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Originally posted by jgcable
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In a nutshell, it's a 3-mode amp:
1960's = Plexi, but with more gain available, and more EQ flexibility. LOUD.
1980's = Hot-rodded Plexi, lots of tonal options, gain for days. 80's hair stuff, right up to AIC type grind. Mid strong & crunchy
Modern = Hot rodded JCM800, again, lots of tonal options. High gain in the spirit of the MArshall JVM Orange OD, but with more character.
50 watts, EL-34 JJ's, 3 Chinese preamp tubes (didn't pull them), series loop w/no buffer
- I'll get to that later...SINGLE channel - NO switching. Deal breaker for some here. Gotta use the guitars volume control to clean it up, and it can be done.
Strong-but-musical mids in all modes, and while you can tame them, they don't go away. Keep that in mind when choosing a cab. I use a T75 loaded Marshall, which has been, and always will be my favorite cab/speaker combo. I would shy away from something with strong mids like V30's. Maybe a Greenback loaded cab some day? We'll see...I'm about out of space!
Each mode of this amp has a distinct character, and lives up to the billing. It can be bluesy and tame, to downright NASTY. Hit a big power chord, and it sustains for days. They say it can get to "metal", but not on the same playing field as something like a 5150, Uber, or Recto. The resonance and presence controls really add a lot to it as well - use with that in mind. The manual has suggested settings to get you started, and they are VERY helpful. You'd think this amp would be very intuitive to use, but it's so packed with options, that if you don't know what they intend it to do, you can fumble around quite a bit.
My only gripe -- the loop. It is a serial loop, but it is passive, and that has caused me some issues. When I have my effects unit in the loop, the level coming off the SEND is not hot enough to drive the effects unit. That in turn lowers the volume coming back into the RETURN significantly - like to the extent that I have the master volume turned up to about 3:00, and it's still comfortable bedroom volume levels. It should be cracking plaster!! What I ended up doing is buying a solid state effects loop buffer off eBay today - a "Klein-Ulator", which will be able to boost the signal coming from the SEND to the input of the effects unit, and then able to attenuate the RETURN level as well. I hope it works.
All in all, it's the Marshall I always wanted but could never afford. The build quality is impeccable, and I have not heard of any issues with this amp from any owners. It is only available as a complete head from Ceriatone, and comes in 50 or 100 watts. All things being equal, even as a bedroom player, I have been really gravitating toward 100 watters, as I feel they just have more to add to the tone. They have a great rep over at Rig Talk, and held their own (IMO) in the "LA Mod Squad 2010" amp shoot-out on Youtube (check it out - James Lugo's video), and the Chupa went head to head with some HEAVY HITTERS. I didn't think it gave up a thing.
Great amp!
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