I bought myself a new Valve amp finally today.
My band has gigs booked right up til Xmas and I had to give the B52 amp that I was using back to my rythym guitarist and go back to my old Marshall MGDFX 60watt combo....and it sux...oh my does it suck..!!! :evil:
So I fell on my sword and took the plunge.
Here in Australia we have an "australian owned" range of gear(guitars,basses and amps) under the ASHTON brand.
All the gear is made in China and is pretty well made for the most part.
I had tried their Transistor amps previously and was fairly unimpressed.
So it was with a raised eyebrow that I gave their new range of Valve amps(VIPER) a run.
- 100 Watts RMS @ 4, 8 & 16 ohms/50 Watts RMS @ 4, 8 & 16 ohms
- High Voltage All Tube Amplifier
- Pre-amp Valves: 12AX7
- Power-amp Valves: EL34
- Hi & Low Input Jacks
- Spring Reverbs
- 2 Channel
- 3 Band EQ (Bass, Middle, Treble) on each channel
- Optional Footswitch FSW400
The retail on this amp brand new is just over $1000(aud)...HOWEVER...my friends own the store and instead of buying the current model...I chose an older design that they had left in the store for $650(aud).
The only difference between the current model and the model that i bought is cosmetic...the new amps have Telecaster type chrome knobs and my model has the old "chickenhead" knobs...waaaay more retro.
The sound reminds me of the old post plexi Marshalls or the old PARK amps.
It has two channels.
Channel 1 is a fairly clean channel with a "Crunch" gain control to dial in a little bit of AC/DC style crunch.
Channel 2 has a two stage gain.
The first stage is a control knob called "MEAN"....a fairly saturated overdrive.
The second stage is charmingly called the FILTH" control knob which is an over the top metal sound.
Considering that I'll still be using my ZOOM for modeling I won't be hitting the FILTH channel too often.
Running through my "KELLY" celestion 4x12 cab it sounds pretty damned good and makes me remember that the only reason I went to Transistor in the first place was financial.
I can recommend this amp to Aussies in the market for a no-frills Valve amp on a budget....100 watts all valve....hard to beat the bang for your buck.
My band has gigs booked right up til Xmas and I had to give the B52 amp that I was using back to my rythym guitarist and go back to my old Marshall MGDFX 60watt combo....and it sux...oh my does it suck..!!! :evil:
So I fell on my sword and took the plunge.
Here in Australia we have an "australian owned" range of gear(guitars,basses and amps) under the ASHTON brand.
All the gear is made in China and is pretty well made for the most part.
I had tried their Transistor amps previously and was fairly unimpressed.
So it was with a raised eyebrow that I gave their new range of Valve amps(VIPER) a run.
- 100 Watts RMS @ 4, 8 & 16 ohms/50 Watts RMS @ 4, 8 & 16 ohms
- High Voltage All Tube Amplifier
- Pre-amp Valves: 12AX7
- Power-amp Valves: EL34
- Hi & Low Input Jacks
- Spring Reverbs
- 2 Channel
- 3 Band EQ (Bass, Middle, Treble) on each channel
- Optional Footswitch FSW400
The retail on this amp brand new is just over $1000(aud)...HOWEVER...my friends own the store and instead of buying the current model...I chose an older design that they had left in the store for $650(aud).
The only difference between the current model and the model that i bought is cosmetic...the new amps have Telecaster type chrome knobs and my model has the old "chickenhead" knobs...waaaay more retro.
The sound reminds me of the old post plexi Marshalls or the old PARK amps.
It has two channels.
Channel 1 is a fairly clean channel with a "Crunch" gain control to dial in a little bit of AC/DC style crunch.
Channel 2 has a two stage gain.
The first stage is a control knob called "MEAN"....a fairly saturated overdrive.
The second stage is charmingly called the FILTH" control knob which is an over the top metal sound.
Considering that I'll still be using my ZOOM for modeling I won't be hitting the FILTH channel too often.
Running through my "KELLY" celestion 4x12 cab it sounds pretty damned good and makes me remember that the only reason I went to Transistor in the first place was financial.
I can recommend this amp to Aussies in the market for a no-frills Valve amp on a budget....100 watts all valve....hard to beat the bang for your buck.