This guide compares four Hotone Ampero processors. On paper they look alike: touchscreens, amp and cab modeling, IR loading, USB audio. The real differences are in footswitches, expression control, XLR and mic input, MIDI, NAM support, size and power. Below, Ampero II Stage, Ampero II, Ampero II Stomp and Ampero Mini are compared side by side, with a short note on the older Ampero One and Ampero MP-100.
The quick answer
| If you need… | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The most footswitches and Bluetooth for live control | Ampero II Stage (MP-380) | 8 footswitches, up to 5 scenes per patch, Bluetooth audio and MIDI, XLR I/O with mic preamp |
| A built-in expression pedal plus XLR and 5-pin MIDI | Ampero II (MP-350) | Onboard expression pedal, 4 footswitches, XLR I/O with mic preamp, 5-pin MIDI IN and OUT/THRU |
| The full Ampero II engine on a small pedalboard | Ampero II Stomp (MP-300) | Same 460-effect engine, 1050 g, 185 x 145 x 58 mm, 5-pin MIDI, 800 mA at 9V |
| The smallest unit for travel, desk or practice | Ampero Mini (MP-50VN) | 529 g, 199 effects, 2 footswitches, USB-C audio, 9V 500 mA |
| Native NAM A2 Lite captures on the unit | Any Ampero II model: Stage, Ampero II or Stomp | All six models convert NAM A1/A2; the three Ampero II models also load A2 Lite captures natively |
| Vocals or an acoustic mic through the same unit | Ampero II Stage or Ampero II | Both have an XLR/TS combo input with a 52 dB mic preamp and 48V phantom power |
How the Ampero range is organized
Ampero II platform. Ampero II Stage, Ampero II and Ampero II Stomp share the second-generation engine: 460+ effects (including global EQ), 12 simultaneous slots and 300 patches, an 8-in/8-out USB Audio 2.0 interface, a stereo FX loop, a 60-second stereo looper, 20 Celestion IRs plus 50 user IR slots, Sound Clone, and native loading of NAM A2 Lite captures. The difference between them is the hardware around that engine.
Ampero Mini. A compact first-generation processor: 199 effects with up to 9 running at once, 198 patches and a 4" touchscreen in a 529 g aluminum case.
Older models. Ampero One (MP-80) and the original Ampero (MP-100) are first-generation floor units. See the short section below.
Ampero II Stage vs Ampero II (MP-380 vs MP-350)
Both use the same engine and the same XLR I/O: two balanced XLR outputs with ground lift and an XLR/TS combo input with a 52 dB mic preamp and 48V phantom power. Both have a 5" 800 x 480 touchscreen and the same USB interface. Stage has two external EXP/CTRL jacks. Ampero II has a built-in expression pedal and an external EXP/CTRL input. The choice comes down to how you control the unit.
- Footswitches and scenes. Stage has 8 footswitches and up to 5 scenes per patch. Ampero II has 4 footswitches and 4 scenes per patch.
- Expression. Ampero II has a built-in expression pedal with two-status volume/expression switching. Stage has no built-in pedal; it uses an external one such as Ampero II Press on its EXP/CTRL jacks.
- MIDI and Bluetooth. Ampero II has standard 5-pin MIDI IN and OUT/THRU. Stage uses 1/8" TRS MIDI (a TRS-to-5-pin cable connects standard gear) and adds Bluetooth 4.2 for audio streaming, app editing and Bluetooth MIDI, including wireless pairing with Ampero Control.
- Size and power. Stage: 300 x 180 x 50 mm, 1895 g, up to 1.4 A at 9V. Ampero II: 330 x 157 x 61 mm, 1695 g, up to 1.2 A at 9V. Both run on 9-18V DC with the included adapter.
Pick Stage if you switch a lot live and want Bluetooth. Pick Ampero II if you want an expression pedal built in and standard 5-pin MIDI without extra cables.
Ampero II vs Ampero II Stomp
Ampero II Stomp has the same processing depth (460 effects, 16 modules, 12 slots, 300 patches) in the smallest, lightest chassis of the three: 185 x 145 x 58 mm and 1050 g. What you give up:
- Screen and footswitches. 4" screen instead of 5", 3 footswitches instead of 4, up to 3 scenes per patch.
- No expression pedal, XLR or mic preamp. Stomp has 2 x 1/4" TRS balanced outputs, no XLR, no mic input and one EXP/CTRL jack.
- What stays. Stereo inputs and outputs, stereo FX loop, 5-pin MIDI IN and OUT/THRU, 8-in/8-out USB audio with reamp support, Sound Clone and native NAM A2 Lite loading.
