TW Express, Komet KF50/LTD, Alessandro Bloodhound, Matchless Chieftain, RubyWreck from a few years back, 1965 JTM45
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What do these amps have in common? They're all single channel amps with relatively simple preamps and big iron/big output tubes. In my ongoing quest to master what makes a good amp I'm playing them back to back thru the same 69 Marshall 412 with early 70s G12H30s. The guitar is a DGT strung with nickel 11s. All of the amps have decent NOS preamp tubes and the appropriate power tubes (Siemens in the Matchless, Alessandro, Ruby and Express, GEC KT66s in the JTM45-more on the Komet in a minute). The Komet is the prototype "Blinky's Revenge" tuned by Ken Fischer. It differs from the production KF50s in that there are a couple of "mojo" caps in the signal chain and a single carbon comp resistor. The head box is hardwood but aftermarket, the tubes are decent modern tubes because it's not my amp.
KF50-first one I played on this odyssey. It has the typical Fischer hot-rodded but very simple 3 tube preamp, and the Komet overbuilt power supply (lots of filter caps and big iron). The result is an amp that can go from clean to mean with the twist of the guitar volume knob but that hits hard on the attack of the note. It tends to emphasize the first (octave) harmonic on sustained notes when it's cranked. And it's DAMN loud, even NOT turned up all the way. There's a fast/slow switch in the back, which can increase sag, but even on slow this is a fast amp! Definitely cool, but I didn't bite at the current $14k price tag.
Alessandro Bloodhound-this is a study in contrasts: a very light, very small box that packs a huge whallop! The prototype has EL34s, the production version now has 6550s. The amp seems way too small and light to sound this big! It has equal thump to the KF50, maybe tends to emphasize the tonic rather than the first harmonic. Cleans up great with the volume knob. Good amount of gain on tap.
Matchless Chieftain-the only master volume in the group, and being post-PI it's pretty effective. Not used today, however, I just cranked it! Reverb was left off, although it's nice to have to add some flexibility. Unlike the DC30, this has less of the hard edge to the attack-not as fast an amp. Breakup and range of crunch is similar to the Alessandro. No significant ghost notes when absolutely cranked. Cleans up great with the volume knob. There's some hum when this is turned on.
JTM45-by far the most expensive of the amps. With the KT66s it can generate more bass than the others (although, with the G12H30s I've kept the bass turned down to 1/4-1/3 on all of them so it doesn't overwhelm the stuff I want to hear). The breakup is a little different sounding-more "American" due to the Bassman influence and the unusual tubes. Still, lots of crunch, great EQ with the two channels, cleans up beautifully with the volume knob. The winner in many comparisons but in this group it's just really good. Little hum, no ghost notes.
Trainwreck-this one (Constance) was built in 2010 by John Mark, and then had the PT replaced when the first one died. Headbox is Zebrawood I think, has almost all mojo parts as this is one of the first few JM built. No question, the range of gain on this amp is wider than the others. 3/4 of the way up is about the same as all the way up on them. And the clean up with the guitar volume is nothing short of stellar-turn it down far enough and it's sparkly clean, turn it back up and the notes shift to the first harmonic and sustain forever. Perhaps it's a honeymoon since I've owned the others for years and this is my first exposure to a Fischer derived Trainwreck but I really love the sound and touch of this amp. I should say that the total volume of the TW is more on par with the JTM45 (35w) than the Alessandro (60) or the Chieftain (50). No hum, dead silent even if it's cranked. Ghost notes are just noticeable on the higher strings up around the 12th fret.
RubyWreck-had this one for a few years, and never having played a TW, I couldn't tell you how accurate it was. There are a difference, although I'd say it's pretty subtle. The RW may have a hair less gain and a hair more volume than the TW. That's about it. You might, if you believe the legend, even attribute the difference to the tolex covered cab the RW comes in vs the resonant hardwood headshell of the TW. Anyway, we're splitting hairs, they're both great amps! Little hum, no ghosting.
