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Hand Made Guitar Amps


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Smokin' Joe V


The Smokin' Joe is the little amp with the tone of a big amp. With its SRPP type Pre-amp, and EL84 Pair, this amp pumps out LOTS of volume and amazing tone whilst being impressively small.

From the cleanest cleans, to AC/DC level Rock, this amp has the sound. Designed for Mr. V's Punk rock band to have a rockn' sound that can moved easily, and requires NO pedals to kick butt.

SPECS
15watts Class AB
2x EL84/6BQ5 Tubes
2x 12AX7/ECC83 Tubes
10" Alnico Silver Bell Speaker
$900 Combo, $825 Head In your choice of look/style

This is the most rock n' roll for its size period paragraph. 100% Analog Tube circuit.


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"RTL-1"

The RTL-1 is an amazingly versatile, very lightweight, all tube amplifier. Using vintage series-filament technology, but updating it for safety, this little amp is one of my favorite achievements.

RTL-1 is at home in a bedroom, in a studio, or on stage. I've heard our prototype in all of those locations. On stage, it's a sound-man's dream, just put a mic on it and it sounds dynamite with no effort. Most musicians are not playing giant arenas, but are stuck having to haul a hefty amp to a club, or to church, or whatever. After lugging a heavy amp for far to long, I'm absolutely thrilled to have a feather-light amplifier that does not sound weak in any way. As far as playing through it goes, it's quite sensitive to input volume, being sweet with gentle playing, and anywhere from crunchy to fuzzy with strong playing. It could not be simpler, with nothing more than a power switch, and a volume knob. It's already EQ'd perfectly before you even power it up. The volume knob becomes a "Crunch" knob after about 50% with a single coil guitar, and about 35% with a hum-bucking guitar. Roll off your guitar's volume a bit, and the crunch goes away, producing a sweet tone that's never edgy, but yet articulate enough that every note sings.

RTL-1 LOVES pedal boards. Put a reverb, Tube Screamer, Micro-Amp, Delay, and pretty much anything else in front of it that you like. The warm single end tone will shine through.

Although boasting all of 3 Watts, don't think for a minute that it sounds tiny. In fact, it sounds so BIG that it's being offered in both HEAD and COMBO versions. The Combo amp (prototype) in the photo will have updated nice labeling, and your choice of appearance. If a tolex covering is more to your liking, or you'd prefer to have anything other than the "Relic" wood used in our prototype, just ask. The Combo features a "Slot Back" cab that yields impressive bass response, but allows the tubes to cool. The cabinet was designed with Hi-Fi principles, in order to give you the player the best tone...there are no sonic compromises. Mr. V will gladly build you a matching speaker cabinet with whatever speakers you so desire. To keep with the easily mobile theme, a 10" speaker will give a bit more gusto, without breaking anyone's back. The RTL is a very short signal path, connecting your amp to your guitar in a tight responsive pairing that's sure to please.



Tube Complement is 12AX7, 50L6, and a 35Z5 Rectifier. This circuit is built from all new material, with NOS tubes where fiscally possible. Point-to-Point wiring means NO PC BOARD to warp and crack with the heat of vacuum tubes.

Below are a variety of sound samples. These were taken straight from mic-to-recording, with no processing.

The Sounds Of Awesome
Mellow Humbucker
Funky
High Input Fuzz Drive.... then roll back the guitar volume
The Single Coil Sound
Single Coil Finger Picked
With the Mr. V Arena Verb, and a BBE AM64 Drive
Crunchy Overdriven Single Coil

Tech Specs
Pre-AMP- 12AX7
Power Amp- 50L6
Rectifier- 35Z5
Speaker- Celestion Eight Fifteen 8"
Output- 3Watts, 4 or 8ohm load.
Price- Combo $399, Head, $359


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"Braddock"

The Braddock Amp has an interesting lineage. The power tube is an 807, a tube more familiar to those who work in amateur radio. 807's are similar to a 6L6, but can handle more voltage and current. The Braddock amp's heritage starts with RCA's single ended tube circuit that was licensed to Leo Fender. This ended up in a simple 4 watt amp from the 50's called the Princeton (Tweed Princeton). Fast forward about 50 years, Ted Weber got the idea to re-work things with a much louder 807 tube. Mr. V with the help of John Hamley, worked to stabilize Weber's design into one extremely powerful little amp.

