I’m just totally blown away by how great of an amp you’ve made for me! You’ve created something truly special here. It’s exceeded my expectations by far, which were very high to begin with based on your amazing posted audio clips and videos, written reviews from trade shows and users, and my conversations and emails with you.
When I first decided to buy a LS50 from you, I expected that it would remedy my clean channel (or lack there of) problems with my favored JCM800s. Well, that it did, and did it fantastically for sure! The clean channel can stay clean, even with all the raunchy bark of a Les Paul’s PAF raised close to the strings pushing the amp’s front end. If the clean channel is pushed to break up, it does so in such a sweet way, first with some beautiful and articulate clean compression, then some subtle hints of slight tube saturation but all the while staying glassy and chime like with absolutely perfect definition and dynamics.
What I didn’t count on was that the dirty channel would blow my mind. I can’t quite say in words what it does for me, but it’s unlike any other amp I’ve played. You’re posted clips, great as they are, just can’t convey the feel of actually playing your fantastic design. It really interacts with my guitar and my playing in such a satisfying way. Every note is magic. Amps that do that are rare. Amps that do that and cover all the other ground that your LS50 does don’t exist. I’ve never played an amp that has such a defined attack with great note separation and clarity, but still has the smooth British ring-out, sustain and the overall feel that I love in well driven amplifier presented in such a great way.
Though I’ve only had this amp a short time now, I’m finding that the second footswitchable gain control is something I don’t think I’ll ever want to live without. It’s so much better than any front end boost or overdrive that tries to preserve the original sound of the amp, but with more gain. It IS the original amp with more gain, and plenty more gain available too! Perfect!
The frequencies and contours of the EQ on the dirty channel at first felt odd to me, but quickly I’m coming to appreciate them. It’s not a Marshall tone stack (I don’t think, at least) and that’s what I’m accustomed to so the EQ felt strange at first, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that it’s an improvement over the Marshall EQs. I find it has more precise control within the sweet spots and less of the unusable (fizzy and flubby) range of the Marshall design. I’m not completely used to it yet, but I could see it becoming something I very much miss when I fire up a UK amp. I’m also finding that the response of the EQ is very dependent on the level of the channel volume versus the master volume and with a little tweaking of both I can pull some very diverse tones from the amplifier. Fantastic!
As for the optional poweramp section lead boost you installed for me, I’m finding that the level is about dead on. Every song and mix is different, of course, but I like where it sits as it is. It’s just enough of a boost to push a lead right to the top of a mix, but not over the top. Nobody turns their heads dramatically when I hit it, they just hear me clearly. I think you nailed it just right. I would encourage any other customer to take advantage of this extremely usable and fairly priced option.
My only suggestions for improvement would be to have both the channel selection and boost switches on the same pedal and multi-pin cable (if it becomes a standard feature) and that you notify your customers that the footswitch must be connected in order for the amp to fire up. I almost had a heart attack when I turned on the power to warm up the amp with the footswitch still in my pedal case and nothing happened. I checked the fuse and my power socket with a meter before I realized I just needed to connect the footswitch. Phew!
Overall, my original thought was that this amp would provide all the clean sounds and the occasional lead or rhythm in my live setup and on the album my current band is in the process of tracking now. Now that I’ve used it a bit and instantly fallen in love with it, I expect that it will probably take the duty of many of the rhythms and leads on the album and most likely be the only amp I take out live besides the backup. I can’t thank you enough for creating this design, building it so well, and being so patient while answering all of my (many) questions. It’s an absolute pleasure to do business with you and I assure you I’ll recommend you at every opportunity. Of course, your amp really sells itself. I’m confident that my serial number 3 LS50 will be a rare gem one day when your company takes off like a rocket. I can’t think of anything I would have wanted done differently in the amp or the transaction itself. Design, build quality and construction (yes, I peeked inside at all your beautifully laid out pushback wire and quality components, I couldn’t help myself!), build time, packaging and shipping, communication, customization, obvious concern for the customer’s satisfaction and follow through… all perfect. You’ve raised the bar for all other builders. Thank you.
Most sincerely,
James Finnerty
