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.
Comments
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
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
Instagram
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.
Rift Amplification
Brackley, Northamptonshire
www.riftamps.co.uk
Id probably have a relic one so I don't fret about it getting damaged.