CeriaTone DC30

This amp was made and shipped on December 2006, and arrived to Costa Rica on January 2007. I've never played trough and Matchless DC30, so I can't make no comparisons. As has been said, this amp has two channels, very versatile combination with separate eq for each one. Channel 1, based on 12AX7 preamp can deliver a very smooth overdrive that can really go to a strongest distortion with the right volume. Channel 2, based on a EF86 it's really capable of generate a strong distorted sound, and pushed with a pedal can rock the house!

Each channel has two inputs (low,high)and with a ABY switch you can swap channels or combine them. It's like you have 2 different amplifiers sounding at the same time! Lot's of very nice sounds...

Since I wanted this amp to play rock mostly, I decided to use channel 1 for cleans and smooth overdriven sounds, and channel two alone or pushed with overdrive pedals for the rock stuff... and believe me, this is a winning combination... just be careful with your guitar volume ('cause here you can clean up or distort you sound, each channel will respond in a very special way to changes on volume!)

As been said, it's rated 30 watts, but believe me this amp is real loud. Excelent work from Nik, the amp arrived with no single scratch, I bought the amp assembled from Ceriatone, JJ's tubes included, except for the EF86 from ElectroHarmonix.

Both channels can achieve beautiful cleans, you just have to roll your guitar volume and listen to the sound. Channel 1 (at full humbucker volume) will start to break at 5 more or less, it depends on what input you use and the setting of the normal/low power switch on the back (yes, this switch it's on the back and is a very interesting option). Also Master Volume engaged or disengaged affects the headroom on both channels. Channel 2 breaks even at very low volume settings. It has this 6 position tone switch, that gives different combinations of eq, very versatile too.

I'm using this amp with an Ibanez RG270 with Dimarzios, through a 2x12 with Celestion V30. With this setup this amp gives me smooth overdriven cleans and fierce full bodied distortion, pushed with an Analogman SD1/808. Other pedals include Dunlop 535q wah, a Boss Eq7, Boss LS2 Line selector (very handy!), a Line6 Echopark delay (using the stereo inputs/outputs I was abled to apply delay to both channels at the same time!)
It took me a while to reach the sound I wanted from this amp. You have to tweak a little, but once you're there... oh man!

I've been carriyng this amp without a head cabinet to rehearsals for about 4 months, at least once a week. And it is exactly just as the first day, sounding nicer everyday I would say. The only "issue" I had was with the red cap on the on/off lamp. When the amp arrived, it was a little loose, and the haeat from the lamp (very bright!) kind of melted it a little. Two drops of superbonder and vo??la! nothing happened!

As everybody says, Nik it's the man. Three or four emails it's all you need to feel that you know Nik a long ago! You can ask ANYTHING to this man and he'll always be very supportive an patient. The minimum suspect that anything could be wrong with the amp and he'll start pumping out questions and indications... even on stupid isssues like I had a couple of times : - )
This is the deffinition of customer support. Many big companies should learn a little!

I've been playing for 12 years. Aditional to the gear described before I also have an small Peavey Studio Pro 60 transistor, and a BlackBox (M-Audio) for home practice. Used to have a Fender Squier, but got stolen a couple of years ago. I also used some Zoom multieffects long ago.

This Ceriatone amp it's my first tube amp, I researched carefully before buying this. I was deciding between hybrids, digitals or affordable tube amps (In Costa Rica you need to be a millionaire to buy decent stuff!). Gladly I decided to buy this DC30 Ceriatone.

There is no comparison to the sound and the tone it gives. It's a very interesting road you take when you decide to switch from transistors or digital modelers to the real thing. Since this amp it's so versatile it will really lead you trough the sounds you've only heard as simulations before. There's nothing like the real thing, believe me.

Until now, I've never imagined I'd have an amp with this sound quality my own. Ceriatone gives you fantastic quality at very reasonable prices. If stolen, I would buy it again eyes closed! I'm even planning to buy a Plexi 50 later... This is a fantastic value.

And I'm rating 10 because it really deserves it. I'm old enough to know the tone and prestations I'd like from an amp.

I also purchased mine as a kit, more on that later. It has everything that I need in an amp, and some that I probably wouldn't use, but you never know. What can I say other that it has 2 absolutely sweet sounding channels. I own a Marshall 1959slp RI that I converted to point to point which it doesn't replace, however it's added the much wanted Vox and beyond tones that I've always loved. Everyone else has already gone through the features, but I must say I love the half power and pull master feature.

Beautiful. Channel 1 is the cleaner of the 2 channels and it just chimes like a bell, pure AC30 top boost and I just love it! This amp really loves Fenders and my 62 strat RI with Lindy Fralins is right at home! Channel 2 growls, but is so playable.. This is where controlling the distortion from the guitar and your playing technique really comes in. Also, as otheres have mentioned, you MUST find a good EF86 for this. I installed a NOS Mullard, and WOW, there IS a difference.. Night and day.. So I would suggest buying a couple different ones and experiment. I put JJ's in the rest, and I think they're just swell! Oh, and channel 2 just swallows up my Hermida Sound Zen Drive perfectly!!! A+ here!

