Overall Rating: I was waiting on a new (3 week old) Fender Bassman59 LTD to come back from Fender/dealer repair! The Bassman was my first valve amp (for all of 3 weeks) and I was concerned about getting a nice classic sounding amp to match my Gibson ...
Overall Rating: I was waiting on a new (3 week old) Fender Bassman59 LTD to come back from Fender/dealer repair! The Bassman was my first valve amp (for all of 3 weeks) and I was concerned about getting a nice classic sounding amp to match my Gibson 335, Les Paul and '73 Fender Strat. I bought both amps blind (not at the same time!) but the Cornford in particular, on the recommendation of Guitarist magazine awarding a Gold for being a 'Tone Monster'. I didn't know at the time the Bassman would never return and had also just missed a deal on a Marshall 1974x, so had my blood up.... I wanted classic tone bad...
At first, I was not seeing a Gold Award's worth of tone that 'I' hoped to hear. I know many higher-gain-heads like this amp (Satch, Govan fans and the like), but I am more middle of the road, Brit rock/60's pop/blues oriented. It seemed great for the 60's Chiimes but missed a bit somewhere on the 'American' sound. Well, that's because it isn't a Fender! BUT with some experimentation I did find a nice edgy Deluxe Reverby sound that is nice with single coils. It involves dialing way down on the gain and boost, (boost engaged though), down too on the mids and bass and whacking up the treble to max. I added in a clean boost pedal (very transparent) dialed it back, added some 'Deluxe Reverb'-esque reverb AND linked the amp up also to an additional V30 speakered cab. Voila!
This is a nice contrast to the 'Mid'-laden modern rock tone you can get and is very 'airy'. The clean boost lifts the tone away from a Mid range and brightens up those otherwise dark Celestion V30s.
But I also found that if you stick with this setup but boost-up your clean boost pedal setings, add in a Telecaster and I swear this sounds like a Fender 57 Twin about to roar... as a result, I tend to leave mine like this most of the time.
Also this amp does not have to be 'belted' to sound good - the circuit is wonderfully controlled, quiet and refined. Each adjustment makes a difference and suddenly those 5 knobs become like a stduio full of options. And remember USE THE FX LOOP!
I have also recently bought a Fender Super-Sonic... guess what? Like the Bassman - has been back for repair with the first month!
Features: Enough features to get good sounds from. 2xEL34 Tubes that give a distinctive British flavor. All knobs work...
Oh - And, an 'effects loop' (!) Don't be lazy - Use this for BETTER tone!!
Oh#2 - the best external speaker arrangement out therr - all bases covered... 4,8,16 AND you can still have the onboard in series! Extra Nice cos it makes a big difference---read on
(Oh~3 -if you buy blind as poster 'PDM' below must have done - don't moan about it not being what you want - move on or adapt as I have...!). Just cos it didn't suit him doesn't make Cornford products rubbish as he implies...
Sound Quality: For British, EL34-centric tones, this is it. Think some flavors of earlier Marshall combos and Vox chiminess into the mix. Clear, distinct but with Marrianne Faithful's gruffness... Not Lo-fi more Hi-fi in the 'quality' of the tone too. The Big cabinet makes a huge difference here. Link it in stereo and/or to an additional speaker and concentrate on playing properly for your part of the bargain!
Looks nice! Actually, I often stroke mine cos it feels nice to touch! Like you do when viewing a Porsche in the showroom...
Reliability/Durability: Let it warm up for AT LEAST 10 mins... works best then. Have had mine 15 months and has been OK but it did pop fuses earlier if wasn't toasty before belted...
Customer Support: Very approachable guys and concerned that their products give pleasure.
Paul Cornford Supports Tottenham Hotspur however, so he loses two points for this! (as should they!)
Purchased From: Andertons Guildford Surrey
Price: $565.00 USD
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