New Amp: Hiwatt Lead 100R "Trinity"

I’ve been looking for a Hiwatt Lead head for a while, ever since one of my first online orders with Guitar Center was cancelled (a Hiwatt listed for $400, which they cancelled and told me it “caught on fire”). This one was listed all the way in Indonesia, which is a bit of a risk but the price was reasonable and the seller accepted my offer. It arrived extremely quickly - DHL international shipping - and well packed.

However, the amp made no sound when I first plugged it in, and I heard a whirring from the head itself. After a few seconds, the whirring escalated and I heard a loud “pop” sound - maybe a tube, maybe something else.

After spending a few days on my bench tracing the circuit, swapping out known good tubes, and desperately searching for a solution, I had to give up, and took it in to my local electronics shop for repair. I’m anxiously awaiting its return - I have high hopes for this amp and with a design not too far off the JCM800 split channel amps, right down to the same number of tubes and onboard spring reverb, I can’t wait to compare them.

This particular Lead amp is a 1988 model, which has the “Trinity” moniker which just means that the overdrive channel has a pull switch on the gain control to add more gain. This actually became a standard feature of all Lead model amps around 1990 or 1991 when they were being sold by Fernandes, so that makes this one fairly unique as far as 80s Hiwatts go. Of course, this is not a true Hiwatt from a purist’s perspective, but it’s still a very nicely assembled amp with an interesting circuit that evolved in the 80s era - a time of excellent guitar tones I’m very interested in.

I’ll update when I get the amp back from repair - hopefully it’s nothing too serious. I did get audio when probing the grids of the power tubes, but not the phaser inverter, so hopefully it’s something simple I just missed and not a major repair.

Update: A filter cap had exploded internally, causing other issues. The cap and a few others on the power supply board were replaced, and now the amp is fully repaired!

New Amp: Randall Thrasher 120

This is probably the last amp I thought I’d be talking about here, but I’ve been watching this amp sit in the Guitar Center listings for months now. After it finally received a discount - quite a large one - and reading about it online, I really had to find out for myself.

This is a much more versatile and impressive amp than I expected, especially reading some of the negative comments about it on forums. It does not specify where it is built, but the assumption is China - and I do see where it gets some flak, being over $3000 at the time of writing, pricing it above amps like the ENGL Savage Mk II and not too far off other handmade boutique amplifiers. The argument is that the Thrasher was designed by Mike Fortin, who has a well renowned name in the metal amp community with his own line of amps - I’ve played a Fortin Cali - and they indeed sound fantastic.

I have to say, this Thrasher is no different. It’s a great sounding amp and can do a lot more than just metal, and it actually has less gain than one might expect from an amp of this style. On top of that, the clean channel is also a stand out quality sound I would argue beats out quite a few other high gainers in that area. The key to that channel, and really the overdrive channel as well, are the 3-way “Shift” switches, which have a drastic effect on the sound. The clean channel can go from a mid-scooped spanky tone, great for fast funk chords, up to an overly thick jazz tone by flipping that switch alone - with an appropriate in-between sound of course. The distortion side has this same ability, but even further, this amp has two controls I’ve never seen on any other amp; the “LF Gain” and “HF Gain” controls. These allow you to adjust the amount of overdrive of both high and low frequency ranges separately, along with a more standard overall gain control. Now that I’ve played it in person, I don’t think it’s necessarily a must have game changer in amp design, but it is very effective at tonal shaping. The most obvious use of this is to lower the gain on the low frequencies to tighten up and make a more clear bottom end, which I probably would notice the benefits more if I played a very low tuned guitar through it - something I plan to do very shortly. On the other hand, you could even turn that control up higher than the high frequency setting to thicken the saturation up a bit - probably not desirable for metal level distortion, but setting this channel up as a classic rock crunch channel gives that control a lot of power. Overall I’m extremely impressed with this channel and if anything, my biggest criticism is that the amp isn’t just two copies of this same channel, or even better a 3-channel amp. There is a footswitchable boost function, the amount of which is adjustable on the overdrive channel, but it’s not quite the same - I would love to set up a crunch tone and a metal overdrive tone on the same amp but I’d have to switch between two amps to pull that off as it stands right now. Yes I know the Randall 667 exists, but it’s just not the same as this.

