Blues Pearl Brittone 50 Head

THE FEATURES ARE EXACTLY LIKE AN EARLY MARSHALL 50 WATT PLEXI.I BELIEVE THIS AMP WAS MADE IN 2000. IT WAS N.O.S. THE FRONT PANEL IS GOLD COLORED PLEXI AND HAS RED PILOT LIGHT,FOLLOWED BY ON-OFF TOGGLE, NEXT TO STANDBY TOGGLE. EQ KNOBS ARE PRETTY STRAIGHT FORWARD: PRESENCE,BASS,MID,TREBLE,HIGH TREBLE LOUDNESS AND NORMAL LOUDNESS. 4 INPUTS AND EACH ONE HAS DIFFERENT VOICING.CABINET HEAD IS SOLID WOOD AND LOOKS LIKE SMALL BOX MARSHALL COVERED IN DARK GREEN LEVANT AND HAS GOLD PIPING WITH OLD STYLE BLOCK NAMETAG THAT SAYS BRITTONE. FIT AND FINISH IS JUST PART OF THE VIBE THIS HEAD HAS. THE BACK HAS 2 SPEAKER OUTS, 4-8-16 OHM SELECTOR, 2 FUSE HOLDERS AND AN ATTACHED POWER CORD. THE CHASSIS IS ALL ALUMINUM WITH HAND WIRED POINT TO POINT USING THE PLEXI LAYOUT. 2 EL34s, 3 12AX7s. THIS HEAD HAS SVETLANAS AND SOVTEKS AND HAS THE LAY DOWN TRANSFORMER AND BLUE CAPS. THE BUILD QUALITY IS INCREDIBLE. ROBERT HUDSON IS THE MAN WHO PUT TOGETHER THIS AMP.

THIS HEAD SOUNDS VERY CLEAN AT LOWER VOLUMES THEN AS YOU CRANK HER UP TO 10 THE TONE IS PURE MARSHALL PLEXI HEAVEN, ONLY WITH MORE BALANCE AND HARMONICS. THIS IS A VERY QUIET RUNNING AMP. AN EARLIER REVIEW HAD IT AS A BIT FLABBY.I HAVE PLAYED THIS HEAD THRU SEVERAL SPEAKER CABS WITH SINGLE COIL'S AND HUMBUCKERS AND IT SOUNDS TIGHT TO ME. USING CLOSED BACK CABS LIKE MARSHALL AND MESA'S. THE DIFFERENT CABS DO MAKE DIFFERENT TONES WITH THE MARSHALL SOUNDING BETTER TO ME.IMHO. ALSO THE EQ KNOBS ARE VERY RESPONSIVE. YOU CAN SET UP YOUR TONE PUT HER ON 10 THEN USE YOUR GUITAR VOLUME TO GO FROM CLEAN CHIMEY TO GLASS IN YOUR FACE TO TOTAL TUBE SATURATION AND INCREDIBLE OVERDRIVEN TONE. THE INPUT YOU USE WILL GIVE YOU SOME CHOICES. USING HIGH TREBLE TOP INPUT GIVES OUT THE MOST GAIN AND VOLUME. THE BOTTOM INPUT OF THE HIGH TREBLE SEEMS TO BE LESS GAINY BUT STILL LETS ALL THE HARMONICS AND TOUCH SENSITIVE QUALITIES COME OUT.THE NORMAL INPUTS GIVE OUT A MORE CREAMY, BASS FILLED TONE SIMULAR TO A CLAPTON CREAM ERA THICK HUMBUCKER TONE. THIS IS NOT A ONE TRICK PONY.

UNFORTUNATELY THE COMPANY IS OUT OF BUSINESS, BUT I HAVE ANOTHER AMP FROM THEM AND IT IS BUILT VERY WELL LIKE THIS ONE. POINT TO POINT WIRING ON BOTH SHOULD GIVE ME THE EDGE IF I EVER NEED TO REPAIR THEM.

COMPANY OUT OF BUSINESS.THIS IS A CRIME.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 30 YEARS. I HAVE A 99 LES PAUL HISTORIC, AN 03 GOLDTOP HISTORIC, A BLONDE STRAT WITH TEXAS SPECIALS AND A CUSTOM SHOP TELE. IF LOST OR STOLEN I WOULD LOOK FOR ANOTHER, AND IF I COULD'NT FIND ONE I WOULD LOOK AT TWO ROCK OR BAD CAT OR ANYTHING THAT HAS GOOD BUILD QUALITY AND GREAT TONE. THERE ARE ALOT OF COMPANIES MAKING OR GETTING BACK TO HIGH QUALITY GEAR. I JUST WANT TO MENTION THE SATISFACTION I GET FROM PLAYING THIS AMP. MANY PLAYER FREINDS OF MINE ARE ON THE HUNT FOR THESE AMPS. IF YOU FIND ONE,PLAY IT AND YOU WILL BUY IT. GOOD LUCK, I'LL BE HUNTING TO.

The Brittone 50 is basically a really really good Marshall 50 Watt mid-sixties plexi. It looks almost identical to Marshall's small box 50W plexi reissue. It has a logo plate that looks like the early sixties Marshall logo in plexiglass. It has a plexiglass chassis front and knob and input configuration just like an old Marshall. However, this does not sound like the so called reissue, circuit board dissapointment that the Marshall is. Its point to point hand wired guts are a work of art. Jim Marshall didn't do work like this since 67.

I was one of Blues Pearls endorsees and own this and the Shred Head and Blues Master Head (see those reviews). Old plexis are rare, expensive, and costly to maintain. The Brit 50 is like owning a 67 in 67. The parts are N.O.S. heavy duty components and are better that anything thats in a new or reissue Marshall. With single coils, the sound is fat, full, and clean. Hendrix would have flipped if he heard this thing. With humbuckers, the sound is like early ZZ Top or AC/DC. I do think the sound is a bit flabby though. It is not tight, focused or gain heavy. It breaks up around 3 1/2 but is very vintage sounding. No serious gain. However, most early Marshall lovers are looking for edgy gain, not the JCM 800 or 2000 sound. Wide open and warm is how I describe the sound.

This amp is built like a tank and should it ever go down, I would recommend getting it serviced locally. DO NOT send it to Blues Pearl. Robert Hudson is a wonderful guy who is a walking encyclopedia of tonal knowledge, however, he is so busy handwiring amps and running his one man show that you may not get your amp back for 5 months. I did have this problem with him. Buy his amps but don't bug him, you'll run into a full voice mail box. There is a reason everyone who buys a Blues Pearl keeps em. See any on Ebay? Didn't think so.

Blues Pearl is Robert Hudson. No man can make the best point to point amps, run a company complete with great C/S, keep orders filled, and market amps by himself. So don't expect long conversations, promptly returned calls, or fast repairs. Just expect to get what you pay for. He builds these amps to last a lifetime. His wiring looks like it was done by machine. I'm sure he has a sore back to prove it.

If you want the early sixties Marshall plexi tone, pay $3000 or buy a Brittone that will never break down. It may break down a few walls though. Fifty watts is plenty. The new crappy Marshall reissue 100 watter is so loud its not even useable. I love all the tones this amp gets. It is a little unfocused and clean but thats what vintage is.