Product: Warwick ProFet 5.2
Price Paid: USD 479.00
Submitted
01/06/2009
at
04:46pm
by
Tom Bramhall
Email: Tommyb at knology<dot>net
Features
:
9
This is a recently built 500 watt rms into 4 ohm amp. It has a 4 section EQ stack that works along with the usual bass and bright switches. It has a contour switch and knob which is sort of like a scoop. A DI with pre/post selector and ground lift is present as weell as mute switch. It is a very straightforward solid state setup which is obviously using FET devices. It appears to be a solidly built class AB power amp section, though not as brutal a boat anchor as it might be. Really does everything you NEED to do. Elegant and simple.
Sound Quality
:
10
I tried it with my 89 PRS five string and with a Lakland 55-02. Very pleasantly impressed. Very nice quiet as to noise yet stupid loud. It seems plenty capable and sound outstanding even running flat. I coupled it with a pair of 112 Dr Bass cabs and rattled the house. Stupid loud! Lost ears before onset of distortion. The EQ section will get what you want with little fuss.
Reliability
:
8
This is a redesign of their ProFet 5.1 which has some thermal issues. Those appear to have been cured. It gives me a warm feeling that there was a check sheet where humans actually did multiple function checks on the thing. The offshore manufacturing that is in play these days often has no quality check. That they checked over a dozen functions is a rarity even from the presumptive boutique folks. I giave it an 8 though it could indeed be a 10 as time proves it.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No idea. It seems well made enough and designed smart enough that one would never need it unless one did something real stupid to it.
Overall Rating
:
10
I have been playing for over 35 years. The amp is a wonderful deal for the money and fulfills the ideal for a shared rig in that it is incredibly intuitive and idiot resistant in its setup. It is easy to get a good sound from both your amp and a feed to the people at the board which truly determines what you sound like anyway.
Yes, it is fabricated in China. It is thoroughly inspected though and you don't get the DOA problem that pervades a lot of gear. Yes, I do like my Mesa 400 plus and one of my component rigs better, but bang for buck is very hard to beat. Also it is esier to carry to the gig.
