The Best Amp Ever? Zuta GBG 120 Amp Review

[@juanmacaceres2702]

The fact that the rear fan is a Noctua took me completely by surprise

[@HACKslash11693]

NOCTUA FOR THE WIN

[@ofir_likes_beer]

Noctua and spit on that thang

[@TheLaw1]

Noctua fans land in so many good things

[@masonmoffort]

@@TheLaw1 damnit... I have to say this now... ~ IF SHE AINT GOTA NOCTUA I ANT GUNNA TALK TUAH

[@DorGreen1]

Game recognizes game

[@vincelupone]

As a big fan of the Mesa Road King, I've had my eyes on this for awhile. It's the best modern equivalent if you want a truly versatile "analog modeler" type of amplifier that can basically do anything. Great video KDH, thank you for always being so thorough!

[@miserychannel69]

100% and my fav thing about an RK is the ability to utilize the 6L6 AND EL34's simultaneously.

[@vincelupone]

@@miserychannel69 The orange channel, boosted, with 6L6s and EL34s is insanely good.

[@diagonaltripod3713]

What i love so much about your gear reviews is that you always go with very unique companies that most have never heard of. While that means its usually completely out of price for me but its really fun to watch. Especially since there so many good companies that most have never heard of.

[@1968WingNut]

Just want to compliment you on your playing. Even this past year there's a very noticeable improvement. Not just speed, but articulation and creativity. Good job man

[@michaelking4501]

Been waiting for this video. This thing looks like it would be a ton of fun to mess with.

[@samizdat113]

I've had my eye on this amp for a couple of years. Absolutely amazing.

[@75YBA]

I just wanted to send congratulations too. If there was anyone who deserved a wicked amp, it’s you. You and Glen are definitely good lads. My family are from Co. Derry and Inverness, so it’s always nice to hear a familiar friendly accent.

[@PsychoKiller24601]

I'll definitely be trying one out next time I'm in Sweden.... always a trustworthy review KDH

[@ironblast5]

I just nabbed one of those chinese 100 watt plexi clones after watching your video and so far, I'm absolutely loving it

[@menschlicheswesen84]

You mean the custom handwired ones for 500€...? How is the noisefloor and how good takes it pedals...?

[@mrksdlx]

What did you get off I may ask?

[@QuikdethDeviantart]

maybe link the vid if you have a sec? tysm

[@Stu66orn]

It would be nice to see inside what irons does it have. How components are layed out. To see what you paying for. It has almost zero info on site how mixing and biasing powertubes is performed.

[@75YBA]

I’d hate to have to take it to a tech in 5-10 years, but it sounds wicked.

[@maidenman74]

Even more versatile than you suggest as you could use it as a light show whilst switching features. Your Channel 3 demo segment just screamed to me 'for when Slipknott throw in a Bryan Adams cover'. Great demo i just wish i could afford one now.

[@BornHeadless96]

What a fucking tone! That intro blasts, love it!

[@HotPink90sSun]

I agree! Best Amp EVER! Thank u so much for the video!

[@chrisgnineil15]

Great and very detailed review. You should do more amp reviews. 😊

[@anosegal]

considering it's a 120w amp, you'd expect it to get extremely loud. I wouldn't see fan noise as much of an issue on this

[@jamesstonehouse3448]

Maybe in a studio setting where the speaker cab is locked away inside an iso-cab another room somewhere

[@Arctic_silverstreak]

​@@jamesstonehouse3448even then don't you like need some monitoring via studio monitor or headphones or anything close by that'll overpowered the ambient fan noise?

[@DorGreen1]

@@jamesstonehouse3448especially if tracking vocals or something else with live mics near the head

[@CIRCLEOFTONE]

Zuta are one of the best current production amp/pedal companies out there.

[@MAP448]

St. Dime would proud as hell to play that amp. Sounds like the best of all worlds. Especially for someone who wants a wide variety of sounds.