New Amp: Marshall JCM900 Mk III Model 2100

Well, this is now the 4th JCM900 Mk III I’ve purchased. I know that’s excessive, but I really love these amps - I’m just finding it difficult to find one in good condition for a reasonable price. I’ve had two other heads, both in extremely rough condition - just like this one is, aesthetically. I remember returning those heads before, as they both had internal issues as well (loose tube sockets, burned out traces on the PCB, etc). This latest addition is pretty ugly - but functionally it is in much better shape than those two so I’ll likely be keeping this one.

As expected, it sounds fantastic. I did a lot of A/Bing between this amp and my 2501 combo (same preamp circuit) and they sound extremely similar, and that’s exactly what I wanted. While I love that combo, my new studio is really built around shelving designed for heads and that’s what I’d prefer to have, so I’m looking to get rid of my combo amps, at least any combo amp that has an equivalent head version.

New Amp: Another Marshall JVM410H

I know - another duplicate Marshall head - but I happened to see this in my local Sam Ash for an absurd price, and I was able to convince them of a further discount on top of that! I’ve had the JVM before, and while it isn’t my favorite Marshall (I felt the TSL was just as good and much cheaper) it does have some unique features and some really great channel/mode switching abilities so it’s a great amp to have in the collection. Plus, I never had the chance to do a schematic review or tone comparison video with my original JVM410H, so now I’ll be able to do that.

It’s in very good condition, and the first year model, and also included the 6-button footswitch which allows you to switch channels, modes, reverb, and master volumes - very well featured amp for live performances. Each channel and mode also dictates which gain stages are used, so it can emulate classic Marshall sounds very well, although this amp does have quite a bit more background noise than something like a 1987x or 2203 has at the same distortion levels.

Grab one on Reverb here: Marshall JVM on Reverb

New Amp: Fender Super-Sonic 100 Head

I have played Fender Super Sonics a number of times in stores, and always thought they were pretty decent amps, with truly fantastic clean channels and a usable, if not the best, drive channel. I originally was searching for a 60 watt head, but then I played a 22w head in a store and really fell in love with the reverb sound of these amps.

Fender also made a 100w version but this was short lived, lasting only a few years and not moving many units. This amp not only has the onboard reverb like the 22w, but a few additional and unique features. The most obvious one is the clean channel’s gain and middle controls - the 60 and 22 versions only have the classic volume/treble/bass configuration. On the “burn” channel, this amp also has a “Notch Tune” knob which shifts the mid frequencies around. The last notable feature is the auto-biasing feature, which is a small electronic control with a digital display on the rear panel, which allows you to not only use mismatched power tubes, but also run those tubes in hot, cold, or neutral bias settings - very interesting although I don’t notice a massive tonal change doing this.

I’ll do a proper review, but so far I find the clean channel to be absolutely superb, maybe one of the best clean channels I have available, but the burn channel is a little underwhelming at least for any kind of heavier styles. If you leave it purely as a blues or light rock channel, or for music where you are mainly playing clean and just want a little dirt on a lead, it is excellent - but it’s a bit too thick for its own good. The notch tune really makes the amp incredibly thin if you use that to tighten it up, so I prefer it way to the left to thicken up the channel’s lead punch. I do not remember having these feelings about the 22w or 60w versions - I felt the burn channel on those amps sounded fine for classic rock and wasn’t overly thick or thin. Perhaps the addition of the notch tune control affected the tone of this channel too much? I’m not sure - but either way it’s a very unique amp in my collection of mostly metal-oriented gear and a nice option to have. I’m so impressed by the cleans, I think I really need to consider picking up a proper Fender clean head that doesn’t make compromises like this one does - maybe a Bassman or Showman is in my future.

