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crankyrayhanky « Bang for Buck Tube Champion! »
Published on 07/30/12 at 12:03Here's an all tube 120watt 6L6 head. It has a half power switch which will knock it down to 60 watts (awesome feature). It has 3 channels: clean, crunch, and Ultra. The eq is active which is a stark contrast to the typical passive eq I am used to on other amps. This active eq creates dramatic eq changes. There is a Resonance Switch for the low end that can be set to Tight, medium, or loose. This is a great feature that can really come in handy depending on the size of the room and volume you need. Low Gain and high gain inputs offer usable changes that can expand the tonal pallette. The logo changes from green to orange to red- a cosmetic feature that I love (though some may dislike)
UTILIZATION
This amp sounds great right away: super thick and articulate. I never saw the manual, but the controls are intuitive.
SOUNDS
I use a wide array of guitars including Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, Fender Strats, Peavey Wolfgang, and Peavey HP Special. They all sound great and deliver huge tone. I believe the guy from Soldano amps came over and designed this amp; the quality shows. I bought this amp cheap on craig's list, almost as an afterthought...I was aiming for an older recto but failed, so my GAS pushed me to get something...I saw a video clip of a guy a/bing it against a Mesa Mark, and then found a video that showed some real killer modern metal tones. I thought 300 bucks was worth a test drive. I loved the tone and immediately spent the cash to retube the whole amp. The cleans are crystal clean- just a volume, 3 way passive eq, and bright switch. Great cleans for a hard rock metal setup, but admittedly a drawback if you're seeking a character gritty clean for bluesy jams.The crunch gets ridiculous levels of gain for a crunch channel...not that you need it, but placing a clean boost in front makes this channel the shining star of the amp. It has a gain button, so perhaps with the gain off and the gain controls down, you could get that bluesy vibe...but for me, this is a rock/metal beast and i crank it up. This orange channel is breathtaking- nice blend of reactivity and saturation. the Ultra red channel takes it a step beyond- lethal levels of gain that will slay any tune you are working on.
OVERALL OPINION
My favorite application is lead guitar- this amp just sings and sings for me and is a pefect compliment for my mid to hi gain leads. Very Mark-ish in its voicings, this lead response is wonderful. I like the rhythm gain, and the active eq allows one to dial in smoother gains to cutting chainsaw. In comparison, I tried a 6505+ in a store and totally disliked it- the lows were so boomy and the gains were so extreme I sort of found it unusable. Perhaps if I spent more time dialing it in, but this Ultra+ dials in very quickly. It lacks a bit of the edge and chainsaw of a recto, but let's be honest, a Modern Recto sucks for lead players.compare this to the 5150/6505 series and you will be super impressed. All of this and then realize (if you can find one), the amps refquently resell for $250-400. I've played lots of expensive amps costing thousands, and let me tell you, price does not always equal tone. This amp will eat a modern Marshall alive in terms of tone and reliablility. The cost benefit ratio is unbelievable, but even throwing out the price factor, this amp stands alone as a great tone machine.
UTILIZATION
This amp sounds great right away: super thick and articulate. I never saw the manual, but the controls are intuitive.
SOUNDS
I use a wide array of guitars including Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, Fender Strats, Peavey Wolfgang, and Peavey HP Special. They all sound great and deliver huge tone. I believe the guy from Soldano amps came over and designed this amp; the quality shows. I bought this amp cheap on craig's list, almost as an afterthought...I was aiming for an older recto but failed, so my GAS pushed me to get something...I saw a video clip of a guy a/bing it against a Mesa Mark, and then found a video that showed some real killer modern metal tones. I thought 300 bucks was worth a test drive. I loved the tone and immediately spent the cash to retube the whole amp. The cleans are crystal clean- just a volume, 3 way passive eq, and bright switch. Great cleans for a hard rock metal setup, but admittedly a drawback if you're seeking a character gritty clean for bluesy jams.The crunch gets ridiculous levels of gain for a crunch channel...not that you need it, but placing a clean boost in front makes this channel the shining star of the amp. It has a gain button, so perhaps with the gain off and the gain controls down, you could get that bluesy vibe...but for me, this is a rock/metal beast and i crank it up. This orange channel is breathtaking- nice blend of reactivity and saturation. the Ultra red channel takes it a step beyond- lethal levels of gain that will slay any tune you are working on.
OVERALL OPINION
My favorite application is lead guitar- this amp just sings and sings for me and is a pefect compliment for my mid to hi gain leads. Very Mark-ish in its voicings, this lead response is wonderful. I like the rhythm gain, and the active eq allows one to dial in smoother gains to cutting chainsaw. In comparison, I tried a 6505+ in a store and totally disliked it- the lows were so boomy and the gains were so extreme I sort of found it unusable. Perhaps if I spent more time dialing it in, but this Ultra+ dials in very quickly. It lacks a bit of the edge and chainsaw of a recto, but let's be honest, a Modern Recto sucks for lead players.compare this to the 5150/6505 series and you will be super impressed. All of this and then realize (if you can find one), the amps refquently resell for $250-400. I've played lots of expensive amps costing thousands, and let me tell you, price does not always equal tone. This amp will eat a modern Marshall alive in terms of tone and reliablility. The cost benefit ratio is unbelievable, but even throwing out the price factor, this amp stands alone as a great tone machine.