Ok now, most gearheads will agree that the holy grail of amps is a 1950's Fender Tweed, a 1960's Marshall or the rarest of all amps, the Trainwreck or Dumble. These 'point-to-point' handwired amps are the epitome of craftsmanship as it pertains to tone. Very few amps these days are built the old-fashioned way, instead manufacturers have found they can save a ton of money by using PC boards instead of having the amps handwired. While PC boards afford a great amount of consistency from unit to unit, they also have some serious problems as well. Tube amps are famous for producing obscene amounts of heat which has a way of warping the epoxy which PC boards are made from. The traces are etched onto the board and can actually pop off over time as they are heated by the tubes. When this happens you pretty much have to buy a new board, which usually ends up costing as much as the whole amp. Bummer!The few boutique amp manufacturers who are still handwiring their amps demand a pretty penny for their wares. Most of us working 'Joes' don't have $3k-8k to spend on a single amplifier. One of the latest crazes has been 'kit' manufacturers. Basically these small companies sell you kits with all the parts you need to handwire your own boutique amp. It's a great project for those with the know-how and the determination. The cost savings are incredible and the experience is priceless. But what if you aren't up for the task of wiring one of these complicated beasts? Well, there is a solution...
CeriaTone is a small amp kit company based in Malaysia who provide high-quality amp chassis, faceplates, transformers and all the parts you need to build your very own dream amp. They have made some of the most sought-after amp models available as do-it-yourself kits. Amps such as the 1959 Fender 5F6-A Bassman, the 1965 Marshall JTM45 and the Trainwreck Express. For a reasonable amount of money they will even build the amp for you and ship it to your door ready to fire up and scare the
neighbors with. Nice!Well, far be it for me to pass up an opportunity like this! I contacted Nik at CeriaTone about which amp he thought would suit my playing style. About 20 emails later I decided on the 1965 Marshall JTM45 which is Jim Marshall's variation of the 59' Fender Bassman amp; albeit with a British twist. Nik informed me that this amp has the reputation for having the sweetest clean channel known to man, but also has the ability to break up in a very musical way when pushed. Perfect!
Lead time on these amps is about 3-4 weeks on average. That should give me time to sell some of my other musical goodies to make room (read: cash) for this new addition. I am planning on ordering a custom head cabinet from Reason: Amps to house this beauty. The standard Tolex combinations for Marshall amps is either black, forest green or purple. Black is too common and purple is too psychedelic for my style so I'll be going with the forest green with gold piping and grill. It should look quite stunning with the gold plexi faceplate of the amp. I'd like to order one of their 2x12" speaker cabinets in the same color to complete the set, but that will have to wait a bit.
I got myself on the waiting list with Eurotubes for their new JJ KT66 power tubes which are expected to arrive the beginning of April. The original JTM 45 used the KT66's instead of the more common EL34's, but the KT66's have been out of production for long enough that the NOS supply is very limited. The sound of these tubes is supposed to be very rich and complex without the harshness that other tubes produce. Being that my style relies heavily on a nice warm clean sound I am planning on sticking with the KT66's.
I'm anxious for this new beauty to arrive. I have a limited experience playing through the high-end amps that are out there, mostly because I'm afraid that they will ruin my sense of 'content'. I remember playing through the Bogner Shiva head that RKS Guitars borrowed after the last NAMM show; I was quite disappointed with everything else after that. Last week I played one of the new limited edition Marshall handwired 1974x 18 watt amps at Guitar Center and was blown away. The sound was so different from what I've gotten used to with my budget tube amps. I guess it must be like driving a Ferrari after a lifetime of commuting in a Hyundai. The sound was so warm and organic; it really made the guitar sound like a living creature with a voice all its own. THAT is the sound I've been searching for. I'll keep you posted on the outcome when that baby finally arrives...