It's probably worth mentioning that I've also owned a Kendrick Climax Trainwreck (a collaboration between Ken and Gerald that didn't turn out well at all). It shared the high gain, NMV, British flavored preamp, with a LOUD and fast power section. Definitely the same DNA although the American section and the reverb didn't match up nearly as well. It's also worth mentioning that, while I plan clips to illustrate this comparison, it isn't going to help in some ways. I just don't think the attribute of the attack or speed of the power amp comes thru very well on Youtube. Further the character of the distortion tends to get anonymized (is that a word?) so it's hard to truly hear the differences.
So, what should you buy? They're all great amps! The JTM45, even in these days of deflation will likely cost you in excess of $7k, so probably only go there if you're a collector. And there's not a lot of mojo to that circuit, so copies done by any number of boutique guys would be cool. Expect lots of touch sensitivity with great EQ and a saggier, more forgiving power amp. The TW is hard to find, $5k new and only a bit less used but I really like this amp (cognitive dissonance perhaps). The RW and other clones are REALLY close, perhaps with the Pacific Transformer set the RW would be identical, highly recommended, he does good work. The Alessandro is unbelievable for fitting all that tone in a small box, and I were gigging this amp, it'd be the one, hands down! The Matchless has that great MV, so if I were worrying about the neighbors, or gigging in smaller venues, that'd be the choice. The Komet? For a newer, faster amp, the Concorde is the KF50 in a tolex box at $3700, or you can find KF50s all over for $5k depending on tubes. I prefer the slightly slower power amp (and only slightly) in the TW for that money. The Climax which feels more like the Komet to me, can be had for less than $2k, or buy the kit. But if you're looking for a bargain in this type of amp, head over to AmpGarage and learn how to build your own! Me, I'll keep the TW, the JTM45, and the Chieftain and Alessandro for now. The RW is probably going to find a new home sooner or later.
What do these amps have in common? They're all single channel amps with relatively simple preamps and big iron/big output tubes. In my ongoing quest to master what makes a good amp I'm playing them back to back thru the same 69 Marshall 412 with early 70s G12H30s. The guitar is a DGT strung with nickel 11s. All of the amps have decent NOS preamp tubes and the appropriate power tubes (Siemens in the Matchless, Alessandro, Ruby and Express, GEC KT66s in the JTM45-more on the Komet in a minute). The Komet is the prototype "Blinky's Revenge" tuned by Ken Fischer. It differs from the production KF50s in that there are a couple of "mojo" caps in the signal chain and a single carbon comp resistor. The head box is hardwood but aftermarket, the tubes are decent modern tubes because it's not my amp.
KF50-first one I played on this odyssey. It has the typical Fischer hot-rodded but very simple 3 tube preamp, and the Komet overbuilt power supply (lots of filter caps and big iron). The result is an amp that can go from clean to mean with the twist of the guitar volume knob but that hits hard on the attack of the note. It tends to emphasize the first (octave) harmonic on sustained notes when it's cranked. And it's DAMN loud, even NOT turned up all the way. There's a fast/slow switch in the back, which can increase sag, but even on slow this is a fast amp! Definitely cool, but I didn't bite at the current $14k price tag.
Alessandro Bloodhound-this is a study in contrasts: a very light, very small box that packs a huge whallop! The prototype has EL34s, the production version now has 6550s. The amp seems way too small and light to sound this big! It has equal thump to the KF50, maybe tends to emphasize the tonic rather than the first harmonic. Cleans up great with the volume knob. Good amount of gain on tap.
Matchless Chieftain-the only master volume in the group, and being post-PI it's pretty effective. Not used today, however, I just cranked it! Reverb was left off, although it's nice to have to add some flexibility. Unlike the DC30, this has less of the hard edge to the attack-not as fast an amp. Breakup and range of crunch is similar to the Alessandro. No significant ghost notes when absolutely cranked. Cleans up great with the volume knob. There's some hum when this is turned on.
