Bruno Cowtipper 35 Head

Not much happening here at work so I thought I'd share this given that there are only two reviews on this amp. I've had this amp about a year and a half and have had the opportunity to gig it at many different types of gigs, big and small. I don't use it by it's self most of the time I use it with other amps currently... a Fender with a 4 x10 or a Groovetubes Soul-o 75 with a 4x10. I use the Bruno with a Marshall 2x12 loaded with G12T75's which are not the speakers for this amp in my opinion... I want to put some skinnier ones in there like the Vintage 30's. Or even open the Marshall cab back. Versatility isn't really an issue here. It's not a versatile amp and was never meant to be. It has great tube driven spring reverb and a tube rectifier (5AR4). Hand wired... is a bit messy inside, solid and sturdy but just kind of untidy, which could be a good thing tonally if you believe the rumors about inductance and capacitance associated with PCBs. There are no PCBs or cost cutting materials in this amp... the parts are as good as they come. Nice solid pine box great exterior cosmetic workmanship and generally a very tough amp indeed. Just about the best. I should mention that this is basically a soupped up Blackface Bandmaster circuit.

The Bruno has HUGE bottom end and is a sparkly crisp amp. My only criticism would be that wile it has a very wide tonal range the mid range is a little weak. With dark pickups this would not be a problem but with Single coils it's all top and bottom. That's why I use it with other amps which tend to be all middle. Actually with lighter speakers and maybe an open cab it would probably have more mids and perhaps a little less sub bass which would be nice if you play in a band that has a bass player with huge bass tones.
It has a great breakup tone the 6L6s are great for this I think. I thought it would have more sag with the tube rec but it gets real loud before this happens. For a 35 watt tube head it's extremely loud... again I'm convinced that lighter speakers will help the situation so that I could turn it up in the bars. I play it louder at home than on gigs... and then not stupidly loud.
The higher volume levels are where it's at... and with a non master volume amp this it's the exception to be able to crank this amp. But then you won't get that tone with a master vol head at any volume. This is a keeper.

Nothing has ever gone wrong so far and this amp gets a lot of use... and sometimes out in direct sun in the summer we've had it 107 degrees on some gigs and that bothers me but I always try to find at least a bit of shade.
I carry tubes and fuses for all my amps... no big deal.

I emailed and I phoned and got no help with an enquiry. I?m sure Tony is very busy and has better things to do than to talk about swapping out rectifier tubes. If you want to yak, call your mum. Tell her that Tony Bruno makes one of the best amps on the planet. It's a zen thing... find your own way.

I've been playing since I was six. I'm now 37 (I think). I play two or three gigs per week . I have mainly Telecasters. If you were on the fence about shelling out for this amp as opposed to saving the extra grand for say... a Matchless, I'd give you the shove and say get the Bruno. No amp is worth the money Matchless or Bad Cat ask. Class A is their thing and is no big deal it just burns tubes quicker and that (Class A operation) is the only thing Matchless could boast over this amp. My Groove tubes head does Class A... so what? And besides Matchless have master volumes (shudder) on most amps which defeats the purpose of Class A operation. Victoria would come close value-wise but are too wrapped up in being retro for the sake of retro. Who cares about tweed? Of course that's just my opinion. Oh and another amp that comes close for less than half the money is the Marshall bluesbreaker reissue. I had two of those and sold 'em. Stupid, really stupid... but then you can't keep it all. Can you?

This is a 35 watt hand wired head without any add on amenities (i.e., effects loop, master volume, multiple channels, etc.)other than reverb. Controls consist of volume, treble, middle, bass, reverb and reverb tone. There are two speaker taps in the back of the head that are connected to a hand wired 4 ohm transformer. I am running the amp through a Bruno 2X12 cab loaded with Celestion Blues. I have also played the amp through a 4X12 Marshall cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's. Rating this amp for features is not really relavent. I bought the amp for its tonal characteristics, electronic design and the "Old World" craftmenship that went into construction.

