Walrus Audio MAKO Series ACS1 Amp + Cab Simulator Pedal
The Walrus Mako Series ACS1 is a compact full featured amp that further shrinks -- literally -- the perception of what a guitar amplifier really is. While "amp" is a bit of a misnomer as it's not meant to drive a cab; but more accurately be fed into a mixer or powered speaker using either the 1/4" jack output or a direct box. You can stick your pedals in front of it just like an amp, and it's got a headphone output if you want to practice in silence. The main controls are obvious and intuitive and you can get rolling with just a quick breeze through the manual. It has a Midi feature to store the requisite 128 different amp presets, but three of them can be stored and saved via the footswitches without Midi. Storing and editing takes a little bit of study, but with something this powerful you've got to do a little homework. You can make changes on the fly without disturbing your presets, and if you get lost in regard to your original settings, you can always call them back up.
The ACS1 has the triple crown of Fender/Marshall/Vox emulations, and given that our our own personal experience is mostly Fender, we can say they nailed the Blackface character quite nicely: Spanky, tight and just enough give to make it feel organically responsive. While there is a volume and gain control, think of gain more as "character" and not overdrive. You can get a little crunch, but anything more than a little you'll want a pedal. Besides the amp emulations you've got (6) cabinet simulations and you can download a bunch more from the Walrus site if you choose. Oh yeah, it's also stereo and you can send one "amp" to the left and the other "amp" to the right. This thing is a serious threat to roadies everywhere.
The Walrus ACS1 blends convincing tones, a high degree of tweak-ability, and for that level of control it's also pretty easy to use. You'll never be able to pry some players from their traditional amps, but for a lightweight travel rig, backup, practice/headphone amp, or your main squeeze the ACS1 is another challenger to the paradigm of tubes, transformers and plywood.
In the words of Walrus Audio:
The [ACS1]™ is an amplifier and speaker cab simulator delivering the sound and feel of world-class amplifiers, complimentary speaker cabinets, and controllable room size. With the ACS1, players have expansive options to deliver their tone whether it's on stage, in the studio, or practicing at home. Simple controls, stereo in and out, onboard presets, and MIDI support make the ACS1 an immeasurable tool in a guitarists arsenal.
Specs
- The ACS1 comes in an anodized gold finish with black and green ink.
- The enclosure’s exact size with knobs is 4.9” x 2.52” x 2.64”.
- Power requirements are 9VDC (300mA minimum).
- The use of an isolated power supply is recommended for powering all Walrus Audio Pedals. Daisy chain power supplies are not recommended. Power supply not included.
- 24-bit 48kHz A/D and D/A converters for high quality audio.
- 32-Bit floating point processing.
- Sharc & ARM co-processors.