Lunchbox reverb finally used (kind of) in anger

[hemingway]

So almost 2 years ago I bought what must have been one of the first Lunchbox Reverbs to get off the landing craft at Dover.

It then sat in my living room until a few weeks ago.

I occasionally used it, but frankly at low volume in a domestic setting, it sounded . . . meh. Indeed, I've read a few reports of people being unimpressed when using these amps at home. "Sounds like a toilet", said one reviewer.

I really hoped that this would improve once I got the chance to open it up a little.

And finally, in the last few weeks I've been rehearsing with a band - still at pretty low volume, with electric drums, and sometimes no drums - but it really does sound pretty good once it's allowed to get above neighbour-friendly volume.

The rest of the band have even commented on how good it sounds. I still have no idea how loud it goes, as I haven't had a chance to really turn it up. But if the results so far are anything to go by, I'm hopeful that this tiny little thing will become my default gigging amp, and I will be done with lugging big boxes forever.

 

[Refugee]

I had a Club 12 and it would hang pretty well with a full band. It's rated at 200W, but I think it's more like 50W. At lear, it runs out of headroom and is about as loud as a 50W'er doing the same. It was loud, compact, 200W and only weighed 17lbs or so. I thought it sounded kinda boring though. Luckily, I had an Ethos pedal to use as a preamp. All of a sudden it turned into a screaming little Dumble amp! Seriously, that combination worked great. But, over time I needed money and sold it. Then they stopped making the 12" speaker version, and I picked up a Two Rock, and that was the end of that. I think they scream for how cheap they are.

 

[hemingway]

I had a Club 12 and it would hang pretty well with a full band. It's rated at 200W, but I think it's more like 50W. At lear, it runs out of headroom and is about as loud as a 50W'er doing the same. It was loud, compact, 200W and only weighed 17lbs or so. I thought it sounded kinda boring though. Luckily, I had an Ethos pedal to use as a preamp. All of a sudden it turned into a screaming little Dumble amp! Seriously, that combination worked great. But, over time I needed money and sold it. Then they stopped making the 12" speaker version, and I picked up a Two Rock, and that was the end of that. I think they scream for how cheap they are.

Yes, a pedal or two in front of the Lunchbox works wonders, too.

 

[frank a]

I have the club version and I really like it. I use it when I don’t want to click on the Mesa.

 

[stormsedge]

It is almost like a HNAD!

 

[middy]

I wish there were more demos. It’s almost like they don’t want to sell them.

 

[hemingway]

I wish there were more demos. It’s almost like they don’t want to sell them.

I think it's a very small company. I emailed them back when I was trying to get hold of one early in the pandemic and got friendly personal replies from the boss.

 

[middy]

I think it's a very small company. I emailed them back when I was trying to get hold of one early in the pandemic and got friendly personal replies from the boss.

Surely they know someone who can play the guitar?

 

[FMA]

I have a non-reverb Lunchbox that resides in the back of my Jeep, a backup for gigs or just to have handy, just in case. Never had to use it as a backup, until last week when the other guitarist's amp went south during a gig. Pulled out the Lunchbox and it saved the day. Sounded pretty good at gig volume. Handy little amp.

 

[11 Gauge]

Surely they know someone who can play the guitar?

I bet that someone who can play guitar isn't the issue. It's probably more along the lines of having the right gear to record and process the video/audio, so that it properly represents the amp. And along with that gear comes the time needed to make something that sounds good - a really small company might not have the bandwidth to sink such time into that.

And farming that out to a demo person can potentially get kind of expensive rather quickly. If the company is indeed very small, they're probably going to want to put that money to something else.

 

[middy]

Marketing can be the best place to put your money. It’s almost like they don’t want to sell any.

 

[brookdalebill]

So almost 2 years ago I bought what must have been one of the first Lunchbox Reverbs to get off the landing craft at Dover.

It then sat in my living room until a few weeks ago.

I occasionally used it, but frankly at low volume in a domestic setting, it sounded . . . meh. Indeed, I've read a few reports of people being unimpressed when using these amps at home. "Sounds like a toilet", said one reviewer.

I really hoped that this would improve once I got the chance to open it up a little.

And finally, in the last few weeks I've been rehearsing with a band - still at pretty low volume, with electric drums, and sometimes no drums - but it really does sound pretty good once it's allowed to get above neighbour-friendly volume.

The rest of the band have even commented on how good it sounds. I still have no idea how loud it goes, as I haven't had a chance to really turn it up. But if the results so far are anything to go by, I'm hopeful that this tiny little thing will become my default gigging amp, and I will be done with lugging big boxes forever.

Interesting!
I was curious about them when they were new.
A friend bought one, and let me use it at a rehearsal.
I literally despised it, and could not dial it in.
It was the most sterile, non-musical sounding amp I’d ever experienced.
The “wrapping” on it seemed kinda loose on it, too.
I thought maybe it was just “me”.
Anyways, I never looked back.
I was initially charmed by the prospect of a small but mighty amp.
What kind of music were you playing?

 

[hemingway]

Interesting!
I was curious about them when they were new.
A friend bought one, and let me use it at a rehearsal.
I literally despised it, and could not dial it in.
It was the most sterile, non-musical sounding amp I’d ever experienced.
The “wrapping” on it seemed kinda loose on it, too.
I thought maybe it was just “me”.
Anyways, I never looked back.
I was initially charmed by the prospect of a small but mighty amp.
What kind of music were you playing?

It's just a covers band, stuff from all eras. It cuts through the mix and does a job. Admittedly there's not much chance in that band to sound too "musical". If I want great tone at home I use something else.