Someone asked me to compare the A&G and the ODR as best I could on another forum, so I posted this. I thought someone here may find it useful as well, so I copied it here too:
This is the interesting part. After my son turned me onto a demo video of an Amplified Nation which -as embarrassing as it is to say - had never been on my radar. I was so impressed that I took a deep dive into the Amplified Nation’s and started listening to and analyzing every demo of every model I could find, knowing that I was going to own one, and just wanted to make sure I was choosing the right one for me given their prices.
I purchased the Ampliphonix & Gain first going off its description and information gleaned from numerous emails with Taylor. I was super hyped waiting for it to arrive. So much so in fact, that I feared nothing could live up to that level of hype which could be setting me up for a huge disappointment. From the moment I plugged in I was like; what is this?!??! This thing feels amazing… and the tone!! Just WOW!!! It truly was like having the best hot-rodded Fender Bassman you could dream of AND the best plexi you could imagine of all-in-one head, and with NO compromise. In fact, not only was there no compromise between the two, but they were also each the best I'd ever heard or played. AND it has an amazing reverb built in!!!
I went on to try various cabs, guitars, and pickups, and quickly realized that this amp was so expressive and reactive that it dramatically changed with each cabinet, guitar, pickup, etc. You can hear EVERY tiny nuance of your signal chain with these amps, which is, in and of itself, truly amazing. You can also hear and feel every tiny nuance of your playing, which quickly told me more clearly than ever, that I had really forgotten how to play guitar, I sucked and desperately needed to start practicing again if I was going to truly enjoy and justify owning this beautiful beast.
The Amplihonix & Gain is THEE amp if you not only want the Dumble vibe, but also want an amp that can do all your favorite old classic Marshall & Fender based tones. You can nail many of those old classic tones from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s easily with the A&G. Both channels are so good, that either channel alone justifies owning the amp. Having both in one head at the tap of a foot switch is something I never thought I’d see after all these years of searching. It really is like getting two world class amps for the price of one.
After being so absolutely blown away by the A&G, I knew it wouldn’t be my only Amplified Nation. So, I continued my research in an effort to decide which would be my next A.N. acquisition. Again, after many demos and emails I decided the Overdrive Reverb was the best choice to cover the A.N. tones without having too much overlap. Taylor kept telling me, they are completely different, and complement each other perfectly. I wasn’t sure what that meant at the time, but I decided to go for it.
When the ODR arrived, it wasn’t as instantaneously mind blowing as the A&G was for me, but that was only because it’s far more complex to dial in. Like the A&G, the ODR is very sensitive to cabinets, speakers, guitars, etc. Once I found the cabinet I liked and started learning how to properly dial in the tone stack and the cascading gain channels for whatever guitar / pickup I was using, it was pure magic on a scale that I find hard to put into words. Every knob and switch can dramatically alter the tone and feel. Even how you set the incredible two knob reverb can dramatically alter the feel of that amp. And BTW…the A&G’s reverbs was the best I’d heard until the ODR. The ODR’s reverb is otherworldly and just must be experienced to fully appreciate it. Once dialed in, the ODR is an experience to behold and truly one of the most marvelous amps I’ve ever played. The ODR is its own thing. It oozed the Dumble vibe but is capable of an incredible array of tones and feels. With all the different ways to shape the tone, the feel and control / balance the volume the ODR has, I can’t imagine anyone not finding “their tone” somewhere in that amp.
The A&G and the ODR truly are different animals, yet both equally incredible. When I purchased the A&G I quickly decided it was a lifer. Then, as I waited for the ODR to arrive, I thought, hopefully it would be so good that I wouldn’t need both and I could recoup some of my investment by selling one or the other. I’ve spent hours using an A/B switch to go back and forth between the two over and over again. I’ve AB’d with no backing. I’ve AB’d them using various styles of backing tracks and long story short, they are completely different, but both so good that they are both lifers. Each time I play one, I think; this is as good as it gets and can’t be beaten, then I switch to the other amp and I’m like wait! THIS is the best ever! Bottom line is, I can’t possibly choose one over the other.
In the end, Taylor was exactly right. They are completely different and yet equally amazing. And they complement each other perfectly. So, unless you can afford to keep both, don’t buy both because you won’t be able to force yourself to let either one go. Hopefully this is somewhat helpful.