[@wintyrqueen]

Dime didn't play a tube amp in his whole career

[@MAP448]

Correct But St. Dime always loved a good tight metal sound like that. You gotta admit it, that's sorta the entire point. A great guitarist famous for playing solid state amps but he would still love the sounds he could get with this amp. If he hadn't been murdered that is, these sounds are right up his type of sound.

[@robertdonosobuchner3129]

This is a really interesting amp! It's so versatile, and it sounds great! It's probably an amp for everything...

[@seanabbottband]

I could spend a lot of time with that amp, lol great video!

[@sidneysnottley6414]

Nicely done review.👍

[@where_is_christophe]

Sounds good man 🤘

[@menschlicheswesen84]

Finally it happen's...😮🎉😊 I'm craving for your'e in depth review of this amp... Since i saw you playing it on namm i wanted to know everything about this one... Look's like a "back to the future" amp wich i have to run with plutonium... Awesome... Swedish boutique dream amp for toooo much money reviewed by the Otto Walkes😅 of guitar journalism with a lovely irish accent... I love it... KDH your'e my favourite...

[@Autojurk]

this thing is like a parallel universe Road King. love the extra channel stuff like the boosts and cuts and gates, and love the buttons and layout, all being on the front but one thing i do like about my Mesa is the assignable tube combos per channel, and as an aside, the fan noise never bothered me much, especially in the days where i could still hear it hehe

[@MatthewFarrell-s2w]

Very cool, clearly a no-compromise engineers solution to creating a versatile amp. I would be interested to see an engineering break-down to look at the build choices and quality (judging by the Zuta website, I'd expect it to be pretty bullet proof). The only real competition, if you want a four channel, with independant tone stacks and MV's for each channel, would be the Mark 7 Mesa's (and there are a 'range' of opinions on Mesa's build choices an reliability which makes me lairy of laying out that sort of money on one now, while this looks like it literally hits all the buttons.)

[@Zwidawurzn]

Oh a Noctua fan, good stuff. Nice touch to have a silent fan in there, and if it breaks you can use a fan from your computer as spare part.

[@dustink2763]

Our baby KDH is growing a beard! ❤

[@TheAlkoida]

WoW Intro is an Killer 💖

[@accidentalfire1727]

That is a great looking amp. Sounds great too.

[@jimtroeltsch5998]

This amp is similar to the amp I use, A traynor YCS 100, which is an older amp now, came out in the mid oughts I believe, with a v2 a little bit later because of heating problems. I got mine super cheap, like 300 bucks. It's often described as a Canadian dual rectifier. I don't know if it sounds anywhere as good as that amp, but for what it cost me used, it sounds fantastic, especially with a rat driving it. It has three different channels, clean, vintage (marshallish) and modern hi gain, which is like the mesa dual rectifier (apparently). It has a lot of the same features, like treble boosts, mid scoops, modern switches in some combination for each channel. It also has a separate solo boost. Each channel has dedicated eq knobs, effects loop return mix knobs, and reverb knobs, as well as a master volume, presence, and resonance. The only thing that really sucks though, is it has a special midi footswitch for it to switch between channels and the solo boost on and off. This suck because they often don't come with the foot switch and you can't use any other type of footswitch. It has some other features I can't remember, but you get the idea, it was built to be a super flexible mesaboogie clone with its own sound. It certainly isn't the best sounding amp, but for the used price it's totally worth it.

[@RyanFrost-uz3xe]

I bought 4 of them at Namm, great amp.

[@hardstones17]

Really eyeballing one of these but the ONLY concern I would have is long-term maintenance of it. I would really want to see a gutshot of the components and layout before I pulled the trigger so I could at least have confidence a tech would be able to repair it, unlike a Mesa Boogie and those being refused by like 95% of techs out there. And as of now no one in Canada has an authorized repairman or dealer for these, and finding a tech in Canada that is reputable is hard enough. I actually like the fact the MIDI box is external, less to go wrong within the amp itself and can easily be replaced.

