My dillemma was that the used Artist was Half the price of a used Special. ....but of course a couple days after I hit buy, another Artist showed up for 150 more.
I’ve got the special, i feel like the artist could easily duplicate what I do with it although it is nice sometimes to o have the two complete channels, also I hated that blue speaker and ended up changing to that greenback, the amp was extremely bassy and the speaker change solved it. I like the amp but could’ve saved some money there, I bought it without trying it because i really liked the artist version. All my personal subjective opinions of course but a lesson that cost me 5-600 dollars. Sounds much better with the greenback imo if anyone owns it and has this same issue.
great rundown on features . . . I bought a Nextone Stage to back up my BC Artist and was very tempted to get the Special for all the sexy bells and whistles . . .very happy with the 60 watt N. Stage as a secondary amp. I learned features on it that I did not even know about from your video demonstration - so a big thanks for that. Too much gear, too little time (and space and money).
Wow, great video man! I think i know the difference between the phones/rec output and the line output: the line output has a lot weaker signal, so if you put headphones into that you won't hear anything, while the phones output has a stronger output, meant for headphones. Thanks for the video, I hope boss will also make a head and cab version of the nextone special, just like they did with the katana artist :)
The phones/rec output silences the amp’s speaker while the line out does not. The master volume controls the speaker volume and the channel volume affects the line out volume.
I had the artist and loved it. Found it easy to dial in great tones without needing to use tone studio unlike a katana. Regretfully I sold it cuz of my gear addiction and wanting to try something else. Awhile later I ended up getting the Special cuz it seemed like the ultimate version of the amp I regretted selling. I hated it. Didn’t seem to sound anything like what I remembered positively from the artist. I did like all the extra knobs and them being front facing but I couldn’t make it sound good. Probably was the speaker. Sold it after just a few weeks of owning it. Now I’m debating buying another artist…or maybe a special with a speaker swap but that feels like a gamble.
Thanks for your thoughtful review. I got a "Stage: (40 watt) a couple years ago. It was touted as being equal to a Fender hot rod. Sounded great at home, but didnt cut it with my band ( Classic Country and old rock). Just not enough clean head room. Sounded like cardboard - no character, at gig volume. (we dont mike amps). Got the Special. Worked ok with band, but still prefer Fender. At home , I prefer sound of the Stage. Probable has something to do with the relatively low volumes used at home. I dont imagine the Special hits its sweet spot at home volume. I think i'll probable sell the special. Maybe the Artist would have been the best fit for me. You showed me something new about the Artist / Stage. I didnt know the amp remembered bass/ mid/ treble settings for each channel. I'll have to try that!
Great comparison. I owned both and ended up keeping the Special for the extra features. As a note, I preferred the ease of working with the tremolo and the footswitch layout of the Artist more so than the Special. It's all about compromises though.
I went the other way around! Bought the Special to upgrade but for the life of me could not get the same satisfying tones out of it. And I'm hooking it up to two 4X12 cabinets... anyways.. great amps!
the artist sounded like it had a little more ring to the sound and the special sounded more like it was in a hall (reverb?) Both sounded good...guess it depends on what you like.
I tried a Nextone Artist and it sucked. The clean channel sounded bad, the guy that was selling it had ordered a Kantana and he returned it because he did not like the sound. Unless it was just a bad amp, I will never buy a Boss amp.
That’s a bummer man. I love the sound of it. I find if these amps have been fiddled with in store the tones can vary. I always do a factory reset and build out my own tones. With the software you can achieve almost limitless tone options. I’d recommend giving it another try one day.
I have the special. I had a stage. Special is just that bit more flexible and the speaker is better - even though I’m just a bedroom hobbyist.
My dillemma was that the used Artist was Half the price of a used Special.
....but of course a couple days after I hit buy, another Artist showed up for 150 more.
Yeah! Keep creating content dude. You have serious depth of knowledge on this stuff.
Thanks dude! I’m a wicked gear head for guitar man.
