Blues Pearl Texas Tornado

Constructed in late '98 (date printed inside), When Blues Pearl was under the name "Stinger". Single Channel. 20 watts, single Jensen 12 inch speaker, 6V6GT power tubes, external speaker jack, 3 knob tube reverb, single volume control, low/mid/high knobs. Point to Point wiring. Blackface aesthetics with white chickenhead knobs, very nice to look at. For what it is, a boutique deluxe style amp, it has what I was specifically looking for, I give it a 10 on versatility for the Reverb controls, external speaker jack, and Mid control on the eq.

I play primarily blues based rock, right now in a southern rock band. This amp is Ideal for just that. I play a MIJ '69 Thinline RI with numerous mods, and a MIJ '68 Strat RI with numerous mods, this amp is very well matched with both of these guitars. My pickups are rather hot, so I get distortion and breakup pretty early, right around 6. Dialed into 7 or 9 is ideal with lots of thick dynamic and sparkly chime, cleans up nicely when I roll off the volume knob and without much volume loss. In my current band, I play opposite a guy with a '65 Pro Reverb, and I have not trouble keeping up with him in volume. In fact, despite his amp having twice as many watts and twice as many 12 inch speakers, I'm just as loud. This amp is well suited for small to medium clubs, and of course band practice. Also, I can get decent tones when merely practicing by myself, though this amp has a better voice at higher volumes. I give it a 10 because it does what I want it to do, the way I want to do it.

This one I bought used. I've only had it in my possesion since 1/4/00. I've had no trouble yet. So far, I have no choice but to give it a 10.

I bought it used, Plus, Stinger is actually a different company, even though R. Hudson still builds Texas Tornados as Blues Pearl. So I have no warrantee.
HOWEVER, I give customer support a 10 again. Here is the reason: R, Hudson, the builder, e-mailed me first. I posted a question on a smaller board about a Stinger Texas Lightning amp I saw used, I got the name wrong, another Blues Pearl owner saw the post, e-mailed R. Hudson, who promptly e-mailed me. R. Hudson was up front, helpful and knows his stuff. I'd buy another amp from him. If this one ends up stolen or tragicly lost (shudder!), I'd not hesitate buying another.

I've been playing for 24 years. I only discovered the magic of tube amps 6 years ago. I played a cheaper tube amp for 5 years. Last year I decided that I needed either a vintage amp or a boutiqe amp. I literally spent a year searching for the exact right amp for me. I played every type of amp that I could find. From vintage to boutique, to types that I figured were not my style. It was blind luck when I ran into the Stinger Texas Tornado. It was blind luck when R. Hudson e-mailed me. And it was blind luck that I got it for the price I did, the shop did'nt know what it was, new these babies go for almost twice what I paid.
I set out to find and amp that fit a certain number of specs and anything else that would catch my eye/ear. I found this amp, so, at the risk of sounding like I'm gushing, which your not supposed to do here, I'll give my Texas Tornado an overall rating of 10. It is exactly what I need, well built, this one was a steal, I am very happy with it.

Brand new 1-12" 20 watt combo based on the old Fender Deluxe. Point to point wiring, pine cabinet, navy blue tolex, beautifully made. I give it a 10 in features,even though it is a simple one channel amp, because it has some very well thought out features. It it has a mid tone control which adds more versatility to tone shaping, the reverb has dwell, depth and tone controls and is the best reverb I've ever heard. It also came with a Jensen reissue speaker which sounds very good. Another nice touch is an extra long grounded power cord. It has all the power I want, and more importantly, has THE TONE.

I have one guitar, a stock G&L Legacy hardtail, ash body, maple neck. I play mostly blues and R&B, and I love the tone I get with this guitar and amp. The only effect I use is a Voodoo Labs micro-vibe, but mostly I plug straight in. Even though I liked the sound of this amp out of the box, I re-tubed the pre-amp with NOS Mullard AT7's and JAN GE 12AX7's and now it sounds magical. I especially like the clean tone--vol up to about 5--it's soooo sweet; very chimey and bright but at the same time warm and friendly. Never harsh. The tones I hear are thick and complex but the amp also sounds kind of transparent. Very sensitive to touch and pick attack. Above 5 it starts to get very smooth and creamy distortion--very musical and usable. All I know is that I love to play through this amp, I never tire of the sound, and my wife comments how much better THIS amp sounds. For a tube amp this thing is pretty quiet, much more so than my Mesa 22 Cal.

