ZT Lunchbox 200-watt Solid State Guitar Amplifier (Discontinued)

Submitted by Mason Hoberg on May. 20, 2019..

87

GEARANK

87 out of 100. Incorporating 250+ ratings and reviews.

Overview

ZT is one of the least known amplifier manufacturers currently operating, which is a shame because they turn out some pretty cool amps. The main goal of the company is to offer a professional level of sound in a diminutive package, which by all accounts they’ve seemed to be pretty successful in so far.

The ZT Lunchbox can be thought of as a modern analogue to B.B. King’s Lab L-5. Andy Summers of the Police and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top use the amp both on stage and in the studio. The video below is actually a backstage performance of the Red Hot Chili Peppers using a ZT amp.

While at first glance many may assume that the Lunchbox is intended to exclusively be a practice amp, it actually has loads of power for its size. The amp is rated at 200 watts, which makes it one of the louder solid state amps to be featured on this list.

While the ZT may have a pretty diminutive speaker (just 6.5”), the tone of the amp has more depth that you’d initially assume. This is due to ZT’s “ambience effect”, which is a way of voicing the amp so that it has a response similar to that of an open-backed cabinet. The ambience effect can be increased or decreased through the use of a knob on the top of the amplifier. The ZT Lunchbox can also power an external cabinet.

The only real downside to the amp is that the controls are pretty minimalistic. It only has one tone knob, the aforementioned ambience control, volume, and gain. The lack of a dedicated EQ can really limit the utility of this amp in some situations, but at the same time many may find that the tone it does offer is a good fit for genres that don’t require heavily scooped EQ settings.