new kid in town........check it out !CHUTEAMPS (chuteamplifiers.com) guys, I'd like to take a bit of space here and tell everyone about this fantastic new amp builder that I bumped into recently. We got to talking and before you knew it, (a couple weeks later) I had this amazing 35 watt class A cathode biased beauty in my grubby hands. I didn't even put it thru its paces @ home, right away took it to a recording session (trial by fire !) and was thoroughly thrilled with the tones acheived. ! features: cathode biased class A operation (2x el34's/6l6,kt66,5881,6v6's:with a mod, and , 4x 12ax7) : ss recto. The Preamp The all tube preamp is split into 2 foot switchable channels (A and B), each has 2 gain controls. Channel A consists of parallel gain stages allowing you to mix the bright gain (gain control #1) with the dark gain (gain control #2). This versatility can create the perfectly balanced clean or crunch tone. Channel B consists of series gain stages for a screaming high-gain distortion (if needed and anything in between)Both channels utilize the same EQ consisting of Bass, Mid, and Treble controls. The Poweramp The poweramp uses cathode biasing to achieve that class A sound. This biasing configuration acts as a slight compressor, giving a smoother frequency response. It also allows you to change tubes without having to re-bias. The poweramp can be configured to your needs. A post phase inverter "presence" control allows you to dial in the perfect power tube treble response. A master volume control allows you to set the appropriate distortion levels at any desired volume. The stock power tubes are JJ EL34s which will provide 35W of power. Back Panel The back panel of the CC-04 supports Send and Returns jacks. This series effects loop is controlled by the master volume control, allowing you to mix in your favorite effect(s) after the preamp has manipulated the guitar signal. There is a channel A/B switch that is bypassed when the footswitch is connected. There is also an output impedance switch; allowing you to run 8 or 4 ohm cabinets. A detachable AC power cord is also included for easier transportation. ok,now to the sound !!: (put it through early 70's checkerboard 4x12 bottom with orig greenbacks, jeff swanson 2x12 with bluedogs, Zbest cab 2x12 with g12h30s(thanks Pete), ac30reissue ext.2x12 w/orig. silverbells (thanks Pete !!) channel 1: this channel has the most variable from dark to bright, with alot of chime if needed but also breaks up nicely, and has a few sweet spots along the master vol. and a great sounding master vol, which is actually rare to find imho, I tried a 62 355, kline t, guitarclinic custom strat, 73 les paul custom, and ALL, seriously ALL sounded great, with my fav's being the tele,355, and lester. There is also enough gain on channel 1 to get some od and some nice sizzle if needed. .....I thought this was my fav channel............till I checked out channel 2 ! channel 2: this channel can go from acdc mild od to roaring/riping (but not in the metal territory), all rock if you need it to. There is tonnes of tones along the pot of the series cascading gain 1--into gain 2, and this channel seems to have the "chunk" and georgeous thick but searing colors with a great balance of sweet hi's and big lo's, I love'd this channel more than I thought I would. I do not want to splash superlatives around and make it sound like a honeymoon report, that's not what this is @ all, I've had the amp for quite some time and really just wanted to let people have a look @ this great new offering.I have no affiliation with the maker whatsoever, I simply wanted to offer a review of this great new amp. I really feel it has so much range and all of it legit and terrific sounding, and that with just the jj34's ! This amp can take :6l6s, kt66's,5881's,6v6's, so I'm sure there are more sweet tones to be had in some of these other output tubes ! I really don't want to bring in comparisons: you got to hear this thing for yourself, but fender clean is there, I hear vox and matchless chime, I hear jtm sounds, and definately some plexi and alum panel marshall. I would say the amp is not particularly in the tweed vain, but honestly, trying it with tweed type spkrs might bring it there quite nicely, the class A operation of this modified marshalesque topology, really makes this amp do alot of things without compromising the tone imho. ok sorry for the long a$$ coments. pls let me know if I missed anything or if you would like to know more, and sorry I havn't made clips, but I honestly feel clips never really seem to capture and amps essence, that has to be experienced imho... thanks for reading. Sorry, my pics suck, but this gives you an idea, diff. tolex colours are avail. as well.
interesting. sounds like it'd be pretty cool. I like the looks of yours alot. They need to get some quality clips up on their website though. Hard to build an amp buzz with no sound available.