[@christopherstorrier5560]

Kool amp...sounds good, a lot of versatility but yet you can get a very good quality tube tone whether clean, drive or overdrive along with 4 chanells & everything you should ever need, you get a lot in 1 amp.....impressed

[@TorvickZeBerzerk]

I love the look of the amp

[@nonsuch]

Nice. I love it! Although it sucks for me, I can see why it's so expensive. Maybe I can pick one up used in a few years.

[@petegaslondon]

Oh wow.. "Best Amp.."? Now THAT'S a challenge!! Its VERY nice ;)

[@allanallan4791]

Woo hoo rocking the Hufschmid.

[@emptychair3932]

very cool! i’m curious to hear how the power amp reacts to being pushed. the preamps sound awesome.

[@WarriorOfGhengisKhan]

Heads up! I just looked on their website and I don't think that footswitch is the one they're using now.

[@cigarettesmokingman9471]

I need to see its guts to see the build philosophy and quality. Just judging from the outside that will be a nightmare to fix when it needs fixing, and it will need fixing. Will you be able to source those nice neat buttons when one cracks? Are the consumable parts easy to access and change? I've never seen an amp with that many features, especially in such a compact size, that doesn't have some serious pitfalls. Just my experience.

[@topfacemod]

KDH, I dig the o'naturale iceman woody!

[@TearsOffMusic-k7f]

Amazing amp 🎸🤟🥁🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🗝️

[@The_blue_Manc]

Sounds great. All I need to do is sell my left leg and kidneys and I'll be able to afford it

[@deadSalesman_GD]

Why do I feel like I’ve seen this exact video before? What sort of weird déjà vu am I experiencing? Is this a reupload?

[@jmerriman1837]

I really like what I see and hear, but not enough to spend $3,000+ (USD). Then again, I am not a professional recording artist. Great piece of kit, for sure.

[@FelixSalazar]

Would it make sense to have combo jacks XLR/TRS on this type of amp?

[@1337million]

Waiting for the PC and guitar worlds to merge; Watercooled amplifiers!

[@GuitarQuackery]

I dig this rustic guitar.

[@GuitarQuackery]

How long before we see a $300 version of this amp listed on Ali Express, LOL?

[@miserychannel69]

HELL YA .. I want one of these .. sooo bad. I'd even be down for a pre amp or 'stripped' down version .. 2 channels and even sans power amp.

[@luisbarrera5740]

One of the few amps where the price to function ratio is actually justified

[@Lordbaccus]

I am ONLY 1/2 way through this review & I NEED to win the Lottery so I can get and of these ASAP

[@Lenser]

Big sigh of relief from Chapman

[@beautifulguitars3158]

😂😂😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@crock2434]

Its got fender cleans,marshall crunch,and mesa high gain😮

[@rguitar78]

Was this review a year in the making?

[@KDH]

6 months

[@ilmisxx2]

It's a cool amp for sure and if the 80s racks come back this will be the bees knees but we live in a time of abundance when it comes to guitar gear, it's really hard to wow players with new amps and we have pretty much every iteration of gain structure possible. To me this amp sounds really modern and stiff, there is very little sag and sponginess, sounds very hi-fi, but that's a matter of taste of course. What makes this amp a tough sell/tough buy is the fact that it's quite pricey for what it does, the gigging pro's value reliability and ease of repair and need redundancy of some sort. Having 2 of those is not really achievable for most working guitarists because it's so costly and the brand is relatively unknown. Is it the best amp ever? Probably not. Can it be the only amp you own? Yea, if you play a certain type of music. Could it be my only amp? No, for the cost of this I can get several "legendary" amps and have all bases covered when it comes to gigging or sessionearing and the types of tones someone doing that job is expected to have access to.

