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Input 2 - clean
I first plugged into input 2, the clean input with no pre-amp gain control. The clean tones are all very warm, and with the tone controls set about half way, and the master
tone also at half
way, you get a nice round warm sound. Playing with the eq controls however has a dramatic effect, far more control than other valve amps I've owned. By cutting the mid and boosting
the
treble, the amp becomes significantly brighter, and the bass control adds plenty of low end without making the sound muddy. Whilst the tone controls have a dramatic effect, I found
it impossible to get a bad
sound. The reverb is warm and subtle, and has a good depth range. The bright switch adds a lot more top end and bite, but is not so noticeable at higher
volumes where the power stage becomes more dominant. By
setting the power to 15W (on rear panel), and cranking the volume very high, you can get a wonderful overdrive (without
splitting your ears)- all generated at the power stage. This is sound is a good rock
crunch. This channel is well set up for single coil and lower output pickups, higher output humbuckers
will create slight overdrive. For humbuckers, to get a totally clean sound, it is best to use input 1 with a
low gain setting. By pulling the "mid" control, the EQ is bypassed. This generates
an amazing amount more overall volume - which makes you realise how much extra electronics affect the sound of an amp.
The only controls you now have are volume, overall tone and
reverb. The sound is rich full and warm, and I found for guitars with lower output pickups, I tended to use the amp in this mode.
Input 1
By plugging in to input 1, you now have the extra gain control for the pre-amp. Other than this, all the controls act as for input 2. This is where the fun really starts. The temptation is to
turn the
pre-amp high to get the overdrive, but the best sounds are found where the gain is set at between 1 & 2 o'clock, with the volume the same. This generates a subtle pre-amp
overdrive, and the start of the
power amp overdrive. This is a great touch sensitive and bluesy sound. It is the setting use on both sample tracks on the sound page by both Simon Jarrett
and myself. If you want to sound like Larry Carlton this
is the setting for you. The touch sensitivity is amazing, from clean to searing sustain just by altering your picking strength,
without the sound becoming overly distorted. Again, by adjusting the tone controls,
you can scoop the mid range and add bass to creat a much dirtier grungy rock sound, and by
cranking the gain control, there is loads of extra dirt.
I've been using the amp in small group settings for a
while now, and for the overdrive sounds, I always have the power set to just 15W. There is so much volume, and it enables the use of
the power amp overdrive without drowning out the whole band. For cleaner
sounds, I use 30W. But this amp is not designed for loads of clean headroom. If you need that, then you need
the kingsley which uses EL34 power tubes, the Deluxe 50.
Summary
A portable, practical
and versatile combo suitable for most studio and live purposes, with the most fantastic pure valve vintage sounds. I've owned many amps including Vox AC15,
Fender Twin Reverb, Mesa Boogie, Marshall, and this
little combo beats them all hands down for tone quality and versatility. If you want sounds like Santana, Robben Ford, and even
Hank Marvin! this is the amp for you.
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