Your next amp

[susiwong]

how about this

http://www.zzounds.com/item--ALBTCT35H

Top mounted carrying handle

Blatant copy ...

gloss black trim board with gold Albion Logo

nobody else offers that, at any price !

Albion designs and builds their own transformers and loudspeakers. All PCBs, wire, plastic and die-cast parts, and speaker cones are custom designed and built in house.

in plain English :
to be able to make a decent cut at that price point we could not even use the cheapest OEM brands but had to go with Chinese no name components instead

The supplied footswitches also have a very useful feature - the cable connection can be easily user-changed from left to right to more adequately suit your stage rig preference. It's simple but so effective!

our engineering team are not mere copycats but setting new standards for the industry wherever we can

5 words :
OMG, no way !

Unless you tested it, loved the sound and verified that all components and general build quality are at least on budget US standard ...

Serious,
susiwong

EDIT : Exactly the kind of money I like to keep on the side to use for a really cool s/h bargain ...
And take it slow until you get a feel for your local market, then wait for something that sounds too good to be true, verify it is not a scam and go for it.
At least that's what I do all the time, work hard on being lucky.
And browsing the ads is more fun when you know you have gear money put aside.

[susiwong]

On a different note, has anybody tried loading a 412 with 4 different speakers (of comparable efficiency) for recording ?

It's a great and very common technique, both for recording and for live use. For example, with the original Matchless DC-30's, the Greenback provided the midrange bite and crunch while the Vintage 30 filled out the top and bottom end.

Does this make sense to get 4 different characters from the close mic, depending on placement ?

Yes, although I'd fix 4 mics to the cabinet and mix them all in together.

Thanks, Eric !
Exactly that is the plan.
If this works out well I might even add an open back with a blue & a gold or a Red Fang later

Cheers,
susiwong

[Dean Aka Nekro]

@ Dean...

Yep...I just dooded the deed....I went to one of our dealers here and ordered the Eninence speakers....we'll let you know how that goes when I put the things in...

Thanks Barry Appreciate it dude

Dean

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Seriously nice amp, good demos :


I like the speakers in the 1st one better, btw, especially the Gold - the 2nd one has a bit too much of that nasal mid peak known from the TS 808, the SH-4 or V30s - just not my cup of tea personally, though the guy sure makes it sound good.

Ymmv,
susiwong

Yeah for a Dr.Z or similar it seems to work splendid, Notice the complete lack of harsh even on the tele/esquire bridge pickup with the Alnico speakers, Actually he has the ZWreck's bass flat and even has the amps treble pot boosted still no harsh. Reason i like Alnico magnets for pickups but in a speaker setting they do not work as well for my needs but mighty fine. Looks like your furniture shoping again with those wooden panel finishes Still its far from that one PRS thing which was pure furniture finish

Even with a lowly 57 on the cab it would need hardly any EQ apart from maybe a HPF to cut out rumble. V.Nice indeed

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Eminance have an intresting one which allows one to attenuate via the speaker itself instead of a power brake/load box which i would really like to try/hear

My first thought was "why not just get an attenuator?" Then I realized just how damn cool and convenient it is to have it built-in to the speaker, particularly for gigging. Furthermore, my attenuator cost me *a lot* more than the $126 that the blue one goes for.

Put one of those paired together with one of these *potential* valve amp eliminators:
http://kemper-amps.com/page/render/lang ... fined.html

It eliminates everything, including the speaker and mic. It blows away the AxeFX, not to mention every software solution I've used.

Same with the speaker attenuator, It seems to do the job just great and no fuffling
about with extra cable for the power-amp attenuator. If Barry's experience comes out
positive then i will be buying two (not sure which model though yet).
I will take your word on the profiling amp, Just need to try one as and when Eric.
Nice amp there you have picked up, Way out of my price range and would not suit me
but still i like the design/Rheinhold obviously does not rest on his laurels. I think
my local has some Bogner's in, If they have one of the duende combos then i will try it
so i know what his combo's are like as i am only familiar with the exctasy and uebershall
heads plus a little time spent with a Shiva aslo. Is it the answer to your ultimate
combo search?

Dean

[robogone]

Is it the answer to your ultimate
combo search?

You make it sound like some sort of sword and sorcery quest or something like that - 'Cone Man the Valvarian'.

[trimph1]

Is it the answer to your ultimate
combo search?