Very well made. Tube amps have the potential for problems but can give a lifetime of service if treated well. I haven't had it on a gig yet 'but wouldn't hesitate to gig it without a backup. Carry spare tubes, fuses, ect.

5 year warranty. My amp was badly damaged by UPS and Robert took care of the whole mess and built another new one and had it shipped in three weeks--all while in the middle of the NAMM show. First rate service.

A work of art really. A hand built tube amp made by a guy who really cares. If it were lost or stolen, I would buy another. The only thing I didn't like was the white knobs which I changed to black. I was looking for a vintage style new amp powered with 6L6's or 6v6's. I checked out a Boogie DC-5 which had a strong clean tone, but the high gain sound is not for me. It had way more power than I wanted. I prefer the sound of a cranked-up,smaller, single vol. amp. I also checked out a Fender re-issue Deluxe, but it seemed fake. I am not a fan of EL84's after recently owning a Crate Vintage club 50 and then a Mesa Boogie Studio 22. I bought this amp unseen based on reading these very reviews on the HC amp database. 25 years ago I owned a BF Deluxe and my main gigging amp was a blond colored Fender Super(50 watt,2-10" Jensens, vibrato, no reverb)which served me very well, but without a doubt, this is the finest sounding amp I have ever owned. I can't say enough good things about this amp.

This is a new Blues Pearl amp.The amp is definately versatile enough for the music I play,rock,blues,country,jazz,phsycobilly.This amp is NOT for heavy metal(thank god),It has one channel with two inputs,one louder than the other.This is a Vintage Deluxe Reverb BUT WAY BETTER.It has a wonder full reverb,with three controls,to really tailor your sound.All of the knobs greatly effect the sound.It is powerful enough for rehearsal and small gigs.As with DR type of amps,if you have a loud drummer,you might need a little more power.This amp is plenty for me.THIS IS SERIOUS QUALITY.Straight ahead features,but very sensitve,so it is very veratile to me.My old TELE and LES PAUL both can sound good through this amp.Um....WOW!!

This amp is beautifully clean until 5ish,then beautifully broken up after that.It is not a noisy amp.The distortion,when over 5,is BEAUTIFUL.Very responsive to pick attack.This amp is as much a musical instrument as a guitar.

I think so.Its kinda new though.

I have e-mailed Mr. Hudson and I recieved prompt curtious responses.Warranty is 5 years excluding tubes.

I have been playing for 20 years.I own a Victoria Bandmaster,and a 1966 fender Champ.I have a Tele,Strat and a Les Paul plus various effects pedals.If this amp were stolen I would absolutely buy another.I love the sounds this amp makes.I chose this amp,after owning a Fender re-issue Deluxe Reverb(returned it,yuk)and a vintage Deluxe.The vintage amp sounded great,but something was always rattling or buzzing or burning out.I hoped that the Blues Pearl would be a suitable replacement for the vintage Deluxe,and well,it is actually WAY better.I am very pleased with this amplifier.

The Blues Pearl "Texas Tornado" is based around the blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb amp, with 20 watts of 6V6 tube power and touches such as the vintage era's solid pinewood cabinet and point-to-point hand soldered wiring. Ordinarily the amp comes with one 12" speaker; this particular model is dubbed a "Kelce Custom" for its 2x10" speakers, blue tolex cover w/pearl-white grill cloth, and NOS tubes- all specified by the dealer, Scott Kelce. A photo of the Texas Tornado custom amp is shown on the website at www.bluespearl.netfirms.com.

This single-channel amp has two inputs: #1 sounds a bit "hotter" with a little more break-up, as input #2 is -10db, per Robert Hudson, the designer.

Controls are for Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass and a 3-way Reverb of Dwell, Depth and Tone. All of the controls I found to be quite responsive: a little tweaking one way or another yields dramatic results in the sound. There is therefore a huge range of tone-shaping ability contained in this rather simple set-up.

