NGD: THD Univalve - Initial Review inside

[Scott Ians Beard]

Picked up a THD Univalve from a fellow forumite (Dennis - thanks! Cant find your username though...), got to blast it today. Its seems like forever since I last bought/review an amp, so go easy on me!

My chain was:
American Strat (Stock Singles) -> Univalve (Stock 12x7s, Tesla EL-34) -> Marshall 4x12 w/GT-75s (i swear this is the brightest cab ever made).

Damn, this thing is loud for 15w! Much louder than I was expecting. I was hoping for it to be quieter so I could use it for Apartment level practicing. Maybe using a smaller cab will help? The Hot Plate does exactly what it says on the tin, but with extreme levels of attenuation you really loose the tone. Below 9'oclock it starts to sound like there is a blanket over the speakers.

The build quality is seriously impressive, from what I can tell. A lot of thought has gone into the design of the amp, and you can tell. Lots of nice features like the build in load make this amp very versatile, its probably the perfect studio amp. Its also the best looking amp Ive ever seen!

The sound: The Univalve is a very rich, 3D sounding amp, almost like it has a touch of reverb on it all the time. Its so warm, alive and organic. You can get a shimmery clean sound from it (although the headroom isnt great), great break up and mid gain, right up to some slamming 80s rock tones. When cranked up the lead sound has what I would describe as "high gain" fusion feel. I can imagine Holdsworth jamming away on this amp, and im pretty sure Brett Garsed uses one. Its got that bright, tight (compressed?) fusion sound to it that the I dig. Its time for me to sit and learn some fusion licks! Im sure it can be tweaked to get a more conventional rock lead sound, but I was enjoying the fusion feel! If anything I found it a bit too bright, but I think quite a lot of that is due to the cab and guitar. Any thoughts there?

Im not sure the exact function of the attitude control, but its not a conventional gain control. I found that I had it dimed pretty much the whole time, the amp seemed to breath better that way, from clean sounds though to high gain. Everything else on the amp is as you would expect, really. Next time I will bring a boost pedal and see what happens!

Bottom line: So far very impressed. Looking forward to crank it in a band situation and get some recording done! Sorry for the crap review!

 

[guitup]

Steve,
Glad to hear your cranking it! Have you expereimented with any tube swaps yet?

 

[stephen sawall]

I have a Flexi and Bivalve. The Univalve and the Bivalve are a very much the same. I use them more than anything. The THD's have more harmonics than anything I have played. I tend to use the bass around 3 oclock,treble 9, attitude 1 or higher. Lots of guys of guys turn the attitude all the way down. They cut threw everything. They sound good threw there whole gain range. 3-9 most of the time for me. There a a real cool spot around 11. You can control the sound with your hand. they well not hide bad playing. You need to play clean. All the class A amps I have tried tend to be bright. A darker preamp tube in the first slot seems to help. Turn the treble and attitude low-theres plenty there. The line out sounds great. I have ran it into a mixer. Eq cut around 3-5 K and was very happy with the sound. Now I use a fake cab. You well want to check out the THD site {hi Ed} as well as Univalve.net lots of good info there.

 

[Scott Ians Beard]

Steve,
Glad to hear your cranking it! Have you expereimented with any tube swaps yet?

Hey Dennis!

I havent tried any other tubes yet. Do you have any particular combinations you recommend? I think a fair few tubes will be on the Xmas list for me!

 

[Scott Ians Beard]

I have a Flexi and Bivalve. The Univalve and the Bivalve are a very much the same. I use them more than anything. The THD's have more harmonics than anything I have played. I tend to use the bass around 3 oclock,treble 9, attitude 1 or higher. Lots of guys of guys turn the attitude all the way down. They cut threw everything. They sound good threw there whole gain range. 3-9 most of the time for me. There a a real cool spot around 11. You can control the sound with your hand. they well not hide bad playing. You need to play clean. All the class A amps I have tried tend to be bright. A darker preamp tube in the first slot seems to help. Turn the treble and attitude low-theres plenty there. The line out sounds great. I have ran it into a mixer. Eq cut around 3-5 K and was very happy with the sound. Now I use a fake cab. You well want to check out the THD site {hi Ed} as well as Univalve.net lots of good info there.

