His work is best recognized for the throwback Valco-like cabinets that house most of his combos, and for the ton of tone and features they squeeze into a small package (witness the single-ended ST-Atomic Jr with tube-driven reverb, and all weighing in at just 18 lbs). Working out of Wilmington, NC, Swart is a long-time musician and recording studio owner who took to building his own amps to achieve what he was looking for in the studio. ![]() The clever, compact, and groovily space-retro creations of Michael Swart have frequently been the choice of guitarists demanding a lot in a little bitty package. Famous Users: Mark Knopfler, Steve Vai, George Lynch.Recommended For: Contemporary American high-gain tones plus respectable cleans, where a ton of output power is needed.Construction is of the printed-circuit-board variety, but done to a high standard with quality components and thick, robust boards. The brand released the ferocious Decatone in 1997 to celebrate his 10th anniversary, and is still going strong with a wide range of offerings, from the small but mighty Astroverb 16 to a selection of 100-watters such as the Lucky 13 and Avenger (while still producing the popular SLO, Decatone and others).įlavor-wise, Soldano amps are very much "American rock," and to that end, he mostly favors 6L6 output tubes to get the job done. Soldano entered the game in 1987 on the back of his hugely popular Super Lead Overdrive (SLO). One of the first big post-Boogie names on the California hot-rod scene, Michael Soldano still enjoys a reputation as one of the most talented designers of high-gain contemporary rock amps. Famous Users: David Torn, Page Hamilton.Recommended For: Modern high-gain rock and metal, especially where big power and optimum versatility is required.When you need an amp with three channels that each run the gamut of vintage to modern voices, footswitchable boosts and FX loops, and a plethora of back-panel connectivity, Fryette is a good place to look. Today, Fryette offers a select yet diverse palette of flavors, from super high-gain channel switchers to meaty old-school single-channel amps, and all are known for their impressive signal purity and useful versatility. The majority of Fryette’s amps are built on quality printed-circuit-boards. Fryette founded VHT in the late ’80s (only changing his brand name to his own surname a few years ago), and quickly developed a reputation for scorching preamps linked to bold, punchy power amps, which together made a major splash on the contemporary rock scene. Famous Users: Brad Paisley, Buddy Whittingtonįryette Amplification is based in Los Angeles, where former pro guitarist Steve Fryette made a name for himself repairing and modding amps on the kicking musical scene of the ’80s and early ’90s after departing his native Seattle.Recommended For: Juicy cranked-up EL84 tones with a lot of touch sensitivity, where lower volumes and a compact platform are desired.Key Model: Carmen Ghia (as well as the Maz 18).Z’s Mike Zaite told me he strove to "not over-process the signal, but just give a nice, broad bandwidth and let the player’s fingers be the manager… Make something that’s reliable, and simple, and bring it in at a great price." Z amps are also frequently applauded for how well they pair with effects, making them go-to pedal platforms many gearheads.Īsked if he has any over-arching build philosophy, Dr. Z amps, this maker doesn’t offer copies or clones of any vintage amps and instead develops original circuits aimed at achieving specific voices that are of use to the contemporary professional guitarist. While you can cop plenty of classic tones on Dr. ![]() Z lineup is broad with plenty of diversity, but the amps tent to be linked by certain signature characteristics of clarity, punchiness, and playing dynamics-and perhaps an equal blending of British and American voicings. ![]() The amps are hand-wired using high-quality components yet they sell at prices somewhat below the average for the breed, they are consistently reliable, they are relatively simple to use and to dial in, and they sound great. Z has long been one of the biggest names on the boutique scene, and several key factors have helped to keep it that way. This tuner-amplifier represents the ultimate in performance, appearance, and operating convenience.Founded in 1988, Dr. The remarkable design and unique features that make separate Scott tuners and amplifiers outstanding are fully represented in this combination unit. There is no compromise in the new Scott tuner-amplifier. The HH Scott 340B tuner amplifier represents a significant breakthrough in the design of quality music reproducing equipment for the home.įrequently manufacturers have been forced to sacrifice some part of the best possible performance in order to combine a stereo tuner and stereo amplifier on one chassis.
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