Note:
The AMERICAN and ALBION are no longer in production.
Build your own when The Ultimate Tone vol. 6 is released!
Details
... Iconic amps produce sounds that players recognize, using
circuits that techs know. The icon for clean, warm sound is
Fender. Players and techs alike regard the hand-wired Tweed,
Brown Tolex, Blackface and early Silverface models as "the
best". The icon for distortion is Marshall. Again, there is
a preference for the earlier models: Plexi-fronted non-master-volume
models, the Mark-2 Super Lead and Super Bass, and the first
master-volume amps issued under the 800 moniker, the 2203
and 2204.
Boutique
amp builders have been building copies of these circuits almost
since they were first produced by Fender and Marshall. Of
course, just copying a circuit does not guarantee "the sound",
nor does copying the original parts choices provide any improvement
in servicing, maintenance or reliability. Many of these builders
do not understand the technology behind the sound, and so
copy everything including the old wiring layouts. This means
the noise floor is not as low is at could be. London Power
has addressed these issues in our tributes to those classic
amps. And, as in our amazing STUDIO model, cap jobs
are a thing of the past; the only service item is the tubes
themselves. The result is two very special "super-stock" amps.
For Fender
aficionado we have created the AMERICAN model, and
for Marshall devotees the ALBION. These hand-crafted
amps are built as heads with the tubes upright in a well-ventilated
cabinet designed to be carried vertically or horizontally.
Enjoy
vintage Fender and Marshall tone with modern ergonomics for
maintenance and versatility. Features include individual bias
adjustments for each output tube, and easy monitoring of tube
idle conditions. These features definitely do not change
the amp's tone.
The original
vintage amps sometimes had to be played quite loud to get
a good sound. Many know that attenuators placed between the
amp and speaker alter the sound, and are of no use for more
than 6-8dB of loudness reduction - even the attenuator manufacturers
know that! - and that's not enough quieting in most situations.
Fortunately, Power Scaling is transparent and allows
any amount of loudness reduction down to a whisper - if your
speakers are up to the task.
Our Super-stock
amps are equipped with Power Scaling, so you can achieve
that vintage amp compression or output tube distortion at
any loudness you like - from a whisper to an earthquake! This
is particularly important for hard rock players wanting Marshall
crunch, needing to "sound" loud, but with the availability
of these tones at lower volumes.
Click
to return to Amp descriptions