You make it sound like some sort of sword and sorcery quest or something like that - 'Cone Man the Valvarian'.

[Uncle E]

Yeah for a Dr.Z or similar it seems to work splendid, Notice the complete lack of harsh even on the tele/esquire bridge pickup with the Alnico speakers, Actually he has the ZWreck's bass flat and even has the amps treble pot boosted still no harsh.

Good catch! Yeah, every Z and Trainwreck I've played has been top-heavy like Dolly Parton, I usually have to roll it off to 9:00 on my Ceriatone 'wreck. Those speakers seem to be the right fit. Actually, I was really impressed that the blue could sound so scooped and rock-ready with a 57, the Gold sounds more like what I'm used to hearing.

Even with a lowly 57 on the cab it would need hardly any EQ apart from maybe a HPF to cut out rumble. V.Nice indeed

Did I miss something or did that first video never showcase a mix of the two speakers? It sounds like those two speakers together would be the Grail.

p.s. I was able to dial in some very similar tones to that Dr. Z this morning using the Black Pearl 30 and Lovepedal Les Lius pedal. That Les Lius really is great, it tweeds out the edgy Black Pearl 30 beautifully.

[Uncle E]

If Barry's experience comes out
positive then i will be buying two (not sure which model though yet).

Get one of each! The great thing then is you could even dial them down independently to emphasize different frequencies. EQ'ing with speakers!

Nice amp there you have picked up, Way out of my price range and would not suit me but still i like the design/Rheinhold obviously does not rest on his laurels.

Oh, I didn't get it, I just wanted to show you guys the interesting speaker configuration. The used Duende I played was about 1/3 the price, the stereo effect isn't worth the extra $2K to me.

Is it the answer to your ultimate combo search?

The Black Pearl 30 pretty much answered that already.

[hibidy]

The Black Pearl 30 pretty much answered that already.

a SS amp, and it's the bomb eh?

[Hink]

And take it slow until you get a feel for your local market, then wait for something that sounds too good to be true, verify it is not a scam

scam? I think I'm a tad smarter than that

For four decades I have devoted myself in harnessing my skills in designing world leading amplifiers. In so doing it is fair to say that I have established a name now synonymous with equipment used for high class guitar playing styles from world-renowned guitarists on countless records and concert stages, to local amateur bands playing at the pub on a Saturday night.

I discovered my desire to broaden my knowledge of live music technology when as a young struggling musician I could afford neither the latest nor the best products. With a naturally enquiring mind, I sought to learn how the instruments worked and how to improve them by combining existing design with more advanced technology, a vision that marked the beginning of my passionate journey to creating affordable tools that deliver the goods for working musicians - a philosophy I still apply today. The Wharfedale company has its own vision of providing consumers with the best audio-video products, and in recognizing the reputation that I have established in the music industry, as well as my philosophy in creating "value for money" products, presented me with an opportunity to build a partnership and further explore my abilities, not just as a designer, but as a musician as well - an offer utterly difficult to turn down. The collaboration eventually resulted in the formation of Albion in 2009. Equipped with probably the most advanced audio manufacturing facility available, we plan to bring you world leading amplifier products at honest "value for money" prices. They may never be the cheapest, because to me, being the cheapest means that they have been designed to be cheap - but we will always endeavor to present you with the best products we can, without charging you "over the odds". Thank you for reading our first catalogue and for showing interest in our products. We assure you of many exciting new products in the coming months. We hope we can satisfy your musical ideas for a long time, as we have put all our hearts and exerted all our efforts into producing them.

Steve Grindrod

Director and Chief Designer

Albion Amplification

http://www.albionamps.com/

This ad did not come from ebay, AMS is selling this as well and both places have great return policies.

Also I want to let you know that the mics my cousin sells comes from China and he 'ear tests' every mic...grammy winning ears those are.

The fact as I see it is because of companies overcharging for the name on the front or the headstock (something you said matters to you was the headstock logo) other companies are seeing opportunity knocking. I find it kind of typical that you suspect anything not botique or 'classic' is a scam or not as good but once again I say to you my friend, it's not the gear that makes the player it's the player that makes the gear.

I'm not supporting it, I am not saying it is great and I am not saying it's a scam or garbage...I myself prefer to wait and hold any judgment until I have tried one for myself or start seeing a lot of reviews.

