Le Taz « An exceptional amp ! »
Published on 07/27/16 at 07:01
Value For Money :
Excellent
Audience:
Advanced Users
INTRODUCTION
A 60-watt, all-tube amp head with 2x5881 & 4x12AX7.
2 channels (clean & dirty) with independent gain settings and general volume knob.
Common EQ, presence & FX loop.
Built point-to-point in Dallas, Texas, with a classy original look that reminds of the classical look of 1950s/1960s American cars. Cleanly and carefully assembled, which is quite rare even in such a price range (2800€ new). A rather rare model where I live.
USE
The amp seems to have been designed for distorted sound, with a clean channel added afterward: you can feel that it actually bypasses part of the circuit, the EQ seems to have less impact on this channel, which makes all the interest of the (very efficient) Bite switch for this channel that will compensate for the Presence setting – very efficient on the driven sound textures, but much less on clean ones. So, you get a clean channel that is loud and drives quite easily. You can make it cruch using the Master knob, but only in the studio or for this use exclusively as the dirty channel won’t catch the volume difference. However, it’s quite easy to reach a balance between both channels. While the amp reaches its real dimension with a sustained level (11-12h), there also is a “small volume” potential allowing it to sound pretty good at very low levels for home use. That’s what the manufacturer claims, and I back this claim: the master volume is exceptional and allows to have a very good sound independently of the playing conditions, I just never saw such an efficient master even with Bogner, Soldano, Splawn and so on. A little cons for some: it’s impossible to switch channel without the footswitch.
SOUNDS
This is gonna be hard to describe… It was introduced to me as another version of a hot rodded Plexi, an EVH (VHI or VHII)/ZZ Top (and so on) sound machine. Why not, but its sonic signature doesn’t really sound like a Marshall. It still sounds British with the same type of drive, but more focused on the mids than on the highs… So actually more Vox-ish than Marshallesque, but in that case a Higain Vox! All in all, this unique amp sounds like a Naylor. Yes, I know, it won’t evoke much to you… actually, its sound evokes that of a plexi until a certain drive level, then the mids get stronger while keeping a certain brilliance, getting towards a sort of heavily distorted Vox AC30 but still with an open sound grain. The amp goes relatively far drivewise, enough for shred but not with a metal-oriented voicing. We’re clearly in the realm of a 70s British spirit sound, with a mid hump typical of 60s/70s vintage amps, and none ot the high-mids proper to higain amps. Except for the fact that the amp offers a nice brilliance, which is not aggressive but gives details, attack, and prevents the sound from ever getting fuzzy/muddy/etc. The Presence setting can be pushed quite far (or not – depending on your preference) with a very musical-sounding result, brilliant yet soft-sounding. As a result, the sound is precise, detailed, while the distortion goes way farther than on the original vintage amps, which is what makes this amp model unique. The guy who designed it thought of both the experienced shredder, who wants to play comfortably with precise notes than can be plainly heard, and those seeking a classic rock, 70s sound. Many amps claim to achieve that, but none of them does it that well.
The EQ is very efficient, the sound can be carved at will, the grain affined in the thick of the sound, the presence is sufficient to get from Vox-like sounds to a Marshallesque spirit. Actually, while I generally tend to leave this knob at 0 (like the Young brothers), I now tend to use and abuse it to give the sound an 80s-style bite. Imagine being able to play a vintage amp with all the comfort of a modern one ( Soldano, Bogner –and so on– style), with a sound that can be either soft or aggressive depending on your settings and a controllable volume… Here you are. Depending on your settings you can approach the sounds of LedZeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, Angus Young (without pushing the drive) but also EVH, Deep Purple, and even Brian May’s sound without having to boost 3 Vox AC30s , or even getting into Rory’s territory – and the most unbelievable is, you can get all that with enough gain and natural compression for all you can wish as far as tapping, legato or sweeping go, approaching the likes of Satriani or Govan ! Squaring the circle: done!
