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.

For the money this is fantastic. It sounds great on the clean setting and has a few FX built in. I use it on bass but a pair of Beats headphones and it lets me play lat at night and have a similar feeling to an amp and a couple of pedals.Highly recommend this. The only thing that could improve it is the ability to stream music via Bluetooth to it so you can play along but you can do that if you plug a cable into your phone.

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.

Great bit of kit for the money. Got this so I can play at 2am without plugging in the big stuff. I was skeptical given the price, but it does the job. The top end of the drive is a bit harsh, barks rather than crunches but it works. (Possibly get a better sound through better head phones). The effects are a nice touch but to be honest plenty of drive and some reverb does me. I'm as much rhythm and vocals as I am lead so I use the cleaner end a fair bit too and this also sounds pretty good. Given the price I'm really impressed. Really useful for getting ideas down in the wee small hours. Build quality seems decent too. Never gonna compete with your chosen rig, but it's a fantastic little stand in if your neighbours don't appreciate your art!

Hi,I am new to the bass but chronologically old, so such technology in such a small package amazes me.For practicing I run an aux lead into the Rushead from my iMac, so that I can play along to Youtube lessons; no problems.So that I don't have to worry about knocking the Rushead when I am lounging in a chair, I run a guitar lead from the bass to the Rushead; again no problems.So far, the battery lasts about four hours.For just practicing, the effects, the volume, the price, rubber knobs; everything about this is awesome.🙂

Great little headphones amp, fun features

I use this when trying to learn new stuff, you may want to watch u tube and try a few things without the hassle of plugging in your amp and effects or disturbing others and for this purpose its great.it says play through your head phones which you can do but you cant hear what i am meant to be playing along with, it does have an input for this reason but i went the other way and took the output into my pc sound system which does the trick. the unit itself has built in effects and the Volume is about good enough but id like to be able to have more control over the effects and turn them all off or mix them as I require rather then have to choose the options given, still pleased i bought it though and fit for purpose.