The GrandMeister Deluxe 40 from Hughes & Kettner is a 40W tube-powered modeling amplifier head for electric guitar. It utilizes proprietary Deluxe Tone Technology to help you in achieving a wide range of tones, be they vintage, modern, clean, crunchy, or anything in between. This technology operates in a manner suitable for a variety of genres; whether you’re playing smooth jazz or the heaviest of metals, you can dial in the appropriate tone with the amplifier’s presence, resonance, gain, and EQ knobs.

You can also add touches of modulation, reverb, and delay to the tone. A noise gate knob helps to dial out squeals and squelches where you don’t want them, and if you make use of Hughes & Kettner’s compatible—though separately available—MIDI controller, you can store up to 128 presets and recall them with the tap of your toe. If you’re more of a swiper than a tapper, then the included iPad app will come in handy, as tones can also be saved, stored, recalled, and shared therein.

Four channels—Clean, Crunch, Lead, and Ultra—cover your bases, and if you want to add more processing into your rig, you’ll find a built-in effects loop accessible in the rear. There you’ll also find MIDI I/O for connecting to compatible controllers, a 1/4" line output to link up with a power amp, a 1/4" speaker output that can operate at 8 and 16 Ohms, and an XLR DI output. This DI utilizes cabinet emulation technology unique to the company in order to impart a realistic tone in a variety of circumstances; ditch the microphone on stage and route full tone directly to the house, or record straight to your interface without want or need of amp emulation software. To aid in maximum tone without sacrificing versatility, a power soak section is provided with options for 20W, 5W, 1W, or silent playing.