- Power. 800 mA max at 9V, easier on a compact pedalboard supply than Ampero II (1.2 A) or Stage (1.4 A).
Pick Stomp if it has to fit on an existing board next to other pedals. Pick Ampero II if you want it to be the whole rig, with expression pedal and XLR outs.
Ampero Mini vs Ampero II Stomp
Both are small, but they are different generations.
- Effects. Mini: 199 effects, up to 9 at once, 198 patches. Stomp: 460 effects, 12 slots, 300 patches.
- Control. Mini has 2 footswitches; an external switch or expression pedal on its EXP/CTRL jack adds more. Stomp has 3 footswitches, scenes and 5-pin MIDI. Mini has no MIDI jacks.
- Connections. Mini has one 1/4" TS input and one 1/4" TRS stereo output (use a Y-cable for left/right), plus USB-C audio. Stomp has stereo inputs and outputs and a stereo FX loop.
- Size and power. Mini: 140 x 120 x 60 mm, 529 g, 9V DC 500 mA, no power switch. Stomp: 185 x 145 x 58 mm, 1050 g, 9-18V DC, 800 mA at 9V.
- NAM. Stomp loads NAM A2 Lite captures natively (firmware V2.5.0 or later). Mini converts NAM A1/A2 files with Ampero Editor V1.6.0 or later instead.
Pick Mini for travel, headphones practice and simple setups. Pick Stomp if you need MIDI, an FX loop or more effects at once.
NAM and IR: which Ampero loads what
According to Hotone, all six models support NAM A1/A2 conversion. Ampero II Stage, Ampero II and Ampero II Stomp also load A2 Lite captures natively. No Ampero loads NAM A1 or NAM A2 Full captures natively.
| Model | NAM support | Firmware | Load files with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ampero II Stage | Native NAM A2 Lite + NAM A1/A2 conversion | V1.7.0 or later | PC Editor V1.5.1+ or app V1.2.2+ |
| Ampero II | Native NAM A2 Lite + NAM A1/A2 conversion | V1.4.0 or later | PC Editor V1.5.1+ |
| Ampero II Stomp | Native NAM A2 Lite + NAM A1/A2 conversion | V2.5.0 or later | PC Editor V1.5.1+ |
| Ampero Mini | Conversion of NAM A1/A2 | V2.2 or later | PC Editor V1.6.0+ |
| Ampero One | Conversion of NAM A1/A2 | V3.1 or later | PC Editor V1.6.0+ |
| Ampero MP-100 | Conversion of NAM A1/A2 | V5.2 or later | PC Editor V1.6.0+ |
Hotone says units currently shipping already have the latest firmware installed. If you want to run NAM A2 Lite captures directly on the unit, choose an Ampero II model.
IR loading: Ampero II Stage, Ampero II and Ampero II Stomp include 20 Celestion IRs and up to 50 user IR slots. Ampero Mini, Ampero One and Ampero MP-100 load third-party user IRs (24-bit/44.1 kHz mono WAV, 1024 points); MP-100 has 20 user IR slots.
Sound Clone: Hotone's Sound Clone, for capturing amps, cabinets and drive pedals, is available on Ampero II Stage, Ampero II, Ampero II Stomp, Ampero Mini (firmware V2.2 and later), Ampero One (firmware V3.1) and Ampero MP-100 (current firmware).
What to add: expression pedals, footswitches and MIDI control
- Ampero II Stage: Ampero II Press SP-35 is made for its EXP/CTRL jacks (expression plus a momentary toe switch). Ampero Control EC-4 pairs over Bluetooth MIDI.
- Ampero II: its EXP/CTRL input takes Ampero Press or Ampero Switch+ FS-2; Ampero Control connects through 5-pin MIDI.
- Ampero II Stomp: the EXP/CTRL jack takes Ampero Press or Ampero Switch; the 5-pin MIDI IN is made for Ampero Control. Ampero Press SP-30H (25 kΩ edition) is listed for Ampero II Stomp.
- Ampero Mini: the EXP/CTRL jack takes Ampero Press or Ampero Switch FS-1, which adds footswitches FS 3 and FS 4.
About Ampero Switch FS-1 and FS-2. Hotone designs both footswitches for the EXP jacks of Ampero series processors. They use a normally closed contact, so they will not work with pedals that need a normally open switch, such as BOSS RC-600, RC-30, RC-10R, RC-500 and VE-8; Hotone notes that those models have their own specific requirements. Use a TRS cable. Check the product page for what is included and whether you need an adapter.
Not sure which Press fits your processor? See our Hotone Press compatibility chart.
