From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Sun Feb 08 11:02:28 2009
Subject:=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Speakeasy_AMA_Review_=5BWas=3A_Frankenleslies=5D?=

Hi Dave,

At 08:17 AM 2/8/2009, David Oakley wrote:
>Tony, thanks for the explanation. But i'm still not 100% convinced.
>How is this different than taking say a 5 watt tube guitar amp, like
>the models epiphone make for example with a single EL34, and then
>taking the speaker output straight to your solid state backline?

It's not different, from a very high-level look. The AMA is a 10W preamp/amp combination with a built-in 8-ohm load. The load can be disconnected and run into a speaker load, or it can be used as a "preamp" for a large solid-state power amp.

However, duplicating the sound of a 40W Leslie amp is not as simple as putting a pentode tube in the chain. The AMA duplicates many subtleties in the amplifier design that create the Leslie 122's signature. The 122 amp is not just a knockoff of another tube amp design; there were certain tradeoffs made to better suit it to use with an organ. Just as replacing the Leslie amp with a 100W Hiwatt head tends to color the classic tone with 'Hiwatt-esqe' sonic artifacts, substituting a small guitar amp for the AMA's 10W amp won't arrive at the same place, sound-wise. The gain is different, the EQ is different, and the power amp design is different. This is not to say that the results won't be PLEASING; it's just that they won't be THE SAME.

I've been meaning to write a review of the AMA, similar to the ones I've written in the past for gear including the Korg CX-3, the Speakeasy VTP, and many others. I finally did so today. Here's a link --

http://clonewheel.ashbysolutions.com/reviews/amarev.html

Regards,

-BW
--
Bruce Wahler
AshbySolutions.com™
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com

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