‘Lunchbox’ Amplifiers – Turning Sales Up to 10
Offering genuine tube amp tone in a package – and at a price – more appropriate to many guitarists and bands not playing in mega-arenas throughout the world, micro- or “lunchbox” (some truly hate that term…) amps have really taken off over the past decade. These little guys are versatile units, which have in some cases gone on to exceed their manufacturer’s expected usage, and are now a regular sight on club and even stadium stages everywhere (Hey, if you have a PA and you’ve got " a mic on the guitar rig, who says you need a 100 watt fullstack?).
​Lunchbox amps do, however, also serve as entry points to further sales for MI stores – they’re “gateway drug” amps as Alex Auxier of Orange Amps calls them. So you’ve got a hot-selling, reasonably priced quality product that virtually guarantees some degree of step-up sales down the road.Sounds like a winner, no? MMR recently spoke with a few of the big names in this sub-category of guitar amplification to get their thoughts on the upsides – for players, dealers, and suppliers – of lunchbox amps, as well as any potential downsides and future trends.
Tim Marshall
Marketing Manager Yorkville Sound
Our first real “lunchbox” amp was the Traynor DarkHorse (DH15H), which launched in the fall of 2009. The bigger " 40-watt IronHorse (DH40H) followed in the summer of 2010. The most unique product we offer is the 25 watt solid-state DH25H “Stompbox” amp that we call the QuarterHorse, which also came out in Fall 2009. It was a completely unique design, and an interesting product opportunity that just appeared in our design lab with one of our younger and more innovative engineers.
In the case of our QuarterHorse, they’re selling to anyone who owns a head and cabinet of any description that’s looking for a back-up “head,” or a really quick convenient rehearsal amp. It’s a 25-watt two-channel head with reverb & effects that will literally fit in your gig bag and can be a lifesaver. For the rest of the more traditional heads, they’re selling to anyone and everyone that realizes they don’t need huge p ower a nymore – players who " want great tone and more manageable stage volumes, people who don’t have room in the rehearsal hall, studio or ride to the gig for a 4×12 and a full-sized head. Typically a lunchbox head is all about tone over volume, as well. They’re the amp of choice for tone-monsters.
I don’t think there is a downside to lunchbox heads. They’re typically affordable, so they have a wider sales opportunity than a much " higher priced traditional 50 or 100-watt head. They fit an obvious niche with players looking for tone with more controlled volume for stage or studio.
But they don’t fill all needs either. I think they’re an entry point into the market for some players to build brand loyalty before they do step up to the 50 or 100- watt heads that we offer – if they do find they need the volume. I think there are a lot of players who own both a traditional head and a lunchbox head for different applications, but truthfully I think they sell to a consumer who in a lot of cases wouldn’t be buying any head if it wasn’t for the compelling story (features, price, size, tone) that the lunchbox amps provide.
There are more and more manufacturers venturing into this market. Some companies like Hughes & Kettner are introducing combo versions of the lunchbox heads. That seems like a great idea – offering the same feature sets and benefits of a small head in a combo for people who just aren’t going to go and buy a cab, too.
I think you’ll see more companies skewing the designs to favor the home recording market – much like the Hughes & Kettner TubeMeister product with the XLR direct out and power soaks that allow silent direct recording with the tube tone. There are so many home recording guys out there who are dying for better tone options than plug-ins or modeling products, but who are in apartments, bedroom studios or have kids sleeping somewhere else in the house when they want to record.
Amps that fill that market are going to be the big winners.
We already see that distributing the TubeMeister product in North America.
Alex Auxier
Marketing/US Artist Relations Orange Music Electronic Co. Ltd.
Orange released what many consider the first “lunchbox” amplifier (I personally hate that word, by the way), the Tiny Terror guitar head, in 2005. It was a total game-changer for us. We’ve expanded the line " into combos, dual channel heads, and bass heads. We even used the Terror range to launch our first-ever signature amp, a guitar head endorsed by Jim Root of Slipknot and Stone Sour fame.
