The Suhr PT15 IR Amplifier | THE BEST REVIEW | An Inside and Out Closeup With Playing | The IR Amp
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 เม.ย. 2020
- The Suhr PT15 with IR tube amplifier capabilities came out a short while back and here I take a close up review inside and out showing all controls and the IR's loading on a computer. I show features that no other review ever has but I go much further to show what this tube amp is really like if you buy one. I am a paying customer.
Video comments are now turned off.
Video Contents:
Intro & Preamble 0:12
The Amp Revealed 4:00
Looking Closer 5:12
The Chassis Top 7:24
Inside the Amp 10:00
The Reactive Load 16:58
The I/O Amp Back 17:53
The Amp Front 22:24
Accessories Included 27:30
Loading IR's 29:38
Warranty Terms 31:53
Conclusions 34:11
Rating & Score 38:11
Playing the Amp 40:35
Get answers and info for questions like:
Why review this Suhr PT15 IR Amp?
What is special about this guitar amplifier?
How well is this tube amplifier made?
Do the IR's sound any good?
What brand are the tubes?
What is the overall review score?
Did you buy this amplifier?
Is this amp worth the high cost?
The Suhr PT15 IR amp was created by John Suhr and others with input from Peter Thorn (a musician) collaborating with Suhr on the project. The amp offers a number of features that do not exist in any other amplifier out there such as a built in reactive load, integral IR's (speaker simulations) that can be added to any of the three channels and lastly an headphone socket so you can listen without disturbing others.
AS a company Suhr have been around a long time with John Suhr modifying amplifiers many years ago. Today they have a whole range of amps, reactive load boxes and a complete range of guitars.
The Suhr amplifiers boast a manufacture location of the USA and are generally premium amps for discerning customers. But at a substantial price for this amplifier of £2795.00 or thereabouts in the UK and still highly priced in the USA this guitar amplifier has a lot to prove. In a similar price range as a Mezzabarba M-Zero One (here: • Best Guitar Amp You Do... ) this 15 watt amp has its work cut out. And is the quality better than the M-Zero One? It is not!
When I looked at this PT15 I.R. amplifier from the outset you could tell that this amp has something different going on, and I wanted to check it out to see whether the amplifier has the quality and tones that a unit of this high cost commands. You will see in my inside and out review (one of many covering amplifiers in general for guitarists) how well or other wise in my opinion this amplifier is made and the component parts, whether these extra features are worth the premium and of course how this amp sounds when being played through.
I used one of the IR's for my playing and one that sounded OK to me, it might sound good or bad to you? But that's because sound is subjective, and remember I'm not under review, the amplifier is! I did also create a second video exampling the I.R.'s that came with the amp for a different video and citing whether the I.R. route in an amplifier is worthwhile bearing in mind that near enough all DAW software can use I.R.'s these days.
I also connected a computer to the PT15 I.R. amp and show how easy it is to move around the IR's in the amps memory.
While this is not in the video review, I also visited Celestion's website to check out their I.R. products (yes they now have them for sale) and you can buy a whole set for around £27.50 or $US equivalent. But you can get a Greenback cab for free simply by subscribing to them. I also downloaded something called the 'GOD IR's' (search for it) that you can download for free and include a huge amount of speaker IR's of varying quality. You might want to try those.
I also investigated the warranty on the PT15 I.R. that for the UK seemed to send conflicting messages to me and without any referenced warranty that was clear and concise for the UK, but I did cover the warranty also for the USA buyers.
Did this amplifier meet with my expectations for an amp of this stature? Did Pete Thorn make any difference to my buying choice? Well you will have to watch the video to find out.
Visit www.tonymckenzie.com for other non TH-cam reviews of fine guitars, amps and other guitar related gear, and of course my TH-cam channel with at least 300+ reviews online since 2009! I bought this amplifier and the manufacturers have had no input whatsoever. My opinions are that of any ordinary person buying one of these products and concluding what I did - completely unbiased. Here you get a review that will always 'tell it the way it is' about all reviewed equipment.
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Hey thanks for the review! I'd love to clarify some things for you if I may, off the top of my head. The tubes are a JJ in V1 and Chinese 12AX7 in the other preamp slots. ARS is just a distributor and we retest and rematch all our tubes. These are carefully chosen for tone and performance and are tested and hand selected on an Audio Precision test station, I wouldn't change them. The effects loop send level is the channel level and the return level is the global Master, it is a fully buffered tube loop. The PCB is hand soldered double sided plated thru holes not wave soldered, one component at a time. Sorry about the washers! Good catch, we had that issue on a few and I guess missed one, the hole diameter in the washer was the issue but the head is tight, that is there to protect the cup from cutting the vinyl. The Pots, yes the smaller sized Alpha is superior to the larger diameter and FYI CTS is no longer American but are made in China anyway and frankly they have been problematic in guitar land. Everything we can do in the USA we do, including Iron A "suspicion" of where it is made seems to cast a nefarious on the origin, I'll clear that up, it is made in Lake Elsinore CA in our factory, even the transformers are American made CA state law dictates really almost nobody can say "made in" unless virtually EVERYTHING comes from the USA , this includes knobs, switches, all electronics which most of is not available in the USA. Or those American companies like Carling or CTS are using off shore anyway so we can't say its all made in USA.
The biggest gripe you seem to have is the CE and lack of ROHS. We do not self certify but have a lab do all our testing. CE includes ROHS, ROHS does not need to be listed separately. You can't be CE without being ROHS anymore. We also test for FCC. I'll be happy to send you proof on the reports if you send me an email or contact CS, it's 82 pages long. Also the price I'm sorry is a bit less in the USA for sure. Not much I can do about that import duties, county specific taxes, shipping costs etc. So shoot me a message so I can get you the proof of CE and you can change it to a 10 ;-) thanks again and if you have any questions please feel free to reach out and maybe I could clarify my reasoning and design intent before any incorrect conclusions! Cheers.
Hi Mr Suhr... well thanks for watching my review... it really is a completely independent one and I hope you don't mind that. Thanks for this information I really appreciate that. Some years ago I did a few reviews also independent, and later discussed all the things with the designer, it was great to hear all the tings he mentioned and no less for sure in your case. If you don't know then no one would! Great points also re the origins. I am involved in the UK with a USA company and some of the equipment we sell origins actually in China, and I could say I have seen some changes over the years on most of the electronic equipment. The stuff we sell is marked up accordingly. I'm sure you test for FCC and CE at the same time because any other way would be pointless and cost substantially more doing things twice. And I know what lab costs are I have paid them many times. Indeed I know exactly what those reports are like too. Let me just say this please, part of the reasons I always look close at any CE stuff, firstly, I don't know about you, but I get absolutely frustrated at Chinese and other Far East companies cheating the system. You - and I and many other companies spend the money and do things properly. It is very painful for me to spend many tens and tens of thousands of pounds on 'doing the right thing', yet others flout it all and don't care. Worse still as I'm sure you will know, competing with that can be very difficult, but the real solution of course is educating buyers. In my real job it is entirely different than my 'hobby' of music but I have been messing around with that since 1968 and I'm thankfully still alive after prostate cancer and other stuff. I enjoy everything I do, and I know you will do to in your business. So please re CE it's not a gripe, trust me on that, but I see company after company not do the right thing.
Ha I can't go back and change the score :) but trust me that score is very high. I have seen all sorts of products from all sorts of companies and some of it is horrible. The PT-15 IR is expensive here and with tax, dealer margins, the shipping etc. well, I would expect to see a great amp. Anyway I think it is a good amp... there was little to really find in there and that's a great thing. Looking inside any amp from any maker doe show a different light on any product and I'm happy that the Suhr product was as good as it is. Thanks for taking the time to comment on here and I'm sure that any viewer will take in to account your comments and points accordingly. I liked the fact that the amp seems pretty unique with the things it offers. Sure there are other ways to end up there, but then of course that's not all in one box. Thanks again and if you want to contact me off here then go to www.tonymckenzie.com and fill in the form... and I'll email you so you have my email address.
