I have to play one - got my curiosity.
Anyone with any experience of them ?
Yeah, I tried one last time I was in Andertons in Guildford. I only got to try the 10/30 watt 2x12 combo as the delivery had only arrived ealier that day and all the other options were still packed up.
Initial impression was good to very good. Cleans are great and pretty chimey without being too toppy. I would have liked a bit more low end control (which could a bit flabby as the volume went up) but this could well be down to being a combo rather than my preference of a seperate 2x12 cab even for cleans.
The drive channel I found a bit limilted in the short time I had with it. A couple of real sweet spots for sure but a lot more that was "good, but no cigar".
Again, this is more likely to be me and that "It's a combo" thing I have and the fact that I was there to try out a Cornford Hellcat head/2x12 cab setup.
I have to say Fing that I had just spent 3/4 of an hour with the Cornford and spent less than half that with the Blackstar and in that light....The thing done good!
Go try some is all I can say. Andertons have the full range in stock and good demo/trial rooms as well with a lot of other amps set up so you can A/B stuff really easiliy. (That's if you fancy a drive out of the smoke for once ;)).
Let me know if you do come down this way, the shop is only 20 mins from my house and probably 80% of my work is in and around Guildford town.
Thanks for that Spud - interesting,
Cornfords are on my radar as well - considered the Harlequin for a time.
Cornford hellcat with a 2x12 is a tad bigger sounding then what I am looking for.
Basically I want an amp that has a good tone at low vol.
Maybe the head version of the artisan 15 with a cab - I know what you mean about combos vs cabs.
But I have read that the Artisans have to be played loud to get the tone - and even at a 5w setting - that is like someone playing a trumpet very loud.
But I want to buy a British amp- no reason - aside from the piss poor exchange rate :)
Andertons sounds a good place - I know of them, they crop up in all the searches - I'll let you know if I am in the area
I'll tell you right now that one of the things I was going to mention in my last post , then didn't bother for some reason, is that the 30 watt I tried had NO real difference between the 10 watt and the 30 watt settings except the amount of clean headroom. This was at "loud enough to hear clearly but it almost hurts" volume in a small demo room filled with Cornfords and Mesa boogies.
I know it's a lot less amp for the money but with what you said about needing good at low volume, I'd go for the Halequin or the Carerra, both of which Andertons have in stock. I think they had a second-hand Harlequin in the shop for about £600 last time I was there.
One of the reasons I want to build my own 5 watt head is the very same reason you want a Cornford, good tone at low volume.
Good luck Mate.
The other option is to check out all the amps that fit the bill (Brit AND Foreign) and get your arse to the London Guitar Show in june. All the manufacturers and importers that exibit sell the gear at reduced price to be picked up at the end of the show. Year before last, someone beat me to a new Ibanez Artist Custom shop that was retailing @ 1.5K and being sold at the show for £800 because it's ex-demo. By the time I'd phoned Jo and persuaded her to let me buy it, it had gone ::).
Some of the guy's won't admit that they do this untill later in the shows run but some (Organic Guitars and Marshall spring to mind) will let you haggle over price for that piece and let you pick it up at the end of the show on the Sunday. The angst with this is if you wait untill Sunday to go to the show, all the good shit has gone. If, like me, you take a day off on the Friday to visit the show, A; all the good stuff is still there and B; it's a lot quieter so you get to try stuff out. The downside of this is that you have to make a second trip on the Sunday evening to pick up your gear.
If this guy I audutioned for last week turns me down, I'm definately getting rid of the Roadking and building a 5 watt head for home use then coming to this years show with a wad of cash looking for a bargain!
Never player through a Blackstar amp, they're so HARD to find here, GC carries 'em, but I've never actually spotted one in-store, lol. The clips floating around the web speak well though, they sound great, especially the Artisan line!