I bought this on eBay at the weekend and picked it up yesterday.
For those who don't know, it's a 1x12 valve combo. 1W class in class A operation, rising to a heady 3W in class AB, through a Vintage 30 speaker. There's one input socket, gain and master volume plus a "Compass" control (a surprisingly useful tone control) and a "Freeze" control (that takes the amp from class A to AB as you turn it clockwise).
The preamp uses 2 x 12AX7s. The power amp uses 3 x 12AU7s. These are (apparently) interchangeable with more powerful 12xx7 variants if you want a bit more volume. Construction is apparently point-to-point hand-wired onto an eyelet board. I've not checked.
To my ears, it sounds great. Lively and responsive to pickup selection and attack. It's early days, obv., but I'm very pleased so far. I'm planning to use it at home for practice or recording.
The Sheldon website looks like it stopped being updated in 2011 or so, so I guess they're no longer trading. Does anyone out there know anything about them? Who designed it? What happened to them?
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/23111633/Photo 23-02-2017, 17 46 25.jpg
Comments
+1. It's one of the few speakers that really does need pushing a bit harder, and at low power it can sound very stiff and an odd combination of harsh and muddy. I know it was the fashionable 'premium speaker' ten or more years ago, but even then there were far better options. I would swap it out for something a bit more lively at the first opportunity...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I can't remember what happened to the company but there was some talk of them moving premises and then they seemed to disappear. Shame as I fancied getting a louder version at the time.
Mine was cream tolex and the serial number was #004 I think. I will call dibs on this if you decide to sell it on
I don't find the V30 in this harsh or muddy. I'm finding some lovely cleans and edge-of-breakup sounds. Also nailed an SRV-alike tone that is becoming a bit addictive. Serial no is in the thirties, so I guess it's 10 years old or so? Maybe the speaker has mellowed with use.
Not yet tried it with pedals or humbuckers.
I remember seeing some of the tt3 combos with Greenbacks as well as V30s.
Was a great amp and hand wired I only moved it on as I needed money for a new cornford stack
I also hook it up with an external 1x12 closed-back cab housing a Greenback and it sounds excellent with that - but at its best when running both speakers! It's a great little amp!