@@tonymckenziecom Thanks Tony, I've never read a review of 9 out of 10 that still rubbed me the wrong way but I'm sure if you and I had a beer you would understand my design intent and passion for what I do coming from being a repair person for 40 years. I felt you had a chip on your shoulder in all honesty about a few things. I take testing and safety seriously and I share your skepticism that everyone is doing it right which is why I'd hate for anyone to assume otherwise. I use American PCB supplier and transformers and a full crew to build our electronics. We hand stuff everything except surface mount digital. We do pay a serious chunk of change for testing by a serious LAB. FCC you can't screw around with, I've seen friends get busted on digital reverb add ins. Rest assured though anything that can possibly be done in our shop I do. My son designed 90% of that amp and did a killer job he is a seriously talented EE. It is the only amp I know of with a built in reactive load that follows a true impedance curve (most use a bathtub curve that doesn't resemble a true impedance curve) has IRs and they are assignable to any channel. We also have a version that doesn't have IR options. Local the amp sells for $2699.00 US dollars so your pricing is a conversion of what you had to pay due to your import costs. Thanks and stay safe
Oh and I almost forgot... I trust that you ant Mr Thorn and everyone else there stays safe from the corona virus. Here in the UK it has ravaged the country really. I know in the USA there have been many deaths and it's very sad. But the UK it is not good either and it could be easy to catch that horrible disease. Stay safe all of you.
Well I don't really understand why you might be 'annoyed'. I thought the amp was pretty good based on what I saw and not based on sales videos or other things like that - and I said so. I don't set out with anything except a blank piece of paper and then I buy equipment. If I like the gear I keep it myself and if I don't then I sell it. Let me put it another way, I originally bought a Friedman amp which I felt did not offer value for money (to me) for the price it was and while it is subjective, I have many amps costing less that are exceedingly similar to the Friedman I purchased in quality and tone. In fact, I returned that amp and spent as much again to get an amp that is an interesting product - that is your company's amp the PT-15 IR. So my review is based on being an owner of the PT-15 IR that I properly paid for. I won't be sending yours back and for good reason. It does what it says on the 'tin' so to speak and sounds good. Interpretation between languages is sometimes 'different' although English and American can at first appear the same. They are not. On pricing well, here the list price seemed to be £2799.00 or thereabouts. Without our 20% tax that is £2332.50 or $2868.97 equivalent in $US. In any case here in the UK it is an expensive amp but it does have the extra features that I thought did offer extra value. So if you step back a little (it can be hard when you're so involved in what you do) you might find my review quite reasonable from an English perspective. Thanks Mr Suhr.
Hi Tony and hi all, Tony I appreciate the video but there is quite a lot of speculation going on, both in the video and the comments, so let's clear it up- I encourage you and anyone reading this to watch my Sunday Live this week, 11 AM PST on my youtube. I'll be joined by John and Kevin Suhr, and any and all questions you have regarding things like warranty, components, price, build, PC board vs PTP building in the USA, and even what I think about the Axe FX and tube amps, historically and presently! All this can and will be addressed :) Hope to see you there.
Hi Mr Thorn, Well I can only tell you (for example) the position regarding warranty for example that I found. The documentation was not clear for the UK which is what I said. I'm not sure what the UK time is for your online - I think that's about a 8 hour difference. If I can get to it then I will. But in any case, there is no problem in commenting on here at all - in fact I think that's a good thing. Anyone can comment providing they do not swear and are civil - you will know what I mean. I have many ages of people that visit my channel and I think it's better that way. So please do feel free to comment. If I was at work right now I would call both yourself and Mr Suhr as sitting writing on social networking is not always pertinent. But I'm a little surprised about the perception that somehow my review of the equipment I rightfully bought through a UK authorised dealer is somehow bad/wrong/indifferent. I like the amp, it is well made, it sounds good and I as a user evaluated the amp as a 9/10 rating?
I'll take on board anything that you guys tell me of course, but my review was based on what I found from the hardware, the tones and the experience I found as a user of the equipment with everything I could find that is available to an ordinary user which is what I am.
Some equipment I have purchased from some companies has been shocking, and on occasion I had to report that to the UK government authorities because it was actually dangerous. So much so that they confiscated it, confirmed that it was completely illegal and I had a refund. Those sort of products can kill - and I have the government documentation to show that in the case of that particular equipment that it really was that dangerous.
No one ever looks at the inside equipment in the way I do and have been doing since around 2010, but there are very valid reasons to do so because when you buy a product, it's not 'just' the sound that matters is it? It's the quality overall, the warranties offered, the conformity (for safety) and after service that all matter. Reviews that are not biased help anyone to see how equipment stands up to scrutiny that otherwise would not be available. And a review that offers a 9/10 score I would suggest is a pretty good result for any product.
The Surh amp is a completely different type of product than some of the equipment I have seen and clearly made to a high standard which I also said. You know what, I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for Surh to consider making their own video of their electronic equipment showing the inside, the overall quality, the warranty and other stuff. As it is currently Suhr has the music content well covered by yourself, but ground breaking presentations of that sort of genre can only help Surh to spread the word of how good their equipment is, and how it stands 'head and shoulders' above competitors? Maybe you might mention it to Mr Surh and then maybe you can create video content unlike any other company. To me, it sounds like a great idea and I would love to see that sort of presentation from ANY company. I would not really understand how that could be detrimental to any company that created those sort of presentations? Do you?
By the way I have recently watched some of your online content and your playing is really great, you have a wonderful ability. Please give me your little finger and that will be fine for me :) So thanks for the invitation, if I can be there I will and if not when I get back to my real job I'll call you and Mr Suhr and I hope that the above can spark some different way of thinking regarding presentations that Surh make. Stay safe.
What i like about your reviews is that you look at just what you are getting for your money under the cover and not just the hype. So many amps are let down by very cheap components. I wish the amp manufacturers took more notice of your reviews, hence my subscription to highlight your channel. Keep up the brilliant work.
Thanks Thomas for those very kind words. Sadly manufacturers often care little about someone like me, (not always) because if I find a problem then I talk about it... some really are not happy about that. And others sometimes drop a comment. I went around Marshall recently, and because I was making a video on a tour, someone said, we were going to make one some years back, but 'some guy' made one with Phil Wells and it covered everything so wo did not bother. Scarily I made that video 11 years ago :) and not once until that recent conversation did anyone ever tell me that they loved the original video I had made. Of course then there are 'others' that probably dislike my review... like the Friedman JJ Jnr amp with really bad botched insides... I have been moaned at by many (mainly Friedman affecionados) but not one since publishing has either their authorised dealer or friedman ever said a word... and that says everything really. I was a paying customer (it could have been anyone) and those guys simply don't even acknowledge that problem. Sincerely I also wish that if I found something not right, or they thought the review was fair and god that they would contact me... but they just don't. Who does? Guys like yourself that appreciate as honest a review as I can create - and that's all that matters to me! It was worth doing... and thanks again for those kind words and for watching.
Thank you Sir. for taking the time to make another outstanding video.
Thanks Alan... it's nice to know that some people appreciate this. Its great fun to do as well of course and should keep many people busy for at least an hour in these difficult times. Stay safe.
Great and honest review. I did purchase the amp and it sounds amazing I'm coming from ENGL E670. I've tried Axe Fx and also have a line 6 helix. The PT15IR is one of the best amps I've ever felt to play. I also have a few Suhr guitars and it is just a wall of sound. The price? Sure, it's up there but so is all quality gear and I happy to pay for it. Thanks for the review with the inside look.
I always try to tell it how I see things and to be as genuine as I possibly can be. Some don't like that - sometimes some product is not meeting reasonable standards - but that in itself is important because when gear IS good then it should be praised and when its less good then that also should be highlighted in my opinion. I liked looking at this amp and how they tackled different aspects of the amp. And a big thanks for you posting YOUR opinion on here, because that does matter just as much as any other opinion IMO. Thanks for watching too.