True to the vintage idea, this amp does not have any "Master" volume control, nor does it need one IMO: the amp whispers at "1", is great for practicing at home without disturbing others around "2" yet it remains both liveable and useful all the way up the dial to "10" (yer kinda crankin' at "10" though- watch out, fella).

Two Jensen Special Design C10R speakers came with the 'Kelce Custom' version. A speaker-out jack, effects loop jack and (*way inside) a bias adjustment control are included on the back chassis.

The unit is approximately the size of a Fender Deluxe Reverb. It is incredibly lightweight; it is very easy to lift and carry, probably due to the solid pine cabinetry vs. the more commonly found plywood construction of other amps. I have a solid-state amp of smaller dimensions which outweighs the Texas Tornado, so this was a real pleasant surprise.

The amp was shipped direct from the builder with the power and rectifier tubes wrapped and packed separately (JAN Phillips NOS 6V6 and a 5AR4 rectifier). I was told that amp covers were not yet available at the time, but that they will be out in production very shortly. I plan to purchase one: this is a great-looking little amp, and it's going to get carried around a lot. I'm not worried about the Tolex covering, but the pearl-white grill cloth is, well, so WHITE!

Considering the multitude of "amp modeling" products nowadays, this Blues Pearl is "low" on features - but that's the way it's meant to be. It's not a Swiss Army knife, but more like a Swiss-made watch: it does one thing and does it well. I appreciate the true-to-the-tone approach, and the care that went into giving the musician an honest product. The price is really remarkable: about what you'd end up paying for an off-the-shelf Fender DR after modification to a blackface, plus you get the solid pine tone, PTP wiring, and PERSONAL attention from the builder...it's a deal-and-a-half.

Blues Pearl offers a 5-year warranty on their amps. Also, both the Builder (Robert Hudson) and the Dealer (Scott Kelce) were insistent about contacting them with any needs- Scott even gave me his home phone number! (Try that at Guitar Center!)

With sincere apologies to Robert Hudson: the "7" rating for Features is because a vintage-style amp doesn't have bells-and-whistles, but that's not to say this amp doesn't have a helluva lot of character available to the user in its controls.

I bought this amp because I wanted to be able to crank it up and use the full effect of saturated tube distortion. And it works beautifully for that. However, I have become intoxicated by the sweet, chiming tone of the clean sound, which I believe must be enhanced by the solid pine cabinet. Therefore, I find I'm using the quieter (cleaner) input #2 most often to keep that single-coil mystique at my fingertips.

I'm coming to this amp from using a solid-state amp, and therefore I have to re-orient my picking attack to allow for the nuance of the tubes. This amp responds dramatically to the force of the pick, and it breathes - the notes are not compressed at all but really float out of the box with a lot of life, a lot of presence. That seems to be what gives this amp so much "power" out of its 20 watts. It can fill the room at least as well as my 110w solid-state (closed back) amp. At first, I thought it was considerably LOUDER than my solid-state amp, but that impression, I believe, was determined more by the "surround-sound" effect of the open-back cabinet and the fullness of the notes.

I want to mention here also that the Midrange control on this amp is huge as to what it can do to alter tones: cutting it back leaves unmistakable "space" in the harmonic quality of the notes, whereas turning it up fattens up the presence of sound. Again, all of the controls are very responsive for shaping the final sound.

I play a Fender Strat and a Paul Reed Smith McCarty through the Blues Pearl, and the amp helps each of them shine to their full potential. For effects I use a Fulltone Fulldrive 2, SansAmp, Danelectro Dan-Echo and an Ibanez trem-box; all of which work fine with this amp. I use the Fulldrive and Sansamp in order to have instant switching to either warm overdrive or "crunch", respectively, since I find that I like to keep the Blues Pearl in its clean setting- that's such a sweet sound, I can't get over it. The amp's own overdriven sound is, of course, the real deal, but I happen to like getting a little extra compression into the mix from the Fulldrive2, so I'm able to dial the amp for the best of both worlds with instant accesss via footswitch.

I had heard that tube amps are noisy, but this one is low on hiss; when the Volume and/or Treble are above "8" is when hiss becomes audible. Tweaking either the Vol. or Treble seems to take care of it for me.