New Amp: Diezel Einstein 50

This amp popped up at my favorite semi-local guitar shop - Jimmy’s Vintage Music. This is where I bought my 2008 Splawn Quickrod as well as my Marshall JCM800 4x12 cabinet. He is local only - no shipping or online sales, which means he has some really cool trade-in gear and great prices.

I’ve been interested in acquiring a Diezel for a while, and this amp has a particularly amazing sounding demo by Ola Englund on youtube (12 years ago!) that I actually downloaded as an MP3 and listened to in my car back in college - that’s how much I liked the tone. That’s a long time to wait for an amp, but I just never could find one for a great deal, and I kind of moved on to looking for a Herbert or a VH2 in my budget range. Once I saw this, only an hour’s drive away, I knew it was the right time to grab one.

Unlike most of my deals, which are all outright purchases (that result in the selling of something else I own via Reverb/Ebay/etc), I took my 1984 Kramer Floyd Rose Signature guitar with me as a potential trade option. I wasn’t sure if it would be something that Jimmy would be interested in, since 80s shred guitars are a bit of a different demographic from his usual selection, but we were able to work out a fair deal that I think benefited both of us - I’m sure a metal amp like this Diezel was just as weird for him to have in his shop.

I played it only for a few moments in the store, since I knew I wanted it anyway - so I brought it home and really let it rip. Wow! What an amp - the 3 different modes on channel 1 are superb in their own ways, and the lead channel may as well just be the 4th mode on that switch - the transition is seamless. That also means when playing, you’ll always have that thick sounding high gain sound available, but you can choose your second sound from anything clean, crunch, or an alternate high gain sound. All of the tones are excellent so far, and I’m very impressed with the sound and how tight the low end is despite the full sounding bass frequencies, even with a guitar tuned to A standard. I’m looking forward to spending some more time with it, and especially comparing it to some of the other high gainers in my arsenal, especially other German made amps like my ENGL’s. I’d like to add a Herbert to the collection still, but this has definitely dulled my need to do that since it seems to have very similar tones, just lacking some of the Herbert’s features (like the adjustable mid cut) - although I’m sure once I play a Herbert I’ll understand the differences more clearly.

New Amp x3: Bogner Uberschall, Twin Jet, and Goldfinger GF45

I picked these amps up quite some time apart, but I wanted to combine them here since it was a bit of a saga to get everything situated correctly.

First up, the hard one, a Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet.

This amp has a quad of KT88 power tubes, and while the lead channel is theoretically the same as the regular Uberschall, it lacks the clean channel, and instead has another gain channel. I expected this to be more of a two metal channels, similar to something like a VHT Pittbull CL or other amps with identical gain channels, but the Twin Jet’s rhythm channel is more of a crunch channel than anything else.

That said, I don’t actually get to find out myself because this amp was very poorly packed and as a result, severely damaged in shipping. All of the power amp tubes were completely shattered inside the head shell, broken glass was inside the amp itself, half of the preamp tubes were cracked while the others had their pins bent, and the lights that show which channel is selected appear to be knocked out of place. I opened this amp up, mostly to vacuum out the broken glass and see if it is salvageable - but it has some of the most extreme damage I’ve seen on an amp like this. There are capacitors with broken zip ties, disconnected from the PCB, the fiber cabling for the lights is knocked out of place, and broken glass all over the place inside.

This of course went to UPS shipping claims, but after just under 3 months of inaction, and me stuck in possession of this broken amp, the store manager of the GC that shipped this was able to refund me and have me drop it off at my local GC (originally, UPS had ruled they would pick it up from me, but never contacted me or arrived). In spite of the issues, I have to commend the GC who sent this (GC Warwick RI) for their handling of the situation. Still, I’m disappointed I won’t get to compare this Twin Jet, with its extra set of presence/depth controls and KT88 power section, to the EL34 Uberschall I also picked up.

This one I purchased on a bit of a whim, I had no idea what to expect from this one, and it’s kind of funny looking front control panel always put me off - it makes me think of some of the weirder 50’s era amps, and I figured the tones would be more like that, but I couldn’t resist the price.