Interesting amp, I love pretty much everything about it up to the price where I dropped out. Thanks for the honest review and take care.
Oh I know... it IS a very expensive amplifier and I did question that a few times in the review. But like I also said, it's good to take a look sometimes at stuff we might never buy ourselves, Ha I look at super cars all the time, but beyond a certain limit I would never buy it... but I still look :). Thanks for watching and stay safe.
Hi Michel. Unless you are in the UK the price in dollars is not accurate in this review, The amplifier is $2699 US. The conversion from pounds to dollars is inconsequential for someone purchasing the amplifier in the United States, the amplifier does not cost $3300 in the United States. For folks purchasing in the UK there is import taxes/duties of course. As with any product.
Thanks for this review!!! I was looking at this amp on the web a few months ago but the price tag scared me away. If you are not attached to this amp I would suggest giving the REVV G20 or D20 a review, same Idea as the PT but better options with the TWO NOTES embed load. 3k vs $1,200. The only downside is the shared eq, but it appears the PT is shared as well. Thanks again for the review, I don't live close to any good music stores so I live vicariously through your videos.
David it scared me too! Not my original intention to buy this amp but there you go. Well you are not the first to comment along the lines of the REVV. I will get to look at it, but I have bought a pile of gear for now so will have to sell some to recoup some of the money. Than I'll take a look. It just takes time, and with the darned virus going on it's pretty hard to even make any reviews. Ill check and when you see it then you can tell me it was your idea :) Thanks for watching the review... these are always expensive for me to make and this one more so than most... and stay safe there.
Great sounds Tony, I like your playing technique. Best Regards, stay safe. Thanks. John.
Ha this was just messing about doodling really. Certainly only worthy of that. But I thought something more laid back than my usual rock stuff would work :) Thanks for watching and stay safe.
Another great review, Tony.
Jesse! Great to hear you my friend... I have thought about you off and on and I trust you're doing OK... stay away from that darned virus! Glad you liked the video :) warm regards.
Pete is one hell of a guitar slinger. Thanks for the review Tony.
I'm not sure how well he is known over here in the UK. He has been around Thomann a few times demoing gear but I don't follow what he does particularly. Come to think of it, I don't really follow that many musicians these days. I think Mr Thorn has changed over the years from back when I first heard of him (around 2010) and maybe so has what he does these days compared to then. I don't mind him at all really. Anyway the amp has Pete's name on there so he has to be included :) I could stick a Marshall logo on there but that might not work :) Stay safe dude.
I’ve alway enjoyed the tones from the Friedman dirty Shirley 40. Bit out of my price range though. Great video as always tony
Well it all comes down to what you like. I'm sure that Friedman do make some great amps. For me, the JJ Jnr had this switch that was 'sold' on the basis of Jerry Cantrell sound (I guess - hence the name), but when I tried that amp the designated switch did little really. Personally it felt like a Friedman 'Runt' (from what others tell me) with a switch fitted so it might sell from a JC name association. Maybe I'm being harsh with that amp, but I can tell you in all the years I have played guitar only once have I returned an amplifier... and the JJ Jnr was it. Maybe the one I had was not a good representation or something, but there you go. Friedman are expensive for what you get especially here in the UK. I have other amps that to be honest outshined the JJ Jnr an cost me half the price. However, this Suhr amp is far from cheap either, and if you consider what you get carefully then again in the UK it is expensive. The IR's I can buy for £50 direct from Celestion and use them in the desk software, the reactive load box (equivalent Two-Notes Captur X - review coming soon) for £400 and I don't need the headphone socket. As I said I would be left with an amp costing at least half the price. But if someone did want the PT15 as its created then it's pretty much unique. Thanks for watching and stay safe.
Thank you for the review, Tony. It's much appreciated. I'm just a few minutes into the video yet, and I couldn't help myself hearing you talking about Pete Thorn and his 'refound love' for tube amps after being over the moon by the Fractal Audio stuff. As far as I know Pete's always been a tube amp guy, but he appreciaties the technology that makes things easier when writing new music and so on. He appreciates the convenience, so to speak
. However, I'm not here to defend Pete in any way, but I just wanted this out of the way. Right, let's crack on with the video now. ;-)
Cheers!
Edit: nice review, Tony! There’s no one out there on ‘The Toob’ that’s as thorough as you. Cheers, mate!
Ha that's OK. I don't mind Pete Thorn these days really, he has a job to do and he does it. But it was all so funny listening to him back in the day (around 2011 if I remember correctly) I have to say. In any case, it's clear to see that he seems to like tubes these days :) and so do I :) Have a go on an Axe FX III and tell me its easier than this tube amp... :) not so! Thanks for your kind words too... and whatever you do stay safe these are difficult times.
tonymckenziecom well I have know Pete for longer than that and I know he has never preferred a modeler. He used them when it was right for the gig and appreciated them as useable tools. Pete has never been it's about this or that, more what it takes to get the job done.
Thanks for the info. Back in 2011 when I saw what was transpiring through a number of websites but relating really to the FXII that did not seem to be the case from my perspective. It matters not Mr Suhr and I long ago moved on from 2011 :) These days let's just say I am wiser than to bother with tittle tattle on the internet on forums and I honestly could not care less. Like I said in the video I have no issues with Mr Thorn and I think what he does these days he's doing a pretty good job. Me? Well I have tried near enough every darn simulator out there and while they have some benefits where I come from often they don't sound the same as what they 'simulate' but more importantly to me they don't feel like you're playing a tube amp. And I guess that's a great reason to make tube amps. Anyway, thanks... and stay safe.
I love seeing guys demo these amps from a perspective other than high gain/shredding. I personally have nothing against circuit boards and have many fine sounding amps that are circuit board based. I do prefer through hole components primarily for repairability, and I think capacitors depending on their construction can influence tone in a way SMD can’t, resistors I could care less. I do however prefer at least hand wired pots and tube sockets to go along with circuit boards. But that all said, for the money- that amp should be hand wirerd or free parts for 10+ years!!!!
Indeed, and I have many PCB amps too. I don't get much trouble with amps but I'm in a studio so maybe that's part of it. Ha I just had a few backing tracks and this one was laid back so I thought what the hell, use that. Also partly because you can also hear the guitar better than flat out cranked. So I used a telecaster style and a PRS which are different enough to at least hopefully offer the different tones. I used the same IR to the desk but changed the channel for the PRS to channel 3. The pots on the Suhr were in fact hand wired on to little sockets which I thought was a novel idea and I don't think I've seen that before. Tube sockets on the board. Ha I agree it is an expensive amp and like I said comparing it to a Mezzabarba here: th-cam.com/video/C4WLh0vYaIs/w-d-xo.html makes the Suhr expensive in my opinion too. The Mezzabarba was similarly priced. Thanks... and just stay safe.
tonymckenziecom at least they got the hand wired pots right
Ha yes they did... those were the intermediate smaller ones though.. not the tiny ones, but about 3/4 inch across. A bit less common and no CTS in sight. Seems many makers are changing to the brand on this amp as well as to JJ tubes. Somehow, I could be wrong, but it all seems cost price driven somehow.
Hey Tony. You wreckon it’s loud enough to gig ? Once you go past 6 on master and channel volumes does it get louder or break up more ?
Well it does both I think really. It's a master volume type of thing so quite settable. I would think you can gig with this amp. Indeed Mr Thorn said he did gig with it....
Hi Tony... another great review that I enjoyed, thsnk you. Am strongly considering getting the PT15 IR myself.
Just a quick question regarding the preamp tubes.
I noticed that out of the 5 preamp tubes each one is a 12ax7... however there's a phase inverter tube position which has a 12ax7 in it too.
As far as I know, a phase inverter section would normally utilise a 12AT7 tube given that the PI draws a lot more current and a 12AT7 tube would normally be more suited there for that reason. Do you think it would benefit the amp to replace the P tubeI slot and pop a 12AT7 in thrre instead of a 12Ax ? Woukd it affect or improve the tone at all ?