Thats interesting, i was finding the more attitude i dialled in the more "life" i was getting from the amp. Maybe my ears are playing up

Do you have any recommendations for a darker preamp tube for v1? To be honest, I think its more the cab than anything. Its plagued me for too long now. I think its time to axe it...

Im already at univalve.net, its a bit slower than it is here but there is a lot of good info over there!

 

[stephen sawall]

I tend to use the attitude 1-3 oclock myself. There is one tube that is darker. I think its a 6150 -I cant remeber. Not a lot of gain , so I just Eq. 6L6/EL-34 are a give,6V6,KT-66 and my favorite KT-88 are the ones I use the most.

 

[MrDan666]

Do you have any recommendations for a darker preamp tube for v1? To be honest, I think its more the cab than anything. Its plagued me for too long now. I think its time to axe it...

Hey Steve, you are definitly hearing the brightness of that cab with the 75's.. You would definitly enjoy H30's or Greenbacks a LOT more than the 75s.

I had 75s in my cab for years and went through so many amps thinking it was the amps fault.. then i realised later it was the 75s that i hated!!

 

[philb]

I had a Uni and Biv and my favorite speaker was the Greenback.
I also played with the attitude above 12 o'clock. It had more bite and was cutting through better.

 

[Scott Ians Beard]

Do you have any recommendations for a darker preamp tube for v1? To be honest, I think its more the cab than anything. Its plagued me for too long now. I think its time to axe it...

Hey Steve, you are definitly hearing the brightness of that cab with the 75's.. You would definitly enjoy H30's or Greenbacks a LOT more than the 75s.

I had 75s in my cab for years and went through so many amps thinking it was the amps fault.. then i realised later it was the 75s that i hated!!

I hear ya! You've been telling me this forever, haha. I dont need the 4x12 to be honest, im not in a band, but its nice to have one for jamming/posing I guess i cant be bothered with the hassle of getting rid of the cab.

Maybe its time for a 2x12? Im worried its would be too loud for practice but not loud enough for jamming? Does anyone make a cab where you can disable one speaker? Aargh

 

[Scott Ians Beard]

I had a Uni and Biv and my favorite speaker was the Greenback.
I also played with the attitude above 12 o'clock. It had more bite and was cutting through better.

Interesting, I have been thinking about getting some greenbacks for a while, good to know that go well!

Out of interest, why did you get rid of your uni/bivalve?

 

[philb]

I had a Uni and Biv and my favorite speaker was the Greenback.
I also played with the attitude above 12 o'clock. It had more bite and was cutting through better.

Interesting, I have been thinking about getting some greenbacks for a while, good to know that go well!

Out of interest, why did you get rid of your uni/bivalve?

oh my.... It's a tough question.
The Biv and Uni were an important part of my tone quest....
I first got the Biv but sold it on a whim and regretted it. The Biv and Uni have the best lead tone.

I got the Uni because I wanted a low wattage Marshall type sound. It held very well for close to a year but in the end the main factor that got me to sell it was the crunch tone and more specifically the lack of low end.
More importantly, I was in a transition where I wanted something else since I already had the Marshall sound covered via my Bray modded Super Bass.

 

[MrDan666]

I hear ya! You've been telling me this forever, haha. I dont need the 4x12 to be honest, im not in a band, but its nice to have one for jamming/posing I guess i cant be bothered with the hassle of getting rid of the cab.

Maybe its time for a 2x12? Im worried its would be too loud for practice but not loud enough for jamming? Does anyone make a cab where you can disable one speaker? Aargh

If youd like a 2x12, definitly check out the Cornford 2x12 cabs!! They sound very nice, and if you dont gel with the V30s they come stock with.. you could easily sell them and buy some GBs or H30s.

Im actually considering getting the Cornford 2x12 because i may be out gigging with a band again soon, and im not big on the idea of lugging 4x12's around when il be lifting them myself