Rift Dirty 30....! The Reliced Tweed.

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GassageGassage Frets: 30824
edited October 2016 in Amp Reviews
Chris @riftamps has been working his magic on my old DR103, and whilst he had it, he asked me to have a try on this little monster.

Spec:
30w
2 x 12AY7
1 x 12AX7
2 x 6L6GC
1 x 5U4G (rectifier)
WGS 15" ceramic speaker (all configs are available- 1 x 12, 2 x 12, 2 x 10, alnico or ceramic)

The sound:

It's beautiful - low noise floor, typical tweedy sag, but slightly less breakup than my deluxe
Incredible linear delivery- great at low or high vols and I believe Chris has done a great job on the balance between 'bedroom' levels and live stage 'cut through the drummer' levels. It does both due to the linear delivery.

I found the 15" slightly flubbery (but generally I find that with all 15's so not unexpected) but when with my extension cab with a Celest Gold in it it sings and chimes like a good un. I really liked it greatly with the 12 and I believe he'll offer 1 or 2 of them. The 15" sounds great taming the sharpness of a Tele though; for my normal sounds, the 12" with a strat sounds better.

The finish:

Reliced! It looks great- see the pics, and I genuinely think that there's a market for this. I'd totally relic it, but that's just me and I think Chris is open to the amount of relicing you want done to it.

The rest of the build is pretty flawless.

Taking Pedals:

Works best with low gainers and great detail with the @ThorpyFX Peacekeeper- it loves tube pedals like the Jester. Deffo more for the analogue delay than digital as you'd expect. I found it slightly too full on with the Cornish P1 Muff but that pedal is designed specifically for the Hiwatt and Thropy's Muffroom (lower gain) was much nicer.

I didn't find chorus to be its thing really, which is to expected, but the Tube Vibe or Elec Miss into it was stunning.

Verdict:

A solid 4 stars with the 15, 5 with the 12. It's kind of a 57 Twin RI sound at more reasonable vols.

THe low noise floor is very noticable.

Lovely amp and the perfect all rounder.

FOOTNOTE: Chris explicitly asked me to be honest about this. No affiliation and my thoughts are exactly my own.





*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.

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Comments

  • Chris needs to relic the handle too, methinks. And maybe some get dirt into the bits that look freshly sandpapered.
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  • GassageGassage Frets: 30824
    Chris needs to relic the handle too, methinks. And maybe some get dirt into the bits that look freshly sandpapered.
    Maybe, but I was using the flash on camera so maybe a little darker in the flesh- as noted he'll relic it as much as you want.

    *An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.

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  • I'm guessing there's no kind of master volume or attenuation switch on this @Gassage?
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    Gassage said:
    Chris needs to relic the handle too, methinks. And maybe some get dirt into the bits that look freshly sandpapered.
    Maybe, but I was using the flash on camera so maybe a little darker in the flesh- as noted he'll relic it as much as you want.


    I tend to agree it could use more, but its easier to add more later and better to underdo a relic than overdo it   A bit of "dirt" rubbed in to the fabric and a coat or two of amber lacquer would get that looking really well worn. 

    probably needs the obligatory mug ring on top too   :)

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  • RiftAmpsRiftAmps Frets: 3113
    tFB Trader
    WezV said:
    Gassage said:
    Chris needs to relic the handle too, methinks. And maybe some get dirt into the bits that look freshly sandpapered.
    Maybe, but I was using the flash on camera so maybe a little darker in the flesh- as noted he'll relic it as much as you want.


    I tend to agree it could use more, but its easier to add more later and better to underdo a relic than overdo it   A bit of "dirt" rubbed in to the fabric and a coat or two of amber lacquer would get that looking really well worn. 

    probably needs the obligatory mug ring on top too   :)

    It does look much lighter in those pics, it's actually got a warmer hue than that.

    Re relic'ing, it's not finished yet but I'd decided to see how it would settle down first before I started chucking it down a hillside.
    *I no longer offer replacement speaker baffles*
    Rift Amplification
    Handwired Guitar Amplifiers
    Brackley, Northamptonshire
    www.riftamps.co.uk

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  • DanRDanR Frets: 1041
    I've been fancying a Rift Amp for a while.

    Id probably have a relic one so I don't fret about it getting damaged.
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  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    @Gassage ;where's the pics gone then??
    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    Great amps with the sort of attention to detail that borders on OCD, even if the little scamp keeps trying to shame me into buying one ;)
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