Customer Reviews

Pyramid GA810 Guitar Amplifier (800-Watt)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a good amp. Lots of power in a small package. We were looking for one with a lot of power, and this was it. The price was great, the shipping was fast, and the packaging was secure.

This is an unbeatable product at this price point. No, it's not a Marshal/Peavy tube flame thrower from 1976, but it is a very nice practice amp, good beginner's amp, and a very solid item at a great price. The shipping is very fair. My son is learning to play and he and I have already enjoyed multiple hours of good times, good music, and great moments together. It has two inputs, and is dual channel although it is not advertised as such. A reverb. effect is an option. It is hard to make a mistake on this amp, unless you are planning to go on tour next week with Maroon Five...even then, they might have a couple of these babies on the bus! Very strong amp at the right price.

My first GA810 did not work at all so Amazon sent a replacement immediately. It worked OK when it arrived and then I set is aside while I finished a music room. When I plugged it in again it worked for about an hour total and then did what the first one did in that no sound was amplified regardless of the cables, instruments or knob positions. There is no warranty mentioned on their literature. Amazon asked me to call Sound Around (who supply these to Amazon) directly and they kept me on hold without ever answering my call beyond the initial transfer. I emailed them also with a high priority noting my problem and they ignored that entirely. Called Amazon back and they could not reach Sound Around's customer service either. Because it was outside of the 30 day Amazon guarantee they just said they would alert the team that deals with Sound Around that their customer service was an issue. I am stuck with a worthless amp and frustrated by non-existent customer service. Hope this is helpful to anyone considering this product.

I just got one of these in for repair. Complaint was "no sound". Turned out every potentiometer - that's every volume and tone pot - was defective. The only one that worked was the "distortion" pot. Obviously they purchased a bad run. The bad news is the pots are cheap. The good news is the pots are cheap, commonly used in other amplifiers and available at everyone's favorite auction site for about a buck apiece.

The zener diodes regulating the analog supply were way off spec - 16+ volts vs 12 volts and the dropping resistors were crazed.

The wires going to the speaker didn't use the standard quick-disconnect connectors. Instead they were wrapped around the terminals and poorly soldered - so poorly soldered that they pulled right off.

The standoffs that secured the preamp PC board were makeshift and the wrong height so they actually warped the board slightly and stressed the connections to the pots and jacks.

I think we can assume the QC on these units is marginal.

Finally, the 800w spec is a crock. The actual spec ([...])is 80 watts RMS and 800w peak. That's impossible. The no-load power supply voltage is +/- 30v. With that supply voltage and an 8 ohm speaker the absolute maximum peak power is 112 watts and the RMS is 56 watts. To get the 80 watts RMS you'd have to either connect it to a 143 volt AC power line or replace the speaker with a 4 ohm unit. Neither is recommended.

The only way this thing is going to put out 800 watts, peak or otherwise, is if it gets struck by lightning.

I bought this for my 7 y.o. daughter to hook her micropohone and electric guitar up to. She loves to make music and this is definitely a hit. Sounds pretty good (not as good as the Fender I use, but it's a lot less $), and the best part is the full set of dual inputs. That'shard to find in this price range, and almost impossible in an amp with this much kick. She loves it, I could afford it, and we are happy.

...However, there is still the matter of the loose bit of something rattling around inside it. You see, it came in the manufacturer's box, and that is not the problem. The folks at Amazon put the big (36 lb!) box it came in into a bigger box and did not use anywhere NEAR enough packing material to stop it from shifting around a LOT during shipping. The big box was almost completely destroyed and had in fact burst wide open (only a single strip of tape held it together on both the top and the bottom--woefeully inadequate) before it made it to me due to the terrible packing job Amazon did. The fact that I took it out of the box, plugged it in and it worked fine is testament alone to the fact that this must be a decent unit (no idea what the rattling thing inside the amp is--it is only evident when you pick it up and tild it... then you hear it roll...).

Reccomended item, but I hope yours ships in better packaging than mine did. Good value for the price.

i really like the looks of this amp...its heavy,solid,and can produce those sounds as well....after reading the other reviews,mixed,my opinion is in the gray...it arrived several days early..good...its capable of being loud,with a very rich,thick sounjd...if you hook up the right pedals,and effects,its got a good sound.the distortion and reverb are decent,nothing special......unpacked,it looked in good shape,2 tiny rough spots on the side,but...i tracked it,and it had made 5 stops on the way here.one problem...i jammed about an hour,and the volume fluctuates...?at one point i stopped playing,strummed,and got no sound at all...?checked knobs,buttons cords etc...strummed and it was back to making noise.i can see why the mixed reviews...i hope it was just a fluke,but yep,i probabley should send it back..if it was reliable,or sold locally,i would recommend it...but sending back and taking a risk on even purchasing it after mixed reviews?if it only worked...now the hassle of contacting them,sending back,and waiting..........would be neat if they made one with 2 speakers or twice as big...real neat...if only..if it works when you get it,i think youll like it....but you want to take that chance...buy it locally.kudos to prompt shipping...good luck.

This has a life span of 6 months with any luck. Very poorly engineered, cheap components. Out of the box it sounds OK but it begins to rapidly deteriorate. Save your money and get a different brand. There is a reason Pyramid amps are so inexpensive. The wattage ratings on these amps are misleading as well.

OK. First i am sondra's 12 year old son.

This amp is very good and can definitely reach 800 watts, but the distortion (on mine) gave only a super little distortion that was pretty hard to notice (but the good thing is that if you have a distortion pedal or something like a BOSS GT-8 ,like me, you will be ok). it didn't have the grey middle, it was just black, but i like the black look better.

THIS IS A VERY GOOD AMP BUT I THINK I WAS THE ONLY ONE TO WRITE A REVIEW ABOUT NOT HAVING DISTORTION, SO BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK IF U DONT HAVE A PEDAL OR BOSS GT-8 RELATED THING.

GREAT AMP GREAT AMP GREAT AMP!!!