Still, this is not a real vintage sound, the drive won’t “break” in the same way. This is what allows the sound to remain soft, drives further and still remains very, very precise and full of presence. A real wonder for classic rock players who love both blues and shred, as it will sound good in both cases without involving the artificial sound of these days’ shred amps, with plenty of grain and a drive that’s both pleasant to hear and easy to play. On the other hand, for more modern, aggressive sounds (Extreme to Zakk Wylde for instance), it will lack high-mids and lows. By its voicing, it clearly is a lead player’s amp.
With all I’ve said, the clean sound could seem as a bit of a let down. But in the end, it’s not the case. Depending on how the Presence knob and EQ are set on the dirty channel, the 3-position bite always offers a balanced, appropriate setting. You won’t have the depth of a Hiwatt or Bassman, but it’s not a cold or weak channel either. Now I think of it, it’s the first time I’ve had that much pleasure chaining two TS9s… And it sounds great! For an idea of how it sounds, this is the amps played by Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy. Its only real cons is its volume… Since the channel bypasses part of the circuit, it soon gets very loud and you have to leave it at 1 or 2 at most to avoid it getting too loud compared with the dirty channel. However, pushing it gives you a very vintage-y crunch, very promising for studio use and especially pedal-friendly.
OVERALL
An exceptional amp that evokes both the Plexi and Vox AC30, but without ever falling into the trap of imitation, it sounds like a Naylor, like a modern amp with a good level of drive always defined and precise, still with a soft, vintage voicing and a surprising brilliance allowing it to get through the mix. No other amp really sounds like this Naylor, which really stands apart. You can consider playing shred (rock or fusion), roch, blues, both live or in the studio, and still never get somebody else’s sound! Looking after a Brian May/Jimmy Page-like sound but with enough distortion and details to play it like Guthrie Govan, all with a real amp drive sound that will be a feast to any sound engineer? Here you go, with this amp you don’t even really know if you’re into vintage or modern. This is plain unique, I found that on no other amp – none – with such a strong personality that doesn’t walk into the footsteps of the guitar player’s own sound and identity… This really is an exceptional amp.
A 60-watt, all-tube amp head with 2x5881 & 4x12AX7.
2 channels (clean & dirty) with independent gain settings and general volume knob.
Common EQ, presence & FX loop.
Built point-to-point in Dallas, Texas, with a classy original look that reminds of the classical look of 1950s/1960s American cars. Cleanly and carefully assembled, which is quite rare even in such a price range (2800€ new). A rather rare model where I live.
USE
The amp seems to have been designed for distorted sound, with a clean channel added afterward: you can feel that it actually bypasses part of the circuit, the EQ seems to have less impact on this channel, which makes all the interest of the (very efficient) Bite switch for this channel that will compensate for the Presence setting – very efficient on the driven sound textures, but much less on clean ones. So, you get a clean channel that is loud and drives quite easily. You can make it cruch using the Master knob, but only in the studio or for this use exclusively as the dirty channel won’t catch the volume difference. However, it’s quite easy to reach a balance between both channels. While the amp reaches its real dimension with a sustained level (11-12h), there also is a “small volume” potential allowing it to sound pretty good at very low levels for home use. That’s what the manufacturer claims, and I back this claim: the master volume is exceptional and allows to have a very good sound independently of the playing conditions, I just never saw such an efficient master even with Bogner, Soldano, Splawn and so on. A little cons for some: it’s impossible to switch channel without the footswitch.
