6239]

@@SonicDriveStudio thanks, Jon!

[@gibson2623]

They went way up in price compared to what they used to cost

[@nate6692]

17 seconds in and I know we wont' be getting an in-depth review of the edge of clean/bark

[@wolfhorsky]

IF it had a good poly pitch shifter, that can do what Digitech Drop does, I would buy it instantly. Unfortunately the aforementioned feature (pitch shifter) really sucks on Ampero. Shame. Helix is too big, HX Stomp is a bit too small and has DSP shortcomings.

[@ArhipelagGoogla]

Как обычно, в процессорах зарезан наглухо весь нативный хай-гейновый верх по частотам. Можете убрать гитарный кабинет и проверить. Он там просто отсутствует таким, какой он реально в ламповом тракте. Ну просто это экономия для алгоритма, чтобы он хоть как-то мог обсчитывать остальное. И в демках вам постараются это дело замаскировать в миксе. А он не последнюю роль играет в звуке.

[@bestboy897]

arent scenes just presets

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Kind of like a preset within a preset

[@thibderobAKAfremen]

Variation within a preset, where each block can be active or bypassed. Also, you can have different parameter settings from one scene to another - but not change the model.

[@user-xj5dj5lp3y]

Hope the distortion is better than the mini. Cos there crap

[@angrybalkon1471]

Mini - it's the first generation (mp100/ampero one). Stomp and stage - the second generation. I think they have different sound

[@user-xj5dj5lp3y]

The stomp has better distortion

[@SonicDriveStudio]

It has the same sounds

[@user-xj5dj5lp3y]

Plug it straight into a pa mixing desk .with a basic recording. That way people will be able to here if any good. To many people on KZbin record all these units with u beaut gear. Then when they get them home .they don't sound good at all

[@silyrrad]

The original hotone ampero was a really good unit. This one already looks way better. A pro can make almost anything sound good. You should make that video if that's what you want to see.

[@pbosche]

First, Jon makes everything sound insane. Sometimes he’ll edit in the room mic or phone camera mic and you can hear how plain the stuff is…his mixes are just nuts. That being said, he is running this directly in. Not into some expensive amp…not that that would sound good anyway. But these sound great….GREAT!!! I have the stomp and it sounds beat into my Yamaha studio monitors…much better than into my 2x12 cabinet with SS amp.

[@PearHellforge]

it doesn't compete, unless it can do 2 guitars to a single unit like all the others u mentioned

[@carlos_castanaut]

Hotone suck in the customer support departement and their FW updates are mediocre. They promised to port the scenes to the Ampero 2 Stomp but never did because they will first sell as much Stages before they even think about it... They care more about pumping new stuff out there than their customers with existing gear...

[@poorbrokeguitarist]

Oh they didn't take that design from hx edit at all lol. I dislike HOtone a lot.

[@TheChristafershawn]

I'm sure they are heart broken.

[@poorbrokeguitarist]

@@TheChristafershawn Not really important to me but okay?

[@TheChristafershawn]

@@poorbrokeguitarist yeah me neither.

[@SimoGarby]

I already have the AMPERO 2....how do they sound the same? Is it worth taking this One?