I can say here that as far as component quality goes, there won't be a problem at all. There is always "infant mortality" in electronic components, but so far so good, and since I constructed it(being modest, lol!), I made quadruple sure of all my wiring and solder joints, lead dress etc. Suffice it to say, this thing, and all the trannys are grade A!!! A great value, period!!

Again, as everyone else has stated, you don't get ANY better than Nik Azam! He DOES answer ALL of your emails PROMPTLY!! I ordered it on a thursday night and it was delivered on Monday, all the way from Malaysia to NW OH, USA!! He put up with a LOT of confusing and stupid questions from me, but he was alawys kind and helpful. Since mine was a kit, at first, I really wished for a proper insruction guide, BUT the layout he provides is accurate to a "T", although I had a printer blow mine up so I could see it well. He also provides pics of the project on the website, so you can really see how an amp can REALLY be neatly constructed.. Impeccable.. His work is sweeter than the little old ladies at Hiwatt even!! But I will also stess.. Know how to or have plenty of experience building amps, as this one is not for the faint hearted! Nik is the best, PERIOD!

I will recommend anyone to give Ceriatone a try, if all his kits sound and are as good in quality as my DC30, and I know they are, you will be very, very happy! Did I mention I was pleased yet?!! LOL!
A+.

Amp Made in March of 2007. 30 watt amp that has all of the features that a Matchless C-30 has, except for the two power plugs on the back of the chassis. 2 channels, but you can't footswitch between them. Channel 1 has the 12ax7s in the preamp with a volume, bass, and treble control. Channel 2 has an EF86 which has a little more gain, and has a 6-way tone switch. It has a bypassable master volume, a cut control to cut the highs. There are two inputs per channel (one for hotter pickups, one for more vintage pickups.) 4 el84's, one 5AR4 tube rectifier. Impedance selector on the back allows you to chose 4, 8, or 16 ohms. It also has a half-power switch, a polarity reversal
switch, two output jacks, one effects loop per channel, and a fuse. I wish it has reverb and trem, but that's just because I'm used to a vox. I can't complain, because it's identical to a Matchless.

I use this amp for gigging, practice, and just jamming at home. The master volume is a little touchy. It can't be turned down very quietly (at least mine can't), but it sounds a lot fuller as you turn it up (duh!)

The sound on this amp is fantastic. I haven't heard another amp that I prefer for my style. I like blues, funk, alt rock, rock, etc. I mainly play a strat and tele through it, but I have yet to find a guitar that doesn't sound great through it. Before this amp, my favorite sound was a VOX ac-15. I still love the VOX, it's got it's own thing going on, but I love the matchless more. It is very crisp souding. I'm not very good at describing sounds, but to me it sounds like you always have a brand new set of strings on your guitar, even if you don't. It just has so much clarity and separation. I like to play with medium gain where it's clean if I pick really soft, and it has some hair on it if I dig into it. It's the perfect amp for that sound.

It's also very capable of some beautiful clean tones. It just fills the room you're in. It is an amazing sounding amp, that's all I can say, but once again, tone is subjective, so someone else might not like it.

THe EF86 channel can get a very nice crunch on it while using humbuckers. It's not in a Mesa or Marshall JCM category, but with a slight boost from a pedal it'll be there. I didn't expect this much gain from it.

I'm playing it with an EJ Strat, a MIJ 62 reissue tele with texas specials, and a modded tele with DeArmond Goldtone humbuckers. They all sound great, and their own characteristics shine through with this amp. I mainly play with the neck pickup on my strat for a funky, bluesy feel (think hendrix), but it pulls off country sounds, rock sounds, jazz, you name it, other than metal.

Every gig where I have played it I get compliments on my sound, from my drummer, to vocalist, to the audience, and these people aren't even guitar players. I've read reviews where others said the same thing, and I didn't believe it, but it really happened. It just fits my style completely.

I like both channels a lot. Each guitar sounds different through this amp. Different speakers really make a big difference as well. WIth my THD 2x12 cab, it's really bassy and full. With my other cab, a homemade cab with a greeback and a hellatone-30 (G12H-30), it sounds perfect to me, but I need to crank the bass up more than with my other cab. Matchless uses the g12h-30 along with a greenback in their DC-30, and now I see why.

The 30 watts seem plenty powerful for me, and I can always mic it at a gig. Others have stated that it's a very loud 30 watts, but it seems about right to me. I could see needing it to go louder if you weren't mic'ed, but I'd rather have 30 tameable watts than 100 watts. If you adjust the eq correctly, it will cut through the mix very well.

It's point-to-point, was shipped extremely well, and was beautifully wired. When the previous reviewer said that Nik's wiring was a work of art, he couldn't have said it better. I can't over-emphasize his quality of work. I've never seen anything like it.

I've only had it a month, so I can't give this category a rating, but I can't imagine why it would not be the most reliable amp on the planet.

I will note, however, that VOX, Matchless, Badcat, all those guys run their tubes at full tilt, so you may go through tubes a little more than you're used to, but that's what makes them sound so wonderful.