Generally I go for quality over quantity on any purchase I make, however I can buy a lot more gear that will benefit ME greater with the money I save by not buying waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overpriced gear because of the name on it and quite frankly I am not sure that any of that over priced gear is even marginally better in quality despite your speculation.

This is why in the physical world I do not hang around with musicians, stay out of the 'hanging around music stores' crowd because I get tired of hearing people boast about the name on their gear and looking down on people who play nameless gear very well (yeah after 40 years I can say without being egotistical that I play very well considering my own enjoyment level over 40 years and my expectations of myself)...in fact it's that very fact that made me the diy person I am, because I care a lot more about how something performs for me than the big name company making it. I have the skills and knowledge to recognize crap and/or turning 'cheaper' into 'better' with a few changes (like buying a squier tele and turning it into a monster baritone for under 500 dollars total).

I have to be practical and something like the Bogner Erik posted is too much for me to pay for an amp when I doubt that amp will make me any better a player, the same holds true with a lot of botique stuff. Take all the botique pedals, what a load of crap...a few cents in parts and a few minutes of modding and they inflate the price 100-150%. All the 'buzz word' gear is making a lot of gear snobs...I just play what I can, the best I can and I am pretty damn proud of what I can do both playing and build/mod wise...all of it is beyond satisfying for me and I do not have to pay a pro to do the things I can do just as well myself which is even better still.

I wonder if those botique pedals are indeed 250-300% better (I say 250-300% because of the savings on the kit as well as the mod parts) than my tubescreamr that cost me 68 dollars. Want to bet they aren't?

Seeing how this appeared this summer (I think within the last two weeks at zzz and AMS) prudence suggests that we give it a chance first before raising an eyebrow of doubt, let alone suggest it's a scam.

YMMV as you say but at the end of the day the only mileage that matters is mine and surely I am going to keep this amp in mind. It has sparked my interest and the not because of the name on it.

I love yah man, but you are a gear snob

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Is it the answer to your ultimate
combo search?

You make it sound like some sort of sword and sorcery quest or something like that - 'Cone Man the Valvarian'.

LMAO dude my sides are hurting

Let The Cone Be Mightier Than The Sword

[Dean Aka Nekro]

If Barry's experience comes out
positive then i will be buying two (not sure which model though yet).

Get one of each! The great thing then is you could even dial them down independently to emphasize different frequencies. EQ'ing with speakers!

Nice amp there you have picked up, Way out of my price range and would not suit me but still i like the design/Rheinhold obviously does not rest on his laurels.

Oh, I didn't get it, I just wanted to show you guys the interesting speaker configuration. The used Duende I played was about 1/3 the price, the stereo effect isn't worth the extra $2K to me.

Is it the answer to your ultimate combo search?

The Black Pearl 30 pretty much answered that already.

Well since i mis-match already YES! I do not know why it did not enter my tiny mind (sleep derpived but still no excuse)! For that call. Right got you on that Bogner combo i hear you/presumed on that one (Possibly because mention of you might have to pick one up one day = Presumed you had pulled the trigger). On the combo quest glad that your Black Pearl 30 is doing the job, I will have a google and read up on it just for reference. I think that in that Dr.Z video you are right, The guy did not play through both at the same time. I am pretty sure that the alnico gold costs some more than the alnico blue but not by a huge amount. It could be the grail for everything from clean through to timeless rock/hard rock-like gain amounts. Guess it is one for you to try out when you can in person.

For me personally the combo i am fond of is 2 of the G12 100K's on the bottom, A V30 top left (or right) and a G12 Heritage or a G12 Century top right or left (The G12 Heritage and the G12 Century models came from the Marshall TSL122 Combo which were a specific mis-match from factory for that combo). For the new 4x12" i am going to wait for awhile as of the Eminence speakers plus i have been liking the 70/80 of late (could go in place of any of the other celestion's mentioned)...Time will tell and money. Also the 1936 2x12" i have would be a more suitable candidate for the Eminance's i am thinking and just leave the 4x12" all Celestion mis-matched

Dean

[Hink]

I like guitars and amps
























































and kittens

[Uncle E]

a SS amp, and it's the bomb eh?

It's all-tube, including the tube rectifier and tube-driven reverb. I wish I could get more sag out of the rectifier tube, does anyone have any suggestions for that?