stratotone
Active member
Ok, haven't had it long, but played with it a few hours. 50 watt one channel amp, four modes that go from slight breakup to high gain mayhem. Fx loop, external biasing, can run everything from 6V6s to KT88s.
First off, amp is a lot more versatile than you'd think. No, you can't footswitch it, but it holds a weird ground when you crank the gain. It has the clarity of the VHT I just sold, but more of a soldano feel and tone. If anything I'd have to compare it to a Soldano Avenger without the gut-churning lows. I'm going to talk to James about the amp soon and see about putting a depth control on the amp. It has a damping control, but it doesn't seem to add lows as much as tightness, if that makes sense.
Build quality is first rate. Turret board construction, VERY clean build, he used bolts to secure the chassis to the headshell that are bigger than the ones that held the seat of my '78 Trans Am in place.
Amp sounds great, still getting to know it but it's easily capable of high gain destruction with great note definition to a vintage marshall type tone, without the mud. Really, it reminds me of a VHT/Soldano/Marshall blend, with an EQ that works well and a preamp that cleans up pretty well. Haven't thrown the EJ strat at it yet, just a DiMarzio equipped 570RG and the Brad Gillis sig strat.
Only downside is that one of the modes has some oscillation, I'm wagering something came loose in shipping. No big deal, the amp is built to the 9th degree and I'll troubleshoot it with James. Checked all the tubes and they were ok. Something went microphonic, wonder if it was a capacitor?
Anyways, so far, huge thumbs up! I know James says that his new designs are even better, which amazes me. Other than my desire for another channel, this amp is superb.
Pete
First off, amp is a lot more versatile than you'd think. No, you can't footswitch it, but it holds a weird ground when you crank the gain. It has the clarity of the VHT I just sold, but more of a soldano feel and tone. If anything I'd have to compare it to a Soldano Avenger without the gut-churning lows. I'm going to talk to James about the amp soon and see about putting a depth control on the amp. It has a damping control, but it doesn't seem to add lows as much as tightness, if that makes sense.
Build quality is first rate. Turret board construction, VERY clean build, he used bolts to secure the chassis to the headshell that are bigger than the ones that held the seat of my '78 Trans Am in place.
Amp sounds great, still getting to know it but it's easily capable of high gain destruction with great note definition to a vintage marshall type tone, without the mud. Really, it reminds me of a VHT/Soldano/Marshall blend, with an EQ that works well and a preamp that cleans up pretty well. Haven't thrown the EJ strat at it yet, just a DiMarzio equipped 570RG and the Brad Gillis sig strat.
Only downside is that one of the modes has some oscillation, I'm wagering something came loose in shipping. No big deal, the amp is built to the 9th degree and I'll troubleshoot it with James. Checked all the tubes and they were ok. Something went microphonic, wonder if it was a capacitor?
Anyways, so far, huge thumbs up! I know James says that his new designs are even better, which amazes me. Other than my desire for another channel, this amp is superb.
Pete
