Bruno Cowtipper 45

This is a head. I use it with a 212 Bruno cab. Tony recently revised the circuit to be even better, based on finding rare parts that he searched for for years. It now can be turned up all the way without having to cut bass (unlike a Fender) and so has huge warm bass available(unlike vox or marshall) at all volumes. He also made subtle tweaks to the EQ. Other than that, it has volume, trebele, mid, bass, reverb, and reverb tone. It has a bright switch, but a mid switch has been defeated because Tony thinks it hurts tone. The components and design are unsurpassed, so it gets a 0 for features. And for leaving out tone-sucking 80's Mesa crap like loops, channel switching, "recording" outs, etc.too!

This amp is absolutely superb. Here are the highlights:
1. It has clean headroom all the way up to 3:00, BUT it has tremendous input sensitivity! This means that you can stay clean if you like, and then set a pedal like you would with an amp that's already breaking up (gain low, volume higher), and get the organic overdrive and sustain that you'd normally have to crank an amp into breakup to achieve. This is unique in my experience and an amazingly valuable thing.I've never tried it with a Klon. But it KILLS with my Hermida Zen drive (medium gain) and two Mosferatu (LOW gain and high gain).
2. the reverb is amazing. The only one better is the 3 knob/2 tube reverb before the gain stage in the Bruno Underground 30.
3. the basic tone is like a blackface, sweet with a id dip, but MUCH better. My (now sold) '64 Deluxe and blackfaced '72 Vibrolux (which were my favorite amps) sound terrible compared to this amp. NO weird ping, No weird anaomolies, NO floppy bottom, NO harsh trebles, NO crappy reverb, NO pots that ony work for some of thier range, NO need to reduce bass as you crank volume. It is incredibly musical, and never harsh.
4. The EQ is powerful, subtle tweaks make a huge differance.
5. The mid knob is great. Crank it up with treble to and the amp gets pretty marshall like (with a pedal). Cut it to zero, and with a pedal it CAN be a metal amp! It really scoops.
6. The bright switch is a bit glassy, never harsh. It makes strats and teles chime, not bark. And if you set up a jazz tone with humbuckers (treble low, bass high) and engge the brioghtswitch, the tone stays round and warm but with an almost acoustic shimmer on the top.
7. DETAIL. It doeasn't have the chiming spearation of an Underground 30, but it really translates an amzing amount of detail from the guitar. It makes my tele or strat bridge pickups sound as if they are combined with another pickup. It's stange, but so much tone comes through.
8. I use it with an open back 212 ab with Celestion anniversary H's, and it sounds as above. Blues make it brighter, and hrough a 412 with a pedal, it can sound like a JTM45 half stack. It has so much low end on tap, that a 212 cab is all you'll need though.
9. It sounds great when turned down really LOW too. I can set the volume, WAY down and get a great tone an same response as to when I crank it. So I fel no need for an attenuator with this amp, or a smaller amp (deluxe, princeton, Cowtipper 22) for smaller situations. I juts turn this down. And because Tony uses pine for cabs, not only is it more toneful, it's also easy to carry. I have a very small Supro Trojan for tiny stages or living rooms, but usually just take the Cowtipper 45. That saves money too. I know people who own a rattly old deluxe, vibrolux, AND a twin (which never goes above 4) for different situations, and I can get it all with this amp, the volume knob, and a few great pedals.
10. I'm achieving all this with average tubes, not NOS.

No experience with a problem, it's built like a tank.

Ken Volpe at Untrasound is a prince, and Tony swears by his amps.

It beats any blackface Fender I've heard (unless pings,quirks, anomolies, and harshness add up to "vibe" in your mind). And with EQ tweaks and a good pedal used judiciously, it can go into JTM Marshall and even metal territory. It's of course fantastic for jazz and country, and with a Zendrive it's the best Dumble substitute out there. Yes, I've compared them. Tony Bruno is an artist and deserves to be a legend. This is a musical partner for life. The only thing to keep in mind is that it needs a good pedal (Zendrive, Mosferatu, RC Booster, AC Booster, etc) to acheive breakup before 3:00 on the volume knob. But when you do this, you're hearing the AMP (input sensitivity!!), not the pedal per se.
Vs. Undergrund 30, more clean headroom and sweeter. (UG30 is more gainy in a good way and chimier: can't really do traditional WES jazz tone as well.)
If this amp doesn't deserve a 10, nothing does.
Get one.