52 Amplifier Heads, week 43—Sherlock Amplifiers Angry Ant

The other day this sheila I know reckoned it was hard to pick up on me accent through written words alone. “Fair suck of the sav” I said to meself. Surely I can make it obvious that I’m from strayaa. I mean fair dinkum, how’d ya combat a language barrier when you’re tryin’ to explain a dead set ripper of an amplifier head as part of ya weekly amplifier head series I pondered. “Well struth!” I said to meself. You’d hafta at least make sure ya covered an Aussie amplifier when speakin’ the lingo. So I did me some research and came across this beaut amplifier called the Angry Ant by Sherlock amplifiers.

I just hope youse all follow what I’m tellin’ ya now. I’m sure you’se will all be right as rain. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 43—Sherlock Amplifiers Angry Ant

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 42—Koch Studiotone

Regular readers of this weekly series will know that I’m looking for my first tube amplifier head. I’m not in a band and I’m not after something to shake the dust from the window sills. I am after some good tone though. Ideally something that records nicely. Clearly I need a studio tune. Or perhaps a Studiotone by Koch. Same diff perhaps.

That’s lame. It’s late. You get what my mind is still capable of at this hour. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 42—Koch Studiotone

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 41—Carlsbro Evo 15H

Sometimes I can get rather wordy. I often ramble on about things that I could simply say using one simple sentence. But that’s how I like to write. It’s how I like to talk to people in the real world too. But sometimes I realise that not everybody is like me. Not everybody likes a long winded story. Well if you’ve been following these weekly amplifier articles and you’re one of the people who likes to keep it simple, then this article is for you. Well, once you get past this introductory paragraph I suppose. It’s a bit wordy. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 41—Carlsbro Evo 15H

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 40—ENGL Gigmaster 15 Head E315

This week’s amplifier has a lot of hard edges on it. In fact some of those edges seem to be at 90 degrees to each other. That would make them right ENGLs. That’s a terrible joke and I’m not sorry. I’m also not sorry that I am wishing the ENGL Gigmaster 15 head was mine this week. It appears to be the perfect combination of appropriate wattage, metal and blackness. I may be in love with an inanimate object. There may be medication for that. I don’t want it. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 40—ENGL Gigmaster 15 Head E315

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 39—Swart ST-Stereo Head

I’ll be honest. This week’s amplifier head is outside my budget. But damn, the Swart ST-Stereo head is impressive. It not only has two speaker outputs, it has stereo outputs allowing you to create some seriously impressive tones and effects. How could I not include it in this series? Well I suppose not writing about it would achieve that, but I like to break the rules (when the rules are my own to start with).

Another thing I like about this amplifier head is the official line on the website which goes something like this—This is literally two separate 5w Class A Single Ended amplifiers in one chassis with the ability to drive two cabinets in stereo. Actually it goes exactly like that. Why do I love that so much? That is literally the correct use of the word literally. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 39—Swart ST-Stereo Head

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 38—Revolution Amplification Bully XX

In this weekly article series for what will become my first ever all-tube amplifier head, some amplifiers are easier to research than others. Some however, like today’s Bully XX by Revolution Amplification are damn near impossible to find information on. Having said that, this amplifier appeals to me. It’s priced right, it’s a good wattage for a first amplifier head and the model I’ve selected is ultra high gain with a touch of darkness.

I like it already. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 38—Revolution Amplification Bully XX

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 37—Mack Heatseeker HS-18

Australian’s have some weird sayings and/or phrases. I know, I’m one of them and I use them often. Dead set. I mention this because when researching this week’s dream amplifier head I was pleasantly surprised to see a testimonial on the Mack Heatseeker HS-18 website that started with “Crikey! …”

I knew exactly what was being said and I knew I would love this amplifier. The more I looked into it the more I realised that this amplifier head would surely go off like a fish in the sun! That’s also a good thing if you’re unsure. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 37—Mack Heatseeker HS-18

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 36—Silverblade Hellhound 20

When an amplifier comes with a warning that says Warning: Highest gain of all time, I think to myself “I like to live dangerously.” I also remind myself at times like these that I’m looking for an amplifier head that will suit my guitar playing needs. Luckily, the bulk of my guitar playing is heavy metal riffage. I need the highest gain of all time. Silverblade Hellhound 20 warning message … Challenge accepted. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 36—Silverblade Hellhound 20

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 35—Kustom Defender 5H

Last week’s wishlist amplifier head had two knobs. Minimalistic is cool. But maybe two knobs is one too many. What do you really need?! Volume and tubes. That’s all you need. If the amplifier head can be around $100 then your wallet is also happy. The Kustom Defender 5H ticks all those boxes by providing perhaps the most simplified amplifier head around. If my wife was picking the amplifier head for me, she’d pick this one. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 35—Kustom Defender 5H

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 34—Diamond Amplification Positron

Did you know that a positron is also called an antielectron? Did you also know that when a low-energy positron smashes into a low-energy electron that annihilation occurs? Awesome right? That’s the kind of brutality that appeals to a true metal-head like me. Also positron is just a cool sounding word. Cool … Sounding … Surely that translates into an awesome amplifier if you’re the Diamond Amplifications Positron 18 watt head. Let’s hope so, because I want one. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 34—Diamond Amplification Positron