The tubes begin to distort gently above "4" and real break-up is pretty serious at "8" which is still a very listenable level. On "10" she's a screaming banshee- you don't want her in the house at that point (unless you're into that kind of thing).

I gigged with the amp just after receiving it, and kept the Volume pegged below "4" all night. There's much more versatility to it, however, with the Volume up higher and controlling the tone with the guitar's volume pot. Something I am just getting used to- You mean those knobs on the guitar can actually DO something?? Good stuff.

This is handmade, and seems to be very well done. Since even the tube selection is carefully done by the builder, I have no concerns about anything having been "overlooked" during construction. This is not an assembly-line product. It has the feel of being extremely dependable- although I can't really attest to that yet. It's a tube amp, therefore there are concerns about having something go wrong at a gig- Murphy's Law, right?

There is a panel on the back of the open-cabinet, just below the tube chassis, which is very thin and could be broken if someone carelessly yanked on it while trying to pick up the amp- I worry about that one part, although it would have nothing to do with the operation of the amp- only its appearance from the BACK. Other than that, it is very sturdy all around. I wouldn't say it's a "tank" though- it's so light!

Both Robert Hudson and Scott Kelce were a pleasure to deal with, and they obviously care a great deal about customer satisfaction in the product. An email to Blues Pearl was answered by The Man himself in just a few hours, and his reply to my questions was both detailed and conversational. The emphasis on customer satisfaction was a MAJOR factor in my decision to go with Blues Pearl over stock Fender- the quality here is quite remarkable. Vintage-style amp; vintage-style customer service- what a concept.

As mentioned above, the company provides a 5-year warranty; in this case I feel assured that it would not be a hassle to get any service necessary under the warranty.

A sweet amp at a very sweet price, considering the other "boutique" offerings, or even a comparable stock factory amp with the necessary modifications. The fact that this all-tube amp is also lightweight was a shock and a bonus for me that I didn't expect. It's satisfying to play at home and works well with the band. It needs to be mic'd to the PA for big clubs, which is what I prefer. There are some other very exciting tube amps available now with extra features in the hallowed Quest for Tone; this one comes in at a very attractive price in a great package of looks and sound that should earn it a distinctive place in the line-up. I would look to Blues Pearl again for anything else I may need for amps in addition to this little gem.

Well what you're getting is basically a BRAND NEW!!! Vintage BF Deluxe Reverb, ONLY WAY BETTER!!!!!!!! Fender wished they made em like this. Robert Hudson Owner of Blues pearl, and the man behind these beauty's is a true amp GENIOUS. This baby is 20 watts, 2 channels, Vol, Treble, Mid, Bass, Dwell, Depth, Tone, all tube GZ34/5AR4 rectifier tube, 6V6GT power tubes, 12AX7 and 12AT7 preamp tubes, 3 KNOB REVERB with on/off jack, speaker out jack, available with 1 12inch speaker or 2 10 inch speakers, hand wired point to point, cloth wire, black tolex and white grill cloth. The quality on this amp is just unsurpassed every detail is flawless. Mine is the 2-10 version. Mine came with a china GZ34/5AR4, Electro Harmonix 6V6GT's the new ones with the beefed up plates NICE!! Sovtek 12AX7LP's again the new ones with long plates, SOUND GREAT and Fender 12AT7's. The chassis is gold anodized with quality tranformers. I opened it up just to check out the wiring and this guy is a MANIAC!!!!!! Some of the CLEANEST wiring I have seen!!!!! All the goodies, nice orange drop capacitors, quality pots, quality jacks, QUALITY PERIOD!! I play blues mainly, some jazz, little funk and this amp does it all. Especially shines for blues. It's only 20 watts but crank this baby up and it sounds like it grew 2 more speakers and is pushing out 30 or 40 watts IT'S LOUD FOR IT'S SIZE. Perfect for small clubs and gigs. It's a bare bones amp as far as features go, but the quality and tone are all you need. You would really be hard pressed to find a better Blues amp this size including the vintage ones NO LIE!!! Ohh and remember it's custom so if you don't like something odds are Robert can do what ever you want. I'm putting a 10 because it's got everything I need, and for the quality of the components.

