STACK #258 April 2026

TECH FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

A portable AI-powered amp for practice and performance The JBL Bandbox – available in two different models - is a portable amplifier that can help you to unlock your musical talents. Whether you're practicing with friends or jamming solo, the Bandbox is ideal for learning your chords, nailing your solos, and figuring out where your musical talents lie. Words James O'Connor JBL Bandbox

LATEST AUDIO

JBL Bandbox Trio The JBL Bandbox Trio comes with the same features as the Solo, but it turns everything up to 11 – it's not just for practice, it's also ideal for performance. This is a busking speaker, so once you've used its AI features to learn tracks, you can start playing them for audiences. You can sub in with your instrument-of-choice if you want, muting the original and showing off your prowess across the tracks you've grown comfortable with. Bandbox Trio

JBL Bandbox Solo The JBL Bandbox Solo has everything you need to get a start on your rockstar ambitions. It lets you plug in a guitar, bass, drum, or microphone and get to work learning how to perfect it. Bandbox Solo

It can separate out the different parts of a track you're listening to in real time using AI: you can mute the guitar track, focus on the guitar section, and join right in on the song. Whether you want to practice a tricky solo or really study a specific part, the Bandbox Solo can help.

The Bandbox Trio is for anyone who is ready to start playing music in front of other people, but you also don't need to be a solo act – there are four inputs on this amp, so your friends or bandmates can jump right in too. It's particularly great if you all want to learn a song together or just practice while on the go. The Trio sports a built-in four channel mixer, complete with an LCD screen. If you want to make a change mid-track, it's straightforward, and you can keep tweaking as you go. This screen makes it easy to dial in tools or switch amp models as you go, and there's even a "record" button if you want to capture a particularly good performance. The battery on this model is upgraded too, allowing for up to ten hours of use before it needs a charge. The whole thing weighs in at just 8.74kg – for such a small, highly portable amp, it packs some serious power.

Paired with the JBL One app, you'll unlock everything you need to test your prowess and tweak your experience. You can shift tone, volume, and EQ, use practice tools like a metronome or tuner, and shift the pitch of your instrument. You can change a song's key if your singing voice isn't matching, and load up different effects as you see fit – let's see what this track sounds like with a little reverb on it... When you're not practicing, the Bandbox Solo is also a solid portable speaker – it weighs under 1kg, but it can really project. It delivers a clear 18-watt sound, free of distortion, with up to six hours of battery life, and you can also connect headphones if you want to keep practicing with it without bothering the neighbours at night.

66 APRIL 2026

jbhifi.com.au