A
agent007
Guest
if you're in the market for an affordable tube amp, you might want to continue reading or check out my other traynor tcv40 review.
CONSTRUCTION: superb, built like a tank. stylish and lightweight. even the handle is made sturdy, not like the rubber handles used in other amps. it doesn't feel like it might break and send your amp crashing to the ground one day. you can tell there's a lot of quality there. even the supplied cable and footswitch are well built.
SOUND: good, solid tube sound. it's got more of a rock and roll kind of tone, maybe metal, to my ears. to me, it sounds best when you set the distortion/eq/reverb to sound like a light overdriven tone or when you crank the distortion all the way up. the clean channel can sound good when you dial it in, but that's the key to this amp. there's a bright switch on both channels, and it can certainly be useful. it does seem to take some of the fullness out of the sound, but that's because it scoops the mids. if you use a stomp box or multieffects unit (like i do), you can really achieve some awesome tones.
i initially thought it was kind of bright sounding even without the bright pull, but after playing it and recording with it for a while, it really cuts through well or stays smooth if you want.
the only problem with this amp so far is that there's a slight fizz to the distortion, but i think it's the tubes. in fact, i called support and they told me that they ship with cheap tubes so they can keep the cost down. he said that replacing the tubes would yeild a better tone. that leads to my question below...
FEATURES: clean/gain channels, bright switches, reverb and reverb tone knobs. the reverb is really cool if you play with it for a while. i really like the presence knob too because it works really great in conjunction with the reverb knob. it's got more of a spring in it the higher you dial it.
there's an effects loop and and interesting knob on the back. one is a master volume knob, which is cool if you have kids that run around and play with your amp knobs. you won't blow your ears out when the volume is unknowingly set too high. (i don't know if that's ever happened to anyone else). the other dial is a volume boost. it works great if you turn the volume knob down and set that all the way up.
there's also a direct midi out that can come in handy.
OVERALL: this amp is worth the money. the only two drawbacks i noticed were that the clean isn't immaculate on low settings, but sounds great with the volume up. then again they key is dialing it in with this amp. the other drawback is that the tubes have a slight fizz, but sounds like a simple fix.
like i said, the key to this amp is dialing it in. even though the controls are simple and kind of standard, they respond very well. using combinations of settings on each knob really makes a difference. yes, this amp is capable of acheiving really good tone.
one tip, if you're using a stomp or effects processor with an eq, is set the eq to 1/2 except set the treble down to about 1/4. that keeps the eq even on the amp and allows your effects processor/pedal to control the eq. when you raise the treble on this amp, it cuts the mids and lows, so use it sparingly. if you want to get more high end, try using leaving your eq like that and use the bright pull.
QUESTION:
now that i've had my say, i would like to know from the forum what kind of power/preamp tubes you recommend and why. i'm looking for a smooth metal kind of tone that's got a good crunch but still smooth sounding. any good suggestions?
CONSTRUCTION: superb, built like a tank. stylish and lightweight. even the handle is made sturdy, not like the rubber handles used in other amps. it doesn't feel like it might break and send your amp crashing to the ground one day. you can tell there's a lot of quality there. even the supplied cable and footswitch are well built.
SOUND: good, solid tube sound. it's got more of a rock and roll kind of tone, maybe metal, to my ears. to me, it sounds best when you set the distortion/eq/reverb to sound like a light overdriven tone or when you crank the distortion all the way up. the clean channel can sound good when you dial it in, but that's the key to this amp. there's a bright switch on both channels, and it can certainly be useful. it does seem to take some of the fullness out of the sound, but that's because it scoops the mids. if you use a stomp box or multieffects unit (like i do), you can really achieve some awesome tones.
i initially thought it was kind of bright sounding even without the bright pull, but after playing it and recording with it for a while, it really cuts through well or stays smooth if you want.
the only problem with this amp so far is that there's a slight fizz to the distortion, but i think it's the tubes. in fact, i called support and they told me that they ship with cheap tubes so they can keep the cost down. he said that replacing the tubes would yeild a better tone. that leads to my question below...
FEATURES: clean/gain channels, bright switches, reverb and reverb tone knobs. the reverb is really cool if you play with it for a while. i really like the presence knob too because it works really great in conjunction with the reverb knob. it's got more of a spring in it the higher you dial it.
there's an effects loop and and interesting knob on the back. one is a master volume knob, which is cool if you have kids that run around and play with your amp knobs. you won't blow your ears out when the volume is unknowingly set too high. (i don't know if that's ever happened to anyone else). the other dial is a volume boost. it works great if you turn the volume knob down and set that all the way up.
there's also a direct midi out that can come in handy.
OVERALL: this amp is worth the money. the only two drawbacks i noticed were that the clean isn't immaculate on low settings, but sounds great with the volume up. then again they key is dialing it in with this amp. the other drawback is that the tubes have a slight fizz, but sounds like a simple fix.
like i said, the key to this amp is dialing it in. even though the controls are simple and kind of standard, they respond very well. using combinations of settings on each knob really makes a difference. yes, this amp is capable of acheiving really good tone.
one tip, if you're using a stomp or effects processor with an eq, is set the eq to 1/2 except set the treble down to about 1/4. that keeps the eq even on the amp and allows your effects processor/pedal to control the eq. when you raise the treble on this amp, it cuts the mids and lows, so use it sparingly. if you want to get more high end, try using leaving your eq like that and use the bright pull.
QUESTION:
now that i've had my say, i would like to know from the forum what kind of power/preamp tubes you recommend and why. i'm looking for a smooth metal kind of tone that's got a good crunch but still smooth sounding. any good suggestions?
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