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pic&pulse « A well-achieved lead channel »
Published on 02/18/12 at 15:23
Value For Money :
Excellent
Very good finish. It's made of (solid) plastic, the controls are pleasant to the touch and don't feel cheap.
The common EQ for both channels is a compromise, given the price, but it forces you to make compromises.
Technically speaking, half of the V1 tube is dedicated to the clean channel, while the remaining half plus a half of the V2 tube are consecrated to the lead channel. The last half works as a rectifier. Two transistors (I'll come back to this later) are found after the effects loop to split the signal and send it to a negative feedback circuit and then to the power amp.
USE
It's comfortable to use, given its simplicity: You make a compromise with the EQ and play, and then you make a big smile because it sounds great.
The manual informs you of several precautions to consider with tube amps (impedance, pre-heating of the tubes), and it even indicates the position of the preamp tubes.
In terms of the controls available, the EQ frequencies don't suit me too well: The lows act too low, the mids are centered around the low mids (I would've preferred them a bit higher, but I must admit that it provides a good foundation), highs are not bad, and the bright controls are really effective (too much on the clean channel). As a consequence, I insert an external EQ to be truly satisfied and leave the one on the amp almost flat (with slight retouches to adapt it to the different speakers used).
It's hard to find a balance between channels at first, since it varies depending on the master volume (the negative feedback affects only the clean channel), and you'll necessarily have a level difference on the two "semi" distorted channels.
SOUND
The target market is made up of rockers in every form, the gain headroom available is pretty large.
The clean channel can crunch, it's very sensitive to playing nuances and respects well the guitar's character.
The lead channel is pretty raw, with lots of mids and full across the entire frequency spectrum, which gives it a huge presence and cuts easily through the mix.
On the other hand, it's hard to use it at low volumes, because the transistors I wrote about before distort pretty easily and the sound becomes then less flattering. At higher volumes, the sound becomes nice again, thanks to the negative feedback, according to my favorite guitar tech.
The balance between channels changes: The more you increase the volume, the more the relative volume of the lead channel increases in relation to the clean. Consequently, I had the amp modified so that the negative feedback affects both channels all the time: That way the balance is constant regardless of the master setting and I even won some thickness on the lead channel.
I tested the output of the preamp (the send of the effects loop) with an external power amp and the sound is simply huge.
OVERALL OPINION
I use it with a 2x12 home-made cab equipped with V30s. I also plugged it into a G12H30 and the unavoidable Marshall 1960, I prefer it with the V30s.
Little noise, fat sound, lightweight and compact, original. To me, the 50W of the tubes are the usable upper limit. Half would've been largely enough.
It's not my first amp and I have tried a lot of them, but it's the first one that gives me as much satisfaction. Just like peerk, I don't have the need to go looking any further. It's a very seducing amp (especially due to its lead channel).
Excellent value for money, given the sound and build quality.
I approve of it.
The common EQ for both channels is a compromise, given the price, but it forces you to make compromises.
Technically speaking, half of the V1 tube is dedicated to the clean channel, while the remaining half plus a half of the V2 tube are consecrated to the lead channel. The last half works as a rectifier. Two transistors (I'll come back to this later) are found after the effects loop to split the signal and send it to a negative feedback circuit and then to the power amp.
USE
It's comfortable to use, given its simplicity: You make a compromise with the EQ and play, and then you make a big smile because it sounds great.
The manual informs you of several precautions to consider with tube amps (impedance, pre-heating of the tubes), and it even indicates the position of the preamp tubes.
In terms of the controls available, the EQ frequencies don't suit me too well: The lows act too low, the mids are centered around the low mids (I would've preferred them a bit higher, but I must admit that it provides a good foundation), highs are not bad, and the bright controls are really effective (too much on the clean channel). As a consequence, I insert an external EQ to be truly satisfied and leave the one on the amp almost flat (with slight retouches to adapt it to the different speakers used).
It's hard to find a balance between channels at first, since it varies depending on the master volume (the negative feedback affects only the clean channel), and you'll necessarily have a level difference on the two "semi" distorted channels.
SOUND
The target market is made up of rockers in every form, the gain headroom available is pretty large.
The clean channel can crunch, it's very sensitive to playing nuances and respects well the guitar's character.
The lead channel is pretty raw, with lots of mids and full across the entire frequency spectrum, which gives it a huge presence and cuts easily through the mix.
On the other hand, it's hard to use it at low volumes, because the transistors I wrote about before distort pretty easily and the sound becomes then less flattering. At higher volumes, the sound becomes nice again, thanks to the negative feedback, according to my favorite guitar tech.
The balance between channels changes: The more you increase the volume, the more the relative volume of the lead channel increases in relation to the clean. Consequently, I had the amp modified so that the negative feedback affects both channels all the time: That way the balance is constant regardless of the master setting and I even won some thickness on the lead channel.
I tested the output of the preamp (the send of the effects loop) with an external power amp and the sound is simply huge.
OVERALL OPINION
I use it with a 2x12 home-made cab equipped with V30s. I also plugged it into a G12H30 and the unavoidable Marshall 1960, I prefer it with the V30s.
Little noise, fat sound, lightweight and compact, original. To me, the 50W of the tubes are the usable upper limit. Half would've been largely enough.
It's not my first amp and I have tried a lot of them, but it's the first one that gives me as much satisfaction. Just like peerk, I don't have the need to go looking any further. It's a very seducing amp (especially due to its lead channel).
Excellent value for money, given the sound and build quality.
I approve of it.