Cornford Hellcat Head

This is an original run Hellcat, it has NO cat on the front plate of the amp serial number HC0057
Im sure there are many reviews that can tell you what this amp has, two channels vintage and modern. no clean and drive which doesnt bother me as i have the vintage channel set up pretty clean

the high and lo input are handy too

iv given it a 9 rather than a 10 because it has no REAL clean channel, obviously the vintage channel can function as a clean channel but its nothing on my carvin legacy

I play a HUGE range of styles as a Degree student so i run all my guitars from telecasters to seven strings through this and it does well. The thing i love about this is its a boutique amp....that can do metal.... nice!!!

it has the same operating noise as your regular tube amp

cornford are renowned for being tone gods...and this amp is, it can do ANYTHING! an i still cant get over how metal that modern channel is with the drive on 10!

as of yet there have been no problems, its a sturdy beast!

I have called cornford to ask a few questions like the history of the amp and i was dealt with in a fast polite manner, very nice guys!

Iv been playing 6 years now, and own quite alot of gear...but this is my favourite! if it were stolen...id pay someone to hunt down the thief then use his ***** as a patch cable...simple as

come on!!! its point to point hand wired!!! that deserves a 10!

I have one of the early ones made in the 1st yr or 2 of production. For what I'm mostly playing now, which is jam-band, free jazz stuff the 2 ch is all I need. I'm into high gain as much as any metalhead, but when doing the exploratory improv stuff I'm using the clean ch about 75% of the time.

The fx loop works astonishingly well for a serial loop for my mostly analog pedals.

Its 35w is enough for me. I get to crank it pretty loud - clean ch. halfway & dist ch around 2:00 when jamming. That's w/a 2x12 cab on the floor which I do on purpose so it doesn't project as well & thus allowing me to turn the vol up.

By now you all know it's P-to-P wired, no PCBs.

In the preamp I'm using Tung Sol goldpins in pos 1, 4 & 5. JJ's in ps 2 & 3. The EL84s are Electro-Harmonix stamped, which might be made by Sovtek. I was told the JJ pwr tubes burn too hot in this amp unless you change the input resistor from its 1k vers to roughly a 5k.

One thing I'd wish for is ch. switching on the front panel.

I'm using a Carvin SC90S & an American Strat w/high output Carvin pickups - a HB & a stacked single-coil. No middle p/u for me - it gets in the way when doing the metal chugging.

I recently had 3 amps but had to downsize for monetary reasons. It came down to keeping this or a Marshall JVM410H. When I played them back-to-back it was no contest no matter what cab I used. It's the distortion tone that decides it for me. The JVM is very versatile & does everything well - capable of very high gain, but this Hellcat's dist tone is so much richer & less compressed.

I'm using the hi input. The low input as expected, has slightly less gain. I also use a Humphrey Audio-modded Metalzone w/its EQ settings halfway & dist level on 0 - as a solo boost. Also sometimes a Phoenix Electronics Cream Tangerine, which is a boutique compressor that doesn't compress/flatten entirely like most of them do. The reasons for using these pedals for boost is I often like to solo w/the neck p/u when playing the upper registers as it allows for a creamier tone & better sounding sweep-picking.

The pot for the ch-switching broke soon after I got it. Soon afterwards the reverb stopped working. I thought it was also the switch, but turns out it's something else. Fortunately I don't care for reverb esp. when the tone is already near perfect. I'd prefer if there was no reverb tank in this thing. I should actually disconnect it and/or remove it since it's not working & I have no intention of getting it fixed or selling the amp.

I've been playing since 1981 though I took a few yrs "off" during the mid-90s. I use this head w/an Avatar 2x12 (V30s) & a shitload of pedals. One thing you should do is connect as few pedals as possible bet. your gtr & amp input or it'll deplete your tone. Your tuner, dist pedals & noise gate can go in the front, but any kind of modulation, delays, etc should go thru the fx loop. That is unless you're using a true bypass loop switcher for all your pedals.

