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HomeGearProduct Review: FOUR FORCE EM-1 Electric Guitar Amplifier

Product Review: FOUR FORCE EM-1 Electric Guitar Amplifier

Magic Mirror on the wall…the FOUR FORCE EM-1 GUITAR AMP is sonic beautiful!

Snow White may have had the seven dwarfs but this is more killer than a poison apple.

OK, I openly admit it that I’m a guitar amp connoisseur and I absolutely love the FOUR FORCE EM-1 GUITAR AMPLIFIER. I love it because it looks so cool, comes in different colors, the speaker points right at you, is super easy to carry and move around and the best part is that its magic makes you sound amazing!

When I first saw the FOUR FORCE EM-1, I thought “Oh, very cool. It’s like a guitar amp and PA wedge monitor had a beautiful baby.” Its proprietary slant cabinet design is the work of smart guy and product designer, Jason Sannar. With the way the speaker angles up, its sonic glory points up at you whether it’s on the ground or on top of something; like an extension speaker cabinet.

And then when I plugged in my guitar I was like, “This sounds so beautiful, it’s like sonic diamonds”. I was using my beloved Les Paul, which sounds like angels singing, so I tried a Mexican Tele, an American Strat, a Reverend Rocco and a Les Paul Jr. and they sounded…sinfully beautiful. Regardless of the guitar I was using, it was like the Magic Mirror kept telling me that I was the fairest in the land. Being the “tweaker” that I am, I twiddled all the knobs to go from clean to dirty and the EQ scooped to mid-rangey and it all delivered pro quality results. I’ve got to hand it to the amp’s designer, Jim McGillivary, for his patent pending design as it graciously bestows an exceptionally invigorating guitar amplifier at a mere mortal price.

I continued my guitar aerobics with different effects pedals and they all shined gorgeously like silk (ex. compressor, distortion, chorus and delay). My one tiny yearning for something different about this gem of an amp was for it to have an effects loop but in no way I am complaining because it sounds great with pedals.

When I plug in an extension speaker cabinet, this amp is loud! Of course, by itself its 10” speaker can rock a small room and on stage, you can put a microphone in front of it. Plugging in my 1×12 extension cab and later my vintage 4×12 cabinet, you can move some serious air! The beauty of this amp is that it’s a perfect practice amp and is loud enough to play with a band when plugged into a capable extension speaker cabinet.

To “geek out” on the techie side, some shining features to highlight about this solid state 5-watt guitar amp are its:

– Large handle which makes it easy to carry but also helps protect the amp from accidents like a falling mic stand
– Different colors (Black/Silver Grill, White/Black Grill and Black/Black Grill)
– JFET Class A design with multiple gain stages and its patented Tube Illusion circuit with Preamp and Master volume controls so you can easily go from crystal clean to sweet classic overdrive
– Full tone stack (Treble, Mid and Bass controls) to dial in your dream tone
– Speaker slants up at you so you can clearly hear your playing
– Dual rear ports to deliver full, low frequencies
– External speaker output to allow you to plug into your ideal speaker configuration and roar!
– Blue LED…it looks so cool

SPECIFICATIONS:

Power Output: 5 Watts
Speaker: 10 Inch
Controls: Power On/ Off, Volume, Gain, Bass, Mid, and Treble.
Indicators: Power On, Blue LED
Connectors: Input Jack 1/4″, Output Jack 1/4″
Power Receptacle: 110 Volt – 240 Volt
Cabinet: High Density Polyethylene
Dimensions: 18″x11″x17.5

With its super cool look, smart guy design and supernaturally sweet sound, it’s no wonder it was the NAMM Best of Show Winner. At its price, it’s a no-brainer that you definitely have to have your own FOUR FORCE EM-1 Electric Guitar Amplifier “Magic Mirror on the wall.”

For more information on FOUR FORCE priced at $129.99, go to www.fourforce.us

 

Steve McKinley

Steve McKinley is the bass player for Joel Kosche (of Collective Soul) in his solo band and for the Led Zeppelin tribute Led Zeppelified. He’s been part of the Atlanta music scene for years playing in bands (i.e. Julius Pleaser, Sid Vicious Experience, Pretty Vacant et al) and has recorded and toured throughout the Southeast. His songs have been played on the radio, he has appeared on television and is an ASCAP member. With his electronics skills and experience, he runs Atlanta Tube Amp and Steve McKinley Electronics and is an Instructor on JamPlay.com. He roots for Atlanta United, works on cars and drinks his coffee strong, hot and black. He can be found on his sites, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin. www.atlantatubeamp www.tubescreamermods.com

Steve McKinley
Steve McKinley is the bass player for Joel Kosche (of Collective Soul) in his solo band and for the Led Zeppelin tribute Led Zeppelified. He’s been part of the Atlanta music scene for years playing in bands (i.e. Julius Pleaser, Sid Vicious Experience, Pretty Vacant et al) and has recorded and toured throughout the Southeast. His songs have been played on the radio, he has appeared on television and is an ASCAP member. With his electronics skills and experience, he runs Atlanta Tube Amp and Steve McKinley Electronics and is an Instructor on JamPlay.com. He roots for Atlanta United, works on cars and drinks his coffee strong, hot and black. He can be found on his sites, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin. www.atlantatubeamp www.tubescreamermods.com
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