London Review By Michael Lewis

[Blue Eyed Tone]

Review of the 65Amps London, by Michael Lewis (hear clip below).

The 65Amps London is an 18 watt amplifier that packs a huge punch. It features hi and lo inputs for both channels. The A channel features an excellent, vintage tremolo and the footswitch controls a speed increase/decrease, just like a Leslie. The A channel is based on an 18 watt Marshall.

There is a cut knob and a tone knob on the A channel to give some eq control. I found the cut knob only effective in the last 2/3rds of it's rotation, but that, together with the tone knob made it possible to dial in a nice set of tones from bright to dark.

Based on a Vox AC 15, the B channel features a color knob and a tone knob. The Color knob goes from big (strong presence and full bass response) on the left, to thinner (think country) on the right. I was using a Strat, so dialing it to the left yielded more of what I would want with this guitar. You might want it dialed to the right if you're using a Les Paul. It's a 6 position switch, so you can vary to taste and fine tune it with the tone knob.

The B channel also has a +/- switch which acts as a gain boost for the B channel. Both the A and B channel are single ended volume, there is no master volume. To bring the amp to distortion, just crank it up. At 18 watts it won't kill you, but it should hold it's own with the band if you're using it with a 212 cab. If your band is extremely loud, the Marquee Club may be the way to go at 35 watts or the Royal Albert at 45 watts.

The back panel is very simple -- two speaker outs with a switch to select 8 or 16 ohm output and a jack for the footswitch.

The amp is complex and versatile enough that you'll have to work with it to fine tune your tone, but you're not going to find a bad sound coming out of the amp (unless your playing is bad -- even then, you'll at least have a great tone). It's not overwhelmingly versatile, but it doesn't need to be. What it does tone wise, it does extremely well.

Conclusion: My first reaction to the amp was pretty simple "I love the way it sounds!" This is a great vintage rock amp with huge boutique tone written all over it. I could easily record or play live with this amp.

Of the three models of 65Amps I've tried, this is probably my favorite, though some guys really love the popular SoHo and after working with the Memphis, I've found it to be a really great rock amp as well. But the feedback on all these amps have been incredible. I was using this model with a Celestion G12H30 and a Celestion Gold -- both speakers sounded awesome with the amp. I tried it with the G12-65 and did not find it pleasing at all, though for someone wanting a little nastier tone, it might be the way to go? I also find it working pretty well with a G12M Greenback.

This is a great amplifier and I highly recommend it.

Michael Lewis

[Blue Eyed Tone]

Here's a demo of a Strat through the 65Amps London in the B channel. It begins clean then I add a Keeley Turbo Tube Screamer.

http://www.radicaltone.com/tracks/KeeleyTSHBS.mp3

Michael Lewis

[Blue Eyed Tone]

Just a note, the London is self biasing so when you replace power tubes they do NOT need to be rebiased... yea!!

MIchael

[mixn4him]

Hey what drive pedals hav you found work good with this amp?

[Blue Eyed Tone]

Hey what drive pedals hav you found work good with this amp?

The 65amps are very pedal friendly. In fact, when I did all the Plush pedal demos I used the London and they sounded great.

Michael

[gazoscreek]

Lately I've been playing a Hermida Audio Zendrive through the 12ax7 channel and really love it. I've been using a Fulltone OCD for mild overdrive and the Zendrive for soloing. I had a gig this past weekend that required my volume to be somewhere between 2 and 3, and I had many inquiries afterwards with regards to the 65 london.

[jimm1909]

Hey what drive pedals hav you found work good with this amp?

The 65amps are very pedal friendly. In fact, when I did all the Plush pedal demos I used the London and they sounded great.

Michael

I agree. I use them with pedals all the time on my pedal demos.

-Jim

[Blue Eyed Tone]

I should mention that I've used the London extensively over the last couple years and it has become a staple in my studio set up. Anytime someone wants a Pop/Rock track, it's the first amp I reach for -- it has that very current rock and roll tone. It records very well. I did an entire series of riffs for a loop library using the amp as well.

I also took the London over to Phil Keaggy's studio last year (along with my Pro 1 guitar) and we did some recording with it. Being a fan of true Vox tone, Phil loved the amp and raved about it. Samples coming soon (I hope... if I can just find a minute to finishing buffing out the track).

This is a great amp and they are available here at Radical Tone anytime you want to order one.

Michael Lewis