By the way... if I get this amp I'm definitely getting rid of the Chinese preamp tubes & swapping in some nice sounding, better ovearall quality tubes.
Any you'd personally recommended? Cheers 👍 😊
Well I have seen many amps with 12AX7 as phase inverters... and far less with 12AT7 for example. Tubes I tend to buy are TAD premium selected. They cost, but for good reason and never had either a power tube or preamp tube fail from TAD (tubeampdoctor..com) Hey I he it helps a bit and thanks for watching. Mr Suhr was a bit critical about my review (its in the text somewhere) and really I think they did not like me showing the internals of the amp. But hey ho - I'm about the only one to ever bother! :)
Great video! For a smaller head vs their higher wattage amps, it’s very similar price point. The MZ is hand wired. However, this unit it seems is way more expensive. I’d do the H&K Grandmeister and a new LP.
The sounds are superb. Going directly into your board this sounds great. Jeez, looks like a winner.
Indeed I still have my Grandmeister 36 its a cool amp especially for what you can buy them for. As for price I think this is an expensive head. I know they spent time on the R&D for sure and it all costs, but at the price I do think its rather out of its league like I said when you can buy a Mezzabarba built like that one is for similar money. While its true the Mezzabarba does not have every feature of the PT15 IR, its also true that the PT15 IR does certainly not have all the features of the Mezzabarba. There are other amps without the bells and whistles of this format of low wattage output and smaller case assembly that cost a lot less. But if you needed those extra features... I could see someone buying one. Thanks.... stay safe.
tonymckenziecom Tony, that Head really sounded great on the mix.
It was literally mixed right in from that out on the back... so what is on the video is at least like what could be on a PA FOH. What I would like to see is a no tube amp do the same and I never found one yet. But good to know from others that it sounds OK.. Ha my ears are not what they used to be...
tonymckenziecom Kemper. It’s on my wishlist. The kemper profiling pedalboard. Amp, FX.
I have had a Kemper since about two months after they came out. The Kemper can sound good there's no doubt about that. However, like every simulator I have ever tried (I tried most) what happens is that over time they add more and more 'features' (I'll call them that although some of it is pretty useless) and the user gets more and more bogged down with it all. The net result is you ask yourself questions like 'now where did they move that' or 'why is this so different now' or 'what the hell is going on' or you could make up your own questions.... actually you will! :) It's not that I don't like the Kemper, but it's that continual change for changes sake in many cases (not just Kemper). Somehow all those companies keep changing the firmware. So the question is... if the gear is so great (as they all say) why keep on changing everything under the sun? There can be really only one reason... its because everything is NOT all great in the first place. All those makers seem to think that it 'adds value'. Me? well I'm one of those guys where a reverb is... well, a reverb... a simulation is... a simulation. No matter how they cut it that's a fact and any changes are really saying in general that what you had before this change was not as 'good' as this change makes the unit. Poppy cock. Even in 2011 the Kemper was good and while the editor/librarian took nearly ten years to make (!) it does not improve the actual tone of the unit... it makes it easier to use. And with all those updates I could guess that many users might not find many of the 'features' that are now well hidden under the burden of the operating system. Axe-FX anyone. And one last thing... always remember that they are computers and computers with bad power supply in a venue will crash no matter what anyone says. Get your $100 APC unit before you gig! Does ANY of this sound familiar? But I STILL like Kemper! :) Stay safe.
A HA...I knew it! ...and I loved it. Rock on!
Yes you were the first to say it for sure... but I wanted to 'keep it going' for a while... well done. Not a bad amp but oh so expensive compared to some of the amps I have... stay safe.
Nice informative video Tony. I noticed on the back of the amp it has Assembled in the USA, but where is it made? LOL But if you say it's made well, it's made well. :-) Stay safe.
Oh no I get that. Hopefully not like Fender. I do have my own opinion as to what where and how but won't post it on here simply because it would be a guess. It is well enough made. One guy on here suggested I could go through component brands and certainly for some aspects I do. On this amp the capacitors I had not heard of but I don't know everything. The power supply capacitor brand was 'nichicon' which are actually Japanese (at least the company is). No F&T there. But whether that brand is 'good or bad' who knows. There was by the way no indication of where the boards were made on the boards so the singular reference as to origin was as you stated. But for CE compliance (at the very least) the product should have its origin on the product - and this one does. Good point and one worth bearing in mind. Yes and you stay safe too - watching the news these days many are not :(
It is made 100% in Lake Elsinore CA
Due to CA state law unless virtually EVERyTHINg including all capacitors, knobs you name it comes from USA you can't say that anymore. Has to say assembled.
@@johnmsuhr This. It is made in the USA. Simple.
Hi Tony, I subscribed long time ago😀, love your reviews, I’ve got many Amps, I agree Friedman’s are great but overhyped, my favourite amp by far is the Morgan AC20, you cannot get a bad tone from this, simple to use really great amp works at home to small gig ( headroom a little limited but then you could get the AC40. I hardly ever use any of my other Amos, takes pedals well. I find Vox AC’s too shrill, definitely not the case with the Morgan. You should try one. Cheers.
Ha if you subscribed its not aimed at subscribers :) but 80% of viewers are not subscribed! a little crazy really. Yes I think the hype of Friedman seems endless somehow. Honestly I have never tried a Morgan amp - I have considered it a few times but always thought they might not have the drive? Honestly I really don't know and that's not an educated comment. I have a friend who had a divided by 13 amp and he was telling me how great they are. He bought it over and we reviewed inside and it was exceptionally well made. Then we tried to record it! OMG it was so loud. Some people think a 100w Plexi is loud... well that divided by 13 amp was as loud and I think it was something like 40 watts or something. He loved it, but me? I ran a mile the other way :) So the Morgan (from the name) sounds like a Vox AC20 type of thing (you know what I mean) right? How much drive is on it? Stay safe.
tonymckenziecom hi Tony, thanks for the reply, I think it is based on the circuitry of a VOX but sounds very very different for more complex and rich, it’s very very load but you can reduce that with the built in powered scaling, I have two the standard and the deluxe, the difference is the power valve , the deluxe has the option of a ef86 as well as the 12ax7 accessible through a switch at the back. The EF is a lot louder. Maybe when this crap is all over I could send it to you for a review.
Do you know what scaling they use? London Amps? That scaling is pretty unique if it is. Oh I would review it... but if you're not in the UK it would be almost impossible. Thanks for the offer in any case...
Excelent review my friend, electronic world seems to be good for you, just a point,
can do something for us??
When you talk about good electronic job we have a idea how as to be, well can you talk about good brands of condensers, resistances, psu, or if they’re good or low quality is just to start to have a idea how looks and what kind are these components thank in advance mate and good as always cheers
I understand that perfectly Peter - and indeed I do take many photos of inside all the equipment. Where power supplies are particularly not that great I di single them out. But also remember that in the video you can see most of that stuff also. On the capacitors for the PSU in this amp they were not a brand known to me, but honestly, I don't know all the brands by far, suffice to say they are not F&T! But you have a good point though about components. I try and look for what's often simply bad things inside any product because that's where often its hidden - out of sight of any users prying eyes. On this amplifier overall I did think it was generally high quality and the build was good. But I get your point. I have another review coming up from Marshall and I'll take a look at that review to see if I can add something in... but not always possible because of no information other than what's in front of me and I don't like to guess if I can help it. Thanks Peter and stay safe!
What amp is good for the money,I have an older Mesa Subway blues amp currently.thanks
Oh there are some. This was not really a budget amp though and it should be good... thanks for watching and Mesa generally make cool amps :)
Thanks Tony. Great job. What's an IR?
Ah well, these guys will tell you better than me: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impulse_response and there's everything you would ever need to know about impulse responses on there. This is (as far as I know) the only tube amp currently that has them on board. Useful for direct to PA or recording desk as two examples. If you only connect a speaker to the amp then IMO pretty much useless although I'm sure there are many that might disagree for no real reason than to disagree :) Stay safe...
