Product: Tube Works RT-3315
Price Paid: US $325 used
Submitted
09/07/1996
at
05:20am
by
Andrew Douglas
Ease of Use
:
8
This would get a 10 but for the rather thin documentation. I don't have the manual in front of me, but if I remember correctly the descriptions of things like the "contour" control say things like "Adds a contour to the overall frequency response" or somesuch. Not terribly specific. It is easy to get great sound out of it, though. There's a four-band EQ (no sliders, thank goodness...they get dirty), variable effects loop, variable compressor/limiter, and the usual pre- and post- volumes. All pots have a nice ratchet feel built into them, so it's easy to turn things up or down "just a notch" by feel. There's a very comprehensive patch panel in back, with line and DI out, effects loop, and so forth.
Sound Quality
:
10
Outstanding. Now that I've gotten used to it I get exactly what I'm looking for out of the amp and my Steinberger. I have had a problem with a noisy pot, but hey, it was used. Not the fault of the company. Plenty of sound variations with a few controls. This amp has a switchable tube/solid state preamp, so you can get just about anything you're looking for.
Reliability
:
10
Aside from the noisy pot I already mentioned, no problems at all.
Customer Support
:
10
Outstanding. This is the way a company should be run. Example: The amp has plastic-threaded input jacks (i.e. the retaining nut is screwed onto a plastic barrel, which strips easily). A week ago the guitar player tripped over my cord and yanked them pretty badly...the threads are history. I was going to just go down to Radio Schlock, but I decided to call first, just in case. Rob (nice guy) in tech support said I had to use isolated jacks. I asked him where I might find such a beast, and he said, "Oh, I'll just send you a couple." I didn't even have to ask, and this is for a used amp! Same for the documentation. They just sent me the manual.
Overall Rating
:
8
Overall construction is excellent. Nice quiet fan inside, and the cabinet seems pretty rugged, The single tube is bedded in silicone. Good workmanship. I do have two minor gripes, though. First, the input jacks are the isolated type (i.e. they don't ground to the chassis through their mountings. This type of jack has plastic threads that loosen and strip easily. When my replacements arrive I'm going to use some Lock-Tite. Second, it would be nice if the power cord were removable. It just hangs off the back of the amp and gets in the way during transport.
I really like this amp. I was considering a Carvin combo and an SWR Basic Black, but this came up at the right price so I went for it without really knowing about it. I made a great choice.