I play an American Strat, with texas specials, stringed with 11-50's. For my music style, blues, it is just pure HEAVEN, but it will do rock just as well, and even jazz but theres not a ton of clean headroom so you're not gonna be able to get that loud and stay clean if you're a jazzer. For a tube amp it is VERY quiet, sure at 6 and above there's a little hum, but come on I acutally like to hear that ummmm all that juice flowin thru those tubes, you can't expect to be dead quiet with tubes and single coils. It stays nice and clean up to about 5. Fluid tone, articulate, good bottom end. A strats neck pickup is wonderfully solid, in between positions quack like a mofo. Turn it up to about 6 or 7 and it STARTS TO FLOOD DOWN IN TEXAS!!!!!. The distortion is sooooooo creamy and warm, use the bridge on a strat and smoke will start to rise the thing BURNS!!!!!! SRV in can!!!!! Let me just say that the tone controls actually WORK, I mean one notch makes a different in you're tone. Ofcourse there is the 3 knob reverb. It uses an accutronics 3 spring reverb pan. I could use an entire page here but let me just some up. The 3 knob reverb is just KILLER, best I have ever heard!!!! PERIOD. Also let me mention the DYNAMICS of this amp. SCARY!!!! Put it on 7, play soft and it sounds like it's on 3, pick hard and it just jumps out at you AMAZING. When I first fired her up I had my trusty Tube Screamer and Boss Comp/Sus pedals hooked up only to find out that I did not need them at all this amp has the TONE. If you play blues and rock BUY this amp you will not be disappointed. A perfect 10 for sound quality

The amp is totally built solid. I really don't expect anything to go wrong with this amp. That's what you should expect from the quality. I would totally depend on it for a gig and gig without a backup. Of course you would need to bring spare tubes just in case. Now, it is all tube so Im going to put a 9 just for the upredictabilty of tubes.

Robert Hudson owner of Blues Pearl is one of the nicest guys out there. He is a very busy man but still always manages to answer all my email questions promptly. You can definetly get a hold of him and he really cares about his customers. I told him, just as a thought, that he should use Blue colored lamp jewels instead of red, I thought it would be a nice touch considering the name of his amps, and he sent me an e-mail saying that he would send me out a blue lamp jewel free of charge, NICE GUY!!! If you have any questions he will answer them for you. You can contact him at http://bluespearl.netfirms.com/ The warranty is 5 YEAR'S, hence tubes. What more could you want? Perfect 10

Overall this amp is OUTSTANDING. You put in to account it's tone, the craftsmanship, and the quality parts and it can't be beat. Not to mention the price. Have you checked out the price for a vintage Fender BF Deluxe Reverb? It's a pretty penny and it dosen't have the TONE, 3 knob reverb, or the quality that goes into the Texas Tornado. Not to mention that new car smell!!!!!! Sure there are some guitar players out here that it won't have the tone for, but if you play blues or rock it really can't be beat!!!!! I compared it to the Reissue Fender Deluxe Reverb and it is NIGHT AND DAY!!!!! If it were stolen I would sit down have a good cry, then call up Blues Pearl and order up another one!!!!!!!!!!! If you want a GREAT dealer to go through to buy this amp use my buddy Dean at http://www.guitars.cc/ he will more than take care of you, he's another good guy!! A word that came up in my review alot was QUALITY well that about sums up this amp QUALITY QUALITY!!!!!!! Ohhh yeah TONE TO DIE FOR TO!!!!!!! who could ask for any thing more?:)

Straight ahead single channel, two input circuit with volume, treble, mid, bass, and beautiful 3 knob reverb: dwell, depth, and tone. 20 watts on 2x6V6 output, 2x12AX7 and 2x12AT7 preamp tubes, GZ34 rectifier. Chassis and cabinet layout very similar to a BF Deluxe. I have a 1x12 and a 2x10 baffle. Hand wired, well done.