They are killer sounding amps. My friends in the band Pleasure Shop from London, Ontario currently use Chute Amps. Check out their MySpace for an idea of how they sound: http://www.myspace.com/pleasureshop
How is the master volume on these things? Can you get a lot of the goods at volumes that you can play at home without going deaf?
Yep. I heard this amp demoed and I gained it up and put the master down a ton. You could talk over it but still got the chunk and response. No attenuator needed! For well under $2k new, this is a killer deal.
I need to jump into this discussion! I've been playing my Chute for about a month now and every time I plug in, I have to scrape my jaw off the floor. The tonal variations possible with the bright/dark gain controls and a very effective presence control are impressive. Anything from shimmery, Matchless-esque cleans to fat, screaming lead tones can be coaxed out of this amp. Also noteable, the bottom end response from this amp is killer. It can certainly rattle walls! So far, I've only played it through the Chute 4X12 with G12H speakers using the stock JJ EL 34s. Honestly, I couldn't want anything else. However, the cabinet's a heavy one, so my back has plans for a 2X12 in the near future. I was turned onto Chute amps when my friend Chris from Pleasure Shop (killer band, by the way...see above post...small world it is) started raving about them. Carl Chute was nice enough to personally bring a demo amp by my house for me to try. After that, I took a month to try out other amps and finalize my purchase decision (I put it up against a Chieftan, HC-30, Concord, MAZ 38, etc, etc) and Carl was patient and very helpful, always promptly responding to any questions I had. The first comment I heard about a Chute was simply "It's amazing." I'd like to second that. Heck, even my drummer's complimenting my tone now. The master volume is quite good, but this thing puts out a LOUD 35 watts. I've found that a mix of attenuation with a hotplate (which Carl recommends) and use of the master volume makes the amp the most versatile...but I like a bit of power amp distortion to get those 'hairy' clean sounds. To comment on versatility, I'm mostly playing blues-based rock..not necessarily going for the hard-rock grind. The amp interacts favorably with a wide variety of effects. I will also be using the amp in the pit band for a local musical theater group to play showtunes. I'm pretty sure it could be used for anything.
glad to see some action on this thread ! I definately didn't want this to be a "man does this thing rock",...I cincerely hope others will get a chance to try these. It does ALOT, and not just rock, to my ear, the master vol is one of the best going, retaining that elusive "chunk"/still intact "ass" of the notes even in the high register. Pickslide,my personal opinion is, no attenuator is necessary in this amp. It retains a nice sound when the master is down considerably, I mean, way down low I've never heard an am sound "real" but that 's imho. vchizzle, I totally agree ! ...I will do my best to put some sound clips on this thread and get Carl to include some on his site, he's been busy also earning his masters degree!!...and builds these when time permits. But the site leaves you wanting MORE info and sound and pictures as well for sure, hey Carl.....listening ? nice music Pleasure Shop !! I would just like to re-iterate, although these amps can rock it out with the very best, there is alot of tone in there, it took me some time to realise there is alot of range in this amp, and I don't play hard rock perse...... I hope Faracaster has a chance to chime in here !! nice rig there Strat-O-Mechani !.
I first heard Chute's CC-03 about a year ago backstage at a multi-act fund raiser gig. Holy crap, what a killer sound. It was only 50 watts but it somehow made everything else sound small. Carl Chute has the magic. His amps will be highly desirable.
I sent Carl an email about the master volume. He told me that he lives in an apartment and uses the amp with the master on 1-2 as do many of his customers and it still gives up the goods. He invited me over to try one out, but I live in Calgary and he is Ontario. If anybody in Calgary has one, I would love to try one.
