Chicago Blues Box Humbolt Head

Must correct my previous review as to the tubes. I wanted to get some backups so I pulled the back off the head and discovered that the power tubes were in fact 6CA7EH tubes. The 6CA7 is a big bottle American version of the El-34. This tube has the characteristics of both a 6L6 and an El-34. The pre-amp tubes are JJ ECC83S's, the European version of the 12ax7.

After having played this amp for 3 months, I can say that this is the best sounding blues amp I have ever heard. My guitar slinging friends are in agreement. Their jaws dropped when they heard this thing. This amp sounds great at all volumes. It can get up your ass nasty or purr like a good woman should. Bass is tight, mids and highs are well defined, articulate, and harmonically rich. The amp's response to guitar tone and volume controls reminds me of a class A amplifier. When I said this is a blues amp I dont intend to say it is limited to the blues. As previously stated it goes from Fender clean to Marshall crunch and does it all beautifully. This no doubt is because of the C6A7 power tubes. If I had to live with one amp, this would be it. I also have to say that the Chicago Blues Box 2x12(open back) with Eminence Wizards sounds fantastic.

No problems. Build quality appears to be excellent.

Lifetime warranty. Every time I've E-Mailed Butler Custom Sound (Chicago Blues Box) I receive same day responses, from the boss, and they are in depth. These guys got their S..t together

This is a wonderful amplifier. It produces the tone that i think of in my head when I think of tone. Take my Boogies and my Marshall, but leave this amp(ESPECIALLY) and my THD's alone.

This amp was hand built in April, 2007. It is a 1 channel amplifier with 3 12AX7 preamp tubes and 2 6L6 power tubes, running in class A/B. The amplifier can be ordered with 6V6, EL34, or KT66 power tubes. The features are as follows: High/low inputs, on/off, standby, preamp, master, treble, mid, bass, presence, and a feedback control.On the back is 8/16 ohm switch and detachable power cord. Inasmuch as this amp was obviously designed to be a no frills tone machine, and considering the feedback control which I will discuss later, I must rate it a 10. It has the features one would expect on this type of amplifier.

This amplifier can easily go from vintage Fender clean to JCM Marshall crunch. If you need a lot of pre-amp gain, it's there. What is unique about this amp is the feedback control. As I adjust it counter-clockwise the power tube gain is increased. This thing can produce some bad-ass power tube distortion(saturation). Using the feedback control reminds me of the built in hot plate on my THD Bi-Valve. By utilizing the pre-amp, master and feedback controls, you can dial in any tone your looking for except massive head banging gain. That is not to say that head bangers can't get what they need out of this amp. Just slap a Keeley modded Boss MT-2 in front of the preamp and you're there. This amp handles pedals quite well. I must say that the amp has a tone unlike any of my other amps, which include Marshall, THDs, Vox, and Mesa Boogies. Maybe that's what is meant when Chicago Blues Box amps are described as 3 dimensional. This amp is tight, responsive, and has lots!! of punch. I am running it through a Chicago Blues Box 2x12 open back with two 12 inch Red Coat Eminence Wizard speakers. They remind me of Celestion G12H30 speakers and are great all around speakers. Single coils sound excellent as do humbuckers. The amplifier can get quite loud if needed but also sounds great at lower volumes. I love this amplifier and am proud to own it.

Havn't had it long but it comes with a lifetime warranty. It is hand built and appears to be an extremely well made piece of equipment. The fit and finish are excellent as is true of the speaker enclosure. When it arrived I was impressed by how well it was packed for shipping. A carton of eggs would have arrived safely. I wouldn't have a problem using it without backup. Since the amp is new, I don't feel that I should rate it at this time.

I contacted the company with questions before and after the purchase and received same day responses by either E-mail or telephone. All inquiries were happily answered by Dan Butler, President of Butler Custom Sound (Chicago Blues Box). Mr. Butler invited me to contact him anytime that I needed assistance, and he meant it. I ordered the equipment from Bill at CustomGuitarGear.com, and I must say that it was a pleasure doing business with him. He treated me like a valued customer before I even placed the order. Bill answered all my questions before and after the purchase.

I've been playing "for a while" and own some nice amps, above referenced. My Guitars consist of Gibsons and Fenders, some of which are custom shop. My pedals include lots of Keeley stuff and Keeley modded Boss pedals, HAO, Voodoo Labs, MI Audio, Kaden, URSO, Fulltone, Electro Harmonix, Maxon, and I'm sure one or two others. My cables are George L. as are my interconnects. My Speaker cables are Monster. I purchesed this amp for a blues amp but it does so much more. Its tone is nothing short of great and I do have plenty of amps to compare it to. If it were stolen I would order another. Part of the beauty of this amp is its simplicity.