CeriaTone Trainwreck Clone

Just a follow up on my last review. I'm now using

V1-12AY7
V2-12AT7
V3-12AX7
EL34 Power Tubes

I'm loving the tone of it at the moment, and can't wait to try out a 2x12 cab for a little bit more! You can check out some sound samples on youtube
Wah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqTvVvO-9PE
Gm Blues Thing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vovH-1nrupI
Movin On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXUv__Knl-o
Trem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jKalCPe8ho

Just ordered 4 Jan Phillips 12AT7s to have a little play with

Ceriatone Expression = Trainwreck express clone.

Conrols:
Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Pres

Tube outfit:
2xEL-34/6V6s, and 3 12ax7s

I added external bias and 1/2 power switch- no Master Volume. I also used Toneslut (Heyboer) Transformers as they are closer to the originals than Ceriatone's transformers. It has everything I need, but not a lot of features, only one channel, no FX loop (though you can add it). Pure and simple.

This amp is great, and is precisely what I have been looking for. Kind of like a modded plexi, but with a bit of a different voicing. I use a Les Paul straight into the amp then into a 2x12 with a Celestion V30 and a Lead 80. It sounds great. Tons of bass, thick mids, and very pronounced highs as it can be a bright amp (good thing, not a bad thing). I recommend playing with the tone controls as you'll find your favorite setting, but I tend to leave it pretty flat, and maybe rolled off a bit on the bass. This amp is DYNAMIC and is very sensitive to pick attack and volume swells!

I play all sorts of music, anywhere from metal to blues, and this thing will do anything I need WITHOUT a distortion pedal. Plenty of gain on tap and can easily be controlled by your guitar volume.

All of this being said, it will never sound like a ton of different amps, it is a trainwreck clone and its sound is such. Not the most versatile but is great for a single channel amp.

I'm reluctant to give it a 10 since I am sure I will search again for the perfect tone, but this is the closest I have found and I don't plan on getting rid of it ever.

I'm not sure... half of it I did myself so that part may need some work down the road, but Nik's work is great! I'll give it an N/A simply because I haven't had it long enough and my handywork could be below Ceriatone's standards.

Not enough money at the moment for a backup... haha

Great customer support, Nik is awesome and I would recommend them to anyone simply because they are so helpful and their products are great. I am my own repair warranty for this one, it's a simple circuit, and I am not too worried about repairs. There are service centers in the States if you need one.

I have owned lots of amps, Marshalls, Boogie, Rivera, and some others that I am slightly to majorly ashamed of. This is my favorite simply because it has gotten so much closer to my ideal tone than any other amp that I have come in contact with. I would recommend to anyone who is considering purchasing an expression the following upgrades: Upgrade the Output Transformer, and experiment with different preamp tubes. I have NOS tubes and they really make the amp shine (Sylvania 7025 in V1, Sylvania 12ax7 in V2, and JAN 5751 in V3). Visit the amp garage forum as well. Great building resource.

This amp is a Trainwreck Expression Clone and was built by Nik in 2006 I believe. I bought it second hand. The amp had had a PPIMV added as well as a ground lift, bias points and pot and a tube bugffered FX loop with volume control on send and return. It's a single channel amp running stock 2 x EL34 and 3 x 12AX7. Controls are Treble switch (3 position switch for shaping treble tones), Vol, TMB, PPIMV, Presence, Standby and Power. It is a really good amp. When I first staretd using it with the 3 x 12AX7 in the preamp I found it just a bit too distorted. Anything past about 12 o'clock was super high distortion. I swapped V1 for a 12AU7 which really tamed the distortion, maybe too much. I have on order a 12AT7 and a 12AY7 that I will try out. I think the 12AY7 will be awesome. I have not gigged the amp yet but it has more than enough volume. Currently I'm using a custom Achillies 12" cab with a Celestion Vintage 30. I love it! It ain't no modelling amp but that's not what you buy these for! Use you guitar volume!