[@iamthew1zard]

5:32 POV: you are staring at a fancy guitar amp

[@menschlicheswesen84]

Yeah, i was wondering about that one too...🤔

[@methanedirigible]

⁠@@menschlicheswesen845:32 POV: You are drunk and trying to get ham out of the fridge.

[@satanbane]

Seems very similar in a number of ways to the Mesa Mark VII. In terms of physical layout as well as features. Except, only a global presence knob, and no graphic EQ, 4 channels instead of 3, etc.; but surely the designers have seen the Mark VII. The LEDs are prettier, I'll say that!

[@aquaxbat]

Finally

[@Petey04]

Really think its better than the Hughes and Kettner stuff?

[@alexdenton6586]

All we need is a simple Line 6 Catalyst CX That’s all

[@HotPink90sSun]

Is the entire multitrack done why our Zuta?

[@KDH]

all the guitar tones in this video are done with the Zuta including the opening track

[@bryandraughn9830]

Dam . Nice.

[@adiohead]

Get three of these and run a wet/dry/wet setup.

[@SidWalter]

$4k??? where is it made? just says "manufactured by zuta sweden" but not "made in sweden" my 1995 peavey 5150 script was $900 made in USA. I dont see a world where RACK UNIT should be $3999. the price just doesnt seem right. IMO its got that cheap light up Lekato multi effects pedal look. other than those things i really like this amp and the review! not trying to hate too much! Cheers from Oregon, USA.

[@vaughanmacegan4012]

It sounds really good, exceptional with those FX you are using, but, put simply in Australia is just too expensive for me. If you can afford it good on you I'm sure you would be happy with it and have a lot of fun, it covers a 'lot' of territory, 4 channels plus solo, come on, man, it makes every other amp seem substandard by comparison and seems really functional. But it just not made with me in mind..

[@westoncwhited]

@KDH what's thoughts on Will Adler's Fishman Fluence Pickups?

[@AdamTheGuitarist]

Man do I love technology

[@MrLeavemikealone]

Can you fix it when it breaks? Nope!

[@a-nus]

I've come to realize over the years that and amp just needs a good clean and a good drive. Everything else is marketing

[@emptychair3932]

this amp has both. it even has several good drives.

[@nekkon1989]

My Fender Bassbreaker 30r is happy now 😊

[@castleanthrax1833]

If that's all you want, that's fine. Other people want more. Features on an amp aren't "marketing." Marketing is what is used to sell the amp, including the amp that just has a good clean and a good drive.

[@a-nus]

@@castleanthrax1833 features on an amp are little checks that bean counters can cross off in their marketing spiel, the only thing that matters is does it sound good, is it priced fairly and is it reliable. anything else is ancillary

[@martijn_yt]

A good clean, a good drive, a good solo and a good effect loop (then I agree that the rest is marketing ;))

[@TheVirakahScale]

Zuta is such a fun name, haha.

[@menschlicheswesen84]

I bet it mean's cunt in a forign language...😊

[@jayocallaghan3385]

Nearly €5,000? You've been bought. FFS.

[@beautifulguitars3158]

😂😂😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@mrcoatsworth429]

It looks and sounds awesome. But it does waaay more than I need, even if I could afford it.

For me, the lack of internal MIDI at that price point is unacceptable. I despise companies that use proprietary technology when there is already an industry standard alternative. It is a blatant money grab, and it should not be encouraged. Even the "xlr cables are easier to buy" argument does not hold since MIDI jack sockets became more and more common.

[@christianutter5383]

Doesn't matter if it has all the versatility in the world if none of the sounds excite you.

[@zackarysmith2222]

Cry about it

[@kesamek8537]

If it was in preamp from for $349 they would be everywhere.

[@EvilHomer1973]

Dont let Glenn Fricker know about that EL34/6L6 thing because he says there is no difference.

[@Johnnybananass-_]

killer amp an Australian company tried doing this about 15 yrs ago it was like a modelling amp but all tube and analogue, . guitar sounds out of tune on a string in the intro , ,,,

[@DOUBLETHEFIST]

Do you remember the brand?

