I recently spent a little time with amps from these two builders. Both manufacturers engineer the hell out of their amps. I just can't imagine how you could build a better amp. Very solid construction that I'm sure would give you years and years of trouble-free use.
Savage Blitz 50 head with KT66s through a Savage 4x12 cabinet loaded with vintage 30s. Guitars used: Les Paul goldtop (not sure of year) and a 65 Strat.
Features:
50 watts
Point-To-Point Wiring Throughout
Top Grade Comoponents and Transformers
2 Channel, 4 Input Pre-amp Circuitry
Savage Special Design Tone, Master Volume and Reverb Circuitry
Finger-Jointed Birch Cabinets
Switchable Pentode/Triode, “Class AB/A”, Power Amp Circuitry
Lifetime Limited Transferable Warranty
This amp has BALLS. It is a huge sounding amp. With some help from the fine folks at Savage, the best tones were achieved by setting the treble and middle at 3:00, presence between 1 and 3 and the bass nearly off.
This amp is probably the most dynamic amp I've ever played. If you strummed hard, you got a rich distorted tones. Lightly strum the strings and the sound cleans up beautifully. The notes seem to suspend in the air. The treble strings cut through without being shrill.
The amp doesn't necessarily sound like any other amp. It isn't intended to model anything else. I personally love the sound of this amp. I really liked it with KT66s. It doesn't have a super tight bottom. There is a certain give with the amp. If you are doing death metal drop D riffing, I don't think this is the amp for you (but I could be wrong). If you play Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Black Crowes, etc, this amp would work very well. I could have played the Lemon Song all day long.
The master volume is very effective. You could play this amp late at night and not bother the neighbors. Of course, when you kick up the volume, it really comes into its own.
Savage now has audio samples available - check them out here: http://www.savageaudio.com/pages/soundmenu.html
I wish they had a couple more Blitz 50 samples available to give you an idea of what this amp can do.
As you can hear, the clean tones of the Blitz are outstanding as well. One may be in my possesion in the near future.
Blockhead 18 watt 1x12 combo
Holy sh*%*%!! This is a little firebreather! It absolutely kicks butt! I set the volume and tone at 6 and it nearly knocked me off my chair. I LOVE the sound of this amp. You don't have a ton of different sounds with this amp, but the tones that are available are absolutely golden. This would obviously be an outstanding rock and roll or blues amp. I'm still smiling!! I can't wait to hear their 2x12 version.
The sound files that were posted here are an excellent example of what the amp sounds like. Those of you who own this amp are incredibly lucky. This amp is also one of the best looking amps I have ever seen. It's stunning.
Blockhead Custom 50 (VH Fair Warning model)
Eddie VH needs to dump Peavey and buy this amp - now! You can easily NAIL Fair Warning tones with this amp. I didn't spend a great deal of time with this amp, but I was thoroughly impressed. If I was looking for a single channel killer high gain amp, this would likely be the one I'd buy.
BTW - the coolest features was the boost toggle. It didn't boost the volume, but it did boost the harmonics. Panama never sounded so cool!
All in all, it was a lot of fun to spend time with these incredible amps.
Savage Blitz 50 head with KT66s through a Savage 4x12 cabinet loaded with vintage 30s. Guitars used: Les Paul goldtop (not sure of year) and a 65 Strat.
Features:
50 watts
Point-To-Point Wiring Throughout
Top Grade Comoponents and Transformers
2 Channel, 4 Input Pre-amp Circuitry
Savage Special Design Tone, Master Volume and Reverb Circuitry
Finger-Jointed Birch Cabinets
Switchable Pentode/Triode, “Class AB/A”, Power Amp Circuitry
Lifetime Limited Transferable Warranty
This amp has BALLS. It is a huge sounding amp. With some help from the fine folks at Savage, the best tones were achieved by setting the treble and middle at 3:00, presence between 1 and 3 and the bass nearly off.
This amp is probably the most dynamic amp I've ever played. If you strummed hard, you got a rich distorted tones. Lightly strum the strings and the sound cleans up beautifully. The notes seem to suspend in the air. The treble strings cut through without being shrill.
The amp doesn't necessarily sound like any other amp. It isn't intended to model anything else. I personally love the sound of this amp. I really liked it with KT66s. It doesn't have a super tight bottom. There is a certain give with the amp. If you are doing death metal drop D riffing, I don't think this is the amp for you (but I could be wrong). If you play Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Black Crowes, etc, this amp would work very well. I could have played the Lemon Song all day long.
The master volume is very effective. You could play this amp late at night and not bother the neighbors. Of course, when you kick up the volume, it really comes into its own.
Savage now has audio samples available - check them out here: http://www.savageaudio.com/pages/soundmenu.html
I wish they had a couple more Blitz 50 samples available to give you an idea of what this amp can do.
As you can hear, the clean tones of the Blitz are outstanding as well. One may be in my possesion in the near future.
Blockhead 18 watt 1x12 combo
Holy sh*%*%!! This is a little firebreather! It absolutely kicks butt! I set the volume and tone at 6 and it nearly knocked me off my chair. I LOVE the sound of this amp. You don't have a ton of different sounds with this amp, but the tones that are available are absolutely golden. This would obviously be an outstanding rock and roll or blues amp. I'm still smiling!! I can't wait to hear their 2x12 version.
The sound files that were posted here are an excellent example of what the amp sounds like. Those of you who own this amp are incredibly lucky. This amp is also one of the best looking amps I have ever seen. It's stunning.
Blockhead Custom 50 (VH Fair Warning model)
Eddie VH needs to dump Peavey and buy this amp - now! You can easily NAIL Fair Warning tones with this amp. I didn't spend a great deal of time with this amp, but I was thoroughly impressed. If I was looking for a single channel killer high gain amp, this would likely be the one I'd buy.
BTW - the coolest features was the boost toggle. It didn't boost the volume, but it did boost the harmonics. Panama never sounded so cool!
All in all, it was a lot of fun to spend time with these incredible amps.
