Burriss Engineering El MaCombo 112 Combo

THE EL MACOMBO by Burriss Engineering (Bob Burriss)
I?ve owned, and still own, several nice amps (Blackface Super Reverbs, Blackface Pro Reverbs, Blackface Deluxe Reverbs, Victoria Bassman, Victoria Pro, Tweed 5E3 Deluxe?you get the idea) ? so this isn?t a case of ?this is the first nice piece of equipment I?ve ever owned so I?m reviewing it?. Also, and maybe most importantly, I?ve owned and gigged with this amp for more than a year. I?m not on the honeymoon and writing a review. This review is from knowing and using this amp. One last thing to preface my comments ? I am not in anyway affiliated with Burriss Engineering. Now, the El MaCombo is an all tube, true point to point, hand wired, one twelve combo amp. The cabinet is solid pine with dovetailed joined corners. The control panel is like this from left to right: input 1, input 2, volume, treble, bass, reverb, standby switch, and power switch. The cabinet is covered in black tolex, oxblood grille cloth, white pearloid faceplate, cream colored barred knobs, and the Burriss Logo. It also has a small switch located on the bottom of the chassis allowing me to switch from cathode bias to fixed bias. It?s called the pub/club switch with pub being cathode and club being fixed bias. This is extremely nice as it takes the amp from about 17 watts in cathode to 25 watts in fixed. It?s also nice for the difference in tone I?ll talk about later. Lastly, the speaker is a 12? Celestion Classic Lead 80, the tubes are (2) NOS JAN Philips 6L6GB?s (5881), and (4) EH 12AX7?s. All the internal components are top of the line also, the good stuff. This category gets 10 not because it can do everything under the sun, but because it does all the things it?s designed to do and does them incredibly well.

My guitars are strats (with Fralin, VanZandt, and Rolph pickups) and I play blues and modern blues/rock (I hate that term, but). The pedals I stick in front of the amp are ever changing, you know how it is, but I own or have owned these pedals and they all work well with the El MaCombo: Teese Picture Wah, Klon Centaur, Zvex Super Hard On, Analogman modded TS-9/808, Clark Gainster, Prescription Electronics Vibe Unit, and a Diaz Square Face Fuzz. The El MaCombo works very well with all the pedals I?ve owned.

What can I say about this amp? How many different ways can you spell smokin? Like I said above, I have some nice amps and this one stands toe to toe with any of them and is actually more usable in most situations. This is the BEST club amp I?ve ever owned. It?s power level is right on for the clubs my band plays - not too loud, not too wimpy. It allows the amp to be doing it?s thing at the volume I need. I?ve never been into master volumes so that?s an important thing. The amp is also very quiet with no annoying buzz. The tone of the El MaCombo is incredible. It?s the most versatile amp I?ve ever owned as far as tone goes. The tone controls have an extreme effect on the tone, not like on a Bassman. I prefer to think of them as a bass and treble frequency sweep. When the bass and treble are up a bit (bass at 5:00 and treble at 3:00), I?m leaning toward Matchless territory (my buddy has a Clubman 35 that we?ve compared it to). When I have them mid-way (bass 2:00, treble 11:00) I?m around a blackface sound. When I place them lower (bass 10:00, treble 9:00), I?m in tweed territory. See what I mean about versatile? The ability to have so much control of the tone also allows me to play in my living room at low volume with a big, full sound. I don?t know if that matters to most people, but I like it to sound good all the time and not just when it?s really loud.

Now for a little on the pub/club switch. Like I said, it switches the amp between cathode and fixed bias. I love both modes. The cathode mode has that slightly more compressed tweed feel while the fixed mode has more punch. I use it in cathode in smaller rooms which allows the amp to be on the verge of breaking up at bit at the volume I need. In larger rooms I use it in fixed bias for more headroom and again the sound is on the verge of breaking up, but a bit louder. The El MaCombo doesn?t have any trouble keeping up with the rest of the band in either mode (our band has two guitars, bass, drums, and horns). I don?t mic it either. It?s the biggest 17/25 watt?s I?ve ever heard. It makes my Deluxe Reverb seem pretty wimpy with how big it sounds. Don?t get me wrong, I?m not blaspheming a Blackface Deluxe. It?s just the El MaCombo sounds really, really big and can keep up volume-wise with a big band ? and it drips with tone to boot. When I crank it on cathode mode it growls like my 5E3, unbelievable. I like it better, though, because it keeps the bottom way tighter than the tweed Deluxe. That?s because of the 5881?s instead of the 6V6?s AND because the speaker can handle the amp. Speaking of which ? pull the low E in either mode and get a big helping of the ?you know who? thing, WHOMP, it?s a beautiful thing.

The El MaCombo is very dynamic and responsive to playing subtleties. It doesn?t have a hint of sterility or constipation, if you know what I mean. It interacts with and responds amazingly to small differences in pick attack. The amp is very lively. The reverb is deep and lush and makes a big sounding amp sound even bigger. The Celestion Classic Lead 80 speaker is the perfect match for this amp. In fact, to show Bob?s desire for thee tone ? we went through three speakers before settling on the CL80. I could use a bunch of the common wine tasting type adjectives to desribe the tones, like: chewy and three dimensional, rich elegance, squawky,spanky, airy, lacy brilliance, and my favorite - mid-range girth. However I've chosen the following -the bass is deep, low, round,

The El MaCombo is built to last. Bob is a perfectionist and it shows. There?s a picture of this amp and it's insides on the website at burrissengineering.com if you?re interested. The wiring is neat and meticulous. I don?t take a backup to the gig. I?ve gigged with this amp for over a year and not had a single problem. I don?t have any reason to believe I?ll have any trouble in the future either. Bob has a lifetime guarantee on all work and components anyway (except the speaker and tubes I believe). It doesn?t get any better than that.

Bob is the best. We discussed at length my needs from an amp and the El MaCombo was/is the answer. Bob always has to time to listen to his customers and what their needs and concerns are. He?s been very patient with me and always taken the time to answer all my questions, even when they?re lame. I?m extremely concerned with tone and so is Bob. He wants the customer to be happy and his work is unsurpassed. I'm sure if there ever was a problem, it'd be taken care of quick, fast, and in a hurry.

I've been gigging with bands for 16 years and used a lot of amps. The El MaCombo is incredible, what else can I say. Every variable in the equation has been great ? from the tone of the amp, to it?s appearance (which I don?t much care about, but I have to say it is a very cool looking amp), to the build quality, to Bob?s professionalism in every way. I?ve made some comparisons of the El MaCombo to tweeds, blackfaces, and matchless in this review, but I want to make clear this is not a clone of any of those. Bob can build clones if that?s what you want. I was merely using the other amps as a basis for comparison ? amps a lot of people are familiar with. This amp is a Tone Daddy, it?s the funk!! I love it and wouldn?t sell it. If it were stolen, or somehow destroyed I would definitely buy another. I feel strange to have written such a wonderful review, but I calls em like is sees em. I can?t think of a thing about this amp that I?d change. It does what it?s designed to do and a lot more. I?m spoiled tone-wise and hard to please; and I couldn?t be happier with an amp than I am with Burriss Engineering?s El MaCombo. It IS my club amp.