I use Strats (2 MIJ E series, SRV Signature), a 2005 MIJ Tele, Marlique Deluxe and a 77 Ibanez Les Paul Goldtop. I use Brierley custom s/c in one of the Strats and Brierley Humbuckers in the Les Paul. I play Blues, Blues Rock, Countryish kind of music. The single coils do tend to hum, but that's what single coils do. The amp goes from really nice cleans (not Fenderish, maybe a little harder edge) to awesome distortion (Marshall / Mesa) with just your guitar volume control. because mine has a PPIMV I can contro the level of distortion at the amp as well. I think it's a great feature. The tone of this amp is not like any other I've played (and there has been a few!!!) Again, I'm changing preamp valves to have a less 'brutal' distortion. I'm thinking of more or a singing lead rather than a punch in the face solo sound. I'm a big fan of John mayer / SRV sound so that's where I'm coming from. I absoloutely love the sound of this amp! It's just TONE!

Only issue I have had is with a bad preamp tube the I put in! Nik built it - it WILL last!

Nik at Ceriatone is incredible. I bought this unit second hand. I have also bought a Vibrochamp Clone second hand. The only thing I have bought is a headshell off Nik. we have been in constant contact and his customer service is the best I have ever experienced. His expertise and generosity is unparalleled. No warranty but I'll never need one!

Been playing 17 years and have owned Peavey, Marshall and Fender amps. Currently have a Fender HRD, Ceriatone Vibro Ch@mp and Ceriatone Tr@inwreck Expression. My guitars are listed above. The tone of this amp and it's ability to transform with a simple movement on the guitar volume make it stunning. Very usable amp. If it were stolen I would definitely replace it.

People - Ceriatone make awesome products - that's all!

P.S. I have some sound samples on Youtube and soon on my website dubdubdub dot petedonohue dot net

The amp was designed solely for very high gain single channel operation. The dirt and leads are screaming but trying to tame this beast for Fenderish cleans, you had better play through another amp.

As a discerning tube-head and musician, the Expression merits very high marks for its extreme dynamics, sensitivity, and over the top harmonic distortion.

Due to its acute sensitivity, players must be exact in your picking as it reveals every detail and nuance. I have added the PPIMV mod II to keep my neighbors happy. This is one of the loudest amps I have every played through including my Fender Super Reverb, Laney PT100, and Mesa Heartbreaker. I've experimented with a plethora of tube sets including 6V6, 6L6, El34, 6Ca7.

You would never dare but an overdrive footpedal in front of the preamp section, it is naturally running hot.

I built it, no worries here.

Nik Azam was very helpful with all questions and after sales service. He takes extreme pride in his amp creations, wormanship, and customer relations. I will

Great tone and

This is a ceriatone trainwreck liverpool. It is powered by 4 el84's and has 3 12ax7's in the preamp. I personally use a 12at7 in the first gain stage. It takes down the gain (which is way too much for me) and allows me to use a pair of alnico blue speakers without worry. This is a one channel amp and the features are all you need. You can add a master volume but it doesn't work as good as an attenuator.

I purchased this amp as a kit. When I put the kit together I has some issues with noise. But after a bit of tinkering the noise was tolerable. I was not very impressed with the sound of this amp when first assembled. It was too bright and had too much shrill. Even with the treble right down and the presence backed off it was not to my liking. So I switched out the orange drop caps for sozo 400v's and found some carbon comp resistors. Now the resistors in this amp are 1 watt so it took a bit of searching to find them in carbon comp. www.tubedepot.com had most of the values. For a few I had to use the closest they had. When I was done I couldn't believe the change. This amp sounds awesome now. It sounds like an amp should. No more shrill and unbelievably smooth. Also a lot of noise went away after the change. This can be a very versatile amp when you are conscious of the preamp tubes. 12ax7's provide insane amounts of gain. IMO a 5751 or 12at7 works better in the first gain stage. I keep the second gain stage as a 12ax7 because it gives a more compressed sound than the 12at7.

