leecs
New member
Hi all! This is my 1st review here. I’m not good at English. So if I’ve said something wrong or reviewed incorrectly, please pardon or correct me.
Features
This is an all tube 100w amp. It consists of 3 channels with 2 sub-channels each, so total is 6 channels. It has a spring reverb. (Not foot-switchable). It tubes up with 9 preamp & 4 power tubes. “Ouch”, friggin lotsa tubes!!! It features a ‘Tight’ switch for Channels 1 & 2 only. (MK II features a “Tight” switch on Channel 1 only). The ‘Tight” switch is use for ‘cutting’ away the low end, making the tone tighter. There is no half power switch, as opposed to the MK II, which cuts the power to 50w, which is fine for me. I can remove the 2 outer power tubes, which can also cut the power to 50w. The best part in this amp is that it comes with an international voltage selector. So it can be use worldwide. Just change to the country's voltage & you're done. No need to use transformer. Mine comes in 100v, 117v & 230v.
Note: The sub-channels EQ are shared. This means channel 1A&B shares the same EQ, so on & so forth. It is very important to tweak the EQs between the sub-channels, so as to shape your tone.
Sound
IMO, the respective channels have characteristic tones of…
Ch 1A: Fender Deluxe Reverb
Ch 1B: Vox AC30
Ch 2A: Marshall JTM-45
Ch 2B: Marshall JCM800
Ch 3A: Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
Ch 3B: Soldano SLO
I’m using a Marshall 2x12 cab with V30s, Music Man John Petrucci and Modded Boss SD1 with a DD20 in the loop.
Channel 1A: cleans are bright & full of ‘balls’. When gain knob turn to full, there’s a substantial amount of drive, which is not a + point for me. So tweak to taste. However, in the MK II series, the Channel 1A’s gain knob is a volume knob. So there’s absolutely no break up. 100% clean.
Channel 1B: A very typical Vox AC30 kind of character. Particularly tasteful when using single coil guitars
Channel 2A&B: For those of you who like the British tone, these channels are for you. When kicked in with SD1, riffs & leads are ‘fat’ & ‘warm’. Not in any way annoying. When using it with a strat or similar, I would say it is dynamic when you play around with the guitar’s volume knob. No problem for blues.
Channel 3A: No problem when using this channel to play rock or metal riffs or leads. Low are tight, highs are sweet.
Channel 3B: this is the ultra highest gain of all the channels. For those of you who love high gain, this is it. You can sustain a note for days!!!! Amp will start to feedback after gain knob is past 1-2pm. So I set gain to about 12pm – 1pm & kicked in SD1 for leads. EQs are very versatile. From Death Metal to leads are possible.
Conclusion:
I would say this is a very versatile amp with many tone characteristics in it. For those who are filthy rich might want the real deal & acquire every amp he/she can get their hands on. For those ‘poor’ people like me, this amp would be the best solution. Just a change of guitars & a little tweaking, you can play a different genre
Good points
I got it dirt cheap!!!
Many amp tonal characteristics
Bad points
There’s break up on channel 1A. Not 100% clean
Spring reverb not foot-switchable
13 tubes in all. Burn big hole in pocket when servicing