If you make a low wattage, more cost-effective h ead ( that s till s hreds), w hy wouldn’t people buy it? The reason I hate using the word “lunchbox” when referring to these amps is the connotation. If you add the word “lunchbox” to any product, you’re automatically debasing it because you’re equating it with something gimmicky.
Instead of thinking of it as a gimmick, players are beginning to understand that just because an amp isn’t $1,000 or more and can be carried onto a plane, that doesn’t mean it isn’t an amp you can gig and record with full-time. I put Ryan Waters (Sade) out on a two-year arena tour with only a Dual Terror and a PPC410 cab and he found every tone he needed in that package. He also didn’t have to change the t ubes even once. A lthough i f he had needed to, it would have been as simple as 34 MMR APRIL 2013 taking out some screws and putting " new tubes in since our Terror amps don’t need to be re-biased.
Our Terror range often becomes a “gateway drug” for guitar players.
There’s no question that they lead to future purchases. If I’m a dealer, I seize the opportunity. Not every amp manufacturer is making a full range of amps, from solid-state practice combos to 30- watt hybrid heads to 200-watt all-tube multi-channel beasts. Those manufacturers that are can stay profitable, and even grow, in a recession. Orange has succeeded in accomplishing growth. We owe that all to our dealers seizing their opportunity.
The trend is that everyone is building [these types of amps] now. Seriously though, a couple of manufacturers have begun to include digital modeling and USB outputs. I don’t think that’s a bad idea at all. I’m not excited about the tone you get from those amps, though.
If Orange ever did something like that it would have to be done extremely well.
Our fan base isn’t really into digital modeling.
They’re buying our smaller amps because they want true tube tone.
One day, in the near (nearer than we’d like) future, a band will consist of only five dudes standing on stage with sticks that they “think really hard towards” in order to generate noise. In almost all of the collective world’s endeavors throughout the entirety of history, we have tried to make things smaller.
Why stop now?
Loren Molinare
Product Manager Blackstar U.S.
Our popular HT-1 and HT-5 tube amp series have been around for a few years, now (HT-5 launched in 2009 and HT-1 launched in 2010). First " starting with the awardwinning HT-5 series, then as the even more compact 1-Watt, HT-1 series.
In this particular case, we’re offering high quality tube tone in a compact, portable practice amp that sits at a great price point for beginners.
In fact, you can also use it to record direct or recording at low volume, so these types of amps offer versatility, and they won’t break your back or your wallet.
The goal, of course, is that when guitarists are ready to step up to playing larger gigs and they need more power, they will have had a good experience with their practice amp and will hopefully stay within the same brand of amps.
But don’t forget that sometimes established guitarists are in the market for a smaller practice amp because the notion of carrying around their 60 or 100 " watt amp from the studio to gigs and back home isn’t appealing, so those guys are also “stepping down” to these lunchbox amps. It sometimes works both ways, especially with Blackstar, since the design of the HT5R and HT1R helps them to sound like miniature versions of the higher wattage models with lots of gain and massive tone.
Since we just launched our Ltd. Edition Arctic White versions of these amps, we’re hoping this trend continues for a while! But seriously, I think there’s always a market for this type of product, especially amongst younger players who are living in a world where the size of everything is shrinking – from computers to video cameras and music players – so they are not of the mindset that you need to have a full amp stack behind you at all times to sound good.
Frank Facciolo
Electronics Merchandiser/Asst Acoustic Guitar Merchandiser Ibanez/Hoshino USA
Ibanez got involved with lunchbox amps in 2011. We saw a trend of people moving towards smaller and smaller amps. At the same time we were looking for a way to incorporate our legendary Tube Screamer circuit into our amp line. The two came together perfectly and the TSA15H was born.
I think two different groups of people are buying. Due to the general price points these amps live in, they make great amps for young people looking to step out of the DSP realm and into a tube amp. The other [group is made up of] working musicians who are looking for something " small they can practice and also record with. I think consumers are smarter than ever due to the amount of information available to them through the Internet. The days of people buying 100-watt stacks to play in their room or in small clubs are over.