SOUNDS
This is gonna be hard to describe… It was introduced to me as another version of a hot rodded Plexi, an EVH (VHI or VHII)/ZZ Top (and so on) sound machine. Why not, but its sonic signature doesn’t really sound like a Marshall. It still sounds British with the same type of drive, but more focused on the mids than on the highs… So actually more Vox-ish than Marshallesque, but in that case a Higain Vox! All in all, this unique amp sounds like a Naylor. Yes, I know, it won’t evoke much to you… actually, its sound evokes that of a plexi until a certain drive level, then the mids get stronger while keeping a certain brilliance, getting towards a sort of heavily distorted Vox AC30 but still with an open sound grain. The amp goes relatively far drivewise, enough for shred but not with a metal-oriented voicing. We’re clearly in the realm of a 70s British spirit sound, with a mid hump typical of 60s/70s vintage amps, and none ot the high-mids proper to higain amps. Except for the fact that the amp offers a nice brilliance, which is not aggressive but gives details, attack, and prevents the sound from ever getting fuzzy/muddy/etc. The Presence setting can be pushed quite far (or not – depending on your preference) with a very musical-sounding result, brilliant yet soft-sounding. As a result, the sound is precise, detailed, while the distortion goes way farther than on the original vintage amps, which is what makes this amp model unique. The guy who designed it thought of both the experienced shredder, who wants to play comfortably with precise notes than can be plainly heard, and those seeking a classic rock, 70s sound. Many amps claim to achieve that, but none of them does it that well.
The EQ is very efficient, the sound can be carved at will, the grain affined in the thick of the sound, the presence is sufficient to get from Vox-like sounds to a Marshallesque spirit. Actually, while I generally tend to leave this knob at 0 (like the Young brothers), I now tend to use and abuse it to give the sound an 80s-style bite. Imagine being able to play a vintage amp with all the comfort of a modern one ( Soldano, Bogner –and so on– style), with a sound that can be either soft or aggressive depending on your settings and a controllable volume… Here you are. Depending on your settings you can approach the sounds of LedZeppelin’s Physical Graffiti, Angus Young (without pushing the drive) but also EVH, Deep Purple, and even Brian May’s sound without having to boost 3 Vox AC30s , or even getting into Rory’s territory – and the most unbelievable is, you can get all that with enough gain and natural compression for all you can wish as far as tapping, legato or sweeping go, approaching the likes of Satriani or Govan ! Squaring the circle: done!
Still, this is not a real vintage sound, the drive won’t “break” in the same way. This is what allows the sound to remain soft, drives further and still remains very, very precise and full of presence. A real wonder for classic rock players who love both blues and shred, as it will sound good in both cases without involving the artificial sound of these days’ shred amps, with plenty of grain and a drive that’s both pleasant to hear and easy to play. On the other hand, for more modern, aggressive sounds (Extreme to Zakk Wylde for instance), it will lack high-mids and lows. By its voicing, it clearly is a lead player’s amp.
With all I’ve said, the clean sound could seem as a bit of a let down. But in the end, it’s not the case. Depending on how the Presence knob and EQ are set on the dirty channel, the 3-position bite always offers a balanced, appropriate setting. You won’t have the depth of a Hiwatt or Bassman, but it’s not a cold or weak channel either. Now I think of it, it’s the first time I’ve had that much pleasure chaining two TS9s… And it sounds great! For an idea of how it sounds, this is the amps played by Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy. Its only real cons is its volume… Since the channel bypasses part of the circuit, it soon gets very loud and you have to leave it at 1 or 2 at most to avoid it getting too loud compared with the dirty channel. However, pushing it gives you a very vintage-y crunch, very promising for studio use and especially pedal-friendly.
OVERALL
An exceptional amp that evokes both the Plexi and Vox AC30, but without ever falling into the trap of imitation, it sounds like a Naylor, like a modern amp with a good level of drive always defined and precise, still with a soft, vintage voicing and a surprising brilliance allowing it to get through the mix. No other amp really sounds like this Naylor, which really stands apart. You can consider playing shred (rock or fusion), roch, blues, both live or in the studio, and still never get somebody else’s sound! Looking after a Brian May/Jimmy Page-like sound but with enough distortion and details to play it like Guthrie Govan, all with a real amp drive sound that will be a feast to any sound engineer? Here you go, with this amp you don’t even really know if you’re into vintage or modern. This is plain unique, I found that on no other amp – none – with such a strong personality that doesn’t walk into the footsteps of the guitar player’s own sound and identity… This really is an exceptional amp.
