Laney GH50R head Amp | Review

"For those that really care about having great tone and need a versatile amp that rewards exploration and balancing of the controls, the GHR series of amps represent not only great value for money but a superb tonal experience that really deserves to be checked out."
Laney GH50R head Amp Review by Guitar Interactive Magazine. Reviewed in Issue 39 of Guitar Interactive Magazine by Tom Quayle. bit.ly/laney39
Welcome to GI 39, ushering in a new year and with a lot of exciting stuff on board!
Our cover star this time around is the American guitarist John 5. Stuart Bull tracked down this chameleon of a player in Los Angeles and brings us an intriguing insight into a man who might as well adopt 'versatility' for his middle name. If you've ever worried about getting pigeon-holed in your career - watch our interview this fabulous guitarist!
Another candidate for the Great Contemporary American Guitarist is Andy McKee, widely considered to be the master of percussive acoustic styles and someone we have wanted to include in the Quiet Room section since way back when the magazine began. Whatever you do, don't miss Andy's exclusive performances in this issue!
As always, we've a packed issue of reviews and our free tuition columns plus the chance to win an astonishing prize - a genuine Taylor acoustic guitar! bit.ly/laney39
I reckon that's a pretty good way to start a New Year - don't you? bit.ly/laney39

[@Williamstanway]

great guitarist, always enjoy his reviews.

[@Ju287V3]

Great review and lovely tones.

[@themodernguitarist]

Hope to eventually get a comparison between this and the original GH50L/GH100R.

[@BurtonBoyz715]

Such a great review Tom......How do you get all that info in 15 mins.???.... just .superb...really...

[@jackp.walker6247]

Bloody Good review - thank you very much !

[@hawedehre]

I think this is the best review of this amp.

[@johnsguitarmusicanddemos]

Excellent playing!!!!! Sounds awesome!

[@wyldmansix7]

Great review!👍🏻

[@damonstewart70]

As usual great review & tone!!!quick IMPORTANT question...is 50 watts going to be "creamier" than 100???

[@gordrock]

Think this will be my next amp. Any idea when it will be available in Australia?

[@thelovacluka]

great. finally someone plays with f[ikona: plavi znak "@"]l, clean, and with dinamics

[@damonstewart70]

As usual great review & tone!!!quick IMPORTANT question...is 50 watts going to be "creamier" than 100??? thanks guys this question is important to me....love always

[@richardaaron4454]

The matching cabs use Vintage 30s but has anyone played this head with Greenbacks? I'm kind of leaning more toward a cab with Greenbacks but if this head sounds better on V30s I'd like to know.

[@Robstafarian]

I have fallen in love with this amp: I hope they make them in the UK. EDIT: They are made in China.

[@ehabsh9427]

I have been a Laney fan for long years! Just different from the common sense of Marshall for the distorted tone and Fender for the clean tone. I find Laney delivers for both tones. Warm and crystal at the same time. I have VC30 and swear by its vintage tone. Maybe I should consider this one now.

[@martinskanal]

I want to buy one use it mainly as a clean pedal platform.. do you think this would work?

[@davidtoro12]

What pickups have your guitar???

[@CarlosMoreno-rb6rs]

awesome guitar player

[@djpgreek]

I'd love to hear with a les paul and possibly some pedals.

[@deanallen927]

No, we didn't just "get used to" settling for preamp gain, we got harassed into settling because of club owners and wanker sound men. we never really liked it without some power amp response mixed in. But this is a great idea and thanks for discussing it. Killer playin too!

[@ddprog]

I'd like to know the specs is that guitar. Thanks!

[@davidtoro12]

What pickups uses your strat?

[@sangreyagua1871]

the best thing about this new Laney products is the up side handles.

[@JBGoode-zx7pp]

💯

[@jacinthdebbarma3]

Tom makes everything sound better. That's Tom..

[@jst601]

Is the GH50R & GH100R made in UK or China?

[@jst601]

The back of the amp says "designed & engineered in the UK"....oh my....so this must be *manufactured* in China?

[@crnogor]

Presence should be there !

[@claudiomorenopohl6836]

how does this amp works at low bedroom volumes??

[@lastofthe4horsemen279]

One would not want a 50 watt amp for bedroom levels 🙄 a 15 watt combo amp would be better and sound great .A 50 watt amp head and relative 2 or 4 x12 cabinet would push a large club hard.Like rock a couple hundred people loud.

[@davidtoro12]

This or the lionheart???? I need an opinion if wich have the best clean channel

[@jonnelson5881]

GHR for more Marshall style cleans and gain or Lionheart for more Vox style cleans and gain

[@ArielsSmartyPants]

Not one of these for sale anywhere. Nice sounding amp though.

[@kent.7106]

Sounds like crisp static fuzz

[@jordancrane975]

0:17 that lick is super tasty

[@AeolianReflex]

It sounds great but how does the interaction between the pre and power differ from an other amp that also has a pre volume and master volume?

[@Robstafarian]

+AeolianReflex The Output knob is a post phase inverter master volume control: power amp distortion is phase inverter overdrive.

