Yes, you´re right it looks a little bit funny because of its size but considering the inner values it is at the end a great amp.

Pros:
It ships with an on-board effects unit that provides pretty good reverb and delay sounds (+ several other effects). Definitely not comparable with high class TC Electronics pedals but still perfect for any live performance. Nobody in the audience will ever recognize that you´re not using $300 pedals in your signal chain – I guarantee! 😉

Furthermore the Grandmeister 36 delivers this extra portion of gain that my TriAmp isn´t and because I currently play around with drop tunings the Grandmeister 36 has specific settings to support clarity even if your guitar is down to C or even lower.

The Amp comes with a Power Soak that means I can play at home (1 Watt) in a club (12 Watt) and at a greater stage (36 Watts) with the same set of my favorite sounds.

Because I love to use a tube amp for home recording instead of amp modelers I appreciate that the Grandmeister recognizes if a speaker (cable) is attached or not. If the amp is not connected to a box it automatically switches into a different mode (Zero Watt Setting) and you´re tubes are safe. But the sounds coming out of the recording out of the amp are wonderful.

Talking about tubes we have to say a word to the BIAS control implemented into the Grandmeister 36. 4 LEDs placed on the back indicate the status of your tubes. If you have problems with dying tubes during a gig you can easily identify the pair of tubes and use the power soak to “disable” the problematic tubes. I found myself in exactly this situation and had to do this – I promise it is a great feature.

The Amp can be controlled and each sound, bank, etc. can be tweaked with the corresponding iPad App. But be aware: the App is free but the little “dongle” you have to buy and to plug into the midi in/ out section of the amp costs additional $150,00.

Take care, stenson