IT'S HERE!!!

[Abstract]

And OMG I love it!!!


I've always been a big single channel fan. Never much cared for amps with channel switching. The best amp for me, so far, has been a Fender '58 RI Bassman. These amps have a great clean...and they'll get loud while maintaining clarity. I have generally favored stompboxes to get my distortion (thou a cranked bassman is a sweet sound for sure).

Several months ago I started on my quest to find a new amp. I knew I was more concerned with distortion than clean this time, as I don't have an amp for dirt. I threw around the idea of a Vox Custom Classic...but changed my mind when I played one. I thought about a Soldano Avenger...(still gasing for one of those) and a Mesa Dual Rec. I looked ALL OVER Ceriatone...and found what I thought would be the perfect amp for me. A TrainWreck clone.

On the advice of a Harmony Central member, I came here to see what the whole TrainWreck thing was about. I asked some questions about the amp and promptly received an answer.

Dan (aka Skyboltone) offered to build me an amp, and after sifting thru my inane questions and ill-advised "requirements", we settled on what I was looking for.

Basically, a low volume, high gain Express.

Here are the pictures (and synopsis)...thanks to Skyboltone... https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.php?t=5658

[img:800:600]http://i28.tinypic.com/s1hu37.jpg[/img]


So I get it last night...late (long story, NEWS FLASH: my parents aren't reliable).

I can't play cause it's almost 12pm when I pick it up. I turn it on just to make sure it's all working. It is...it is LOUD!

Today, I didn't have time before work, so I sat here all morning dreaming about it. Lunch rolled around and I went home to jam...OMG it's LOUD!!!

OMG it sounds HEAVENLY!!!

Then I remembered how you should set the controls...everything @ 1 o'clock and presence to taste.

With the volume on my '92 LP Classic down, clean sounds are bright and forceful, but they're also pleasing. Very sparkly and shimmery. The amp is VERY sensitive to tone settings on the guitar. Just a touch will change the tone. The dymanics of this amp are unparalleled. Every note seems to be amplified the same amount. There are no "dead spots" or notes that aren't as loud...and all notes have a very pleasing quality.

The clean side checks out.

Now, on to why I wanted this amp in the first place.
Lots of even order harmonics.I first had to stand outside the room to crank it up...slowly I opened the door and continued to play. The amp feels like a natural extension of the guitar. Always curious...I wanted to see what other tones this amp offers...fyi I changed the controls on the amp away from the 1 o'clock settings...sure enough it changed the tone...NOT for the better. Leave it at 1, and enjoy that rage.

Distortion checks out too.

Now, a word about this Skyboltone character: He IS the worlds last great human being. Period.

Without asking (and without payment) he HAND finished the wood faceplate I got from LonelyRaven and installed it. He knew it would be a pain for me to take the knobs off...so he took it upon himself to do the right thing!

He wrote out a Biasing manual for me and included a schematic for any future repairs or modifications...unsolicited of course!

I'm leaving out lots of "Worlds greatest human" qualifications for the sake of brevity...but rest assured his signature is accurate. Not just the slacker part, either.

I'd love to post some clips...I have a camera that can record audio and video, but neither are very good...I'll try to work something out.


Anyway...I'll go before I start to ramble...


Dan, Eric....from the bottom of my heart...

THANK YOU!