I need to preface the review of the Cowtipper by saying that this amp was purchased after owning an Underground 30 for a few weeks. I'll try to relate my story as best as possible. It's been quite an ordeal that has occurred over the span of about 5 months so I might have forgotten a few details. The first Underground 30 that I ordered was was damaged by the fine people at U.P.S. during shipment. I expressed a concern to Gene at UltraSound about the amp not sounding right (lack of tonal response, crackling noises) and he kindly responded by allowing me to send the amp back (they paid for shipping costs). I also had some tonal concerns about playing the amp through my Marshall cab (the Vintage 30's have a midrange dominant bandwith whereas the Blues are more full spectrum speakers)which resulted in the purchase of the Bruno cab loaded withr Celestion Blues. The returned Underground 30 (recieved it in about 3 weeks) played through the Bruno cab was exceptional but just not suited for my style of music. I guess it's the EL 84'. They just don't deliver the warmth that I need. I told Gene at UltraSound that although I really liked the Clarity and dynamic response of the Underground 30 it just wasn't floating my boat. After a long discussion with Gene about amps in general I was allowed (see Customer Service) to trade the Underground 30 for a Cowtipper 35. Having said all that, here is my review of the cowtipper. This is the amp I have been looking for but could not find until now. It is extremely dynamic, with intereactive tone controls that can accommodate a wide range of musical styles. I play Jazz and Blues and this amp suits me perfectly. Having played through the Underground 30 and the Cowtipper 35 I can make somewhat of a tonal comparison about Bruno amps. The Cowtipper is suppose to sound like an old well built Blackface Fender and it does (from my limited experience) but it's seems deeper and more responsive. The Bruno amps have a sonic signature that's hard to pin down but it is inherent in both of the amps thay I tried. The best compliment that I can pay is to say that this amp has given me the ability to see my future potential as a musician. I hear everything that I play with greater clarity and have noticed how important dynamics are in expressing myself. The amp sounds great though both the Bruno and Marshall cabs but prefer the Celestion Blues for the enhanced clarity. The Bruno 2X12 cab is very well built and extremely resonant. I had to rewire the speakers (Gene talked me through the process) to accommodate the Cowtippers 4 ohm output transformer. Well here's the bad part. In my frenzy to make a great sounding amp sound greater I may have damaged the pins in the preamp tube slots. The amp came stock with 2-12AX7 Westinghouse(Chinese)preamp tubes, 2 Chinese 12AT7 preamp tubes,2 Svetlana 6L6's and a Chinese GZ34 rectifier tube. I tried experimenting with different preamp tubes (Amperex, RCA, GE, Sovtek)to see what the tonal differences were. Well, due to all of the tubes going in and out of the slots there is background noise (hiss, white noise) noticable during operation. Tony seems to think that the noise is being created due to oxidation of the pins inside the tube slots or else I may have bent a pin. The lesson of the day is don't put NOS tubes in your amp without cleaning them with Tuner cleaner (to remove the oxidize metal) and only replace your tubes when you have to. Here's the good part. I called Gene to express my discontent about the background noise and Tony called me back. After a long educational disscussion, on his dime, he said to send the amp back and he will fix it. I am going to have the amp retubed with whatever Tony think will provide the least noise and best tonal response.
My rating for this category is based on the backgroud noise. If this problem is rectified I will post a followup.

I can't really comment on the reliability of the amp since I've only owned it for about 2 weeks. The amp appears to be constructed with the finest parts available and with "old World" craftmenship. I expect to own this amp for the rest of my life and I can imagine it will outlast me by many years. After the backgound noise problem is fixed (operator error) I don't really anticipate anything going wrong. I don't play outside of my home studio so I don't have a concern about playing out without a backup.

Well, where do I start. I know that I've put a few gray hairs on both Gene and Tony's heads. I told Tony that he will probably make me his poster boy for the most troublsome customer. I have put these guys through the ringer and they have never gotten irritated with me or not responded in a very timely and professional fashion to my questions or concerns. If I owned a sales dependent business I would try to steal Gene away from Tony. He is the most nonobtrusive sales person that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. After dealing with him for 5 months I can honestly say that he expresses a genuine concern for meeting the needs of the customer. If I were going to purchace another high end amp I would not hesitate to contact Gene (he is a dealer for other amp manufacturers besides Bruno). It's really hard for me to relay how gratefull I am for the support that both Tony and Gene have provided me during these last few months. The best compliment that I can pay is to say that these guys have treated me like I'm a famous superstar when I'm just a schmuck playing for the joy of it in my little homemade garage studio.

I don't think I could have found a better amp. I forgot to mention that I have tried many overdrive pedals (TS-9 modded by Analog Mike-another great guy, Fulldrive II, Boss DS-1, Jekyll/Hyde) and all of them color the sound of the amp. I will probably buy a Klon because coloring the sound of this amp is like putting ketchup on beef tenderloin. I have been playing off and on since I was about 10 years old (43 now). Most of those year have been acoustic/classical guitar oriented. For the past 7 years I have been playing mostly electric and gradually (as my ears improve)finding fault in the sound quality of my equipment. I currently own a Rivera Rake Head,(just sold a Fender Blues Deville) a Fender 52 Tele. reissue, a Fender Strat, Carvin Holdsworth and a bastard ash body guitar load with Duncan Alnico Pro Pickups. The amp has no preference for guitars. I bought this amp with the intent of keeping it forever as I'm loosing money on trade ins and my wife is not too happy about it. Right now I am I a very happy camper. I have to cut this off short my wife is bugging me. Will try to post a followup in the coming months. er r