Peter Hook
Jus Oborn
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1 review
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Beast of the underworld!
This amp is a black sheep in the world of British amplifiers. They are descendants of those legendary 70's Hiwatts, but they are different in ways that have earned them a reputation for being noisy and hard to control.
These amps can definitely be noisy. But why? Several reasons. First, they have an "active" equalizer. It uses four 12AX7s to amplify each frequency band, and that introduces some hum. Second, it has this "sensitivity" switch that boosts the voltage on one of the preamp tubes, and that makes everything run way hotter (and way noisier). Third, people mod the crap out of these amps and do a terrible job. Finally, this amp has huge Partridge transformers that pick up radio stations like no one's business. You can overcome all of these problems. Use good tubes, don't use the sensitivity switch, get it serviced by a good tech (which you should've done anyway), and be careful where you put the amp in a room. Good? Good!
I love this amp. Those huge transformers make for a really tight, hard-hitting sound… even in the low bass frequencies. The output stage stays pretty clean at high volumes, so it's a great canvas for pedals. The preamp also overdrives well: if you drive it hard with a boost pedal, you get a touch-sensitive distortion. The active EQ is warm and versatile, and so you can get so many sounds from it. I was able to dial in my favorite sparkly Fender-style tones from it pretty easily. All in all, it's a great (but under-appreciated) amp.
about 1 year agoSign up for Equipboard to reply or ask this user a question.
its a shame people mod them, because the stock preamp is interesting and versatile in an Ampeg V series sense. My experience with these guys is like yours, you need to avoid the high sensitivity because of the way they chose to implement it. Just a bad design when coupled with all that active EQ circuitry. Dave Reeves never would have let that fly. Heck, his original sound city design only had passive bass and treble controls. The Sound City L120 and 50+ are one of those almost ran amps because oh how carried away arbiter got trying to win the 'useful features arms race' of the 60s and 70s. As you say, if you get preamp tubes that are well tested for noise and maybe have a tech go over the lead dress in the amp it should cut the noise issues substantially.
As far as radio stations, I've never owned a superlead from any era that wasn't prone to acting as a radio receiver. Its just the name of the game with higher gain big amps of the era. As long as its not so pronounced that a properly built recording studio won't block out the radio when you're tracking, who cares?
I'm with you, Jim. I hadn't realized how noisy all of those amps are until very recently—I guess it's just the name of the game. Some people say this amp is really noisy, but the same people will play an unshielded strat through a Superbass under florescent lights and go nuts over the "creamy tone." Some people. ;)
About that sensitivity setting… the switch is connected to a trimpot inside, and I was able to dial that down enough to make a lot of the hiss/hum go away. I know lots of people just remove that whole circuit entirely (along with the presence control). What do you end up doing?
I've only used other people's 120 and 50+ amps, so I just go with low sensitivity... I also tend to roll a lot of the highs back and boost mids on this active EQ circuit.... I also like to put on a pair of shooting headphones because even by my standards the 120 is loud as hell
I have this thing about gear being low noise, unless reducing the noise changes the sound, then I get upset and would rather have a little noise....
Definitely! Some amps are just noisy, and that's part of why they sound so good. :) There are always tradeoffs.