After more research, and especially after it showed up and I played through it, I was very wrong. In 60s mode, it’s a Marshall type tone on the drive channel with a wonderful blend control for adding more brightness and trebly character. This channel can also switch to an 80s mode, which introduces more gain, although I found this mode to be a little bit underwhelming in comparison to some of my other modded Marshall type amps, but it’s still extremely usable if you need a bit more gain out of this channel.

The real highlight for me though, this has to be the absolute best clean channel I have ever played through, so far, on any amp. It sounds truly fantastic, very elastic, while staying full sounding and not too bassy. Even better, there are two bright switches, which can be flipped in different combinations to alter the tone even further and of course, add more snap.

There is also a spring reverb which sound fantastic, with a nice tail without getting too many reflections even on the gain channel, and that adds to it even more.

And last feature, there is also an adjustable boost feature, the amount of which can be set from a small knob on the rear panel. This boost can be turned on for either channel, and it adds a lot of flexibility - it’s a clean type boost, which can add a little bit more gain if you have the channel gains turned up, but not too much, and it’s not a huge volume spike either. Really well thought out and useful boost that adds some texture and cut to the tone without influencing it too much.

The only issue with this amp is that the footswitch has been inconsistent, at least on my example, and when I first plugged it in, caused the lights all over the amp to flicker and freak out. When the cable of the switch is twisted at the exact right angle, all works as intended - a very unique 5-button switch for an amp with only 2 channels, if that says something about the features of this amp. The footswitch also screws in to the back panel to secure it, very interesting idea, but the same screw in connector at the switch itself seems to be the downfall of this one, likely it got pulled, dropped, or perhaps even damaged in shipping (since the box came missing a huge chunk out of the side with the corner of the amp poking out… no bubble wrap… come on GC!). Still, it’s a keeper, even if just for that clean channel alone. I’d love to hear the ‘77 mode on the new GF45SL, especially since I didn’t love the 80s mode on this one, that might be just what it’s missing.

The last one, and the good news: an Uberschall EL34. This amp arrived in decent condition, and sounds just like you’d expect from an Uber - thick, full, and heavily saturated. It’s bassy without being overwhelming, and with some EQ tweaks can do the rectifier wall-of-sound tones, but a few other changes and it has a much tighter sounding low end good for more technical riffing. I’m really impressed, and it’s such a staple of studio sounds I’m sure I will get some great mileage out of this amp.

I don’t find the clean channel to be particularly amazing, but it’s definitely not bad either. It stays very clean even with the gain turned up, but you can get a little hair on it at max - I think I personally would prefer the Twin Jet here but oh well!


New Amp: VHT/Fryette Sig:X

Well - it’s finally here. I have been hunting this amp for a long time and finally got my hands on it. I’m sure that statement sounds a bit hollow as I’m hunting lots of amps at any given time, but it’s very rare that I “splurge” on something - as in - pay the actual market value instead of waiting for exactly the right deal. This Sig:X popped up and the price was right at the market and I didn’t even think about it - instantly purchased.

I was a bit worried I’d be disappointed, I played one of these once over a decade ago before I really knew much about tone and remember liking it but that’s just not the same as having one now. I’m pleased to report though, that my expectations are absolutely met. This is an incredible amp that is a blast to play through, and it has some of the best sounds I’ve heard in it, plus it’s high customizable. The only major downfall I’m having right now is that it didn’t come with the footswitch, and I can’t find one - not a used one, not from the offical Fryette store, no response from Fryette support about it, and there’s not even an aftermarket option. That’s a real shame, I don’t gig but this is an amp that deserves to be heard, and not being able to have the option to take it out really sucks - but I’ll keep looking for that footswitch.