I`ve learned how to do frets , nuts and tons more . done loads of mods to my collection . Apart from being skint , this is not bad :)
Ha we're all skint these days and with the price of gear only going one way I think maybe the music gear manufacturers might be in for a reset. We shall see.
What's you're musical background ?? What bands were you in , Albums released ??
I have been playing since 1968. At that time I was in many bands. 1980's a band called 'Hammerhead' which was rock based. Later in the early 90's a band called 'Big Dan' that was not a covers band. In 1997 I stopped being in bands because finding people that only wanted to take the money but would not contribute to the costs became frustrating - it might sound familiar to some.
In 2003 I worked with Alan Bruce (who had been in many bands generally a progressive bass player and vocalist) who sings, plays bass and has a particular knack of writing lyrics to particular subjects that I might write music to. I released an album called Eniac back in 2006. I the remained in collaboration with Alan ever since and wrote an album called 'Berner Street'. That album was far from just music, it had a contest to win $10,000 from solving a puzzle within the concept which included extensive clues through many different media. That was completed in 2008. From there on I had some severe medical problems including prostate cancer and I am lucky to be alive today. But I'm still around thanks to great medical people in the UK. In 2015 I started to write an album again in collaboration with Alan Bruce called 'Gravity Waves'. That was concluded if I remember correctly in 2016 or thereabouts. Today I still have health issues and as I get older everything I do gets harder to complete of that there's no doubt.
There were times I liked playing in bands, but to be honest I could no longer be bothered and became disillusioned about that some while back. I have written my website since 1998 or thereabouts covering very many musical products and written reviews on TH-cam and how to videos since 2009. You could say I have been around. For me these days this is a very expensive hobby (strangely like being in a band from my experience) and while I could go and create income from what I do (just trust me I could) I would not waste my time in this sector as I have far better ability to earn a great income unrelated to this stuff. It's a hobby and it will stay that way. However, I think I can say that based on everything I have done since 1968 that I certainly have seen most things, listened to many charlatans, watched companies that only care about bottom line profits, seen sales videos one after another that claim they are reviews, examined crap gear held together with chewing gum, tried to use software that does not work, I have seen much dangerous low quality equipment and reported it where necessary, listened to products that sound horrible, had to put up with people with an attitude, seen CEO's that are basically racist and so much more stuff it could drive some people mad.
But I have also seen some great products and used them too. Years ago I used to use a Mesa Triaxis and 2:90 amp and had a whole section on the Triaxis on my website that is still referenced today... Mercuriall wrote a Triaxis simulator (called a Reaxis here: mercuriall.com/cms/details_reaxis ) that uses the pre-sets that are available on my site to download even today that I and others developed back in the day.
Since the end of the 1980's I have been involved in a recording studio, migrating from 8 track tape (remember that?), through Tascam 32 15ips recorders, Yamaha desks, Cubase, Wavelab, Mackie SDR hard disk recording, many microphone brands, MOTU, Presonus studio one, Presonus 32III desk, AVB networking and so on and so forth.
Experience with amps and simulators brands include Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Diezel, THD, Palmer, Hughes & Kettner, Bogner, Mezzabarba, PRS, Jackson Ampworks, Line6, Fractal Audio, Kemper, DV Mark, Fender, Bias and JamUp, Roland, Boss, Laney, Randall, Ceriatone, Suhr, Orange, Burman, BluGuitar, 65Amps and even Harley Benton. The list goes on and on and that experience continues. Bearing in mind that this channel is completely self financed I don't think that's a bad result do you?
I have experience in technology primarily since 1979 and in particular in the Far East including Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan and of course later China which involves manufacturing. I could go on and discuss all the other aspects of my life on here for anyone to read and while I'm not going to do that for many different security reasons you should have an idea that I have some experience in what I have made a hobby of really - which was your question.
But it's unlikely that I would ever waste my time trying to make money from a sector that is difficult to make any living from and has mutated thanks to the internet in to what it is today... a playground for makers to infer that musicians are (when using their gear) going to 'make it big' when factually most long tailed sectors like the music business that could never happen. Remember this, for every ten successful musicians there are MILLIONS behind them that you will never ever even hear of. And, I hate to say this, but those in the 'long tail' will only ever lose money, or at best break even. Ask the Verve - if I remember that band went bust three times. I am always surprised how the 'lie' is perpetuated over and over through the years by companies and people that have financial gain involved in what they do. Most equipment is sold to guys at home and that's a fact.
So there's an opinion. Now you can tell us all about your life... and if you want a download of Gravity Waves so you can actually listen to my music just ask.
Thanks and stay safe.
What's the issue with ARS (JJ) tubes? Why change perfectly good tubes?
I'm no fan of JJ tubes... the ONLY brand that has ever failed (spectacularly) in a tube amp mI own. You might say that if I had a website about those it might be named 'cantbetrusted.com' - and failing in a £3000 amp becomes no joke. If you like JJ then good for you, but for me? The risk of less than perfect tubes is really rather like gambling... you will lose more than you will win I think. Thanks for the post and for watching...
@@tonymckenziecom By contrast, I used a Suhr Badger 18 at high volumes 3-4x a week for many years and never had the tubes fail. Come to think of it, I've been playing tube amps for about 20 years now and can only think of one particular failure.. I had a Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special which seemingly had a couple of faulty preamp tubes. All personal anecdotes, but with a healthy amp I don't worry about tubes failing.
I get it... of course. Me too - only the one amp gave issues, but that amp had the JJ stuff. The Mesa in my case were fine, the Engl, fine, the Mezzabarba fine etc. its just a personal thing that I'm sure you would understand if that happened to you ... in any case... had the tube not blown then maybe I would have a different opinion.... thanks.
Thanks Tony for the in-depth review of this amp. Question: If you were to replace those ARS (Chinese) tubes, what brand would you use and why?
I have tended to buy tubeampdoctor.com tubes. Why? Well TAD take tubes and burn them in for extended periods on their premium tubes. This eliminates the ones that typically fail from suppliers that don't do that. I have never had ANY brand fail when buying burned in, matched tubes from TAD. I would, even buy JJ if they went through the TAD process of proper burn in and matching because I know from many years of experience that I can't buy a better tube. Sure it costs more, but then I don't even have to consider failures of tubes like I saw with JJ in the Diezel Hagen. Good question I thought. It's not really about the brand (but in the case of JJ I HAVE had bad experience) but rather about receiving tubes that are not what most people buy say on eBay or wherever. If they don't go through that 'burn in' then watch out because the quality of tubes from what I see can't be guaranteed any other way. Thanks... and stay safe.
We do pretty extensive testing on the tubes, we resort and grade them internally. I would trust the manufacturer to put in what belongs. 😉
Thank You so much for taking so much effort. I appreciate and respect you for being so honest and real.
Thanks for this comment. I always try hard to make a fair and reasonable review - and I enjoy doing this stuff - its great fun for most of the gear. Stay Safe my friend.
@@tonymckenziecom I always wonder what you do for living to afford all these cool expensive gear. But I could never ask you. Maybe it's bad manners to ask and I respect you a lot.
Really enjoy your content.
If you can make a video on two notes captor (normal version not the new X), that would be cool. Would love to know what's inside it.
I've seen your two notes torpedo Live video.
Hey! Please make few videos on Power Conditioner. I really want to know if any conditioning is happening inside those units or it's just a glorified power strip.
You too stay safe Tony! :)
I work in technology since 1979. On the Captor I don't have one :( I only have on order the Captor X which is paid for and waiting to arrive. They have delays it seems. Power conditioners often only have a capacitor inside. The expensive ones have all the good stuff (APC used to make some). I have seen uses for those in day job. When certain equipment turns on it generates a current draw that can 'spike' other gear on the same mains feed. I have seen things like computers freeze, certain other equipment need to be restarted etc. and the general way to solve that is with the power conditioners - but not the cheap and nasty ones which are not that effective. The APC ones if they still make them are very good.
