Hotone Ampero Amp Modeler & Effects Processor

The wonderful world of multi-effects has had quite a resurgence in the last couple of years, with bigger, more powerful machines that actually sound incredible being put on the market. With all of these fantastic sounds and options available, there’s also been a considerable price hike in these effects units, too, making it hard for those on a lower budget to even be able to test them out, to see if it’s a good fit for their style of play. The folks at Hotone have come up with an extremely reasonably priced multi-effect that fits the bill for what most guitarists need, all in a nice-sized package stuffed to the brim with options. Here is the Ampero Amp Modeler and Effects Processor…

Right away, your eye goes right to the display screen, which can be manipulated via the array of knobs present, OR with your finger, as it is a touch screen as well. Here, you select different effects, edit patches, make tonal adjustments and more. The large Menu knob changes menus and adjusts parameters on the screen, while the other large knob, Volume, sets the level for all output connections. Three Quick Access knobs directly underneath the screen let you set the parameters on the fly, and you can even ensure your settings won’t accidentally get switched by using the Screen Lock Button.

Four footswitches adorn the bottom section of the Ampero, and they’re used to scroll through presets, set tap tempo for delays and other effects, change patches and more. This beast can handle up to NINE effect modules at once, there’s a built-in looper for practice or jamming on stage, and even a drum machine for help with your one-man (or woman) band production. Pressing and holding Footswitch 3 will get you into silent tuning mode, too, taking yet another piece of gear off of your pedalboard. The built-in Expression Pedal can be used as a volume pedal or to control different parameters of different effects. You can even plug in another external expression pedal via 1/4″ TRS jack on the back panel.

Speaking of the back panel, it features a slurry of connectivity options, for any musical situation. The main Input is a 1/4″ mono, and can be selected to handle Electric or Acoustic instruments, or Line to handle keyboards or synthesizers. Two XLR balanced outputs let you easily connect in Mono or Stereo to a mixer or audio interface, and there’s a Ground Lift switch, two 1/8″ jacks for Aux In and Headphones, a USB jack and even a 5-pin MIDI connector. This impressive list of connectivity allows the Ampero to work perfectly in any situation, live or in the studio.

Now onto the effects themselves – Hotone has crammed any and every effect you could think of into this thing, and you can manipulate them all as you see fit. From overdrive to delay to modulation to wah to compression and much, much more, the combinations here are truly endless. Plus, you can mix and match them in the presets, as well as select from numerous amp modelers, ranging from Matchless to Mesa to Bogner to Fender to Vox and on and on, giving you extremely distinct tones, basically at the touch of a button.

We tried to capture as much as we could into the demo video below, but this is such an expansive unit, so full of choices, that to go through them all would be a hours-long video – check it out to see some of the sonic prowess the Ampero brings to the table, then grab one for yourself and cancel any plans you have for the next month or two while you delve into what it can do. Cheers to the tireless crew at Hotone for a wonderfully user-friendly, option-filled, multi-effects and amp modeling unit that rivals the sounds of the bigger guys, at a fraction of the cost. Be sure to check out their website for more details and effects – cheers!