I've had a Marshall JMP, 30th Anniversay, JVM, a couple of Boogies, Peavey Triple X, Sovtek Mig50, Roland JC-120, Soldano HR-50 & Decatone, Carvin Legacy & maybe others I can't remember right now. Only the Decatone was as good as this. The only other amp I'm planning on getting when finances shape up is an SLO-100, which is still my favorite amp. This & the Decatone is #2 fave.

The Hellcat is a boutique and point to point wired product for players who truly love tone. It has 2 channels , modern (high gain ) and vintage (vox ac30`ish ).35 watts output , but its a loud 35 watts and no problems whatsoever for use in live bandsituation. In terms of build quality, the Hellcat is built to withstand an atomic war, if you ever got a look on the inside, the PTP wiring will take your breath away, these things are built with a pride in the product.My only gripe is with the footswitch for changing channel and switching reverb on or off, it doesnt have led`s so as you can tell at glance..........quite silly really and its -1 point for this Cornford.

With the Hellcat being el84 based, you arent going to get the bottom end of an el34 or 6L6 based head, I dont play thrash metal or any of the music that Engl amp buyers love, so this aint no problem for me whatsoever. The cleaner vintage channel will make your strats chime like a tuning fork and is sublime for those eric johnson moments. The high gain modern channel is made for those parisienne walkways moments and has more drive than you will ever need.Take a nice guitar with PAF style pickups and the Hellcat will put a smile on your face , the fx loop is quiet and unintrusive and the reverb is lush and musical ....just brilliant.

Its the mercedes of boutique tube heads, these things are built for the gigging pro right down to the bedroom hack .

The Hellcat performs so superbly, I havent had a need to phone them, says it all really.

I just love it, I really do. Ive gigged it, recorded with it and noodled in a room in my house with it and its never even broken sweat. You can buy a cheaply made with cheap parts amp like a modern Marshall and wait whilst its in the repair shop have blown transformers and/or warped circuit boards replaced or......you can spend that little bit extra or a handbuilt and hand wired product that is made to last and not have the headaches and stress a Modern Marshall will give you.If my Hellcat were stolen or lost, id be distraught for sure. Well done to Cornford, the Mercedes of boutique tube amps.

testa 35 watt, due canali.distorto e pulito che dire unici!!!!!!!un amplificatore capace di fare qualsiasi genere dal blues al metal!! io riesco a suonare in un concerto con un solo canale e riesco a fare distorte pulito solo giocando con il volume!!!!!!!!!!

io lo uso con una fender strato natural, un diamond memory lane 2 , petterson stromp 2 e un isp decimator .per questo amplificatore occorre avere dei ottimi pedali,che senso ha avere un ampli cosi e mettere dei bos??? il suono spacca!!! i puliti cristallini fino anche a sonorita jazz, i distorti mostruosi un po rumorisi ma ?? normale per un amli spinto cosi!!!ha un suono vero non acito asciutto solo metallaro dei soliti mesa eng ecc...grande cornford!!!!!!!!!

mai un problema!!speriamo in bene

se mandi un'email sul sito ti rispondera facilmente non poco per prodotti cosi!!! grazie per avere costrutio dei gioielli!!!!

il voto finale ?? un vero amplificatore con le palle!!capace di soddisfarti in qualsiasi genere occhio pero che se pur avendo due canali tutto sembra facile in realta non lo ??!!! risalta ogni piccola pecca anche la chitarra se non ?? sistemata bene ,il tuo tocco e tuto quello che entra nel segnale!! per il resto ?? unico!

Can't change channel without footswitch!
Can't use many types of valve on older models.
Otherwise all I ever wanted.

Just never quite as good as my Plexis.
vintage channel is nice, but not as nice as my Cornells.
Modern is noise, squealing feedback (nasty type), and too much compression.
Doesn't cut in the mix - it has a dark tone.
Sounds wonderful at home - but why spend so much on a practise amp?
I was so disappointed as I had hoped and expected to keep this for life. I would even have forgiven the naff nameplate and tacky embarrassing cat on the front.
It lasted ten weeks of almost endless A/B work and soul searching - then it went.

