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King Loudness « Great budget amplifier »
Published on 11/29/11 at 06:23The Tube Works RT2100 is a 1x12 combo dual channel guitar amplifier that contains the infamous MosValve technology of the eighties and nineties. The Genz Benz owned company used the MosValve technologies to simulate the tones of a tube power section at any volume. It's a two channel amp with clean and drive channels. Each channel has it's own EQ and the drive channel contains unique cascading gain controls labelled drive (amount of saturation) and stack (changing the tonestack to suit different styles of playing). There's also onboard reverb and an effects loop. The featureset is pretty standard, but it overshadows needless features for great tone. Each side is capable of about 100 watts of power and it serves well in jam and gig settings.
UTILIZATION
Setting up this amp is a fairly standard process. Other than the cascading drive controls it's a very typical amp and will respond as such. I find it has a bit more of a US voicing as opposed to British, though that classic UK roar can be heard peeking through the sound spectrum at times. The EQ controls work fairly well on each channel to shape a variety of tones, and the overall smooth and refined character is pleasing to the ear; it's not rough or grating sounding. It's definitely aired towards more of the classic vibe of tones. The overall tonal centre is rooted in traditional stylings which make it a cool amp for things like blues, classic rock or fusion-y lead.
SOUNDS
This amp sounds great with a variety of different guitars. Using a Strat yields some really rich yet chimey clean toned that are great for funk or soul music. It can also do some great classic cleans a-la Hendrix or Mark Knopfler. Using a humbucker loaded guitar gives the cleans more bite and hair, rendering it an excellent choice for blues or early rock n roll sounds. Switching to the drive channel brings forth a smooth yet articulate voicing. Single coils seem most at home with more articulate lead work a-la Eric Johnson or Yngwie, and humbuckers work well for an even thicker yet still very smooth lead tone. It doesn't quite have the low end grunt or saturation for modern rock or metal tones, partly due to the strong midrange voice of the drive channel.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Tube Works RT2100 is a fantastic buy for someon looking for a portable, well priced, and great sounding amp that combines tubelike tones with solid state reliability. They can be had for about $250 used which is a real bargain for anyone who wants their amp's brand-name to be Good Tone.
UTILIZATION
Setting up this amp is a fairly standard process. Other than the cascading drive controls it's a very typical amp and will respond as such. I find it has a bit more of a US voicing as opposed to British, though that classic UK roar can be heard peeking through the sound spectrum at times. The EQ controls work fairly well on each channel to shape a variety of tones, and the overall smooth and refined character is pleasing to the ear; it's not rough or grating sounding. It's definitely aired towards more of the classic vibe of tones. The overall tonal centre is rooted in traditional stylings which make it a cool amp for things like blues, classic rock or fusion-y lead.
SOUNDS
This amp sounds great with a variety of different guitars. Using a Strat yields some really rich yet chimey clean toned that are great for funk or soul music. It can also do some great classic cleans a-la Hendrix or Mark Knopfler. Using a humbucker loaded guitar gives the cleans more bite and hair, rendering it an excellent choice for blues or early rock n roll sounds. Switching to the drive channel brings forth a smooth yet articulate voicing. Single coils seem most at home with more articulate lead work a-la Eric Johnson or Yngwie, and humbuckers work well for an even thicker yet still very smooth lead tone. It doesn't quite have the low end grunt or saturation for modern rock or metal tones, partly due to the strong midrange voice of the drive channel.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Tube Works RT2100 is a fantastic buy for someon looking for a portable, well priced, and great sounding amp that combines tubelike tones with solid state reliability. They can be had for about $250 used which is a real bargain for anyone who wants their amp's brand-name to be Good Tone.