[@JohnWiku]

@@Robstafarian Not entirely on point, power amp distortion includes phase inverter distortion but the sheer power of cranking an amp will also make the power tubes distort, that's the sound of a cranked Plexi. The magical cranked amp sound is a combination of preamp, phase inverter, power tubes and speaker distortion, the balance is very delicate, but it is absolutely glorious.

[@Robstafarian]

@@JohnWiku My point, so long ago, was that power amp distortion necessarily includes phase inverter overdrive because the phase inverter overdrives before the power tubes do. For that matter, the cathode follower (if present) overdrives before the phase inverter does.

[@jorgemontecinosmeza]

Sound not words.

[@Terry3Gs]

your graphic thumbnail says peavey btw

[@JamesRussoMillas]

+terrybear lol you're right

[@GuitarInteractive]

+terrybear Good spot Terry!! All sorted now. Thanks for watching!

[@Terry3Gs]

Guitar Interactive - The Free Online Guitar Magazine np & ty :)

[@spartanworria]

hahaha that's funny

[@diegoignacio4923]

Where it is made? UK or China?

[@timbeaton5045]

+Diego Ignacio Falcone at 14:33 you can see the legend "Designed and engineered in the UK". Falls short of actually saying MADE in the UK, i guess. So probably not. Still a damned fine amp, though.

[@diegoignacio4923]

Thanks Tim! I just see it at the end of the video. and yes, it´s a sexy and killer amp. i hope to get one of this soon!

[@gwugluud]

At 9 minutes in, we all understand about the volume control not being the power amp control; we UNDERSTAND that...

[@Pete_Harris]

what a grouch!

[@IanVase]

Price for the 50?

[@Mune.T]

830€ ca.

[@vashi1]

Great playing, tones and explanations of all the functions. But there was little to no high gain riffing. Without that, the review becomes kinda incomplete...

[@mayo.r.857]

Vashi1 J

[@annonuhm617]

The GH50R sounds terribly scratchy and the gain structure is very uncultivated at high gain. Laney amps are much on the bright side, so you need dark speakers and a tube screamer to really make it sound metal. I actually prefer my cheap Jet City 100HDM for high gain by far. But if it comes to clean and crunch sounds, the Laney is one of the best out there, maybe because of its uncompromised brightness and the raw gain structure of the EL34 power tubes.

[@ewilliaman11]

laney amps are known for their use in Metal so...

[@annonuhm617]

GHL, Ironheart, AOR yes. GHR & Lionheart no. GH50R is its very own animal, totally flying under the radar and not known for anything. It's great for Hard Rock and lower gain and a very nice toy for tweakers. I love it. If you want real metal mayhem, british style, get a Blackstar or Marshall or a used Laney GHL.

[@ewilliaman11]

I was responding to Vashi... He's got a point because a lot of people look to Laney for distortion. How do we know if it works or not if it's not explored in the demo?

[@timothyjay2012]

The Amp may as well just have a clean channel and reverb! We never got to hear any real Crunching and how well the amp holds together when jamming some heavy stuff like Alice in Chains!!! Anything!!😲😲😲😲😒😒😒😤😡😡

[@benjamincs1]

Big daddy Ramrod yeah I guess maybe there should be something for the rhythm chuggers too...

[@damonstewart70]

is 50 watts creamier than 100???

[@JamesRussoMillas]

+Damon Stewart A little quieter and a bit less headroom

[@damonstewart70]

James Russo thanks

[@spartanworria]

if you're a chick sitting on the speaker, 100 watts every time.

[@elliot1405]

Lol less talking more playing. Spends 5 whole minutes explaining what settings he’s gonna use and then plays for 5 seconds, then does it all over again. Sounded great at the beginning though!

[@jadefire1985]

Laney not peavey

[@elij.doummar4623]

it would be much more beneficial to demos amps with a standard guitars, so we know what kind they sound usual and we can hear the amp more . Its totally useless using high/top end custom strat or whatever to demo amps . so dissapointed

[@stefanerceg89]

+Eli Joseph Doummar well you can hear how it would sound with the strat on a neck/middle pickup, and how it would sound on "any" guitar with the humbucker bridge, in my point of view you have the best of both worlds. And you can't satisfy everyone so it's a good call on witch type of the guitar he used in the demo

[@FredBrum]

+Eli Joseph Doummar I have to disagree - the point is for the demonstrator to incorporate the bit of gear being reviewed with his standard choice of instrument. While the Fibenare he's using here is indeed a very, very good guitar, what Tom is doing is simply showcasing the amp with an H-S-S superstrat type, so to speak, and it does give you an idea of how the amp will behave and, equally important, its potential in a number of contexts.

[@elij.doummar4623]

I understand where you guys are coming from ... totally respect that.. I just wish they demo these amps with standard guitars.. so we can have better reference point .. he is a fantastic player, no one can argue, and the sound is awesome

[@SenseiKreese]

Spends the whole review doing clean tones when we also want to hear the gain tones. *fail*

[@Williamstanway]

great guitarist, always enjoy his reviews.