I’ve got the special, i feel like the artist could easily duplicate what I do with it although it is nice sometimes to o have the two complete channels, also I hated that blue speaker and ended up changing to that greenback, the amp was extremely bassy and the speaker change solved it. I like the amp but could’ve saved some money there, I bought it without trying it because i really liked the artist version. All my personal subjective opinions of course but a lesson that cost me 5-600 dollars. Sounds much better with the greenback imo if anyone owns it and has this same issue.
great rundown on features . . . I bought a Nextone Stage to back up my BC Artist and was very tempted to get the Special for all the sexy bells and whistles . . .very happy with the 60 watt N. Stage as a secondary amp. I learned features on it that I did not even know about from your video demonstration - so a big thanks for that. Too much gear, too little time (and space and money).
Wow, great video man!
I think i know the difference between the phones/rec output and the line output: the line output has a lot weaker signal, so if you put headphones into that you won't hear anything, while the phones output has a stronger output, meant for headphones.
Thanks for the video, I hope boss will also make a head and cab version of the nextone special, just like they did with the katana artist :)
The phones/rec output silences the amp’s speaker while the line out does not. The master volume controls the speaker volume and the channel volume affects the line out volume.
Hey Ricky I just wanted to let you know that your new song “Feel This Ache Alone” is fantastic! You are severely underrated!
Thanks Issac! I’m really happy with how that one turned out. Feel free to share it all over. Every little bit helps!
The Special is one cool amp and the one I'd go for. I'm seriously considering getting one.
I had the artist and loved it. Found it easy to dial in great tones without needing to use tone studio unlike a katana. Regretfully I sold it cuz of my gear addiction and wanting to try something else. Awhile later I ended up getting the Special cuz it seemed like the ultimate version of the amp I regretted selling. I hated it. Didn’t seem to sound anything like what I remembered positively from the artist. I did like all the extra knobs and them being front facing but I couldn’t make it sound good. Probably was the speaker. Sold it after just a few weeks of owning it. Now I’m debating buying another artist…or maybe a special with a speaker swap but that feels like a gamble.
Thanks for your thoughtful review. I got a "Stage: (40 watt) a couple years ago. It was touted as being equal to a Fender hot rod. Sounded great at home, but didnt cut it with my band ( Classic Country and old rock). Just not enough clean head room. Sounded like cardboard - no character, at gig volume. (we dont mike amps). Got the Special. Worked ok with band, but still prefer Fender. At home , I prefer sound of the Stage. Probable has something to do with the relatively low volumes used at home. I dont imagine the Special hits its sweet spot at home volume. I think i'll probable sell the special. Maybe the Artist would have been the best fit for me.
You showed me something new about the Artist / Stage. I didnt know the amp remembered bass/ mid/ treble settings for each channel.
I'll have to try that!
Thanks for the comparison. I have the Artist. Haven't tried the Special.
No problem man! Thanks for watching. The artist is great as well! Maybe a bit better for grab and go.
Great comparison. I owned both and ended up keeping the Special for the extra features. As a note, I preferred the ease of working with the tremolo and the footswitch layout of the Artist more so than the Special. It's all about compromises though.
I went the other way around! Bought the Special to upgrade but for the life of me could not get the same satisfying tones out of it. And I'm hooking it up to two 4X12 cabinets... anyways.. great amps!
Great video. Which one do you like the most for cleans and edge of breakup sounds Nextone special or blues cube?
I gotta say I love the off clean on the blues cube more. It’s really perfect. Cleans are great on both.
Nice rundown. Thanks. Wonder why the Kat outsells this amp by so much. Any ideas?
The kat is cheaper and has a lot more effects like distortion
Love my katanas , these sound mor fendery
the artist sounded like it had a little more ring to the sound and the special sounded more like it was in a hall (reverb?) Both sounded good...guess it depends on what you like.
I like your guitar
Weird Katanas.
Or . . . not really Katanas at all.
I think you love pedals…
I tried a Nextone Artist and it sucked. The clean channel sounded bad, the guy that was selling it had ordered a Kantana and he returned it because he did not like the sound. Unless it was just a bad amp, I will never buy a Boss amp.
That’s a bummer man. I love the sound of it. I find if these amps have been fiddled with in store the tones can vary. I always do a factory reset and build out my own tones. With the software you can achieve almost limitless tone options. I’d recommend giving it another try one day.
Excellent video. Thanks 👍