Even the pick attack felt cracking and vicious. With a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Champ, the plexi voice and Cali mode turned the little amp into a monolithic grind machine that sounded way bigger than its 5 watts. It’s pretty easy to dive right into the V2 and get results with just about any guitar and amp. The plexi SansAmp voice uses a simpler array of EQ tone and level and drive knobs, as well as a new “Cali” button that bumps the midrange and gain and replicates some of the qualities of vintage Mesa/Boogies and hot-rodded Marshalls. The blonde SansAmp voice features level and drive controls and a 3-band EQ. Delay has level, repeat and time controls, and knobs for drift (modulation) and eighth-note divisions. Reverb has a knob for effects mix and a virtual hall size button. The 13 knobs along the top light up when their respective effect is engaged.

There’s also a tuner, a speaker-emulating XLR output with ground-lift, an effects loop, and tap tempo functionality. There’s five footswitchable modes: plexi and blonde voiced SansAmp voices, a 12 dB boost, delay, and reverb. The V2 is as sleek and slim as its predecessors. Impressively, Tech 21 has managed several significant and useful improvements on this simple-but-effective formula in the new Fly Rig 5 V2. Just throw it in a bag, jump in a car or a plane with your favorite axe, and those question marks at your backline gig-not to mention your luggage-get much easier to manage.

It’s a great idea: a marriage of the company’s popular and reliable SansAmp voices with a few colorful and essential effects in a slim, compact pedal not a whole lot bigger than your shoe. If the name didn’t tip you off, Tech 21’s Fly Rig was designed first and foremost for the travelling musician.

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