Which Amp Is Right for Me?

Of course, that question comes down to what style - or styles - of music you play. The answer can be as simple or as complex as you are as a player. You can choose an amp that does one thing really well, or you can choose an amp that covers a few different things really well. The choice is up to you.


Clean (with Pedals)

So you like an amp with a big clean sound and a lot of headroom. You probably drive that platform with a host of pedals, right? It's a great way to run a tube amp, and quite frankly, just about any tube amp will sound great using it in that way. However, some tube amps break up a little quicker than some would like, and you might be looking for a tube amp that stays pretty clean so your pedals can do the work.

If that's the case, you should check out one of the these SonicTone amps:

The Clarksdale - with a set of 6L6 power tubes, it delivers a big clean tone with lots of headroom. Perfect for sparkly clean tones and great as a pedal platform.

The Delta Deluxe - a nice alternative to the Clarksdale with very similar qualities. The 60W version will give you the headroom you're looking for, where the 20W version may break up a little earlier.

The SE Series - beautiful class A tone with incredible clean tones, they are made to take pedals. However, due to their lower power output, they may break up a little earlier than what is desired.

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Blues, Country, Rockabilly

If your style is steeped in old-school American-style guitar music, then there are more than a few SonicTone amps to satisfy your wants and desires.

The Delta Jr. - based on a classic tweed circuit, the Delta Jr is actually a really versatile amp. With the hot/cool switch, it can deliver beautiful cleans or raunchy crunches with a flip of a switch. Perfect for old-school blues.

The Delta Deluxe - with a similar preamp to the Delta Jr, the Delta Deluxe also provides great clean and crunchy tones, but in a slightly larger format. The 20W version will break up a little quicker, while the 60W version will provide a little more headroom.

The Clarksdale - if you're looking for pristine and punchy cleans, the Clarksdale might be the amp for you. With a set of 6L6s and lots of headroom, it'll deliver the goods. Perfect for country and clean chicken-pickin'.

The SE Series - beautiful class A tone with great touch and response. An SE Series amp can easily be used for clean picking or bluesy crunches.

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1960's/1970's British Blues and Rock

The arrival of the British blues and rock guitar sound from the 1960's and 1970's is understandably a highly sought-after tone. That tone had an earlier breakup and more gain than anything that had been heard before. And with that, came a bigger, bolder sound with more compression and sustain, which was great for all the classic riffs and lead solos from the era.

These SonicTone amps can more than cover that:

The '67 Special 50W or '67 Special 100W - based on a classic British circuit, but with more than a few upgrades, it may be the most versatile and user-friendly version of the circuit - all while retaining that classic British rock tone. No more 4 hole inputs and jumper cables - you can control both parallel channels from the footswitch. While the amp is capable of cleaning up fairly well, we know you're not here for that - it breaks up early and quickly gives you that raunchy crunch you're looking for.

The Royal Crown - available in a 15-watt version (RC15) and a 30-watt version (RC30), the Royal Crown is another classic British circuit that uses the underrated EL84 power tube for its output section. Being cathode-baised, it's got a great touch and response. And look out - this version of this classic British circuit has a lot more on tap on the drive channel than the original.

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1980's Hard Rock & Metal

What can we say about the sound of 80's rock and metal that hasn't already been said? The guitar tones that came out during that time period are some of the most revered tones of all time. And there are plenty of SonicTone amps to choose from to get you there.

The '81 Special - as the 70's were winding down, guitar players wanted more and the circuit in the '81 Special delivered. The circuit provided even more gain that what had been available before and the tone was tight with great harmonics. Probably the most surprising thing about this amp is that it also has a great clean line. But the original design didn't allow you access to both channels of the amp at the same time. The '81 Special fixes that and you get an amazing clean line along side a fantastic 80's rock distortion, all controllable with a footswitch.

The Halfpint - don't sleep on this rude little amp. It's preamp is the same as the '81 Special, but it's power section is a cathode-biased EL84 output section, which gives you a tone with great touch and response. It also has a beautiful clean line and you won't believe the distortion you get out of this little thing on channel 2.

The SE Series - believe it or not, the SE Series amps can easily hang with these other 80's hard rock beasts. Because they are low powered, it gives you the opportunity to really drive the power section and achieve some amazing harmonics, touch and response.

The '78 Special - part of the Legends Series, this amp delivers on one of the most highly sought-after guitar tones in history. It has a big, open sound with tight gain and great touch and response. With it, you can easily cover the player's tone from 1978 to around 1986.

The Snakecharmer - also part of the Legends Series, this amp delivers a serious bite. It picks up where the '78 Special left off and delivers the type of hard rock and metal tones we started hearing from about 1987 onward. With it's unique preamp design, it has a great touch response and "chewiness" to it, all with searing harmonics.

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Modern Hard Rock & Metal

Of course, guitar players always want more, right? And where the late 80's left off, new amp circuits picked up and delivered even more gain and distortion than ever before. So these SonicTone amps are right there with them, delivering a wall of searing distortion.

The Loyalist - a 4-channel high gain British-voiced amp using EL34 power tubes. Channel 1 is a beautiful clean line than can also deliver plexi-style crunches. Channel 2 is "secretly" the '81 Special preamp. And channels 3 and 4 are identical high gain channels with a few tone shaping options to allow you to set them up differently. Each channel has independent gain, volume and EQ controls. With a tight tone and more pronounced mid-range, the Loyalist is perfect for British-style heavy metal.

The Patriot - a 4-channel high gain American-voiced amp using 6L6 power tubes. Similar to the Loyalist with all the same features, it has a more mid-scooped and fatter sound - perfect for American-style heavy metal.

The Mercenary - a 2-channel, no frills high gain amp that can be voiced like the Loyalist with EL34s or like the Patriot with 6L6s. It does have a footswitchable channel 2 volume for rhythm and lead to give you a solo boost option.

The Snakecharmer - part of the Legends Series, the Snakecharmer gets included in this group because once you switch over to the '91 setting on the '87/'91 switch, you get even more gain with a thicker and more aggressive tone. The Snakecharmer can definitely hold its own against the other modern high gain beasts.

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Versatility

If you looking for an amp that can "do it all" - or at least cover a couple of bases all at once - there are a couple of SonicTone amps that will fit the bill.

The Loyalist or Patriot - it really doesn't get much more versatile than a 4-channel amp that delivers everything from beautiful cleans to crushing high gain distortion. Even if you're not into the high gain heavy metal thing, these amps can be dialed back and cleaned up to your liking.

The '81 Special - with a beautiful clean tone as it's best kept secret, the '81 Special can easily be set up to give you a range of tones between sparkly cleans, plexi crunches and hard rock distortions.

The Clarksdale - a secret in the Clarksdale is that its channel 2 actually has a lot of distortion on tap. The preamp is a pretty unique design in that it retains that classic American clean tone on channel 1, yet provides a high-gain, harmonically rich distortion on channel 2.

The Royal Crown - much like the Clarksdale, the Royal Crown provides a great clean line and high gain distortion in a single package. However, it's a completely different circuit than the Clarksdale, so the clean line is that jangly British clean tone and the distortion is a tight, yet thick high gain overdrive.

The Halfpint - the Halfpint is another amp in the line up that gives you a wide range of tones, from chimey cleans to high gain overdrive - all from a small compact package.

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