If Nik built it I wouldn't worry about a thing. It's actually a very simple design and there is much less to go wrong than there is in a mesa or blackface fender. Even if you built it yourself from a kit I can't see too much going wrong. Maybe a bad solder joint here or there.

All questions are answered very quickly and shipping is fast and track able.

Stock I would give this amp a 6 or 7. The design is pretty well sound but the orange drops and cf resistors are not. I realize that 1 watt carb comps are harder to come by but they are out there. If Nik can have transformers made he can have resistors made. Also sozo caps are only $2 each. That's just a little more than double the orange drops and would add only about $12 to the cost of the amp. After hearing the difference they should be stock. This is a very nice amp after the upgrades.

Amp is a copy of the classic Trainwreck Express circuit. 50watt, 2xEL34, 3X12AX7, handwired point to point single channel amp.

Bought as a pre-assembled 'ready to go' chassis. Really, and I'm talking realy basic. 1 guitar input, Volume, TMB, presence and tone switch (for brightening up sound as output tubes are compressed). 2 speaker outs with 4/8/16 ohm selector switch.

This is a non master volume amp so unless you like the walls to vibrate you will need an attenuator or power soak out the back end. Overdrive comes on as volume is turned up and the output tubes become saturated and, of course, being good ol' EL34s they compress a heck of allot making the amp darker sounding. This amp should have the bias range to handle 6L6 tubes too.

This amp has amazing pick attack sensitivity and cleans up real well when the volume is backed off on the guitar. I don't use effects so have no idea pedal friendly it is.

Versatile = No Incredible sounding rock amp = YES

This amp is so sensitive to your playing style it's unreal. It will really show up your technique - all the good and bad points. Distortion is mid-range, not brutal but not lacking - great for ZZ Top, AC/DC, SRV, Thin Lizzy, and even early Van Halen. This amp cranked to full and run through a power brake sound have a sound very close to early Van Halen - a plexi on steriods but this is with volume set to full. Back off the volume and the gain structure gets very defined and precise.

This amp seems to favor higher output pickups. EMGs sound great through it as do high output PAF style pickups. Single coil strat sounds a little thin but P-90s sound terrific. This amp behaves and stays quite with single coils too.

I have only used this amp once at a live gig and once rehersing and it's very good in the moderate distortion range and clean tones. I will use this for my other band, a classic rock cover band but for my main band I will need to use this and another amp through a switcher box to get all the tones I require.

If you play AC/DC, 70s / 80s covers that don't require large amounts of tonal variation I would use this amp. Hell, I'd even use it to knock off all the old Van Halen stuff.

If you like a hot rodded Plexi you will like this amp.

This was pre-assembled by Ceriatone and the workmanship matches any boutique high quality hand-made amps in the US. Perfect assemble, all point to point on turret board, easy to maintain and easy to service. I am fully confident this amp can take a hell of a beating.

Nik is a great guy, reponds to emails promptly and keeps you informed. Great to do business with.

I am 47 and have been playing since I was 14, 10 years of that as a professional musician in a named band back in the 80s. I own over 20 amps and 30 guitars, some vintage and some modern. This amp is right up at the top of my amp list. I own a early 70s plexi that I've heavily modded over the years and this amp has the same feel. A master volume can be easily added but it will 'suck' the tone right out the amp, as does an attenuator or power brake but if you can get away with it, crank it almost all the way up (forget the attenuator or power brake) and let it wail and believe me, this is an old style 50 watt and is loud through a stack.

I have the Ceriattone Trainwreck LIVERPOOL which was built for me in early 2007. These are one trick ponies and they do it better than any other amp I have ever owned. I play blues and blues rock along with hard country and southern rock. It's a single channel amp, no effects loop, no headphone jacks, no channel switching. It's rated at 36 watts with 4x EL84 output tubes and 3x 12AX7 preamp tubes. I've installed both a PPIMV master volume and a half power switch as these amps are LOUD!!!!!