No problems

Phoned a couple of times - spoke to Martin Kidd - very helpful

Biggest disappointment ever.
I wanted to love this amp as I had always wanted one based on all the reviews below etc - but it didn't do it for me.
I guess the world divides, if you like a plexi - EL84 or EL34, don't buy this one!

This is a 2nd. review of the Hell cat..

After owning it for a few months the same thing happens to my ears that every EL84 amp has done to me..to much FIZZ...the harmonics on the bass strings are waisted..they dont come off at all its just buzz & fizz..the rest of the amps tones are awesome, but I happen to love pinch harmonics..and I believe EL84 based amps under lead gain volumes dont have the headroom for them...

killer amp build

excellent

I am selling this head, and going back to a modded 50 watt plexi type amp..Looking at a custom 50 by Dabeck amps...

Two channel EL84 based brittish amp. It does have shared EQ, but its perfect for both channels, and really works great. a very loud 35 watts, with uncanny headroom. Great looking to boot...

The cleans can do about anything you ever dreamed of, and this clean channel can crunch as well. The lead channel can really be played with no pedals at all. lots of gain on tap here, but I like turning it to 12:o clock and useing a Barber direct drive to boost the leads..This way I can have a super clean, a fat clean, a killer crunch and a very fat ass punchy lead tone. If you overdrive the front end to much you can get that fizzy EL84 tone, so I really dont puch it very hard with the pedal.
AS for tones & feel....Its the bomb. I sold my beloved Two Rock Emerald Pro for this amp, and the first few weeks I was in shock. But now its really a better amp for my needs, much more feel & emotion come out of me with this amp. Very singing in all modes, with just the right amount of brittish grain.

I have heard they are very well built amps, but it is point to point, and that means very easy to fix, and will outlive me.

One of the very best out there. Paul will e-mail you right back on any ? you might have. many forum info on these amps as well.

I use everything from a Tom Anderson strat to a SG standard and they all sound great. I am still finding all the sweet spots this amp has to offer, and I am still on the honeymoon period. So far I really like everything the amp has to offer. I did find, like many other EL84 type amps, some OD pedals work and some dont..the old Barber direct drive works very well, my Anologman OD ...did not.

I bought the Hellcat head and matching 4x12 cabinet used. The serial number is #0051 and the date of manufacture is 2002. The reason I know the exact date the head was built is because being an electrician by trade and obcessive compulsive by birth, when I the head was delivered to my house, the first thing I did was rremove the chassis from the head box. The inside of the chassis was dated and signed by Martin Kidd. Because of my profession, I was immediatly impressed by the quality and apperance of the wiring. To go to so much trouble to make something that will never be seen by most people so neat and tidy speaks volumes for the love that this company has for it's products! Most people reading this already knows the specs so I'll deal more with sound.

I was a little worried at first about the shared eq for both channels. I am not one to buy something I've never played and certainly not for this much money, however I had been looking for a channel switching amp for sometime and having played almost everything in my area I was ready to take a chance. The worries about the shared eq were quickly put to rest, this amp sounds so good that the eq that sounds good to your ear on one channel magically blends in to the other. My only reference to this amp was a DVD I got from Tone Merchants of Guthrie Govan playing one of there heads. I was amazed at how he was able to coax any tone out of the head by tone and volume changes on his guitar. Because he could make a Peavey Bandit sound amazing I was still a little worried. But this amp actually works like that, it is so responsive to every nuance of what it's being fed. Another unique quality of the amp is the tone controls themselves. I had so many amps that were designed by engineers and the bass, middle and treble controls cut frequencies that they thought should be cut and were basically useless! The people at Cornford must be guitar players because as guitar players there is a very narrow range of frequencies at which we like to tweek,and this amp nails it, every control does what it says and the point it should do it, I hope that makes sense! With the reverb on on the Vintage channel and the gain rolled off it almost sounds like a Fender Twin. Roll the gain up on the channel and it gets so chunky and still defined. But the Modern channel is what really does it for me. Turn the gain up raise the volume as loud as you can stand and just let the amp speak to you! You really have to feel the sound to understand. A word of warning to all reading this review, there seems to be 2 camps of Tube amp buyers, harmonic distortion and preamp distortion like the new metal sound. I am into power tube harmonic distortion sound so I don't know how this would work for that style. But living through the 80's shred era this is the perfect amp for me. The Cornford cabinet had greenbacks in when I got it and I quickly changed them out for Hellatone 60L's, which are essentially broke-in Vintage 30's, which is what the cabinets originally come with. I use Les Paul's w/ burstbucker pickups, Jackson Dinky w/Trembucker, Ibanez RG550 & RG 360 w/Trembucker.