This amp has 3 channels, a clean, rhythm, and lead. It’s powered by a pair of KT88 power tubes which have a very immediate, punchy response. All three channels have separate EQ’s, as well as some switchable options. Each has a 100w/40w switch (not a hugely noticeable drop in volume, but 40w engages a tube rectifier), as well as an EQ switch (fat/open on clean, wood/scoop on rhythm/lead channels), a 3-way mode switch, and a boost switch. The boost on the clean channel is fixed, but the rhythm and lead channels both have a Gain II control, which is only engaged when the boost is engaged, so this allows either an alternate gain tone to be configured, or as a lead boost, or left on permanently as part of the tone - very cool. This boost can of course be activated via footswitch, so especially on the dirt channels is offers a lot of flexibility. On top of that, both rhythm and lead channels have a more/less gain switch, which unsurprisingly has a huge effect on the tones. I find the vintage mode of Rhythm with the “more” switch on to be an especially good tone, even better with the boost engaged for more saturation. The lead and rhythm channels do share a presence and depth control, while the clean channel has separate controls for that too, which is quite useful. The 3-way voicing switches are not drastic tonal changes, there is a slight increase in gain with each one going upwards, and a very minor change in stiffness and bass tightness as you select the more modern settings (like Blow and Burn), but it’s still overall the same type of tone on those channels.

I really hate when players compare an amp to the Mesa Mark’s, because those amps have such a different EQ structure from just about anything else that I don’t think anything sounds like them. That said, this amp’s lead channel, with scoop EQ and the more gain + boost on, and the right EQ settings, can sound very close to that high gain Mark type tone - really cool. Switch down to vintage mode on Rhythm, with the wood EQ and different combinations of boost/more-less/EQ controls, and it’s anything from a classic rock Marshall up to 80s hair Marshall type tones. It does these tones with a bright character extremely well - I might choose something else for darker, smoother tones (like a Pittbull) but I would be hard pressed to pick a better amp than this for those kinds of cutting rock and metal tones. This amp certainly deserves its reputation and will be staying with me for a very long time.

New Amp: ENGL Retro 50 Head

I picked up this Retro 50 to further my goal of collecting all of the major ENGL tonal categories. This amp has a different design from any of the usual ENGL heads (like the Powerball, Invader, Savage etc) and the goal is a bit more of a traditional, modded Marshall kind of tone. After playing it, I think it achieves that goal - it’s very mid heavy, and a bit stiff. It has two channels, and each channel can make use of a footswitchable gain mode, and the highest gain setting even has a built in noise gate. The clean channel is nice and full sounding, with rolled off highs, while the distortion channel is definitely in that thick midrange-y Marshall crunch territory, but with a little less upper mids and more filled out bottom end. It really reminds me of a Splawn Quickrod in many ways, in both playing feel and tone. The high gain mode is quite excellent as well, although the low end doesn’t feel quite articulate enough for extreme technical metal styles, but I’d imagine by either rolling the amp gain down, or using the non-high gain lead mode, and boosting it with a bass-cutting pedal like a Tubescreamer or SD-1, would result in a usable tone.

Otherwise, it’s fairly lean on features - more akin to a Fireball than a Powerball, but the Retro does have separate EQ’s for each channel. Interestingly, it also lacks a presence control - not even a master presence or a knob on the rear panel. That kind of surprised me, even though the EQ controls have a wide sweep, there seems to be a little brightness lacking at times and turning the treble up alters the rest of the frequency ranges that it’s not a guaranteed solution. Still, it’s unique in its own way for an ENGL design and is a great tool to have available, but I don’t think it could be my only amp.

I also have to mention that I ordered both this amp as well as a Rivera Knucklehead Reverb 55w from Guitar Center Summerlin NV. I hate to rake anyone over the coals, but the Rivera, even though I paid for and reserved it, was not pulled from the shelf for days and someone local purchased that amp, and the GC store cancelled my order to sell it to them instead. On top of that, this Retro 50 was waiting for shipment for over 30 days since I ordered it - and that’s after I called and very politely asked for a status. I was assured it would ship out the next day, it didn’t, and I waited a whole week to call again - and my calls were ignored. After that length of time, it finally shipped the day after I left a 1 star google review for that location - I can’t believe it took leaving that review in order to finally get the amp shipped to me. I understand they were having some staffing issues, and it’s a busy store, but it’s a bit extreme to take that long, and I’m especially irked that they sold my Rivera since I was really looking forward to acquiring that amp to compare with my Bonehead.

