Hotone Audio Ampero One

The Hotone Audio Ampero One is a compact multi-effects unit that combines amp modeling, IR cabinet simulation and a full effects chain in one pedal-sized box. It is a downsized version of the original Hotone Ampero, described by Pedal of the Day as the little brother of the lineup, taking what the bigger unit does in a smaller and easier-to-transport package¹.

Under the hood it keeps the workflow players know from the Ampero series: an 800 x 480 touch screen, 4 inches across, is used to set up and reorder the effects chain and edit sounds, and favorite sounds can be programmed as "patches" to use live or to record via USB or an audio interface using the analog outputs¹. The Input Selector switch has been replaced by a special input jack with high impedance up to 4.7M Ohms, making it compatible with guitars, basses and acoustic instruments¹.

What it does to your sound

The effects range covers compression and boost, drive and distortion, octaves, delays and reverbs, modulation, and acoustic tones, among others¹. You program your favorite sounds as "patches" to use live, or record directly via USB or through an audio interface using the analog outputs¹. The stereo outputs and stereo looper recording let you build wide, two-amp setups¹.

The controls and touch screen

Most of the interaction happens on the 800 x 480 touch screen, 4 inches across, which Pedal of the Day describes as bright and bold with dynamic color and an optimized UI. It is used to set up and reorder the effects chain and to edit sounds¹. Where the original Ampero gives you four assignable footswitches with halo LEDs², the Ampero One carries only three footswitches instead of four, the main control trade-off of the smaller format¹.

Power and connections

Internally the unit is driven by 18V DC, but it uses a regular 9V power supply, which Pedal of the Day notes makes for easier connectivity in any rig¹. The input is a special jack with high impedance up to 4.7M Ohms, replacing the Input Selector switch of the original and making it compatible with guitars, basses and acoustic instruments¹. There is also a TRS expression pedal and external footswitch jack¹.

Expression pedal and external control

An external expression pedal can be connected through the TRS jack¹. Hotone's own Ampero Press, a compact passive volume and expression 2-in-1 pedal, is built for controlling Ampero series multi-effects as well as other devices with external EXP jacks, and it can also work as a plain passive volume pedal³. When used with the Ampero or Ampero One, the Press can control up to 4 modules at the same time, with different percentages of expression for each one⁴.

Bass and acoustic use

Guitar World describes the Ampero One as more guitar-centric but featuring bass functionality, calling it a feature-packed, touch-screen unit with serious processing power⁵. The high-impedance input jack covers passive bass pickups and acoustic instruments¹, and acoustic tones are part of the onboard effects range¹.

The smaller Ampero

The Ampero One sits in a series that has kept growing. After the original Ampero and the Ampero One came the Ampero II line, then the Ampero Silver Edition, described by Pedal of the Day as a cousin of the original Ampero with the same dual-core platform, 64 amp models and 4 assignable footswitches with halo LEDs⁶. Later still came the palm-sized Ampero Mini and the second-generation Ampero II Stomp and Ampero II Stage. Against these, the Ampero One's position is the compact downsized sibling of the first-generation Ampero¹.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day reviewed the Ampero One in April 2020 and concluded¹:

The same review found the unit impressive for how it performed, adding that cramming amps, cabinets and effects into one unit was a stroke of genius¹. A gearnews commenter, comparing the Ampero family against its competitors, wrote that "the Ampero smokes them all" and reported buying both the Ampero and the Ampero One⁷.

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