« Good amp, despite some defective components »

40w solid-state amp with tube preamp and one Valvestate 8040 speaker

Manufactured in the '90s in the UK. That's where it gets its charm from.
On the other hand, like with many other amps at this price point, the sound starts to "leak" after several years.
So you effectively get less output signal and less sound.

You can resolder the output capacitors, but it's always the same problem.

So, the only solution is to bridge the input and the output (of the preamp) and the sound comes miraculously back!

In short, it's a good amp for beginners with a quality clean sound and a nice, not-too-distorted boost.
It simply can't be compared to an all-tube amp, but it's a good compromise and, given its price, it's a safe bet.

I recommend it to people starting out.

UTILIZATION

Not many buttons, which makes dialing in easier, interesting reverb.

SOUNDS

The clean sound is all right, it's better than an mg50 I have. The tube is not there for nothing!!!

The boost is all right.

OVERALL OPINION

Nice size, not too big. I use it at home but not live, for that I use a 100W tube Peavey that is more aggressive.