Hotone Nano Legacy amps - same power section across the line?

[KevinInPMtn]

I bought a Hotone ThunderBass and a busted Fender Rumble 40 (used as a passive cabinet) for a cheap bass solution to goof around with. It has served that purpose well and is as loud as I need.

I recently landed a fairly cheap Fender Mustang Floor DSP which has been fun through headphones and also sounds decent through the Hotone's effects return line. This setup has caused me to wonder if the Hotone amps are all the same in the power section (inlcuding the "bass" amp). It actually delivers clean guitar tones with decent authority. If they share the same power amp then there is no gain in getting a Hotone nano that is guitar-spec'ed. The HT amp is the only one I have with an effects loop.

So, if any of you have a collection of HT Nano amps that includes a ThunderBass, could you compare them back to back using the fx return as an input?

As a side note, I am also considering adding an effects loop to a recently acquired Vox AD50VT. It has a bunch of effects and models but not as flexible as the Fender unit.

 

[radiocaster]

Can't answer your question, but I've tried the Thunder Bass set clean through the front with pedals, and it sounds awesome.

 

[Tim S]

It’s the same 5 watts as the other Hotone Nano Legacy heads according to this

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I guess the ThunderBass is supposed to emulate an Ampeg SVT. I read somewhere that the power amp chip is he same one used in car audio (Class AB) and is capable of higher wattage with the correct circuitry.

I think some of the models can be had for under $60 new. This discontinued high-gain models can be found on EBay cheap (there’s virtual no clean sound in them, but their dirty sounds are great).

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A couple of months ago, the original models were sold for $50-something directly from Hotone, but they are asking $99 for them again (so look elsewhere for discount prices)

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[Blrfl]

It's a good bet that they're the same across models. I wouldn't be surprised if the PA is one from ST a Micro's TDA family. Those things are everywhere.

 

[Tim S]

It's a good bet that they're the same across models. I wouldn't be surprised if the PA is one from ST a Micro's TDA family. Those things are everywhere.

This is where I read about the power amp chip being a TDA2003…

Some Hotone Nano Legacy Amp questions

so MV50 AC sounds like a real AC30 by using the NU-TUBE? are they going to be massive? I mean, the Nutube, as a general component for replacing the traditional Vacuum Tubes

www.thegearpage.net

 

[Blrfl]

This is where I read about the power amp chip being a TDA2003…

Some Hotone Nano Legacy Amp questions

so MV50 AC sounds like a real AC30 by using the NU-TUBE? are they going to be massive? I mean, the Nutube, as a general component for replacing the traditional Vacuum Tubes

www.thegearpage.net

That seems like the right part for the job.

Also seems to me that if the Nanos are that good (haven't tried one), the radio in my car has more mojo than I thought it did.

 

[KevinInPMtn]

I paid just over $50 for mine off Ebay. I went back to get a guitar counterpart and the prices had jumped by $20-30.

I'll keep using my bass amp as I have been until there is some evidence that its power section is bass-centric.

So now the question may be how to modify to get the extra power if it is running the TDA power amp.

 

[Blrfl]

So now the question may be how to modify to get the extra power if it is running the TDA power amp.

I'd say not worth the trouble. It's not the same part in the Katana or a long list of other products; you might get another five or six watts out of it.

 

[KevinInPMtn]

Yeah, I'm not likely to open it up. It already does what it needs to do anyway. I wonder if that is the real explanation for what I have read about "auto-sensing" the impedance.

 

[Blrfl]

Yeah, I'm not likely to open it up. It already does what it needs to do anyway. I wonder if that is the real explanation for what I have read about "auto-sensing" the impedance.

It's a solid-state, direct-output amplifier designed for the most power at the lowest impedance. Higher impedances just end up with fewer watts and there's nothing that senses the difference. It's just physics at work.