This amps entire reputation is that you can go from fairly decent cleans to bonecrushing distortion by just turning the volume knob on the guitar. It's not Fender Twin clean, but a gritty kinda clean that adds tone and texture to what you are playing. What sets this amp apart from every other amp I've owned, and I've had over 100 is the incredible note defination that you can hear when you crank full up. It never gets buzzy and you can hear each note very clearly. It creates very controllable feedback almost from the beginning and you play that feedback to sustain your notes. This thing stomps a Soldano SLO100. It's easy to see why they have reached almost a legendary status as an amp.

It's a hand built PTP and having built my own amps and worked as an amp tech, I was amazed at the incredible attention to detail done by the workers at Ceriatone. Because it's PTP and of high quality workmanship and components I don't expect any problems but I always carry an extra amp when playing out.

Nik's developed a well deserved rep to prompt response and he did be right. It took a couple of extra days to build my amp and this put me up against a rapidly approaching gig where I wanted to play the amp. Nik stepped in, did his magic and this amp went over 10 THOUSAND MILES in under 3 days an was in my hand the day of the gig and with enough time that I got to play with it for a couple of hours before hand.

Been playing for over 30 years and during that time I've owned over a hundred amps including dozens of Marshalls, along with badcats, matchless, soldanos, fenders, and I've been exclusively playing a GDS 18watt marshall kit I put together for the last 4 years. I play an assortment of guitars and now routinely play my tele, strat, Les Paul and Flying V for a wide assortment of tones. This amp brings out the nuances of each guitar like no other I have ever had. I'm a giant fan of Carlos Santana and his ability to burn the frets off a neck and then grab that ONE note and hold it to make a statement. This amp easily does it. It's easy to see why this amp has the rep it does and with Ceriatone building them for such a great price, I expect this amp to break big with alot of guitarists.

OK To start I received my Amp from Nik this year about a month ago. I will give it a 7 for features, which is not a bad thing in this case; the amplifier is exactly what I purchased.... a Trainwreck Express Clone. The original had one channel, a bright switch, One Volume, Treble, Mid & Bass controls, and a Presence Pot and the option of EL34 or 6V6 power tubes without readjusting Bias. So exactly what I wanted did not have a lot of features on the original so not a lot here.

This is the real FEATURE of this amp. My setup is as follows: Ibanez USRG30 -> Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster -> Morley Bad Horsie Wah -> HBE Medicine Bawl Wah -> Jacques Mercer Box 2 -> Ibanez SM9 Super Metal -> Ibanez DL10 Digital Delay -> Rocktron Tsunami Chorus -> EH Frequency Analyzer Ring Modulator -> EH Small Stone Phaser ->MXR 10 Band EQ -> Boss NS-50 Pro Noise Suppressor -> Front End of Amp (each of my affects are going through Bypass Loops to preserve tone when they are off. The Dynamics of this amplifier are incredible, when I first received it, I plugged it into my 2x12 cab with Eminence Govner Speakers and bypassed my Effects completely. I started with the volume on the amp at about 7 (all tone and presence setting at 50%) and my guitar volume turned down, With my guitar at about 3 - 4, I got a really great Jazz/ fusion tone, very full very sweet. As I rolled up my guitar volume, this thing got loud (much louder than I had suspected) and put out this amazing tone and Drive. Simply beautiful, euphoric overdrive. I took my guitar to 10 and started playing Deep Purple's Hush - there was no hush, but there was an incredible rush. My next experiment was to copy my favorite guitar tune of all time -Al Dimeola's Race With Devil on Spanish Highway. It did not take long to get a great tone for this. My Final Experiment was to Turn Amp up to 10 and vary my guitar volume, this amp can do anything this way. Very sweet tone and Drive. I mounted the chassis to a board and walked into band practice, the other guitarist in my band laughed when he saw it, then two minutes later tried to trade his Boogie Dual Recto for it...no kidding. One Channel is all you need, if you use the tools available to you to shape your sound.

Only had it for about a month, but I am confident that it will hold up....I guess time will tell, so I will put no opinion here, although it has played a couple shows already and my local fellow musicians all seem to love it.

