Today, I tested my latest guitar amp. It's a special amp if for no other reason than it is one of the last three my good friend and amp guru/mentor Conrad Sundholm will be building. He's retiring. After building and designing instrument amplification since 1964 or so. He was the founder of Sunn Amps. He started a company called Bi-Amp. There was Sundholm Engineering that built some of the best rack mount EQ's and crossovers and also recording studio monitors (I have two pairs). One of the best people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.

The amp is special in other ways too. This is my third amp I've commissioned from him. The first being a clone of a 5E3 Fender Tweed Deluxe...with a twist...It has an active effects loop. Most of the guitar sounds on the Tracey Fordice and The Eight Balls album "Out Of The Blues" were recorded on this amp. The tracks that weren't were recorded through another Conrad, a Blues Jammer, owned by guitarist Randy Yearout. If you go to ReverbNation you can catch some of these sounds. Mostly unprocessed except for the occasional delay. My second amp is an extension of this first one. I needed a live show amp and the 5E3 circuit is about 12 watts. So Conrad built me another Tweed and called it the Vintage 15/30. It's a 5E3 circuit in basic nature with 3 bands of EQ, a Master volume, a half-power switch, a switchable tube or solid-state rectifier, and 4-6V6 power tubes. It's a great amp.
The last one is the really special one. Conrad exercised ideas he had for the tone stack in this one. I wanted an amp head I could take into the studio that would be versatile as possible. And I wanted KT66 power tubes.

I got all that and much much more. The mid controls are not part of the tone stack per se. It has it's own tube. The rest of the tone stack is built around an old Fender Bandmaster circuit. It has gain and master volumes. Pentode and triode operation. It has a mic level DI through an upper-end Jensen transformer that is pre effects loop. The effects loop also has it's own tube and gain controls in and out. It has a presence control styled like a Marshall JTM45. It's in a Marshall head style cabinet. AND it's the only Conrad in Seafoam Green.

Here is my recording theory with it.

I own a Rivera Rock Crusher Recording power soak. When I put this amp up in the studio, I will be able to put the Rivera on its speaker outs and turn it up. I can add a speaker if I like. So I will more than likely take the mic level DI to a channel, take the DI from the Rock Crusher to another channel, and then mic the cabinet.

I'm looking forward to using this as we planned it but even with all that, this thing seriously ROCKS. It's clean and clear and articulate as heck. You can drive the front end but it never gets ratty or spitty, just round and warm. It's going to be a GREAT live amp drivng a cabinet and my Leslie G27.

I guess I am going to play again.

Anyway. I'm proud to be a part of the legacy of such a great lover of sound for so long and at such a high level. Thanks Conrad. And for all you git pickers who waited too long to get one.oops