Distortion is not just distortion.

Many of the great guitar heroes of the 60s and 70s had a distinctive tone. Often, tube amps were cranked up to the max and additionally boosted with pedals. Technically, this brought many stages into saturation—essentially gain stacking—which contributed to an especially thick tone.

Let's imagine turning the gain knob all the way up. It will sound different than if you set two gain stages in series, each at half volume.

Distortion occurs when signals are overdriven. In this process, the signal is limited in its amplitude and thus compressed. Similar to a classic compressor, where slight compression in the initial phase boosts or cuts certain frequencies, the sound varies significantly when compression is applied later in the mix.

The same principle applies to distortion. Many guitarists use the technique of "gain stacking" by placing an overdrive pedal in front of a distorted channel. The slightly distorted signal creates a different frequency and harmonic spectrum, leading to a fuller lead sound in a crunch channel—often better than simply cranking up the lead channel. Many famous sounds have emerged from this combination with a booster or overdrive.

With the AMP1, we have integrated this functionality directly into the amplifier, eliminating the need for additional devices. The AMP1 features two gain knobs in series. The internal 2nd Gain follows the classic rule (more gain = more harmonics), while the gain knob on the front panel works differently.

Thanks to an integrated treble bleed, the signal becomes brighter as you roll it back. By simply combining the two knobs, significant changes in sound can be achieved without using the tone controls.

As an additional highlight, the AMP1 offers a third gain option through the boost switch. Depending on the intensity (via Custom Control), this opens up many new tonal possibilities.

Finally, the 3-band EQ can further refine the sound.

It is important to note that the 2nd Gain can only be controlled through 1CONTROL, REMOTE1, or MIDI (in conjunction with MIDI1). If these options are not available, you can switch to low-gain-mode, which provides a slight reduction (about 70%) of the gain across all channels. This alone allows for plenty of new sounds to be created.