Steve has been kind enough to lend me this amp for the past couple of weeks. Thanks Doctor !!!!! You really don't need this back anytime soon...do you?.......pretty please???? I didn't want to chime in with the " oh yeah it's really killer..the best" until the honeymoon wore off. Well more than 2 weeks later and I'm still on the honeymoon. Finding tones on this amp that make me just want to get out and play. I REALLY like this amp. No, I REALLLLLY like this amp. Carl Chute is on to something here in a big way. I don't want to make comparisons, but since we all have our reference points, the closest amps I have experience with that you might say the Chute has some kind of sonic relationship with is the KOMET 60 and my early 50 watt HiWatt. Of course the topology is nothing the same as those amps, but, sonically, in the same family. The first thing that always strikes me when turning on the amp is how big it sounds. even with the guitar turned down there is a certain girth that exists. It sounds "professional". There are no thin, wirey tones to be had here. Channel A in the beginning I found a tad bright and lacking some mids . But I don't hear it that way now at all. I see it as articulate, and more liquid of the two channels. Channel B was my fav off the top, it still is in some ways, but now that I have had a chance to play around with the amp for a while it's big mid thunder crunch "LIVE AT LEEDS" tone is a perfect compliment to Channel A's "WIND CRIES MARY" big tone. I don't want to mislead here.... either channel can be as clean as driven snow or rock out hard. It's just the voicing that I'm referring to. I've played the amp with a miriad of guitars and they all sound excellent through it. I started with a Tele and went from there. My Gustavsson's sound unbelievable through it. I keep thinking of tones I hear in my head and pick up one of the JG's to try and find it, it dosen't take long before I find that tone and a few others on the way to getting where I want. I was dreaming of Knopfler's big LP through his Komet tone the other day, I went over the Chute and lo and behold .... there is was. I've never been able to get there before. I so want to gig with this amp I can't tell you. Well there is my .02 for what it's worth. I'm just as happy to keep my big mouth shut and play Carl's amp. Thanks again for the loan Steve. I will be getting one myself. Cheers Pete
my pleasure Pete (those who know Peter, know he has excellent tone/taste in gtrs/amps and one heck of a player!), thank you for adding your great insight: absolutely didn't want this to be the "hi fives honeymoon thread" we've both had it for quite awhile before mentioning it here. Just wanted to spread the word and get Carl motivated for some more models :BEER there is a double 6v6 model combo in the works................Carl will keep me posted. as I had mentioned before, anyone in the greater toronto area that is interested, I'd be more than delighted for you to come by and check it out !
Hey Griz, just to clarify for everyone, its actually about 35watts (depending on tubes, in this case el34's) class A operation. But its a pretty stout 35 !
Someone else would have to answer that. I don't play with that much gain. But I was no where near having the gains dimed so I would think it is capable of a lot more aggression than I have played it with. Pete
same as Pete, I don't play with gobs of gain, but there is alot on tap in channel 2, and channel 1(clearer/treblier {is that a word ?!?!}..lol.. voice) for that matter if you goose everything. however, being class A cathode biased, its a diff. animal, the marshall I think would have more agressive/slightly harder tone, as the class A in Carl's design seems to bring more harmonic content (the joy's of class A) and a more sweet harmonic component, I don't know if I'm expressing this correctly. But all in all, I think with tube choice and maybe a bit more high gain pre tube choices you could get that, it has the "poop" power to do it for sure, its a very balsy 35watter. the cool thing about this amp is it can be whatever the player puts in, that's why I like it so much: great simple yet feature full design with the perfect wattage and a terrific master vol. (for both channels, very cool to have). as stated before: I have no affiliation with Carl Chute, and am way past the honeymoon on this amp, its just a great one . :AOK you should have Carl fly one out to you to try !
Thought I would revive this thread as I just got my Chute head today. I just played it for about an hour and it really does go from clean to mean, but I am just learning how to use this monster. Can you guys out there with this amp tell me some of your settings for some of your favourite tones? I am currently using a 2x12 cab with G12M celestions.
