It's very loud, I never go past 4 on volume. I never use the distortion - it sounds really pathetic, but that's not why I bought it. Buy it for the clean tone. Don't use the chorus or vibrato either. The reverb is quite wimpy - I usually have it on 10 and barely notice it.
Brightness switch is nice.
9 Had it 6 years, bought in 1994 - never had a problem. This amp is pretty basic really. I use it strictly for jazz. I never really use the distortion or chorus or vibrato on it, I just play it clean. I roll all the way off the tone on my neck pickup.