CeriaTone Super Bass 100

This amp was made custom - It is basically a Marshall Super Bass 100 watt clone (bet you didn't know that). It was at my house in a little under two months, which is pretty fast for a custom made amp. This is supposedly the first CeriaTone Super Bass. I ordered it on May 17th 2007, and it got here on July 13th 2007, so it's fairly new - but I think after using it for several hours a day at almost full volume (which is loud..very loud) I should leave a review. It has two channels, bright and normal. It's almost as bright as a super lead on the first channel, but has some more low end on the normal channel. It doesn't have that many features, but what do you expect from a clone of a 1960's Marshall amp? I use this amp for practice (although I use an attenuator), band situations etc...It's loud enough for that alright. It's all tube (four EL-34's and three 12AX7's). You can also bridge the channels for more tonal options. I haven't bought a head cabinet for it yet, so the chassis is sitting on my 4x12 right now. This one was built by CeriaTone (very well I might add), so all I needed to do was put some tubes in and start playing. One more thing to note is that this amp is brutally loud, be careful - especially with the bright channel....

It has a really big clean sound, but when cranked, it sounds better - it definitely has that Marshall 'crunch'. It's not like a Mesa obviously, so you won't get that super saturated distortion. I'd say it gets a fair amount of overdrive when cranked, and it sounds incredible. I sometimes use an overdrive pedal for a little more gain (a Way Huge Green Rhino - the amp seems to love this pedal). It does handle other pedals very well though. It breaks up a little early on the bright channel, but the normal channel breaks up at about 6. I usually use strats, P-90 equipped SG's, and a few different Les Pauls..all sound great. I play all sorts of music really, and this amp covers most of it. Also, this amp is probably the quietest amp I have. It does have the 'hiss' on the bright channel, but that's normal.

Well I've only had it for a short time, but as I said, it's been played quite a lot at high volumes. I have two other CeriaTone amps (owned these for about three months) and both have worked flawlessly, so I expect this one will be the same. I would use it at a gig without a backup (if I had to), but all tube amps aren't perfect.

I've asked Nik several questions, including some stupid ones. He emailed me back VERY fast, often within 10 minutes. He's a great guy, very friendly, helpful, and patient. I know they have authorized repair places in the US, but I haven't asked about that - there's a good tech in town. I don't remember how long the warranty is. Best customer support ever.

Been playing for about four years..I own a load of other gear, including two other CeriaTones. (5E3 combo and a JTM 45 head). I'd definitely buy another one of these if it was lost or stolen. The only thing I don't like about it is the VOLUME..it's so loud, but it's a 100 watt Marshall clone..I should have expected that! I compared it to the CeriaTone Plexi Super Lead, but I decided to get this custom Super Bass because I find super leads are a bit bright sometimes. What do I wish it had? Possibly a master volume, but that might change the tone. I plan to buy a DC 30 clone next.....