This device is a case study in simplicity. The volume and tone is controlled by the knobs on your guitar. Except for the speaker cone there are no moving parts to wear out. The Smokey is powered by a nine volt battery that can be changed by opening the flip-top which is held in place during use by two sided sticky tape.
Battery life is about twenty hours of playing time.
The day I received mine I immediately plugged in my circa 1960 National electric guitar. I found that at low volume and higher tone I got a clear, crisp sound. Cranking up the volume brought on a wonderful distortion with more than adequate sustain. The lower tones tended to rattle the speaker however. I put it aside for several days.