New Amp x2: PRS Sonzera and ENGL Straight 100

Picked these two amps up while searching for some deals on Guitar Center. Let’s start with the ENGL.

The Straight 100 has intrigued me for a while - it has a relatively stellar reputation, but they must not have sold that well as they are quite rare, at least in the US. There is some positive association with George Lynch, and it’s release in the late 80s as a dual channel high gain amp definitely brings an expectation of a thrash metal kind of machine.

With that in mind, I was extremely surprised at just how great the clean channel sounds on this amp. It’s very full bodied, modern sounding, and has some very usable switches to shape the tone, with great sounding spring reverb. The overdrive channel on the other hand, has a fantastic crunch mode which feels like a logical extension of the clean channel. Once the “lead boost” switch is turned on though, it really departs from those sounds and has a fairly saturated lead tone with a bright and cutting high end. It does not have a deep modern saturated sound, or heavy bass impact, since this amp predates that trend (likely started around roughly 1992-1993 with the Peavey 5150 or Mesa Dual Rectifier).

It’s very cool to hear the progression of tonal design in these early ENGL’s, since I’m lucky enough to have both amps on either side of this one - the E101 Digital Amp and the Savage. I’m planning to do a comparison video of all the ENGL’s I have, with the same riff, but I have a few more models I want to acquire and test before I put that all together.

This particular amp is the “standard” version, with a single button footswitch for changing channels, but there are some Straight models with a two button switch that allows channels as well as reverb to be turned on or off, or alternatively these special models allow the second channel’s lead boost to be turned on or off from the footswitch. This effectively turns it into a 2.5 channel amp, as you’ll have a clean, crunch, and lead sounds all available from the footswitch (crunch and lead sharing an EQ and other tone shaping switches).

Next, I have a PRS Sonzera 50 head. This was a bit of an unintentional purchase, as online the listing was for a Sonzera but the pictures were all of an Archon 50. With the inconsistency of Guitar Center’s listings, I figure I’d roll the dice and hope an Archon showed up for that ridiculously low price. Instead, the correct Sonzera arrived but I’m not too disappointed - it’s a pretty nice sounding amp and even though I didn’t get a 50% off Archon, I still think the price is pretty fair for the Sonzera.

So how’s the amp? It’s pretty decent, but I’ll admit it doesn’t break any records for me. It has a very nice clean channel, and is incredibly heavy with huge transformers. Disappointingly, it has some of the most sensitive master volume controls I’ve seen, and this amp is incredibly loud and difficult to manage compared to other 50 watters. Additionally, the reverb introduces a lot of background noise whenever it is set to anything besides fully on, or fully off. Luckily, you can set the reverb’s mix separately for both channels, which helps somewhat, but even on the clean channel setting the reverb to max is a bit too saturated. The distortion tone is thick and full sounding with plenty of gain for metal, and has an absolutely enormous amount of bass. In fact, it’s way too much bass, and I A/B tested this amp with my Bogner Uberschall, and the Sonzera has much more bass. It’s actually reasonably well controlled, at least in standard tuning, but it is definitely not an amp I’d call extremely clear or articulate, and it lacks the highs for that wall of sound rectifier type thing too (something the Uberschall can do if it so chooses). Obviously, comparing a $2k+ amp to a $500 amp isn’t quite fair, in some ways, but I find I’m using the Sonzera’s gain channel with the bass at barely 1 or 2. To make matters worse, the amp is completely anemic with the bass turned completely off, and it becomes quickly overwhelming very early in the sweep of the bass knob.

Overall, it’s a conflicting amp, and I see why these were discontinued and didn’t sell all that well. I’ve heard some great recorded tones on youtube of them, but there’s a few odd voicing choices and not enough of a stand out tone to make them worth recommending that much - but since they were only around $799 brand new I’d say they are a solid budget choice, as long as you can get around its limitations.