Burriss Engineering BTS-18 212 Combo

I had my BTS-18 built in early 2005. I wanted a low-wattage amp for recording that would still be loud enough for small-to-medium venues. I play alot of british-influenced power-pop... minimal effects... pure tube tone with natural breakup and compression characteristics are what I was after. Bob suggested his BTS-18, which is now a regular production model. It is basically his spin on a classic AC-30 Top Boost circuit, only with half the power section. It has 4 inputs: a "hot" and a normal input for the "tone stack" channel, and a "hot" and a normal input that bypasses the tone shaping section. It has a "top cut" EQ control and a tube-modulated vibrato. I spec'd it in dark green tolex with vintage salt-and-pepper grill cloth and black hardware. It has the 3-handle design of an AC-30, 2 12" Eminence Red Coat speakers and is completely hand-wired.

Covers "chiming" to "screaming" and all points in between. That's a "classic" screaming tone, by the way... not high-gain metal. I use the BTS-18 with a Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod with vintage TV Jones pickups. These two pieces of gear were born to play together... absolutely the best tone combination I've ever used. If I need distortion at a low volume, I use a Fulltone Fulldrive (though now that Bob is making the Boostiest, I'm going to start using that one!) but with the volume at about 1 or 2 o'clock, it starts to break up sweetly and smoothly on its own. As with all good guitar/amp combinations, I can easily move from clean to crunchy sounds just by varying my pick attack or switching from neck to bridge pickup. The amp is plenty loud... MUCH louder than you'd think an 18-watter could be. For me, the key word is inspirational. The BTS is just incredibly musical and fun... you never want to stop playing through it. It's everything a classic tube amp should be.

Only had it 4 months, so I can't give it a road-tested "10," but like everything Bob builds it has a lifetime warranty. If anything happened, it would probably be with the tubes and not the amp itself. Luckily, I live in central Kentucky so I could drop it by for service.

The Tone Shop guys are very helpful, both on the phone and through e-mail. Before I bought the BTS, I had my Champ modded and serviced, and they were very communicative through that process as well. You really get the feeling that they aren't happy until you're ecstatic about your sound.

If you've priced hand-built tube amps, you know that Bob's work ranks among the most affordable. Naturally, the total custom jobs he's famous for are pricier than the "stock" models, but for players like me who just want a great-sounding, basic amp, the BTS-18 was a solid value. The only thing the amp lacks is a reverb (though I could have had one installed). Recording studios should check it out as a wonderful recording amp that does its magic at a volume low enough to put good mics in front of it.