Archon 50 - 50-watt Tube Head Review

Marshall Meets Diezel

I've had mine for five months, and finally feel like I'm playing the amp, as opposed to through it. At the risk of repeating a cliché, this amp is as versatile as they come. Sparkling "high-fidelity" cleans, gnarly, growling and harmonic distortion, and everywhere in between. The simple control layout is responsive, but the amp stays friendly, i.e. any tone you find can be the… read more right one. All genres of rock / metal are equally served. While the amp itself isn't finicky, its interaction with your rig can be. When I first bought it, it fit a need and I was happy, but not blown away. I also had a brand new guitar with Fishman Moderns in it. Over time and after trying some other guitars, I grew to realize it was the pickups and not the amp that had me missing that certain something. I put in some Fishman Classics, and I'm in heaven. High output pups don't always pair well with a high output preamp. Lesson learned. The same can be said for pedals, even noise gates. It takes all pedals generally well, but it's a bit of a mix and match process until you land on the on the perfect combo. I happen to think that process, in and of itself, is fun, but it's not cheap. Luckily, for what you get, the amp is (comparatively speaking). The distortion is a throaty, mid-focused harmonic tone a-la Marshall, but with a little more grind. I'd liken it to somewhere between a Marshall and a Diezel, or a high-gain Orange without as much fuzz. The presence and depth controls really are as advertised. With them, it can go from bolted down tight to a deliciously hot mess. The real tone was hiding from me for a long while before I paired it right, but I now have a great feel for the amp's voicing, and I love it. It's the perfect template to craft a tone that is truly unique, but not just for the sake of individuality. It sounds great; musical, powerful, and all mine. If plugging into a computer just doesn't do it for you, this can.

---

Cancel Comment

Outstanding Amp

The new Archon 50 amp has an incredible tone. The tone is a bit on the darker side, but luckily there are bright switches to help with that. I was able to dial in a tone that I liked rather quickly on both the overdrive and clean channels. There is also plenty of gain on tap. I play classic rock/80's hair metal and I've only have the gain turned up to 11:00. This amp can cover a… read more wide verity of tones. The clean sounds so good you could play jazz on it.

---

Cancel Comment