NAMM 2018: era 2 tops out Hughes & Kettner's premium acoustic amp range

NAMM 2018: Hughes & Kettner has announced the release of its second 'era' model, doubling the size of its nascent premium acoustic guitar amp range.

era 2 has the same feature set as the earlier era 1, but is larger and pumps out up to 400W, compared to its predecessor's 250.

Developed in collaboration with renowned acoustic amplifier designer Michael Eisenmann, the era 2 is said to be particularly suited to percussive playing styles, use wth external devices like drum machines, or for instruments with lower frequency ranges like double basses and bass guitars, thanks to its boosted low-end output, delivered by two 8"speakers, augmented with a single 1" tweeter dome.

There's an EQ deployed alongside 16 built-in effects, including various reverbs, delays, a chorus, a flanger, and combos of the various types, many of which can be adjusted, customised and saved as presets at will.

On the rear panel, era 2 features outputs suitable for any conceivable professional purpose, including a DI output, a stereo Line Out, and an S/PDIF-Toslink optical out for recording purposes.

Nicolas Hassel, Hughes & Kettner’s Product Manager, said "The combination of Michael Eisenmann and the Hughes & Kettner team’s industry-leading vision and engineering skill has resulted in another acoustic amp that is perfect for the player who is serious about achieving their instrument’s unique tone at any volume level.”

Hughes & Kettner era 2 technical specifications:
• 400 watts
• Channels 1 and 2 each equipped with:
• High-resolution Mic and Instrument input (combination XLR/6.5 mm (¼") jack with switchable phantom power)
• -10 dB / Shape / Mute buttons
• Gain knob
• 3-band EQ with two modes (e.g. for steel-string and nylon-string guitars)
• Channel-centric FX engine with 16 programs (reverb, chorus, flanger, etc.) and adjustable effect parameters
• Channel 3 / Aux In: 3.5 mm adjustable stereo input
• Channel 4 / FX Return: 6.3 mm adjustable stereo input
• Master: Volume and Notch Filter for suppressing resonance
• FX Loop: 6.3 mm (¼") FX Send jack
• DI Out (switchable to pre/post EQ section)
• Stereo Line Out (adjustable)
• Footswitch, Tuner, Headphones ports
• Optical Recording Out: S/PDIF-Toslink
• Speakers: 2 x 8” and 1”
• Power amp: 400-watt class D
• 35 mm pole mount
• Tilt stand (35°) included
• Padded protective cover included
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 350 x 475 x 290 mm
• Weight 14.1 kg / 31.1 lbs. (wood), 14.45 kg / 31.8 lbs. (black)

For more info head over to hughes-and-kettner.com. Price and release date are TBC.

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