“It kicks the ass of amps three times its size”: Slash and Magnatone slither into the fray with the Lil’ Viper, a compact but venomous 8-watt combo amp

NAMM 2026: Fresh from unveiling new signature pickups with Seymour Duncan, Slash has added to his collection of signature Magnatone gear with the Lil’ Viper, a lightweight amp with a size-defying sound.

The top-hatted shredder left many aghast when he ditched Marshall for the lesser-known Magnatone brand in 2023 after being “blown away” by its tube amps, and the relationship has gone from strength to strength since, while his Marshalls remain part of his wider rig.

The newcomer, the Lil’ Viper, is small in size only. Following the digital modeler trend of getting big sounds out of small footprints, this is a compact 8-watt combo amp fueled by a 12AX7 preamp tube and a pair of NOS 6AQ5 power tubes.

That results in 8 watts of push-pull Class AB output, which comes hurtling out of a Magnatone Custom 8” ceramic magnet speaker. For added versatility, there’s a High/Low gain switch that gives players two distinct voicings for when they want to dial back and dig in, respectively.

At Slash’s request, a speaker-emulated 1/4” headphone output had also been airdropped in. It mutes the internal speaker when in use without any tonal compromise. And with just three controls, for Gain, Tone, and Master, it really cuts straight to the point.

Additionally, players will find a 1/8” line input for playing along with backing tracks, and it gets a Purple Python aesthetic, which oozes classic rock swagger, alongside a backlit Magnatone logo and gold-accented control panel hardware, and a Chevron on its grille.

“I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the most kick ass amp of its size I’ve ever heard,” Slash purrs. “It kicks the ass of amps three times its size.”

“Slash wanted a big-sounding backstage solution, so we worked together to create a big amp in a little box,” adds Magnatone President & CEO, Ted Kornblum. “Low Gain is a classic, slightly broken-up gain architecture. High gain is a modified type of saturation tone.

“While it may be the smallest amp in the Slash collection, the Lil’ Viper really delivers a surprisingly big sound that stands up proudly to its bigger brothers in the collection.”

The Magnatone Lil’ Viper is available exclusively in its delicious Purple Python garbs and is priced at $1,899. That's a lot of buck, but then again, it's supposed to have a lot of bite.

See Magnatone for more.