PRODUCT REVIEW
G1 BPT212
GRID 1
BY LYLE ZAEHRINGER
Thanks to the battery-powered wireless age
and growing popularity of hybrid vehicles,
mining of lithium has become a booming
worldwide industry. Lithium, the lightest of
all metals, is also used in medical equipment,
fireworks, nuclear weapons, aircraft, and, at
last, battery-powered, tube-equipped guitar
amplifiers. Grid 1’s debut amp, the G1, is a
revolutionary device. Based out of Vallejo,
California, the company hopes to bring good
guitar tone to areas unreachable by extension cords. In the G1, one could argue that
they’ve started with one of the most difficult
challenges—building a loud, battery-powered amp with a tube preamp.
The Big Picture
The G1 is a surprisingly lightweight ( 40
pounds), two-channel 2x12 combo with a
preamp that uses a pair of unusual, mid-
20th century 1U4 portable-radio tubes. The
60-watt, class D digital power section is fed
by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that
will retain its charge for more four hours.
This relatively small, lightweight battery rests
in the bottom of the cabinet, nearly invisible,
and it can accept anywhere from 90 to 240
volts—which means you could charge it anywhere in the world without hassle. A small
LED on the battery changes color to indicate
whether it’s charged or charging. The same
idea applies to the power jewel light on the
front panel.
mate the distinctive 1U4 preamp tubes with
an external tube power amp of your choice.
The Tones
Volume-wise, the Grid 1 was able to amplify
my Gibson SG loud enough for small- to
medium-sized venues—and with very little
noise. The open-back cabinet comes loaded
with two Eminence Red Coat neodymium
speakers, and the included two-button
footswitch allows you to toggle between
the clean and overdrive channels, as well as
switch the G1’s analog, solid-state reverb
circuit on or off. I was only moderately
impressed with the reverb tone, which tends
to sound brittle and unnatural. However,
each channel features an independent reverb
level so you can set up contrasting sounds—
like a thick, clean ’verb and a barely wet
overdrive—and switch between them.
myself wanting more control over the frequency spectrum. Like many Fender amps,
the G1 includes a Bright switch, and I found
it very helpful due to the amp’s somewhat
dark voicing.
The standard G1 comes with beige Tolex,
brown piping, and tweed grille cloth. The
amp looks sharp, though on the unit I tested,
the piping was loose on a few cabinet cor-
ners. For guitarists who enjoy custom gear,
Grid 1 offers a variety of grille cloths, as well
as hardwood cabinet upgrades that include
beautifully stained maple, elm, bamboo,
birch, and mahogany. The amp’s lack of
speaker output jacks means you’ll have to do
a bit of rewiring to use your favorite exten-
sion cabinets. But here’s a handy feature: The
G1 includes an effects loop, and its Send jack
doubles as a direct out. This allows you to
My favorite part of the G1 is the complex
and unique preamp voicing provided by the
1U4 pentode preamp tubes. This is where
Grid 1’s engineers show their skills. When
overdriven, these tubes have a soft, fuzz-
like quality in the higher frequencies and
a robust growl in the low end. The sound
is not exactly like any other overdrive I’ve
heard, and it totally works.
Each amp channel includes dedicated Gain
and Volume controls, as well as Bass, Mid,
and Treble EQ knobs. The EQ was a tad
subtle for my taste and, in general, I found
Though the 1U4 tubes provide the basis
of the amp’s distinctive tone, Grid 1 chose
them primarily for practicality. First used
in the 1940s and ’50s in battery-powered
radios, these tubes require little current and
therefore conserve juice. When driven hard,
they produce unique upper harmonics. And
with the gain dimed on the overdrive channel, you can clearly hear the characteristic
