Clark Amplification Beaufort Special Reverb

Amp: 15 to 18 watts. Cathode bias, class "A". Tubes 5Y3>(2)6V6's>12AX7>12AY7. Very high quality parts. Pine cab with speaker baffle. 12" Jensen P12Q Alnico. Controls-On>Fuse>Standby>Light>Master Tone>Bright Ch.Volume>Normal Ch. Volume.>Bright Ch. High & Low Gain inputs>Normal Ch. High & Low Gain inputs. Doesn't seem like much but the unused chanel volume will further shape the tone. Like a combination, presence/fat/compression control. Very useful tool. Overall the amp is simple but effective.
Reverb: Seperate "stand alone" reverb unit mounted inside cab. Controls-Mix>Tone>Dwell.Tubes-(2)12AX7's.Spring pan mounted in cab.

I have used this amp with over a dozen guitars, including Les pauls, Strats, Teles and Gibson and Guild archtops. Pick-ups are Duncans, Fralins and stock. To offer a fair review, all of my opinions are based on plugging directly into the amp. I must say however, my pedal board is way more fun through the Beaufort. I play all types of blues-from slide to T-Bone, Classic Rock and Jazz. The beaufort does an exceptional job with every guitar I have used and is easy to dial in a great tone for any of these styles of music. The quietest tube amp I have used to date. Blues and blues-based rock, however, is where this little tone monster excells! Beautiful, articulate lead and rythm tones for the blues/jazz thing.(think BB & T-Bone) IMO as good as it gets. For a real treat I plug in my old Guild archtop, tune it to "D" and wait for the neighbors to call Law Enforcement. Liquid fat tone with all the bite you need. Simply adjust the 'tude of your attack and the Beaufort will bit your hand off! Back off and it will sing a soulful tear. I have never played an amp that connects me to my guitar the way the Beaufort does. The reverb is very sultry and adds another gain stage to the output. Not a metallic gain, just a nice little gritty edge. It should be made clear that this is not a high-gain metal amp. Way to much sag and to little headroom for shredding.

No problems so far. It is a very simple design that is very well built. Clark uses the best parts available, including hand wound trannies, Sprague caps, Allen Bradley resistors mounted in a heavy chassis. Other than tubes I don't see any issues. With xtra tubes and the Beaufort and I'm gig ready.

I bought this amp used and emailed (through the "sales department") Clark for some general information. Michael Clark responded promtly and answered my questions. He seems to have a great attitude and is committed to providing the best amps possible. I believe most of the money you spend with Clark will be put into the product and not into marketing or gimicks.

I hate to admit it but I turned 50 this year and have been playing since I was a kid. I have sold all of my other amps and currently have the Beaufort and a modded Marshall 18 watt Handwired. All I really need. With these two amps and the above guitars I use a Keeley Fuzz Head, a Keeley TS-808 Overdrive, a Hermida Zendrive 2 Overdrive, a Keeley AD-9 Delay, a Boss-Roland CE-1 Chorus and a Vintage Vox Wah. I would not hesitate buying another Clark amp if something happened. There simply is not a bad tone to be had. The feel from this amp needs to be experienced to be believed. It's nit-pickin' but the reverb controls are inside the cab and are difficult to adjust. Once adjusted they really don't need much else though. The advantage is that you forget about all that tweakin' and concentrate on getting the tone from your hands! Over the years I have owned or looked at just about everything. I don't need to have a bunch of gear but I do like to have the very best. I don't see me changing the Beaufort any time soon-for me the Clark is one of the best. I have formed these opinions with no respect to price although the value here is outstanding.