Clubster Royale Recording Top 25-watt Tube Head Review

Rivera rocks!

This is by far the best sounding amp I may have ever heard. It's like if you took all the good aspects of an amp and rolled them into one box. This is hand built and you can really tell! It is ridiculously sturdy as uses super high quality parts and does not skimp whatsoever. You will not find better quality for the money . The sound is incredible: Cleans that have miles of… read more headroom in the High power and low power mode that can also be pushed into that perfect blues growl or breakup. Takes every pedal as well as you can imagine and can get any clean tone you look for with an included bright switch. The controls actually make a difference in the tone unlike some amps and you can tweak to your delight though everything sounds great set to Noon. The built in Reverb is lush and perfect, can't beat a real spring tank. The drive channel without boost is creamy and can easily be dialed in for everything from classic rock to thick raunchy distortion and crunch without losing one but if definition or articulation. When you dual in the boost it's basically a third channel because the voicing sounds extra marvelous. The distortion is thick, deep,rich and complex without losing ANY articulation again whatsoever. Each channel is touch sensitive and dynamic beyond belief. The headphone feature , as well as a Low switch and the ability for completely silent recording and jamming from the direct out(which sounds perfect) make this great for studio work, no cab or mic required. I run this amp through a Panama 2x12 loaded with custom Greenbacks. I will be a Rivera fan for life, seriously, buy this amp.

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Easy to Dial In & Perfect For Bedroom, Studio & Stage

I am sure the 25 watter is plenty for most applications but I special ordered the 50 watt version of the Clubster Royale Recording Top with EL34s just in case I ever needed more power... The 50 watter also has the half power switch to bring it down to 25 watts. So I can get the perfect tones at bedroom level, use the rock rec to record or send to the front of the house and have… read more enough juice and clean headroom at full power through my 2x12 cabinet. I know some purists will say it isn't a Fender, a Marshall or a Boogie but the Clubster has a little bit of all of that going on. Channel 2 is very nice clean that is comparable to an old Blackface Princeton but maybe a little thicker with more sustain to my ears kind of like Boogies first Mark. Perfect for Blues with the neck pickup of my G&L Legacy and clean enough for Jazz with my Taylor T3. The reverb adds some nice ambience if you want it. Plus this channel takes pedals very well.Channel 1 reminds me of a Marshall but again the Clubster has it's own thing going on. Thick articulate and perfect for dirty blues, classic rock. Pull out the Bass knob and you get some more gain and some volume bump but do not expect the modern heavy metal djent stuff. Cool with me cause I don't do djent. Hit the unboosted channel with a nice overdrive pedal and you get 80's hard rock tones and perfect for singing solos. I typically use the unboosted Channel 1 for rhythm. As expected with most tube amps, this channel sounds good at lower volumes but at its best at moderate to higher volumes. Probably the nicest feature of my Clubster is it is really easy to dial in and make quick adjustments on the fly between songs. I do not have time to spend fiddling with knobs and switches. I just want to plug in and play and the Clubster is perfect for plugging in and playing. I have not messed around much with the Mini Rockrec but it is a great feature to have for recording and for going direct to the PA. The Clubster gets 4.5 stars because the only thing that Paul RIvera could have done better with the Clubster would have been to make the boost footswitchable too.

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