The Lunchbox 2 Amplifier

by Brian on December 18th, 2008

10 Comments

The folks at ZT Amplifiers really feel that size doesn’t matter, it’s the wattage that counts.  The Lunchbox 2 from ZT Amplifiers is a 200 watt amp that’s about the size of…well, umm… a lunchbox.

The hipsters over at ZT have decided to “reinvent” the guitar amp by not “following the traditional path of optimizing the electronics, cabinet and speaker in isolation” but instead “designing the sub-systems of the amp [to] work in true harmony”. Given they’ve managed to squeeze a Marshall stack into a Fender Champ we can kind of forgive the hubris around classic amp design.  But how does a 200 watt Lunchbox sound?

We have a couple of MP3 samples for you to check out:

Lunchbox Clean:

Lunchbox Crunch:

While the Lunchbox 2 can be used as a practice amp – it includes a headphone jack and a 1/8″ input jack for your iPod – the Lunchbox 2 can handle just about any small venue on its own.  You can even plug it into a 8ohm speaker cab! That alone makes a very versatile bit of gear.

Also roadies and wimpy guitarists will rejoice at the diminutive size and weight – 9 1/2 lbs, making it an easy amp to lug to gigs around town.

We’re not sure where you can get one right now.  ZT Amplifiers doesn’t list any dealers right now and it doesn’t look like you can buy direct.  If anyone knows please let us know.

List Price: $289

Hat tip to Matt Borix

Update: We recently checked the ZT website and it now looks like you can contact ZT Amplifiers directly to purchase a Lunchbox 2 amp.

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Comments:

  1. Jon – December 18th, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    200 watts!?!?

  2. Brian – December 18th, 2008 at 2:56 pm

    Comes out to less than 70 cents a watt…seems almost like a deal!

  3. Paul – December 27th, 2008 at 2:11 am

    I want one!

  4. Ethan – December 30th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    why 8 ohms… every 4×10 cab ive ever seen is 4. i guess you could mix and match a PA cab though… idk

  5. Brian – December 30th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

    @Ethan – there are lots of speaker cabs out there that are 8 ohm, just take a look around on your favorite music retailer site.

    ZT Amps is stating any 8-Ohm passive speaker cab will be able to be paired up with the amp.
    http://www.ztamplifiers.com/faq.htm

    Might want to ask them directly if you’re thinking about getting one.

  6. Andy – May 6th, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    Eastside Music Mercantile in East Nashville, Tn carries them.

  7. Shawn – June 17th, 2009 at 5:42 pm

    I saw this amp demo’d….it is fantastic. I picked mine up at kuykendall Music in Clovis, Californa. Ask for Steve (owner) Let him know Shawn refered you…I believe I was his first customer to purchase it after him receiving it. His number to store is 559-291-6129

  8. Marvin Player – December 30th, 2009 at 8:58 pm

    Just bought one of these at G.C. in Monroeville, PA. It appears to be USA . I noted to the CS at the store that it seemed to be made extremely well. Asked about the sound and he said it’s kind of odd.
    SInce I just busted my shoulder up a bit he was good enough to plug in and play for me. After a few bars and a bit of tweaking I said “You know I think I can deal with that kind of odd”. Definitely a distinct sound.
    So then I asked to plug it in to a 4X12 cab and it took on a whole new life of it’s own. I thoroughly liked the sound. I broke my look at it at least three times rule before you buy any guitar or amp and bought it up on the spot. As I was walking out the last one (the display model) was being sold to someone else. Maybe it’s true. Size really doesn’t count.

  9. Sam – December 25th, 2010 at 9:36 am

    Well, 200 watts is really marketing b.s. in this case. I don’t know what wattage scale they use but it ain’t no Twin Reverb. Having said that, the amp for its size is REALLY loud. More like 15-watt Blues, Jr. tube amp.Which is plenty loud for a small venue. At bigger venues, run a line to the PA system and use it as a monitor – it’s perfect for that.

  10. Eugene – January 3rd, 2011 at 4:06 am

    Hey, Sam. It ain’t BS. I bought it som 8 months back and wasn’t a believer myself until I tested it. No questions asked – I bought it immediately. Out where I tested it, I couldn’t even crank the volume up since it was beside a hospital zone. Once I got home, I tested it with my Digitech RP 355. I actually thought it sounded wobbly since I didn’t get to test it with my effects. But when I turned up the gain and the volume, I heard the real deal. Sang the presets of my effects just like it was advertised plus it the whole thing just blew me off. I couldn’t even hit it past 3 o’clock as I might catch a bullet from my neighbors.

    I brought it at one of the local gigs and everyone was laughing saying that it couldn’t be 200 watts. They were using an Orange Amp (400W) for the guitars. I lent it for the band’s last set. The guitarist didn’t even want to turn on his effects as he was afraid the speakers might give. I stepped on it for him. On the actual gig, I raised both gain and volume to 3 o’clock and found it surprising that the guitarist kept lowering his volume directly from his guitar. Turns out that I was listening from the side. When I moved all the way to the back of the bar but right in front of the amp, DAMN it was LOUD!

    Definitely one of the best buys for me. I haven’t even tested it on a cab. ;)