People do ask about what I really do. I have commented to someone on this video - he asked about my bands and albums etc. but I did think that he wanted me to 'justify' somehow my experience. So I did. I don't go to the tenth degree but there is some sort of understanding in my reply. Stay safe!
Wow Mr Suhr and Mr Thorn were here...I am not really into I.R etc...but I do love the Badger and the Bella Reverb head....
Sincerely, I trust you heard my points too. Thanks.
Hey Tony great review. The amp costs $2,699 here in the US. I really wanted to hear the heavier(high gain) tones of the amp.
Well I can do those later... :) To me, it's not as 'heavy' as you might expect... just an opinion of course - (the PRS MT-15 eats it in that respect for £470). I'll come back to it later and create some much rockier music. At $2699 I assume that's plus tax there. Here it includes 20% tax and yours will be less than that (well at least until we all have to pay back the government for the billions they are spending on corona!). So it might not be that different depending on the exchange rates... but would you buy one Gary? That's the real question. It's made well enough, but it's certainly not cheap. Stay safe.
@@tonymckenziecom When I buy from Sweetwater there is no tax....If I buy it local in state then yes I pay tax.I would not buy the PRS as I am into heavier gain amps.My brother does have a PRS Archon 50 watt head and it's a beast.....stay safe over there.
You're lucky. Careful... the PRS MT-15 is as heavy as you can get! And its if anything heavier than the Archon! Yes really :) You should try one - or at least watch my video of it here: th-cam.com/video/xJ_5obZJFbA/w-d-xo.html but you might have seen it already. Trust me for the money that amp is really up there if you want heavy! Stay safe and tell me if you saw it....
tonymckenziecom Yes Tony I have seen your video and I am aware that amp is very brutal in a good way of course.I remember seeing a video of the guy who designed the amplifier and he stated basically it is a little more than 15 watts because it is extremely loud
Trust me on this... its supposed to be 15 watts... they then said oh its 17 watts, but on any decent cab (I use Marshall 1960a) honestly it is very loud... if you can try one I would. for the cost it's probably one of the better amps out there. Friedman? Nah those are for pussys... :)
The switch behind the back of the amp is for bypass the IR function .
Thanks...
Tony, this was an amazing review. Also always get a kick out of the work John Suhr does online with his rapid response team. That said, he makes some really good stuff.
Thanks for those kind words. Somehow Mr Suhr seemed a bit 'iffy' (for want of a better word) about my review and even commented that it was strange that he was telling me for creating a 9/10 scored review. I felt this amp was a good amp and said so and while I can make the odd mistake at least I'm an independent guy who spent the money on their equipment and made a review. I did not understand what was not to like really. This was an interesting amp because of the IR's inside the amp, the reactive load and the fact it was a tube amp which made it pretty unique. Like a 'hybrid amp' really. They released it without the IR inclusion later.. who knows why? An expensive amp for sure for such a low wattage device really. I tried very hard to show the amp as I found it and I'm grateful that you liked my review. They certainly do make some interesting equipment and the guitars are very good for sure which is how I would say that I heard of the company in the first place. Thanks for watching this one and stay safe.
tonymckenziecom Tony, your video reviews are a joy to watch. I’m trying to decide if it is time trade in my Helix. Would love your thoughts on Kemper v. Fractal for mid to high gain stuff. Noticed your FXIII review is not up anymore to watch. Would love to see a shootout between Kemper and Fractal, and you’re the guy to do it best! Cheers!
Thanks for your very kind words. Well, I have had nearly every simulator and while they are 'OK' they are not quite the same as a tube amp and speaker. The best sounding remains Kemper. The Axe-FX III IMO is far too complex for regular guys and my guess is that users spend a long time messing about on one, or, more likely just use other peoples pre-sets... The Helix I reviewed when it first came out and at the time very early software - the sounds were 'OK' but limited a bit. Let's not even mention the GT-1000. Strangely (its a coincidence) I will be reviewing the Helix rack and control presently as I wanted to update my rack of 30+ years. I also have a Kemper rack but chose to buy the Helix... a sort of re-visit as the Helix has got better than it was (you will know that). What I would say is this... the Kemper sounds best but has also been continually updating software since 2011 - it seems the hardware is stuck in 2011. The Fractal Audio equipment is good for some, but the whole experience was not that great. The V2 was not good from what I saw, and the V3 while improved, was like a product that was only really any use if you climbed in to the overly complex operating system and live there forever. It really is that ridiculous and I can bet most people (guitarists) would never really figure it all out. Fine if you're a professional producer.. or if you normally use Mesa Boogie amps and just use the effects... but VERY expensive for an effects unit. I have felt for some time that there will be a new Kemper around the corner - although no one talks to me about it... it's just 'long in the tooth' hardware and often hardware gets changed because of obsolescence in the supply chain.
It's one reason that I looked at the Suhr PT15 amp that offered IR's, reactive load AND a tube amp in one box. It does sound good, but a little limited in the IR area compared to other stuff out there. It's a tough decision to look at what's available today and simply choose based on what many 'sales' video tell you. As far as those go, they would ALL tell you that their gear is perfect but in reality that is rarely the case. And some equipment is expensive so one wrong move and yep... it's an expensive mistake that you will undoubtedly lose money one. Indeed as I have on loads of gear.
I sold the Fractal gear so can never really 'go back' and complete a shoot out. But if I was buying today (apart from the reasoning that a Helix needed a revisit by me) then I would look closely at the Kemper... but be aware that it could update in to new hardware - I could be wrong... and I have been saying that for a while... but it's just a feeling.
Hope my ramblings help maybe even a little, and remember I can tell you, that the best sound I have today is a JMP 100 watt Marshall with a reactive load on there through a 1960a speaker cab at about 80% high and there really is nothing quite like that - it has a 'feel' that is IMO entirely missing from all the simulators. And with the reactive load I can even talk over it! :) Stay safe Scott it's bad out there.
tonymckenziecom Tony, you are a gentlemen and helped confirm for me the dilemma. It seems like a lot of you guys really like Kemper, but like me are concerned that I’d invest $1700 US in a Kemper Stage, only to see the new hardware finally hit the market. With Covid messing up NAMM shows, I’d guess a lot of product releases will be much more unpredictable as to timing. Stay safe yourself and thank you!
I don't really understand what's to get a kick out of, its refreshing to see a founder doing technical deep dives in order to stand behind their product.
Another gorgeous geetar Tony ! :) Do you sell any of your Work ?
Sorry I don't. I think I sold one to someone some years ago but I have only ever made them really for me and they have very specific builds... if you check each build is different than any of the others in one way or another. Thanks for watching and stay safe.
@@tonymckenziecom I Don`t blame you mate , i`d not want to part with them either . I have a lot of catching up to do Tony . Great channel , loads of great stuff ! Thank you
Thanks.
What brand is your tuner? ;-)
I don't know... I'm sure it was yours :) Stay safe
wow interesting great idea for an amp. great review! Thanks!
Yes it certainly is interesting and there's no doubt it works... Thanks for watching and stay safe...
Tony, thanks for the video. If you haven't had a chance to yet, you should look at Revv amps. They cover all price ranges and wattages. Their newer amps are lunch box sized and have Two Notes Torpedo built in. The G20 sounds fantastic. Made in Canada, I believe as well.
Well I have heard of REVV amps (they get pushed by the usual suspects) but have not looked there yet. They seem a more recent maker? But I could be entirely wrong as IO have not even looked at their site -sometimes the best way because it can colour an opinion. I always try and not be biased as best I can. I know of Two-Notes of course and have the Captur X coming up as soon as it arrives (there's a delay of sorts because of the virus). I'll bear REVV in mind and thanks for pointing it out. Stay safe.
