Electro-Harmonix Howitzer 15-watt Power Amp Pedal Reviews

Pros:
-Plenty loud to annoy my wife and kids (at only 9 o'clock on the volume).
-Very responsive EQ on a punchy, neutral (but not sterile) voicing.
-Crunchy, pleasant overdrive that doesn't interfere with dirt pedals.
-Excellent overall size even with the wall-wart.

Cons:
-No power switch, something has to be unplugged.
-The bright switch stays on otherwise humbuckers sound very dull.
-Higher output pickups make squeaky clean tones elusive.

Overall, bloody marvelous for what it is and it's just powerful enough to make my tinnitus worse.

Dial in Tube Amp Tone with Overdrive at any Volume. Sounds Great for a Superb Price!

This awesome little amp made my Peavey Valveking 20 MH obselete right after firing it up! It sounds great, it's loud enough and tiny. If you're an analog pedal guy, this is the way to go. When plugging your pedals into the effects return, you get maximum volume that's equal to a 15-20 tube amp. When you plug into the input, you lose some volume, which I believe is due to the preamp section, I have multiple units and they all do it. I don't think it's loud enough to gig with using the input, but loud enough using the effects return to gig with. If you want to be absolutely sure you have enough volume, get a 44 Magnum, I own that too and it's amazing too, plus even smaller and louder. They're both killer little amps and they're so good, I sold all my tube amps!

Very impressed! Great little pedal amp and way exceeded my expectations. The cleans and slightly broken up sounds are really good, high gain stuff you will definitely want pedals for. I run this with a couple OD pedals into my 4x12 for home studio use and it's absolutely perfect. Good stuff!

I picked this up a couple of weeks ago. It's pretty impressive. I always use tube amps and have since the 1960's. The Howitzer is a great sounding amp. Loud enough for a small gig or recording. It has a fair amount of headroom and the tone controls are very responsive and there's a bright switch to add a little sparkle. It also has an effects loop with a send/line out that's great if you just want to go direct into a digital recorder. I can also see this as a gig saving amp if your main amp goes down and you mix it through the PA system. I may possibly get a EHX 44 Magnum and use the line out with it for more power. EHX makes great products.

I've played just about every amp in a pedal, including all the Quilters etc, and all of them just miss "something" or some everything, no eq, no loop, either sounding fizzy, buzzy, not sounding correct with vintage pedals like Germanium Fuzzes, lousy EQ, it's always been something is not quite right. FWIW, I go for Hendrix-Angus Marshall tones, so mids up, bass down, bright on and treble to suit and just NAILS that Marshall vibe and plays nice with all my OD and vintage Fuzz/Boost pedals AND the effects loop is great! Not to say it's a one trick pony, turning down the mid's & gain, and putting the treble and bass up and fantastic deep cleans too. This is NOT a metal amp on its own, for that you will need a pedal in front and takes them like a champ.

The Howitzer checks all the boxes EXCEPT one, they need to make a LARGER one, Its plenty loud for small gigs or if mic'd up, but if playing outside or larger gigs it's not going happen. Also, I'm an older guy with a not so great back anymore and I've already got a nice light 2x12, and rather not lug around amp heads so would LOVE a 100w version of this. Remember a 100w solid state is like a 50w tube amp volume wise.

So HOPEFULLY they have something planned for a larger version, and I actually emailed EHX to ask them this :)

Electro harmonics howitzer
This pedal is great sounds like a black face father breaks up about as much as a black face fender also I thought it would break up more but then it's an amp simulator so when I realize that it made sense when you crank up the game it sounds like a cranked up fender could not be happier

sold my tube amp less than a week later. super clean if you want it. good and dirty without being too much. the howitzer eq has made a dedicated eq pedal kind of superfluous. this is paired with a creamback. super simple, light weight, and totally satisfying rig.

I already own a 44 Magnum and it's plenty loud, so I was trying to find a used .22 Caliber, then I discovered this! What a super-cool little amp! I just use the effects return, so 15mm mode? Anyway, the preamp section is great too, it sounds great either way! I'm loving these little power amps, I sold all my tube amps! I recommend buying tons of them! I want these to be around for a long time.

I am very pleased with the Howitzer. Tone-wise, it sounds exactly like my tweed Champ - even the overdrive sounds identical but it can get way louder as it is connected to a 1x12 and has more wattage. With a Howitzer and my 1x12, one could probably gig a small venue like a bar or a cocktail party but for a stage, it'd probably need to be mic'd or at least use a bigger cab. I only play in my bedroom and it is more than loud enough for that. If planning to gig, I would think of it as having the same tone, headroom and loudness as a Princeton.

