PRODUCT REVIEW
Lunchbox Acoustic
ZT AMPLIFIERS
BY GAYLA DRAKE PAUL
When it comes to amps, I am a fan of small
and easy—and I don’t think it would be possible to get smaller and easier than the new
acoustic addition to the ZT Lunchbox line.
I burst out laughing when I saw it, but in a
good way. It recalled the days of yore, when
men were men, women were scarce, and
acoustic amps were gi-normous. These days,
miniaturization seems to be the norm, and it’s
about damn time. Let’s unpack this Lunchbox
and see what goodies it contains.
looks folksy and appealing, and the top and
back panels are made of very robust-feeling
machined aluminum.
The Menu
Slightly smaller than a cooler that holds
a six-pack and some ice, the 200-watt ZT
Lunchbox Acoustic features an instrument
channel and a vocal-mic channel—with inde-
pendent Gain, Bass, Treble, and Reverb for
each—in addition to a Master Volume and
a Feedback Cut. All controls, as well as the
1/4” instrument jack and LED indicator, are
intuitively arranged on top so you can eas-
ily view them. The amp itself is made of an
attractive medium-density fiberboard that
The back of the cabinet is covered with fea-
turey goodness. There’s an XLR input and
another 1/4”, with a phantom power on/
off switch between them (wuhoo—phantom
power!). There’s also an 1/8” input for an
mp3 player, an effect loop send/return, a
headphone jack with an independent volume
control, a 1/4” external speaker jack with a
switch for selecting between internal and
external speakers, a power-cord jack, and the
on/off switch. Whew! That’s a lot of stuff on
this one little box.
was at the very limit. I had the Gain at three
o’clock, and the Volume at just over one
o’clock, and it was comfortably loud. The
bass was remarkably present without muddiness. The treble was clear and present
with plenty of sparkle, and I had no trouble
hearing everything clear as a bell. If you are
behind it or right beside it, the tone is a little
bit brittle, but out in front it’s lovely. Just
don’t push the volume way up—it gets a little
too midrangey.
The Proof Is in the Pudding…
Mmmm, Pudding
I plugged into the ZT at home in the living
room and spent some time walking around
with my guitar on a 20’ tether. I was able to
get the volume up pretty far without feed-
back in that enclosed space, though I think I
www.premierguitar.com
PREMIER GUITAR JULY 2010 207