Another great in-depth review Tony. I would love to know how you this this compares to the Suhr Corso? I know that they are two completely different beasts but ultimately they are both aimed very much so at the studio and recording but just in different ways and wattage of course. Review of this discontinued little beast maybe
Hello Nick, I'm sorry I can't answer that :( I have never used a Corso so I simply don't know. If I find a Corso at the right price then maybe at some point I could grab it. For me, I can't decide whether this amp is actually for one aspect of playing (studio and recording) because it meets the needs of many different guys - a flexible configurable amp... but I do think it's not really a mass market amp simply because of the price. I don't think Suhr would 'turn away' ANY sale. Seems a but like a swiss army knife somehow. This amp through a 4x12 can be pretty loud even though it's rating understates the actual volume. So I'll bear the Corso in mind... and stay safe out there... it seems as bad as ever right now.
Pete has had 3 brilliant signature amps going back over a decade. He's only toured with an Axe Fx when he couldn't bring a tube amp (usually two).The Suhr PT15 IR changes that for many guitarists! I think personal criticisms distract from your credibility and appeal, and don't inform conversations about the quality of the amps themselves.That's why I tune in. I am equally offended by what you say happened to you on Axe Fx forums. Maybe we should keep the mud slinging out of guitar in general- do more playing. Most TH-cam Guitar Hosts learn that that choosing the high road is also good for business.That out of the way- I think your subscribers would love to follow you through a one off build that meets your tastes and criteria. You clearly know a lot about what makes a quality amp . So does John Suhr- hard to deny he is a sonic genius in many areas.
Strangely there were 'personal criticisms' from those guys to me too? You never mentioned that? It's one thing for someone that does not like what I showed, but it's entirely another when they are either obnoxious, rude or threatening and as you said it's not really the right thing for them to do. I'll spare you the viewing of some of the horrible Facebook mob re the Friedman which was botched inside... they were worse than any to date in 11 years. One thing's for sure though, unlike 'most TH-cam guitar hosts' I don't depend on it for income and never will. I have reviewed many really good amps and without much by way of things that seemed out of place. I gave this reviewed amp a 9 out of 10 and that was a fair score I think. But I have reviewed equally good amps at half the price of this one and much worse amps at half the price of this one too. I did fell that the price in the UK was well 'over the top' but expected really. Thanks for the post Alan... appreciated.
Come on people give Tony a subscription to his channel.hes one of the most honest TH-camrs on here and he will actually reply your comments.yeah blowed my mind to.he has replied to every one of my comments unlike the others.usually the other TH-camrs won't reply to you unless you are a patron to there channel.God bless you Tony,hope you stay safe and thanks for the videos to keep us entertained.i solute you.keep rocking.cheers
Surprisingly, 80% of viewers (yes really!) are not subscribers. Stay safe and thanks for the kind words.
Great review. To expensive for me and like you said, I do not need all those IR's. I have a CabZeus IR box. It's good but I prefer to use a Palmer PDI 09 with the speaker in an isolation box. Sounds better than IR's to me.
Well, I can but agree! You are most likely right IMO. There's this 'fad' been going on for some while - even years (I blame the simulator guys) about IR's. The thing is, ultimately they are just filters being applied to the real sound out of the amp. I think very overvalued personally. There again, I come from the real deal of amps and real cabs. While it's true that the IR's change things for sure and we all generally know how many millions there are out there of those to use, the real question is, how many of those IR's do we really need? Having companies like Fractal Audio offering up to 5000 as a choice within an Axe-FX III shows in my opinion just how nebulous and side stepped some makers are regarding IR quantities. In the case of Suhr and this amp and the more 'manageable' level of IR's included, it's a novel aspect added along with the reactive load box, but what value does it add to most musicians? I think not as much as some suggest. And you Ray are saying it right there... IR simulators of one kind or another can be bought used for about $75 (£55.00) so it might be hard to justify the extra cost of this amp over other similar units half the price. There is also the forthcoming TwoNotes Captur X which seems to me that it offers everything 'extra' that the PT-15 offers above most other similar amps. I'll be reviewing the Captor X unit and maybe even use this amp... now there's a thought. Good points... and stay safe.
thanks tony.nobody digs deep like you
Thanks... and stay safe.
I’m Not Familiar with that other Amp you mentioned ??
I am Familiar with Steve Vai, I saw his First appearance with Frank Zappa !!!
You should check this out here: th-cam.com/video/C4WLh0vYaIs/w-d-xo.html and I doubt that you will find any issues with that amp Gerry. It's just about the best built amp I have ever seen... that's a link to it from where I start the review of the inside of the amp. Let me know what you think of that one :). Joe Satriani and Steve Vai and many other guys use that amp but they don't shout about it. It is made in Italy by PiereAngelo Mezzabarba in a place called Mezzabarba. He is a very nice guy and always has time to listen. Let me know what you think of that amp.
tonymckenziecom
WILL DO !!
I AM RETIRED NOW, BUT ACCUMULATED A LOT OF STUFF OVER MY MANY YEARS !!!
I’VE GOT THREE MARSHALL HEADS: JCM2000DSL 100 Watt, JCM800 50 Watt, JCM800 100 Watt,
MESA BOOGIE DUAL RECTIFIER 100 Watt (love the flexibility and tones)
FENDER HOT ROD DELUXE, FENDER PRO SONIC, FENDER BLUES JR
Those are pretty cool amps! I like Mesa Boogie and Marshall too. I like Fender also but they are less common here I think. I have an road King II now discontinued but that has a great tone for lead guitar and has been one of my main amps for years. I converted that from 110 volts to 240 years ago. The video is on my channel how to do it :).
I tend to think that the real tones come from the amps. While of course everything matters and speakers have a big role, (and hands I guess as you mentioned), I have many guitars etc. but the amp for me is the key and different amps are clearly (art least in my mind) suitable for different styles of music. That's how I tend to use them.
China and Romania is the only 2 Countries thathas factories that make Tube / Pre Amp valves . Unless another factory has sprung up . I remember being said a while back on GGTK . And the downside of buying from America is Customs/import tax charge ...
I can't add to this except maybe: jacmusic.com/nos/RUSSIAN-BRANDS/brands.htm which I don't know to be true or otherwise. You CAN still buy Russian tubes for sure - I buy them, but they are now beginning to have a premium price probably because they are no longer made. On the taxes I always get stung by the post office for 'clearance charges' which usually adds £18.00 PLUS TAX for the post office using their deferment account... basically a total scam to charge you extra.
It seems to me that JJ in particular (which are everywhere now including in this amp and even Marshall) have a strong emphasis on pricing with variable quality. The quality aspect is removed by buying properly matched and thoroughly tested tubes that have been through a prolonged burn in period to weed out the junk and early failures. This particular company seems to be a USA company that maybe does that... hopefully. But JJ like some other brands untested could prove to be aggro. It's one reason I buy tubeampdoctor.com tubes often.
What you might find, once all the competitors are shut down because they can no longer compete with the cheap Chinese tubes, is that those tubes will then magically increase in price to your country. That's a very old way of taking the market very much like Honda did back in the 1960's with it's Honda 50. Basically they caused loads of motorcycle companies to close and never to reopen. Go and price up a Honda today. It's a well tried and tested strategy seemingly for Far East products to later dominate the market they are in.
These 'ARS' tubes are put out there by (you guessed it) 'ARS' here: www.arselectronics.com/ who it seems are distributors of tubes in the USA. From what I see there they 'rebrand' various tubes with the 'ARS' brand. They say they have been around since the 1940's and by the look of their website I can believe that - it's archaic. But do they 'burn in' their tubes and carry out the 'weeding out' of bad tubes accordingly. I hope so. Of course here in the UK I can guess most people have never heard of 'ARS' the company, or indeed the 'brand' as they rework the tubes to be branded as 'ARS'. They say "Our Tubes are quality control tested before we start the matching process at our Los Angeles warehouse. We do not use consumer grade test equipment, our testers are custom hand built. We also have tube testers from the Sylvania / Philips tube factory" but I could not see where they say they have a 'burn in' regime for tubes they sell. Surprisingly, they also rebrand capacitors, but I found none of those in the PT15 IR amp.