Ampero One and Ampero MP-100
Ampero One (MP-80) is a 9V floor unit with a built-in expression pedal, 3 footswitches, 242 effects and a 4" touchscreen. It has no MIDI jacks.
Ampero MP-100 is the original full-size Ampero: 240+ effects, 4 footswitches, built-in expression pedal, XLR balanced outputs and 5-pin MIDI In. The MP-100 comes with an 18V DC power adapter. It has no FX loop.
Spec comparison
| Ampero II Stage | Ampero II | Ampero II Stomp | Ampero Mini | Ampero One | Ampero MP-100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | MP-380 | MP-350 | MP-300 | MP-50VN | MP-80 | MP-100 |
| Effects | 460+ | 460+ | 460 | 199 | 242 | 240+ |
| Simultaneous | 12 slots | 12 slots | 12 slots | 9 modules | 9 modules | 9 modules |
| Patches | 300 | 300 | 300 | 198 | 198 | 198 |
| Screen | 5" | 5" | 4" | 4" | 4" | 4" |
| Footswitches | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Built-in expression pedal | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| XLR outputs | Yes | Yes | No (TRS balanced) | No | No | Yes |
| Mic input / phantom | Yes / 48V | Yes / 48V | No | No | No | No |
| FX loop | Stereo | Stereo | Stereo | — | — | No |
| MIDI | 1/8" TRS IN, OUT/THRU; Bluetooth MIDI | 5-pin IN, OUT/THRU | 5-pin IN, OUT/THRU | None | None | 5-pin IN |
| Bluetooth | Yes (4.2) | No | No | — | — | No |
| NAM | Native A2 Lite + conversion | Native A2 Lite + conversion | Native A2 Lite + conversion | Conversion | Conversion | Conversion |
| Sound Clone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| USB audio | USB-C, 8 in / 8 out | USB-C, 8 in / 8 out | USB-C, 8 in / 8 out | USB-C | USB Type-B | USB Type-B |
| Power | 9-18V DC, 1.4 A at 9V | 9-18V DC, 1.2 A at 9V | 9-18V DC, 800 mA at 9V | 9V DC, 500 mA | 9V DC, 500 mA | 18V DC, 500 mA |
| Size | 300 x 180 x 50 mm | 330 x 157 x 61 mm | 185 x 145 x 58 mm | 140 x 120 x 60 mm | 273 x 143 x 51 mm | 320 x 147 x 46 mm |
| Weight | 1895 g | 1695 g | 1050 g | 529 g | 1202 g | 1408 g |
— = not confirmed in our product data yet.
FAQ
What is the difference between Ampero 2 and Ampero 2 Stage? Ampero II (MP-350) has a built-in expression pedal, 4 footswitches and 5-pin MIDI. Ampero II Stage (MP-380) has 8 footswitches, up to 5 scenes, Bluetooth and 1/8" TRS MIDI, but no built-in expression pedal. Both have XLR I/O with a mic preamp and phantom power.
Ampero 2 Stomp vs Ampero 2: which should I get? Stomp has the same effects engine in a much smaller, lighter box (1050 g) with 3 footswitches and TRS balanced outputs. Ampero II adds a 5" screen, a built-in expression pedal, XLR outputs and a mic input.
Is Ampero Mini enough for gigs? For simple setups, yes: it has 199 effects, a looper and a stereo output. For lots of switching, MIDI, stereo inputs and an FX loop, choose a model from the Ampero II line. For XLR outputs to a PA, choose Ampero II Stage or Ampero II (MP-350); Ampero II Stomp has TRS balanced outputs.
Which Ampero has an XLR mic input? Ampero II Stage and Ampero II: both have an XLR/TS combo input with a 52 dB mic preamp and 48V phantom power. Ampero MP-100 has XLR outputs but no mic input.
Which Ampero has a built-in expression pedal? Ampero II, Ampero One and Ampero MP-100. Ampero II Stage, Ampero II Stomp and Ampero Mini use an external pedal such as Ampero Press.
Does Ampero Mini support NAM? It converts NAM A1 and A2 captures with Ampero Editor V1.6.0 or later (firmware V2.2 or later), but it does not load NAM files natively. For native NAM A2 Lite, choose Ampero II Stage, Ampero II or Ampero II Stomp.
Which Ampero supports NAM A2? All six models support NAM A1/A2 conversion. Ampero II Stage, Ampero II and Ampero II Stomp also load A2 Lite captures natively (firmware V1.7.0, V1.4.0 and V2.5.0 or later; PC Editor V1.5.1 or later). Ampero Mini, Ampero One and Ampero MP-100 convert with Ampero Editor V1.6.0 or later.