They realize now there is no point in using a 100- watt amp if you can only turn it to 3. Lunchbox amps pack plenty of volume for most people’s needs and sound great because they force you to turn them up resulting in that real tube sound.
In case of the working musician I feel these amps just provide additional business.
With the younger generation, though, I feel it should definitely lead to future setup business. One downside, if you can really call it that, is you can only pack so many features into these small boxes. This limits the functionality of these amps, which is a good thing for some and a bad thing for others. Those looking for more will step up to the next level when ready.
You are starting to see companies add DSP effects. I expect to see more hybrids in the future to meet the needs of the younger generation. I don’t see this category going anywhere anytime soon because they are so practical. They address needs that musicians of all levels have.
Armando Vega,
Product Manager – Guitars Yamaha Corporation of America
Yamaha Guitars launched the THR Series of amplifiers at Winter NAMM 2012, which was our official " entry into the “micro” amplifier market.
Most music gear enthusiasts know that Yamaha is fully capable of designing a guitar modeling amplifier and effects processor that sounds great with tons of cutting edge technology. That is pretty much a no-brainer, a nd t he T HR l ine of amplifiers is no exception. But what truly separates these amps from all the current micro amps are the following:
1. Hi-fi Stereo Playback that perfectly blends music/audio with your guitar sounds (via USB or Aux) in play-along mode or for just listening and enjoying music
2. “Near Zero” latency from an exceptional Guitar Recording Interface ( Cubase A I6 D AW s oftware included)
3. A Modern Retro Aesthetic: this amp looks so cool that you never have to put it away, it doesn’t look like a mini-version of your live amp rig, and it looks perfectly fine in a bedroom, office, living room, dorm room, kitchen, etc.
4. The ability to Slow Down Audio for the purpose of learning complicated passages in play-along mode (via THR Sessions App) We find that our customers vary from the student/novice to the working professional touring musician. Especially now that we have the new models that are helping to expand our customer base: THR10X (high-gain modern), THR10C (classic hand-wired boutique), THR5A (acoustic mic modeling).
I would have to say the only limitations that come to mind [with these types of amps] are channel-switching possibilities when the amp is " taken into the performance environment. A lot of THR enthusiasts are so thrilled with the sounds they are getting from these units at home that they want to translate that into the live arena. Which is interesting because this unit was originally designed to go everywhere you go, except the concert stage. Not a bad problem to have… especially for the future development of this amplifier line.
The THR amps will definitely lead to step-up opportunities and repeat business.
No bones about it, this product is a useful tool that helps you improve as a guitarist (acoustic players and bassists included) and inspires you to play more.
That is good for the guitar business through and through.
What we are still seeing is the further creation of miniature versions of the usual live rigs… this is not really our direction.
Also pricing can be a bit of challenge in the micro amp market – some of these other small amps don’t really carry a smaller price. This is thing that rules about the THR series – they’re an amazing product that doesn’t completely crush your gear budget.
I believe that this category still has a lot of room to grow, in years to come.
Compact multi-tasking solutions are a huge part of the world we live in; this will translate into amp strategies as well.
For active gigging/touring musicians, the perfect situation would be to have a killer realistic sounding interface that you can plug into any PA and get all your studio sounds, without the need for huge speaker cabinets, all in one universal lightweight package. I think we could all be a few steps closer to this dream.
Price Harrison
P3 Amplifiers
We introduced our “Squarehead” 8-watt amp in 2012. It is a hand-wired, point-to-point recording amp that has a line out if you want to run bass or " keys through a tube device before going in to a DAW. [P3 also offers the Sonic Action 20-watt head, which fits within the broad parameters of the “lunchbox” category –Ed.] I suppose size is the big attraction. If you don’t need the power our little amp delivers a super analog circuit path.
Mostly guitarists who record at home [are interested in our Squarehead amp].
There " are no limitations, really. You can use the Squarehead as a super high quality front end to a power amp. It is definitely a “gateway” to a bigger P3 amp! The trend I would like to see is more US manufactured hand-wired amps that are designed to be repaired infinitely.
Most of the mass produced amps sound terrible.