Nik is/ was amazing during my purchase. He answered multiple emails that I sent with questions about his processes and parts quality. Also after I received the Amp (about 3 weeks build and delivery time from Malaysia to the US), I let Nik know that it was received and he promptly emailed me back reassuring me that I could contact him with ANY questions and concerns. The longest that it took me to get any answer back from Nik was about 4 hours....THAT'S SERVICE...I wasn???t even a customer yet, but now I am and will be returning soon for more product.

I have been playing now for 26 years. Since receiving this amp I have sold my Carvin and Marshal Heads (although I still have my Roland Jazz Chorus), using this as my sole source of tone. I play an array of music including Classic Rock(Jimi, Edgar Winter, Jeff Beck, Led Zep, Free), Jazz/ Fusion (Dimeola, Django Reinhardt, Bireli Lagrene, Miles Davis), Prog (King Crimson, Dream Theatre, Pink Floyd, Yes, Rush, Old Genesis, E,L,P, Gentle Giant) Metal/ Power Metal (Pantera, Angra, Blind Guardian, Iron Maiden, Savatage, Impelitterri) and Just cool Rock/Funk/ whatever you want to call it (Prince, Richie Kotzen, Buckethead (I can only play some of his insane shit), Greg Howe, Steve Vai, etc, etc, etc.

If this Amp were stolen I would definitely buy another, also hunt the scum down and kill them for taking my stuff.

I fully intend to buy two more of these, another Express Clone and keep it set with a low volume for smoother passages and probably a Liverpool clone and see where I can use it, I am sure that it will also be amazing, besides I cannot afford to sell my house to buy 3 ???real??? trainwreck amps. All I know is that if this amp sucks by comparison to a ???real deal??? Twreck, then the real deal must have been designed in heaven.

made in july of 2006.
it's very versatile,if you know how to turn your guitar down and play clean.in this way, the amp covers funk,country,and vh-style old school hard rock.
1 channel. but every number on your volume control is another channel to me.
no channel switching,loops,or headphone jack. what it does have is a 3-way toggle for different treble contours, volume,treble,middle bass,presence and a ppimv.
i don't miss any"features".
just got it and so far have only used it at home but when my head cab comes,trust me,i'll be gigging with it.
it has more than enough power for any application i would use it for(approximately 32 watts via 2xel-34's).

i've never played thru a 'wreck nor have i knowingly heard one unless it's true that keith scott(bryan adams) used one on the first album. i say that because it's dead on with a les paul.
yes,the "clean"channel is distorted at hi volumes,unless you TURN YOUR GUITAR DOWN.
define "brutal",and i'll answer that question.is "brutal" pantera? cause it can actually do that with my 58 v copy.
so far i plugged in 2 strats,a les paul 59ri,a korina v.
it suits me.my style is not having a style. what style did bruce lee fight in?
it's about as noisy as a jcm800..given the amount of gain on tap,i am content to live with that.

can't speak to reliability yet...haven't gigged it.
but nik azam is well known for making sturdy gear,and i will submit another review in a while.
i'd use it w/o a backup.
the designer of this amp seems to have provided for every eventuality. i spoke to him in the 80's,and i am still impressed by his genius.his name is ken fisher.

i can't speak highly enough of nik azam. one thing that the burgeoning internet sales phenomenon seems to have done is let the cream rise to the top. these guys know you are buying sight unseen,sound unheard and the BEST ones make sure you are satisfied.
still,nik azam stands up there with the very best i've dealt with(steve webster(v-stack),mike zaite(dr. z),and jim seavill(scumbag amplification).
no warranty...didn't even ask,but i have a great tech(john martin(martone amps)in philly.

been playing about 40 years.
i also own a dr. z kt-45(wonderful amp),2 strats,2 les pauls,2 ebmm guitars,a jazzmaster and 2 flying v's.
i would buy another in a heartbeat.
i love truth in advertising.
i hate not sharing what God gave me to the greatest amount of humanity possible,but i'm not dead yet.
haven't compared it.
i just think it's a great little hi-gain package for lo bones.