Divided by 13 CJ11... tweed heaven

[Lou Brush]

I had a chance to noodle around in the amp room at my fav guitar store this weekend. Played the new Bogner Duende, Carr Vincent, and some Divided By 13s. The amp that got my attention was the Divided By 13 CJ11. By far the best "tweed deluxe" style amp I've ever heard (I've also played the new Fender '57 tweed deluxe reissue). I was blown away by the piano-like clarity of the notes and huge, non-flabby bass (I was playing a strat). Single coil pickups sounded heavenly. Plug straight in and there's not a bad sound.

If you're looking for a tweed deluxe "clone", look elsewhere. If you're looking for a tweed deluxe with all those little "improvements" you'd like to make, this is it. Instead of 2 volume controls, there's a volume and master volume. Instead of a tone control, there is bass and treble. It's only 11 watts Class A... but it's pretty loud. I was literally floored by the sound from this cool, simple little amp... and I played it side-by-side with all the other boutiques. I like tweed, though.

 

[DavidH]

I just recieved one last week and really like it,the pull-up boost on the volume knob gives you quite a range of sounds,gets into british crunch territory,you can get some great grinds going.Without the boost engaged and with single coils you get a suprising amount of headroom and spank,it's sounds big and juicy,much more than you'd expect.i thought it would be saggier and looser but it's a fairly quick amp,not what you'd call stiff but alot quicker than i was expecting,feels awesome for spanky rythm with single coils.I wouldn't have believed a single greenback in an open back box could do that to be honest.
If you want the bass looser (and there's more bass available than you'd need-mine lives on about 10 o'clock)you can roll back the master to like 7 or so and turn up the bass and volume,volume level is very similar but it loosens it up in the bass.I find the MV doesn't noticeably lower the volume until it gets below about 6 or 7 but you can play with the feel a bit just rolling the MV off a tad.

My CJ is breaking in nicely,i did feel it was a bit boxy and muted when i first got it,it wasn't love at first sight,the presence just wasn't quite right,and the speaker was a little stiff and harsh.It was brand new in the box,dealer just shipped it straight on to me.Now it's been pummled for a few hours though it sounds and feels absolutely beautiful.Clarity,presence and feel is great.Only took a couple of hours to loosen up a bit actually,in which time i managed to pop the front lamp bulb,hehe.

Oh,and about the gain/mid-boost,it's not excactly subtle,it transforms the voice and character of the amp pretty severly,gives it a great deal of versatility for such a simple amp.It's not the kind of thing you'd want to footswitch in (it's not footswitchable BTW) when you've got people happily listening to the amp dialed in without the boost,if you see what i mean.

 

[redtoploader]

If you're looking for a tweed deluxe "clone", look elsewhere. If you're looking for a tweed deluxe with all those little "improvements" you'd like to make, this is it. Instead of 2 volume controls, there's a volume and master volume. Instead of a tone control, there is bass and treble. It's only 11 watts Class A... but it's pretty loud. I was literally floored by the sound from this cool, simple little amp... and I played it side-by-side with all the other boutiques. I like tweed, though.

+1...in fact, I think it has a little of every deluxe rolled into one...plus a bit of marshall thrown in if you want it. I love the CJ11.

 

[rhinocaster]

I'm a deluxe nut, and the CJ11 is the best sounding and most versatile deluxe amp I've ever played. I know I'll have one someday.

 

[texasturner]

How does it compare in sound to the RSA 23 combo?

 

[raildog]

Just bought a cj11, I will let you know how it works for me when I get it, thanks,for your info.Scott

 

[raildog]

I am blown away by the cj11, it is inspiring to play and I could not be happier, phenominal!!!!! Scott

 

[katuna]

How does it compare in sound to the RSA 23 combo?

They are totally different. The Voicing of the RSA is upper mid, the CJ 11 is lower mid. The RSA's bass is tighter. The RSA combo sounds like a mini hiwatt or something, with a bit more creamy marshall cranked sounds in it. The CJ11 is very much a close relative to a small tweed amp.