[@godsinbox]

If you go to the website, it is 6686 euro delivered.

[@ewanbyrne]

For 4,500 quid it would want to be another band member

[@beautifulguitars3158]

😂😂😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@QuikdethDeviantart]

Someday perhaps. That thing cost more than I paid for my (used) car…

[@CaptainCraigKWMRZ]

Weight?

[@PuRe_AdDicT]

Your videos and playing are great man, but there’s just no excuse for playing out of tune. Enjoy the amp.

[@chrisosborneband4941]

Great amp...Mesa did this long ago with the Road King though

[@Metaldad87]

11:44 i dont need no doctor?

[@beautifulguitars3158]

😂😂😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@LordLarryWho]

Ummm, that Iceman at the beginning. I'm not one to rag on other people's gear, but, did you buy it like that or was it a "look what I made out of an old pallet" project?

[@topfacemod]

You're entitled to your opinion. That said this particular opinion is ish. lol just ribbing dude. Peace

[@LordLarryWho]

@@topfacemod That's why I posed it as a question.

[@menschlicheswesen84]

He has a video about this guitar... It's a hufschmied from austria and the front of it is made from a 100 year's old barn door that was out in the elements... As boutique as it get's...

[@Climate_Nexus]

​@@menschlicheswesen84You mean it's a Hufschmid from Switzerland, not Austria.... 🙄

[@menschlicheswesen84]

@Climate_Nexus ups...

[@PearHellforge]

noctua in an amp. this thing means business.

[@kalisilot6010]

Pretty badass too rich for my blood I can barely afford are triple rectifier

[@BluesB0x]

Love your channel but that intro jam was so out of tune I had to skip

[@paniccleo]

I like the concept, but I'm sad to say that in all the times I've heard the Zuta on this channel I've never liked a tone from it. It's always brittle and spitty to my ears.

[@altemu]

the absence of midi port is unacceptable

[@ltgray2780]

OTAY? Things are getting quite out of hand.

[@TrashM0nk95]

You should have told us you were using the captor x from the beginning. that piece of gear sounds too good to have any idea what this thing actually sounds like. Any amp is gonna sound good through that 4x12 IR. having 4 different gate buttons is just bad design. Not being able to change the gate settings is truly atrocious work. in the studio... I'm cutting bass and boosting the top with a high quality eq pedal or more likely in the DAW after the take so the stupid guitarist doesn't flip out about where his bass is, so that's useless. what is the warranty on this? how would anyone get it fixed in the US? conveniently only showing the gain boost when the gain is at half or less is...super useful thanks. external midi at this price??? insane. I think getting this sent to you for free, or as payment for this advertising is hurting your ability to be unbiased.

[@Erich823]

Does not have enough gain for what it is.

[@nonamejustbecause-b9k]

There it is...the reason why your video sounds so blown in the speaker department...your IR sucks....demo this amp through speakers and then post it...I am done...(THE SECOND you say IR)

[@cucumbermelon6166]

It’s just not realistic. Yes it sounds great. BUT (especially in a local gig love setting), it would be hard for any normal (non music junkie fan) to hear the difference between this and a katana.

[@erlandjohansen7195]

This is clearly a studio tool, how it compares in a local gig setting is fairly irrelevant

[@cucumbermelon6166]

@ OH!! Well with that being said, that definitely justifies $4000! 😂😂

[@2204JCM]

The amp has to sound great first and foremost. Everything else is secondary.

[@TractorMonkeywithJL]

Cool amp, but I think channel 4 is my least favorite.

[@CapstoneTider]

It sounds like my Peavey

[@NukeClock]

I see theyve taken the ENGL 570, which was ripped out of its amp, worked over what they liked and build a new amp around it. Seem legit. If you got the 570, you wouldnt need this one. If you dont, the Zuta seems like one hell of a dream head. Albeit, Id want double the gain for that pricerange. Just because.