I play a Fender Custom Shop Strat with EMG SA p/u's. I only need two sounds: a smokey fat clean tone with a little edge and bite, and a hot grind early Marshall tone. I dont want to carry a '63 vibroverb and a JTM45 wherever I go, so I play this amp. Both of the sounds I need are in this amp. With the volume on 5, using the neck p/u, its Fender sparkle and warmth all night long, better than any Deluxe Reverb I've ever heard. On 7, the neck p/u becomes very smokey, with just the right amount of SRV breakup, and this is blues and R&B heaven, and when I go to the bridge p/u, I've got Marshall grind. I use a Menatone Red Snapper, which boosts the signal to give me great lead sustain. If you want the BF vibe, with better overall tone, you will love this amp! The reverb is as good as any I have heard in a combo amp. I've tried this amp with Jensens and Celestions, and both sound really good, but the best speaker I've found for this amp is an EV SRO 15.

I've had the Tornado for over a year, without a problem whatsoever, and I've really spent a lot of time tweaking with tubes and speakers, It feels absolutely reliable.

Because Bob is on the road a lot (promoting Blues Pearl), he can be tough to get sometimes. He is patient and one of the most knowledgable amp makers out there, and he will spend time with you to help you find the right amp.

I've been through a lot of amps...so many its kinda embarassing! The way I judge an amp nowadays is wether or not it stays in my house. Of the 30 or 40 amps I've bought and sold in the past year, the Tornado is the only one that stays..I will not sell this amp. Bob Hudsons amps are very cool, and very well priced at a time when amp prices have gotten really crazy. His work is hand crafted, with more than 20 years of amp building experience behind each one, you wont get any better! His email is bluespearl@hotmail.com

This is an update on my submission of 2 weeks ago.Many people have written to ask what guitars I use and how to contact Blues Pearl.

First of all I play and build my own guitars. I have 3 strats I built one has Fralins,one has Fender custom shop 50s and one has Bardens.I also play a Tele I built with Duncans and a Les Paul special I built with Duncans,a 59 in the neck and a custom custom in the bridge.The tone I get from my Blues Pearl is wonderfull with all the guitars.

On contacting Blues Pearl, Robert Hudson the owner and builder of Blues Pearl amps is in the process of getting a webpage up and running.You can contact him via e-mail at bluespearl@hotmail.com

I have been playing through my Blues Pearl constantly for the last few weeks and love it.

This is a brand new amp I ordered from Robert Hudson the builder of Blues Pearl amps. These amps were available several years ago and then he quit building for awhile. He's back strong and I suggest that you check them out.This amp is rated at 20 watts but sounds louder.It has one 12 inch Jensen speaker. It is based on a Fender blackface deluxe but it sounds better than any deluxe I've ever played.It also has a three knob reverb that is just killer.

This has the classic Fender sound but better.Like I said if you like reverb this is it. The 3 knob reverb sounds better than the reverb in a Vibro King I used to own. Nice and clean untill you crank it then it grinds nicely.

Point to point wiring, cloth wire, solid pine cabinet. Very nice blue tolex and white grillcloth put on great. Seems to be solid as a rock. Do'nt anticipate any problems.

Robert Hudson was very easy to get ahold of and answered every e-mail I sent promply.I ordered my amp and received it in 2 weeks.It was a custom order to boot. Who else can do that. Highly recomend doing business with Robert,you won't be disapointed.

I have been playing for 20+ years and have owned just about every amp out there. For my money this amp is a great value. I play mainly blues and R&B and this fits the bill.Why buy a older Fender for more money when you can buy a NEW amp that sounds better and has a warranty allthough I don't think you will need it. If I need a amp with more power I will check out Blues Pearls other models.

25 watts 6V6 power tubes, 5AR4 rectifier tube, 3 knob Reverb controls (Dwell, Depth, Tone) 3 spring Reverb. All tube, Hand built point to point 1x12" combo. This thing is Killer!!! A loud "Deluxe" B/F n/ FX loop. Its very hard to describe the tones this thing gets, Kind of that Fender But refined , No mud! My 63' Strats burns through it.

TONE TO THE BONE

5 gigs so far, and no anticipation of it goin do. Built very well a true 30+year amp

Its everything they said it would be. 5year warranty (less tubes)

I sold my Deluxe and 59' BandMaster for the TONE Get one before this guy Knows they are HOT!!!!!!!