Valeton RH-100 Rushead Max - USB Chargable Portable Pocket Guitar Bass Headphone Amp Carry-On Bedroom Plug-In Multi-Effects

First impression: this thing is SMALL! Comparing it to my older Joyo English Channel headphone amp it's actually slightly larger, but these amps are still absolutely pocket-sized and the Valeton has many more features.It's powered by a rechargeable battery and the box includes a short USB cable in case you haven't got one. I've had several devices with a Micro USB socket before, so you too may well already possess a longer one. Switching it on I was immediately pleased to see it was supplied fully charged.Next I was also pleased to find the knobs have markers to show their settings and have the translucent, slightly squishy rings around them which are a distinctive feature of Sonicake & Valeton products and which I really like the feel of. More practical than the Joyo's "buried" controls which have no markers.The knobs are well laid out, with first the basic Level and Tone, then the three effects, each with their corresponding mode switch under them.Now for the sound test!Clean channel: Gain vs. Level doesn't make a lot of difference - I assume this is because there's no distortion circuit on this channel. However at high levels of the Level control, or with the Gain turned up full and medium Level, you can get some crunch which is quite reasonable for a tiny transistor amp. This is impressive because the crunch of an overdriven Clean channel is often missed out of the list with small amps. The Tone control is very well calibrated for Clean, from not too muffled to not too crisp! Only a tiny amount of hum and fizz, almost inaudible.Overdrive channel: A pretty usable roar, again the Tone control gives some usable adjustment. The Gain knob functions more as a sag control than changing the amount of distortion. Hiss and fizz appear when you're not playing but are no worse than the average "real" amp.Distortion channel: Heavy modern fuzz with sustain and a distinct octave overtone. Good for practicing sustain lead but rather spitty suggesting the amp is hitting a hard limit - it may be set up slightly too distorted. As with the Overdrive channel, Gain and Level produce a very similar effect, just emphasising a slightly different range of mid frequencies. Definite hum in the background, like a real high-gain amp (in fact I'd say not as bad) but only audible when not playing.Delay: clean but with a substantial hi-cut, which is sensible since there's no Depth or Feedback controls - the knob controls Time, which goes all the way down to 0 so you can dial up your favourite slapback delay, and up to about 2/3 second. Well chosen values again!Reverb: hard to be sure but sounds like the knob controls the length of the tail (again starting from zero), which seems to start quiet and build to a peak, then at the longest setting there's a smoothed repeat. Someone's really put some thought into these single-knob effects! I'd characterise it as Small Hall.Delay+Reverb: the Delay repeats sound modulated by the Reverb, suggesting that the Reverb is applied first. Quite a cool special effect at the maximum setting where it makes the repeats sound like an organ rather than your guitar.Chorus: starts from zero, seems to begin by blending the chorused signal into the clean, and then increases the sweep speed - just from slow to medium, no silly wobbles at maximum.Tremolo: similarly to Chorus it seems to start by blending in, then increases speed (and depth too, it sounds like). Another usable range!Flanger: blends in, then definitely increases depth as well as speed - this one's lower range is nicely Electric Mistress-y, the higher range is a bit wild.Combining effects reveals some quite Gothic possibilities!All in all, a great improvement on the headphone guitar amps of only a couple of years ago - much more versatile, more pleasant sounding, lower noise and incredible value for money. And the USB charging means it's more practical for a long train journey than my old one's AAA batteries.

Excellent at the price, way better than the Vox one I've had before, and it's rechargeableSound is good and loud, effects clearly marked (no endless tiny button pushes)Buttons on the top are easy to use and actually have a range of volume and effectsLine in works well and with good volume range. Clean and overdriven channels have decent toneBe aware it's fixed plug at 90 degrees to the unit, but it did fit my traditional strat jack

I'd been looking for a headphone amp for some time and was pleased when I found the RH-100 Rushead Max. Even better, it has some effects built in.Build quality is good - it's a robust item and will bounce rather than shatter if dropped. The switches and dials are tiny, but okay to manipulate. After all, it's not like I'll be gigging with the thing, so I won't need to switch settings in a hurry.The amp sounds are varied and convincing, from clean through crunchy and all the way to chainsaw. Something for everyone.The effects are pleasing and have just enough variability in them to do what I need. You could ask for more, but it's a matchbox, not a full pedalboard, so set your expectations accordingly.Charging is handy, via a micro-usb port and the headphone port is well-placed. So far so good.It let me down on one count - when you play left-handed, as I do, everything points the wrong way. A minor irritation. But if you play a strat, or a similar guitar with a recessed jack... It just won't fit. The bottom tone dial gets in the way and you need a cable or adaptor to give it enough clearance to work.Overall, it's a great gadget and brilliant at the price. If you're left-handed, I'd still recommend it, but be prepared to mess about a bit to find a way to make it work for you.

Use to have a vox amplug metal 2 which suddenly died a few days ago so I was looking for a replacement an came across this one. So my review will also be a kind of comparison between the two.Packaging and build quality:The packaging is simple yet more than adequate with a nice and easy to understand manual and all the features pictured on the box. A usb cable is included which is definitely a pro. The quality of plastic is rather good for such a product at any price range and especially on this one. The knobs are very responsive and the rubber coating that all valetons have is a nice touch.Features and sounds:This is definitely the best equipped guitar headphones amp on the market as far as I can tell. Has 3 channels (clean, od which is more like crunch and distortion which honestly is plenty) plus 2 effect groups,modulation(chorus, tremolo and flanger which is more like phaser) and reverb/ delay( has 3 settings, reverb, delay and the two combined). As far as the channel goes, you have gain and tone, which are both surprisingly responsive and a volume which controls the overall output. Let me note here that it has plenty of output to drive decent cans like my akg240, quite a bit louder and clearer than the amplug. There is also an ambient and a mod control controlling the level of the space and mod effects respectively, which although set are all quite pleasant and usable. Additionally there is a mini jack line in so that you can connect your phone and jam along ,while my favourite feature is the built in battery, which lasts around 10 hours depending on the output level and can be recharged through a phone charger or even a powerbank.Conclussion:For the price you get way more than what you pay for. The only negative could be the slightly less bulk but had no problem connecting it to any of my guitars( the vox had issues with some of my strats and my flying v) and its still featherweight, so overally a pure 10 out of 10 for me since it does what it claims and a bit more .