One cool feature is that since it's 24V, I am able to power it directly from my Cioks DC7 power supply mounted underneath the pedalboard.

After 24 years of playing guitar I recently made the move to direct in options as my primary tone - Strymon Iridium and POD Go. I did, however want a cost-effective 'real amp' option after selling off my traditional amps. This little EH Howitzer looked to be the perfect option to drive my custom 1x12 cab. Size and build quality is great. After a quick sound sample with my strat direct in, I was very pleased with the tone and it more than enough power to drive my highly sensitivity Eminence GB128. What makes this little amp especially awesome is that I can use my POD Go output into the effects return of the Howitzer, bypassing the Howitzer's gain and EQ section, giving me access to all the POD Go's amps and effects (cabinet IR's off). After years of being a staunch tube amp guy, I am very pleased with this amp and the options it provides. I highly recommend this amp as a daily go to or just to have a pedal-sized backup amp.

Im anti amps. i toured for years with heavy stupid amps. i got this after being unhappy with the mooer baby bomb and these are great. now i just bring 2 cabs and my board to a show. super happy.

I have a Carvin MTS 100 watt combo amp. It's LOUD. I've only been playing in my basement and it's too much. I was going to get a Bugera power soak but they've been back ordered for almost a year. The Howitzer does exactly what I wanted. The ability to use my speaker cab without having to buy a new amp. The effects loop was key too. Didn't want to have another option, like a smaller combo amp, that didn't have a loop. Or buy an pricy 2nd amp. Anyway... do your research and give this guy a shot if you think it a a good fit.

I was looking for an affordable power amp pedal to use with my Line 6 Pod Go so I could use some of my cabs at home. Originally was just going to try to find one of the 44 magnums then I saw this was a new preamp and poweramp pedal for less money. You can bypass the preamp by just plugging into the fx return input. It sounds great as a simple pedal platform amp on its own so this was a huge bonus as I have also been looking for a pedal platform amp too. The gain sounds great, more than loud enough for my uses at 15 watts, fantastic price. My only complaint might be that it would be nice to have a way to turn it on/off with an actual footswitch so you don't have to always unplug/plug back in the power supply. Always love EXH products.

After 24 years of playing I recently shifted to primarily using digital/direct in amps (Iridium and Pod GO) opposed to traditional amps. And I love it! Sold off my big amps but wanted something economically priced to power my remaining custom 1x12 cab. This amp does that with no problem, and sounds good considering solid state and price point, however that isn't how I am using it. I am using it to power a 5" full range ('flatish' response) PA speaker with the Pod GO's output into the Howitzer's effect loop return. This set-up bypasses the gain and EQ section providing a theoretically uncolored amp/speaker platform perfect for amp modelers. I am very pleased with this desktop setup and prefer it over running the Pod GO into my HiFi setup, which technically is a 'flatter' response with +/- 3db 40Hz-20kHz, however I feel the paper cone PA style speaker better reproduces those amp tones and sounds more realistic. If I were still using traditional amps for live play, this would be a no-braining to have in your bag as a back-up.
I took off a 1/2 star because I think it should have power switch. Highly recommend.

I love this amp. Bought it to power my 112 in my living room for some lower volume practice sessions. Cup of coffee and a early morning jam! This amp takes pedals very well and the crisp "clean" is what I love. The only half-star issue was that I could not get it to operate with my xvive wireless... I kept getting some sort of "tremolo"

That said, this thing is Amazing like Spider-Man and the Blue Öyster Cult. I always thought an amp the size of a (pretty big) pedal was only to be made of Unobtanium. Why is this not an Earth-shaking technological advance?

My only complaint about my Sweetwater guy, Logan, is he didn't know what a howitzer was. Time to reinstate the draft.

this is just fantastic, the only "bad" thing and you have to keep in mind, is that this doesn't have a switch ON/OFF, and if you have your cable connected to your speakers, when you plug it it make this big spark on the socket! xD lol
that's why i give it a 4/5 because it doesn't have a ON/OFF switch.

Just received this little amp today and after playing around with it for a few minutes, I can already tell it's great for a pedal platform. It has very good clean tones, and a little bit of nice breakup with the gain up. You could totally use the gain to play like 70s rock and roll. Gets plenty loud at room volume or if you mic up a cab, this thing would probably keep up at any live venue. Super small and compact. For $85 sale price, this thing is fantastic. But my only issue with it is there is no on/off switch. Once it's plugged in, it's always on. So that's my reason for not giving it 5 stars.