Seymour Duncan PowerStage 200: Plenty of power and features for your pedal board
5,0 / 5,0 | 
If you thought Seymour Duncan only produces guitar pickups, think again. The company has been branching out for a few years now with an ever-expanding line of useful effects and pedal amps. Its latest amplifier-in-a-stompbox is the PowerStage 200, which crams a fully featured nice amp into a pedal format. An enticing proposition for guitarists on the move? We think so.
Seymour Duncan PowerStage 200
Seymour Duncan PowerStage 200 · Source: Seymour Duncan
As an amp-in-a-pedal, the new PowerStage 200 leaves little to be desired in terms of functionality. The core sound can be tweaked in realtime via the simple 4-band EQ. A handy presence control is also available, so you can dial dial in the right amount of high end – often a pain in a live scenario. The 200 also has a built-in DI output with switchable speaker simulation if you need to send the signal directly to a mixer or a recording interface. If desired, the EQ can also be toggled on/off for the Phones or Balanced XLR output with the push of a button. Neat.
Seymour Duncan PowerStage 200 rear panel · Source: Seymour Duncan
Amp Tone
Seymour Duncan describes the PowerStage 200 as “warm and clean”, which is exactly the kind of sound I would want, as I don’t like the idea of any colouration from a power amp like this. What I’m looking for in this kind of products is a convincing clean tone as the ideal basis for further sound shaping with drives. I also want it to be lightweight and compact. With its 200 Watts and only 1.3 kg this little power amp is ticking all the boxes for me.
I also quite like the large volume control. It looks easy to manipulate with your foot if needed. Seymour Duncan says that it amplifies the signal completely linearly. Hopefully, that means you won’t accidentally blow your head off with massive volume jumps. I also very much like the integration of an Aux input and headphone output with a separate level control. You could also use this for simple in-ear monitoring on stage.
Is Seymour Duncan intending to replace the 170 model with the new PowerStage 200? Or is this to be offered alongside the smaller sibling at a higher price point? The added power (200 Watts instead of 170) is only one of the differentiating features. The 200 version also has better EQ options than its smaller sibling, along with more I/O. The Cab Sim and EQ switch seem to be new additions, too.
You can check the video below for a neat description of what the Seymour Duncan PowerStage 200 has to offer. It’s listed at GBP 424 on Thomann, which is an OK price given the functionality on offer. The 200 version isn’t listed on the official Seymour Duncan product page at the time of writing.
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