I do believe that Friedman use 'ARS' tubes too but I could be wrong on that. It's all interesting stuff once you lift the lid on suppliers for sure. Thanks for the info Colin and stay safe.
I would love this amp. Please ship to me ASAP. I’ll pay shipping.
Ha Tommy... its like all the other amps except for a few bits n pieces :) I think you have too many :) Stay safe dude.
tonymckenziecom I’m down to just 3 amps now.
tonymckenziecom That amp has great mojo. It sounds fantastic.
So you have the Fender... what are the others... all tube amps? I would say probably :)
tonymckenziecom The Fender 68’ Custom and Supro Supreme (killer little amp) and a EHX 44 Magnum. The 44 is a backup pedal amp. It’s insane.
And I also use AmpliTube through my PA.
I’ve downsized extremely.
Looking at a Kemper pedalboard then I’ll dump the Supro and a few guitars.
If I leave my shit to the kids, they will either sell the gear at 20% return or the grandkids sell the good stuff at huge return.
But I’ve a surplus of Les Paul’s now.
A limited edition 2011 one of 300 (I was told and it’s verified by me) limited edition faded honeyburst and a studio are on the block.
I’ve a lot of cabs though. 2 great 2x12s. Greenbacks.
YOU on the other hand.......hmmmm......
You know what, I don't mind a lot of things. but because some involved are (in their words not mine) 'piss*d off' they had to be sarcastic because they did not like my video and how I show inside of the amp. I was not rude in any way, I gave the unit a 9/10 score and was still effectively 'spoken down to' by those people I later learned. I don't think that is a reasonable way to be towards a customer really. So rest assured I won't be coming back to buy other gear from this company and particularly if the name Thorn is stuck on the end. I loved the way that at one time he 'loved' the Axe-FX II but now magically loves tube amps instead. Seems they even moaned at some of the guys commenting below which I also found to be in bad taste. Strangely most people liked this video and that was probably because for the first time someone like me - just an ordinary guy off the street bought the amp and BOTHERED to do it. At least the people who gained from this review know what they would never learn from Thorn and that lot...
Tony I am shocked to see that the tubes are PCB mounted, they should be chassis mounted when you consider the price of that amp. Tbh I think 9/10 is generous, PCB mounted tubes is cost cutting that just shouldn't be there,
I knew someone would raise that point! and of course I saw it. I also saw it years ago with a Marshall amplifier and I was communicating with the designer directly. And I raised the exact same point then as you are now. Well what did he say (and he was/is one of the good ones at Marshall): My question was: The main PCB is a double sided through plated affair made from thick fibre material in keeping with today's technology and this board should prove good long term. I did notice however that the tube sockets are soldered right to the board which could at some stage offer up a board issue because of heat. The reply from the designer was " The transmission of heat by conduction through the pins is not too big as the pins are relatively small. Main heat source is convected and radiated, blocked by the chassis in a combo. In a head the heat tends to go up away, so the PCB would run quite cool and definitely much lower than the temperature it could withstand."
And this is one of the reasons I did not raise the point about tubes directly on the PCB. The Marshall amp was the AFD100 and you can read the entire review here with the designers comments throughout: tonymckenzie.com/afd100_review.htm and I hope that is an interesting read. It shows an insight to an amplifier from the designers point of view and it's a pity that other companies are not as open about their designs that Marshall was at the time I wrote the review back in the day.
I hope that goes some way towards why I did not raise that point. Great point in question Scamp and whatever you do stay safe.
@@tonymckenziecom I used to own a Cornford Hellcat head Tony, £1800 back then and fully handwired and chassis mounted pre and power tubes, and suhr are charging £2700 for an amp with board mounted tubes....grrrrrrrrrrrrr is my sentiment about that, I will bet the mezzabarba has chassis mounted tubes as it should. When an amp has board mounted tubes it screams at me that it is a disposable commodity and a £2700 product should never be that.
@@scampthelazycat9891 Those were/are good amps. Cornford seemed to go through a lot more recently but I think they are getting it back together these days. I can tell you I am currently looking at an amp costing about £700 or £800 that's similarly built... that says a lot really - admittedly not all the features that the PT15 IR has, but it is made in the UK and not the far east. You should watch the Mezzabarba review also... it is an incredibly well built amp here: th-cam.com/video/C4WLh0vYaIs/w-d-xo.html and I doubt you would find a better build from any company so I don't need converting really :) The Suhr IS a very expensive amp and I question the cost of the amp in the review multiple times. But also remember that 5 year warranty too. It's likely to be reasonably robust or there would have been a 1 year warranty... and in the UK it remains vague re warranty.
PCB Mount eliminates wires that have capacitance and crosstalk. PCB Mount with thru hole plated thru hand soldered sockets puts the parts closer to the tube and closer to being point to point. Our PCBs are made in CA by a military contracted board manufacturer and are FR4. Hand soldered in CA 100% built by us. I do all methods but making this style of amp without using PCB would be a complete nightmare to service and build. It's not about the style of the build it's the execution.
Paying big for the name!! Looks like overpriced at $1200. The best narrative /spin jusifying pcb based amps is it easy to get them to all sound the same. They are just for making the maker money!!! The fender " reissue amps sound good but aren't even close to the old school!
I have many amps to refer to and often some of the older amps do somehow sound 'better' but that's a subjective comment from me. I have some turret board amps (that I referred to in the video) that are hard to beat whether build or sound, but I also have some PCB amps (for example the Diezel Hagen) that sound really brilliant too. For me, if there was no reactive load, no IR part and no headphone socket I thought £1300 so we're pretty near actually. Certainly PCB based amps cost less to make than the labour involved in something like a Mezzabarba as I showed in my review of that amp. Interestingly, I have an amp coming up from Marshall presently that shows how the amp is made to a price - its pretty interesting to see bearing in mind the older Marshall stuff. But IMO that's aimed at completely different customers. Anyway Russell thanks for the comments - and for watching and look for the Marshall amp coming presently. Stay safe... and yes I really do mean that.
If it sounds good to you, and it's acceptably reliable....
Expensive in the UK and maybe there are lower cost amps that are similarly good. Thanks.
First!
No! :) Stay safe.
allo , am i first here :)
No... near though. I trust the video was OK. Stay safe.
Carnt understand a word he said
Because you can't spell... look at your post ;-)
In my Experience, lead free solder has a tendency to Crack under stress !!!
Therefore, tube sockets directly mounted to PC Boards are asking for trouble, BUT ARE CHEAPER TO MANUFACTURE !!! SO WHY SO EXPENSIVE ???
I AM NOT IMPRESSED !! NOR, WOULD I EVER SPEND THAT KIND OF MONEY !!!
THAT AMP, IN MY OPINION SHOULD SELL FOR $800.00
I get it. It is an expensive amp. The way I thought about this amp was that if you needed those extra features then maybe someone would buy one. I commented in the review about what would be left if you removed the load box, the IR feature and the headphone socket... my thoughts were that I would have an amp similar to about ten that I already owned. In fact if those parts were not there and the amp was say £1300 I would have considered it to be similar to the Friedman amp and would not have bought it as there would not be the 'features' that make the amp different enough for me to buy it. But they do have a 5 year warranty... and hopefully that applies in the UK. Stay safe.
In 30 years of mounting Belton sockets to a PCB I have never had a socket fail or solder joint crack. ROHS or not. Bear in mind though we hand solder all the parts including the sockets. That aspect is lifetime warrantied
Gerry, With all due respect, these are mill spec PC boards, three times as thick as what many use, and not all amplifiers are created equal. The cost of the amplifier is reflected in the build quality, and the quality of parts used, and the R&D/ingenuity it took to perfect the design- not just the amp but the reactive load, which took many months of R&D, and is an exact duplicate of the full-size version, just built to work inside the amp, no small feat- plus designing the IR board component, And making digital work inside an amplifier with high voltage tube electronics. Built in Lake Elsinore California, by people making real money with real benefits, etc. An opinion is different than an informed opinion.