Front Panel: Volume, Treble/Boost, Middle/Cut, Bass - In, In - In, In - Gain, Treble/Boost, Middle/Boost, Bass/Boost, Presence/Notch, Volume/Channel, Reverb Select Switch, Reverb - Hi-Lo Power Switch, Standby Switch, Power Switch, Pilot Light
Back Panel: Fuse, Effect Out, Effect In, Power Amp Thru, Loop Level Switch, Output Bias Adjust, Output Balance Adjust, Foot Sw, XLR Line Out, External Speaker Series, External Speaker Parallel, Impedance Switch
CABINET
Dimensions: 22 x 26 x 12
Tolex:Black, Snakeskin, White Snakeskin, and Red Cobra
Actually that should be 8 ohms on the impedance switch for 16 ohm speaker load – my apologies!
Hi EvilTwin. To switch between 25/100 watts R.M.S. is a simple matter of flipping the switch on the front. It’s another awesome feature of the world’s most underrated amp! You can remove the two inner tubes as described to reduce the power further. You are then running in “Low Power Mode”, which means the switch toggles between 15/60 watts R.M.S. You need to remember to change the impedance switch to 4 ohms because you are using half the number of tubes. I do love the power though. I too find it difficult to find a very low at-home volume, but I love the power live. I have never met a room I could not fill using this amp, and it sounds amazing at high volumes. For the users here, high volume will be about 3!
How do I switch mine between 25/100 watts. I know I have to remove two tubes, but don’t know which inches. Also would I need to have it re-biased?
I snatched a ’94 black knob one for 350€ two years ago.
If you look up some info on this amp, there are some things you will read a lot.
1: It’s heavy.
This is true, very damn true. Carrying this around is possible, but it hurts not only your hands because of the strap+weight, but also your legs, because it crashes into them all the time. Casters work but I don’t trust them on uneven floors. Longest I had to carry it was around 100m, I was 17 at that time. It felt like hell, and when I had to carry it back drunk, it felt more like the amp was carrying me. It IS indestructible though. Still using the original valves, no sounds when turning the knobs, no loud idle noise.
2: It’s loud.
This is also true. I never needed to use 100W mode (you can switch between 25/100). Clean mode can be tamed if you turn the knob VERY carefully. Mine are a bit stiff, but you can probably change that if you clean the potentiometers. Second channel is a bit harder to set to your desired volume. If one day I am the only person alive in this world, I might be able to turn it up to 4.
3: Clean channel is good, second channel is ok.
I would say: Clean channel is great, second channel is fine.
You can easily get some “Johnny Marr sounds” out of this amp. I have used the amp sims on my GT100 for a while and kind of forgot about my amp. At some point, I randomly decided to play without the effects unit, and I was shocked. Playing on this, if set up right, feels great, and now I don’t practice to get better, but so I can enjoy the sound of my guitar. That said, it is versatile (note the ability to use both channels at the same time), and it CAN sound great, but you can also make this sound like a guitar plugged right into a pair of 10€ desktop speakers.
Second channel is even more versatile. You can get all kinds of sounds from this, but I rarely turn the gain over 5. Below that, you can get some great “clean-but-not-completely-clean” sounds up to hard rock. If you want a metal sound you should probably get a pedal for that, on most of my guitars I can not distinguish the single notes when I play a chord if I turn it up too much. That said, this is still a Fender, and this probably does much more than most Fenders.
If you like great price-performance, versatility, durability and don’t mind the weight or reputation, this is a great, great amp.
Perfect for Volvo drivers, actually.
Mine used to be so loud..I couldn’t turn it past 1 on the volume or the neighbors freaked…! That’s a 1. So I put in hte garage for about 3 years. Finally I really missed it, I got my forklift out and brought it in the house…jopking…the casters make it ok to move but if you have to lift it…you better be stout! So I plugger it in and it’s got problems. I live about 1 or 2 miles from the ocean and the tubes seem to have green corrosion on the sockets and tube pins. Now it just whispers on 10. It’s so heavy, I’m looking for a mobile amp tech but as we all know…good techs are prima donnas if you aren’t famous. So I”ll get my drummer friend next door and see if he can heft it…he’s a working man. So…I’ll say this, if it is ir was good enough for Tommy Emanuelle it’s good enough for anybody.