JTM45-by far the most expensive of the amps. With the KT66s it can generate more bass than the others (although, with the G12H30s I've kept the bass turned down to 1/4-1/3 on all of them so it doesn't overwhelm the stuff I want to hear). The breakup is a little different sounding-more "American" due to the Bassman influence and the unusual tubes. Still, lots of crunch, great EQ with the two channels, cleans up beautifully with the volume knob. The winner in many comparisons but in this group it's just really good. Little hum, no ghost notes.
Trainwreck-this one (Constance) was built in 2010 by John Mark, and then had the PT replaced when the first one died. Headbox is Zebrawood I think, has almost all mojo parts as this is one of the first few JM built. No question, the range of gain on this amp is wider than the others. 3/4 of the way up is about the same as all the way up on them. And the clean up with the guitar volume is nothing short of stellar-turn it down far enough and it's sparkly clean, turn it back up and the notes shift to the first harmonic and sustain forever. Perhaps it's a honeymoon since I've owned the others for years and this is my first exposure to a Fischer derived Trainwreck but I really love the sound and touch of this amp. I should say that the total volume of the TW is more on par with the JTM45 (35w) than the Alessandro (60) or the Chieftain (50). No hum, dead silent even if it's cranked. Ghost notes are just noticeable on the higher strings up around the 12th fret.
RubyWreck-had this one for a few years, and never having played a TW, I couldn't tell you how accurate it was. There are a difference, although I'd say it's pretty subtle. The RW may have a hair less gain and a hair more volume than the TW. That's about it. You might, if you believe the legend, even attribute the difference to the tolex covered cab the RW comes in vs the resonant hardwood headshell of the TW. Anyway, we're splitting hairs, they're both great amps! Little hum, no ghosting.
It's probably worth mentioning that I've also owned a Kendrick Climax Trainwreck (a collaboration between Ken and Gerald that didn't turn out well at all). It shared the high gain, NMV, British flavored preamp, with a LOUD and fast power section. Definitely the same DNA although the American section and the reverb didn't match up nearly as well. It's also worth mentioning that, while I plan clips to illustrate this comparison, it isn't going to help in some ways. I just don't think the attribute of the attack or speed of the power amp comes thru very well on Youtube. Further the character of the distortion tends to get anonymized (is that a word?) so it's hard to truly hear the differences.
So, what should you buy? They're all great amps! The JTM45, even in these days of deflation will likely cost you in excess of $7k, so probably only go there if you're a collector. And there's not a lot of mojo to that circuit, so copies done by any number of boutique guys would be cool. Expect lots of touch sensitivity with great EQ and a saggier, more forgiving power amp. The TW is hard to find, $5k new and only a bit less used but I really like this amp (cognitive dissonance perhaps). The RW and other clones are REALLY close, perhaps with the Pacific Transformer set the RW would be identical, highly recommended, he does good work. The Alessandro is unbelievable for fitting all that tone in a small box, and I were gigging this amp, it'd be the one, hands down! The Matchless has that great MV, so if I were worrying about the neighbors, or gigging in smaller venues, that'd be the choice. The Komet? For a newer, faster amp, the Concorde is the KF50 in a tolex box at $3700, or you can find KF50s all over for $5k depending on tubes. I prefer the slightly slower power amp (and only slightly) in the TW for that money. The Climax which feels more like the Komet to me, can be had for less than $2k, or buy the kit. But if you're looking for a bargain in this type of amp, head over to AmpGarage and learn how to build your own! Me, I'll keep the TW, the JTM45, and the Chieftain and Alessandro for now. The RW is probably going to find a new home sooner or later.
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. I did not look for enough help though. Tried to do it mostly myself. I wound up selling the parts to Paul Ruby. He is a super nice guy. I would have loved to have been in the room with all those amps.
