ELECTRO-HARMONIX
44 MAGNUM GUITAR
POWER AMPLIFIER
BY LYLE ZAEHRINGER
Electro-Harmonix is a constant source of innovation. And their effects—
from classics like the Memory Man to the
Big Muff to the more radical and recent
POG—have a reputation for inspiring creativity and pushing the envelope of what is
possible with a guitar and a few pedals.
With the release of the 44 Magnum, a
44-watt power amp in a pedal-sized box,
Electro-Harmonix is aiming at a considerably more utilitarian target. Nevertheless,
they’ve hit a bull’s-eye. The 44 Magnum
ranks as one of the most practical pieces
of gear for the gigging guitarist released by
anyone over the last several years. It has
potential in the studio and the practice
space, and it can work as both a backup
amp and compact front-line amp for certain players—all for the same money you’d
pay for a typical high-quality pedal.
Bright
switch
Packs a Punch
The 44 Magnum comes in the same ultra-small pedal box as the Magnum’s little brother, the 22 Caliber, and such effects pedals as
the Freeze and the Nano Clone. The unit
weighs about the same as a similarly sized
effects unit, though it does require a fairly
hefty 24-VDC adapter with an inline transformer (this is included with the device).
Because the 44 Magnum is a power
amp, its output must be connected directly
to a speaker. But EHX had the foresight
to dummy-proof the unit to some extent,
and if you power it up without connecting
it to a speaker load first, the Magnum will
automatically disable, saving itself from an
eventual meltdown. To restart the Magnum,
you simply remove it from power, connect
a load, and reintroduce power. The optimal
configuration is with an 8Ω cabinet, but
the Magnum will push a 16Ω speaker too.
It’s deceiving and dangerous to think of
this thing as a pedal, and it’s a bit scary to
Volume
control
Compact EHX
Nano-sized
enclosure
think of the poor bloke who will eventually plug this thing into his delay pedal.
You read it here, you’ll read it on the
pedal, and you’ll read it about four times
in the manual—don’t plug it into anything
but a speaker cabinet or otherwise appropriate load. The damage to your gear can
be significant.
The 44 Magnum’s control set is as
simple as they come. Like any non-master
volume amp, a single Volume knob takes
the 44 Magnum from quiet and clear all
the way up to loud, growling, and saturated. The only other control is a 2-position
toggle for Normal or Bright operation—a
feature not unlike the Bright switch on
many vintage Fender amplifiers.
If It Walks Like an Amp …
I tried the 44 Magnum out with an 8Ω
Emperor 4x12 cabinet, a Gibson SG, and a
Fender Stratocaster. With the Gibson piped
through the 44 Magnum in Normal mode
at low volume, the amp generated a full,
if dark, sound with both neck and bridge
pickups. At around 10 o’clock I started
to hear pleasing hints of true power-amp
compression. And even at this relatively low
setting, the pedal was already kicking out
enough volume for a practice session or a
gig on a small stage.
Moving the volume up to noon propelled me into sweet overdrive territory.
And with the volume at 2 or 3 o’clock, the
Gibson’s humbuckers induced both heavy,