52 comments
Actually that should be 8 ohms on the impedance switch for 16 ohm speaker load – my apologies!
Hi EvilTwin. To switch between 25/100 watts R.M.S. is a simple matter of flipping the switch on the front. It’s another awesome feature of the world’s most underrated amp! You can remove the two inner tubes as described to reduce the power further. You are then running in “Low Power Mode”, which means the switch toggles between 15/60 watts R.M.S. You need to remember to change the impedance switch to 4 ohms because you are using half the number of tubes. I do love the power though. I too find it difficult to find a very low at-home volume, but I love the power live. I have never met a room I could not fill using this amp, and it sounds amazing at high volumes. For the users here, high volume will be about 3!
How do I switch mine between 25/100 watts. I know I have to remove two tubes, but don’t know which inches. Also would I need to have it re-biased?
I snatched a ’94 black knob one for 350€ two years ago.
If you look up some info on this amp, there are some things you will read a lot.
1: It’s heavy.
This is true, very damn true. Carrying this around is possible, but it hurts not only your hands because of the strap+weight, but also your legs, because it crashes into them all the time. Casters work but I don’t trust them on uneven floors. Longest I had to carry it was around 100m, I was 17 at that time. It felt like hell, and when I had to carry it back drunk, it felt more like the amp was carrying me. It IS indestructible though. Still using the original valves, no sounds when turning the knobs, no loud idle noise.
2: It’s loud.
This is also true. I never needed to use 100W mode (you can switch between 25/100). Clean mode can be tamed if you turn the knob VERY carefully. Mine are a bit stiff, but you can probably change that if you clean the potentiometers. Second channel is a bit harder to set to your desired volume. If one day I am the only person alive in this world, I might be able to turn it up to 4.
3: Clean channel is good, second channel is ok.
I would say: Clean channel is great, second channel is fine.
You can easily get some “Johnny Marr sounds” out of this amp. I have used the amp sims on my GT100 for a while and kind of forgot about my amp. At some point, I randomly decided to play without the effects unit, and I was shocked. Playing on this, if set up right, feels great, and now I don’t practice to get better, but so I can enjoy the sound of my guitar. That said, it is versatile (note the ability to use both channels at the same time), and it CAN sound great, but you can also make this sound like a guitar plugged right into a pair of 10€ desktop speakers.
Second channel is even more versatile. You can get all kinds of sounds from this, but I rarely turn the gain over 5. Below that, you can get some great “clean-but-not-completely-clean” sounds up to hard rock. If you want a metal sound you should probably get a pedal for that, on most of my guitars I can not distinguish the single notes when I play a chord if I turn it up too much. That said, this is still a Fender, and this probably does much more than most Fenders.
If you like great price-performance, versatility, durability and don’t mind the weight or reputation, this is a great, great amp.
Perfect for Volvo drivers, actually.
Mine used to be so loud..I couldn’t turn it past 1 on the volume or the neighbors freaked…! That’s a 1. So I put in hte garage for about 3 years. Finally I really missed it, I got my forklift out and brought it in the house…jopking…the casters make it ok to move but if you have to lift it…you better be stout! So I plugger it in and it’s got problems. I live about 1 or 2 miles from the ocean and the tubes seem to have green corrosion on the sockets and tube pins. Now it just whispers on 10. It’s so heavy, I’m looking for a mobile amp tech but as we all know…good techs are prima donnas if you aren’t famous. So I”ll get my drummer friend next door and see if he can heft it…he’s a working man. So…I’ll say this, if it is ir was good enough for Tommy Emanuelle it’s good enough for anybody.