Here's where I'd give the score of 20 if it were available. Nik is the most outstanding guy. Every time I emailed him, he emailed me within 12 hours, often within 2 minutes, and he lives on the other side of the world!

The amp shipped out on a Friday and got here on a Monday. Now that's fast.

I was anxious to get my amp, so I emailed Nik to get an estimate. He said he's ship it as soon as he could. When I received the amp, there was a note stating that he had run out of power chords, so he shipped it to me anyway, and would be shipping a chord as soon as they came in, at his cost. Now that's customer service.

Honestly, Nik knows his stuff, and he's a great guy to deal with. This won't be my last ceriatone amp!

This is such a great amp. It's the best thing you can buy under $3000. At $3000 you'll get a matcless, and it'll sound identical. This is such a great deal, but I would pay three times as much for this amp. It suits my style to a T. Nik is a great builder, has a great product, and has a great price. I am thoroughly satisfied.

Just for accuracy's sake, I purchased the DC30 kit.
I was in touch with Nik as this kit was becoming available. I got what I assume was one of the first ones.

Was considering an AC30 kit with mods, but this turned out to be the exact amp I wanted :) It's about a mid 2006, with all the stock features of a DC30 [12AX7 and EF86 channels, 30w, 1/2 power switch, EL84 outputs, switchable impedence, etc]. Didn't order a cab to save on shipping (but should have - I'm terrible with wood].

If you're not a soldering guy, Nik will build you one. His work is pure art - I've seen it.

This amp covers many bases - more than you'd think. Switchable impedence allows you to hook it to many different cabs. The 1/2 power switch is very handy, although 15w is still mighty loud. I was thinking of adding a triode/pentode switch, but haven't.

It's pure Vox, then it rocks closer to a Marshall when you crank the preamp gain on the gain channel. The tone switch is very interesting. I'd probably prefer controls, but the settings are quite usable.

The only thing I haven't done yet is crank the thing. Since I primarily run it through a Marshall 4x12 at home, cranking it might move the house a few feet to the left :) Sounds good through a Marshall 2x12 also.

Great voice - it's not a Fender, it's not a Marshall.

It has held up wonderfully since I built it :)
Since it's still not in a box, it doesn't move a lot. I don't gig so it doesn't either.

I have every reason to believe it will survive indefinitely. There are no apparent areas where stability is lacking. The only thing to consider is where to get good EF86's, although I've had decent luck.

I would not hesitate to buy ANYTHING from Ceriatone. Nik spent a lot of time with me in email before I bought anything. He was genuinely interested in getting me the kit that would sound like I wanted it to sound. You can't buy service like this.

I had a few questions here and there and they were answered quickly and to my satisfaction.

If you choose the kit, the only cautions I can give you are that it's not a beginner project, and I hope the instructions are better (I built it from a diagram, albeit a very accurate one).

This is an outstanding amp, kit or built. Know what you're going for before you choose... if you want the DC30, I can't think of a better place to get one. I think I paid something like 1/6th of what the real one would have cost. That's value.

I have a lot of amps but was looking for something Vox-ish that I could build or mod. I couldn't have done any better - period. It holds its own with the best of the vintage boxes. I've been playing and amassing for close to 30 years, so I hope I have *some* idea of what sounds good.

My biggest disappointment was that the board came pre-populated. *I* wanted to solder the parts on :)

The only thing keeping me from buying more kits is the money (no, really?). I paid whatever the rate is on the page for the kit with no tubes, no cab, and no speakers (#2?).


If you have any questions or want to check out my page on the build of this amp, you can email me at lefty guitar at comcast dot net(no spaces).

This amp was made in 2006, and it's the most Phenomenal sounding amp that I've ever owned! It just screams tube tone to the bone. I play blues and rock and some jazz standards
and find this amp to be very versatile. It has 4 inputs that you can jack together for a more overdriven sound. It does not have channel switching, which is not a problem for me, because I use a boost box which gives me 3 different sounds. The amp Straight
(true bypass), slight boost 1 and overdrive for solos. I don't need any other features, is just sounds great at any volume level. It has 30 watts of power, but it sounds like 60, it is very loud if you want it to be. Its an all tube design with a tube Rectifier for that tube sag sound!

This amp is very versatile, I can get just about any sound I want out of this amp. Rock, Hard Rock, Blues, smooth Jazz. The Clean channel is very clean and is not really distored at all, it's more of any overdriven thing at about 5 and above on the volume knob. The distortion is not brutal but can be with the right distortion box. I use mainly "Telecasters" and for softer jazz like stuff I use a Les Paul or 335. This amp is very clean or very low noise at all levels.

So far It's been very dependable. I've played 3 gigs with no problems. It's hand wired, point to point for easier servicing. I don't expect any problem with this amp.

I found Ceriatone (Nik) very easy to deal with, very friendly and helpful.
I haven't had to get the amp serviced yet, but I don't see any problems
with Ceratone.

I've been playing for about 12 years, I have a 60's black face twin, a problematic class A Crate, and a very loud VHT pitbull. So far I love the Ceriatone Dc 30 the best!
If it were lost or stolen I would run out and order one that day.
I just love the tube tone from this amp.