Most small amps just get fuzzy and distorted when you start to drive them. My amp does not. The Braddock amp resists harsh distortions and stays pretty clean, even while keeping pace with a drummer.

The goal with Braddock was to have an amp that could be small, but loud, open bright and clear. Nothing stinks more than a little amp that sounds puny. Braddock is the amp that most underestimate until you hear it.

My Braddock Amp is named for the boxer James Braddock. He was known as the "Cinderella Man". The 807 tube was invented in 1937, when he had the heavyweight championship. Just like James Braddock surprised the world, My amp will surprise you with how much wide open sound, touch sensitivity, punch and sustain it produces

Technical Specifications:
~10w
Volume Knob 1-12
Tone Knob 1-12
Pre-Amp Tube 12AX7, 5751, 12AU7, 12AT7 (Selected for best sound)
Power Tube 807 (Usually NOS)
Rectifier GZ84 or Solid State (user switchable)
Speaker Weber Ceramic Blue Pup 10"
Colors--Lots of them, make the amp look like YOU want it to look.
10" or 12" speaker version available, Any current production speaker can be selected. (Prices vary)
Price: $899 (stock version)
$989 (Premium Caps/Pots/etc)


This small box has amazing warm bass tones, and nice shimmering treble. Sonically unique, with long warm sustain and great touch sensitivity.

Sound Clips, Since I know You Want Them.....

These lovely sound clips were created by Dominic Riccardi using the Braddock Amp and Arena Verb. There's Zero production on these recordings... this is raw audio baby! This rig sounds THAT GOOD! Dominic is a way better player than Mr. V.

Braddock + The Arena Verb
Braddock + The Arena Verb....Plus some Vibrato(from the arena verb)
Braddock all by itself
Braddock + The Arena Verb with heavier vibrato

Click Here To Download The Braddock Amp Owner's Manual


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"Mr. Big"

Mr. Big is an amp that I always dreamed of having, but nobody ever made. I love clean sounding amps, since I can dirty the sound before I put it into the amp.
My goals were this:
1. Clean at soft to scary loud volumes
2. High Fidelity by having low bass through sparkly treble.
3. A Cavernous reverb that sounds more like a chamber and less like a spring.
4. To not have the "Icepick" sound when driven

The result was this ~85watt monster driving 4 10's. I chose Weber Alnico speakers for a warm vintage tone, and opted for a lightly ribbed cone to control early speaker distortions.

This big boy would be something I could imagine Chet Atkins or Duane Eddy really enjoying. It sounds huge, so the whole spectrum of the guitar is in there. There's so much power in this amp, that "1" is plenty loud for most usage. I consider half of "1" practice volume, and "2" stage volume. I'd admit that I've never had enough guts to run it over "3" for fear of the neighbors calling authorities. One of my colleagues said.... "this thing would ROCK outdoors"... I bet it would.

Originally intended as a one-off as a personal amp, I've decided to build "Mr. Big" or other variations for those who would like one.

Pricing will vary based on what you need, but this unit could be built with a 4x10, 2x12, or 1x15 cabinet... or even as a head with a separate cab.

As always, I'm more interested in building you the amplifier you've always dreamed of, rather than just selling you my ideas.

Technical Specs: ~85 Watts All Tube
4x6L6GC Power Tubes
12AX7 Pre-Amp Tubes,
12AT7 Phase inverter and Reverb Driver
Channel 1 : Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble
Channel 2: Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble, Reberb, Tremolo Speed, Tremolo Intensity
Reverb is a 6-spring long tank (others available)
Tremolo is Neon-Optocoupling

Pricing: As Shown $2199, Premium Version, $2499
Less speakers, Less Parts, Less costs... I'll gladly quote you whatever you like


The most amazing thing I ever heard was how "Mr. Big" could fill the entire church with sound, with the volume only at "2". The sound was warm, rich and beautiful. Another testament to truly amazing sounds created and customized by hand and ear.

Read the Mr. Big Manual