I want to thank Ron, and the boys from ASW for hosting such a nice event.
Products from Red Iron, Two Rock, XITS, D13, Cardinal instruments, the Champ Zilla, and of course Austin Speaker Works Speakers kept everyone busy throughout the day.
Swapping stories, sharing some laughs and enjoying all of the great gear was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
We could not have done this without Ruston's help and Mike from XITS drove all the way in from Iowa to be on hand. Michael gets the trooper award.
I'm thinking of producing a late night access TV show that would be hosted by Ed Reynolds and Sam...
Could be a hoot.
Ed recommended that we also have some speakers on hand that suck next time so he has a better point of reference on the amps... Ed is a picky old grump that knows tone so that has to say something about the quality of the ASW speakers that were loaded in nearly every cab.
The only complaint that I heard was that one player that stopped by was experiencing "OPTION ANXIETY" which I have to think is a good thing.
We wanted to create and maintain an environment whereby everyone got a turn at each amp one at a time.
Everyone seemed to have a lovely time and I really don't think I could describe the gear any better than Sam has so I will leave it at a big Thank you to all who attended and participated.
LK
Thanks for this review from Sam Evans:
I'll start by reporting that Lance and Ron (you too Tina!) did one helluva job. Very organized, a perfect number of amps and wonderful hospitality. I sincerely hope that this becomes a regular event. I had a lot of fun, and that's mostly due to the folks that participated. But I digress...............the amps.
There were five amp builder's works represented yesterday. Divided by 13, Red Iron, Two-Rock, a wierdo SE head w/1000v on the B+ (yikes!!) and XITS.
Fave /13 is the 17/39. Pure EL-34 rock fury. No mud and Ed Reynold's Collings p/up-mule-proto-monstrosity was stunning thru this amp. Big, bold articulate and the right amount of slice and gain. Oh and, Mr Reynolds can PLAY!! Reminded me of my old '72 Marshall Super Tremolo, but no extraneous pops, hiss and other such foolishness.
Red Iron brought three amps, and I swear Paul's stuff is transcendental. His Mil-Spec (2x6550, octal pre) really stood out with it's balance and warmth. Not warm AND muddy, but warm AND clear. I'd played one at Paul's shop, but not thru one of his genius cabs. It reminded me of the Brunos I'd heard back in the mid-90s, but that's admittedly from my at times poor memory. The T-Rex ( EL-34s?, octal pre) is huge, huge, huge I say. We took the back off of the Red Iron cab and this amp ripped and tore thru the mids. Again with great articulation and balance. A VERY cool amp at a ridiculously low price. Thanks to Paul for making the trek from Lockhart!!
The Two-Rock Kimock (I think it had 6L6s) was fantastic to my ears. The stringyness, the muscle, the other wordly articulation were all inspiring. I heard a fellow TGP member play a Strat through it, and I was floored. No harshness in the highs, but still maintaining a silvery sheen on the top-end. Masterfully done, IMO. Positively alive, and worth every penny.
I first heard an XITS about six months ago, and immediately posted a a quicky review. I love it even more now. The amp is fantastic with the stock Blue, but Ron's and Lance's speakers are a huge improvement. I think this was the 15 watter. Straight up Vox sparkle w/o the blurriness in the mids caused by an EL-84 cave-in. Teeth, mids, sparkle and dare I say more muscle with the Austin Speaker Works cab plugged in. Reminded me of a Constellation a little. The workmanship is beyond the beyond, and their beauty must be seen in person to be appreciated. Clemduolian raved about this and the Mil-spec. Unfortunately his 50 watter wasn't ready.
The weirdo of the bunch was the SE amp with 813 triode in the power section. You can cook hot dogs on stick with it while playing as an added bonus. I love the SE format, and I always thought this would be a cool idea. And yep, it reminded of my Emery but 1000 times bigger with A LOT more gain. The amp was obviously a shop project, but it was well built and looked BAD-ASS! I t really did sound like a huge, gainy Champ, and I mean that it in all the right ways.
Wichita's partner on the speaker end of the cable is Ron. He's old, he's crusty, he's a curmudgeon and he's a freakin' genius. The speakers are phenomenal. I've owned Ron's tweaked Greenbacks for nearly a decade and have ZERO desire to change. Now I may put 'em in a different cab, but that's a different story. He's got more data than I could absorb in too short an afternoon, but the proof is in his and Lance's speakers. What a TANGIBLE improvement in tone. WOW. Oh, and Ron really is a sweetheart!
Thanks, for coming, Mr. Reynolds! You're even crustier than Ron, but we still love ya.
When wichita first mentioned to me that guitar25 was doing this, I was excited, if not a little skeptical. I know how hard it is to organize these things once the players arrives. Lance and Co. did a fantastic job. It was a very hospitable and inclusive environment for players. I can't imagine a better way to do it, but I do love my high-gain amps too! When's the next one?
SE