Judging by the construction, I would say this amp would be extremely reliable, but I've only had it a short time.

I sent some questions to Cornford via email before I bought the amp and they were very helpful and informative.

This amp is an investment! I could not see myself ever getting rid of it. I have tried so many amps and there was always something that I didn't like about them. I paid more for this amp and cabinet than I have for most of the cars I have driven in my life so how can I call it a value, I can quit wasting time always looking at the next great amp that comes out and focus on my playing and to me, just in time saved that's a great value!

Well what can i say ? 35 LOUD Valve watts ! Amazing tone from standard controls. 2 Inputs for lo and high output guitars, treble, middle, bass, reverb, twin gain controls for "vintage" and "Modern" channels. To put it simply yes the eq is shared on both channels but to be honnest its that good you dont need dual eq.

Had the amp for a short while but afte only a few mins i was blown away with all sounds at all levels. this is the best amp i have ever owned. I have had Mesa, Marshall, Lany, Fender etc.. but this is without doubt the best sounding amp i have been fortunate enough to own. Yes its not cheap but its worth every penny.

I play with Ibanez RG series guitars and get the tone i have always drempt of. My gear is :

Hellcat head, Marshall 1922 cab, TC Electronic G-system, cry baby & Boss ds-3 into the loops on the gsystem. and all i can say is that if you get bad tone from this amp you need new tubes, or get your ears tested ! Its Bloody fantastic.

Cant say anything as im a new user but as with all amps of this nature carry spare tubes and fuses and i think you will be ok. This amp is built very well and i can say that im sure it will take alot of stick but at the end of the day it's electronic and things can and sadly do go wrong. If i had the money then i would buy annother as a spare incase the worst was to happen but i highly doubt it.

I have sent emails asking general advice and have has a reply within the hr so Great ! And have also spoken to mr Cornford himself over the phone and he was very helpful ! how many companies do you know of that put you though to the guy who made your amp ? none that i know of appart from cornford so all i can say is GREAT !

Been playing fo 15 years and have owned alot of gear from crap to pro and i can honestly say that this is the best amp for me ! I play iabanez guitars and also strats etc.. tc electronic effects (only on the odd tune) if it were stolen i would hunt the culprit down and do some very nasty things to him / her ! then i would buy annother !

I feel that I must kick off this review by saying that I have no in-depth technical knowledge on how an amp operates, is constructed or works.I am merely a player and certainley no amp purist/tone-head.I say this merely to excuse my comments regarding the features on this amp.
My main gripe is the shared EQ which actually doesn't pose a problem in a real-world gig situation although separate EQ's would be a nice touch.It just niggles a bit that we haven't got that sort of versatiliy on what otherwise is the greatest of amps.
A previous reviewer commented on the lack of LEDs on the footswitch.Again this would be lovely, but I would refer him to the review in Guitarist magazine some years ago which gave a technical explanation for this omission.Frankly I've never found it a real problem.
I prefer switchable parallel and series effects loops, but let's face it we're into Boogie terratory now.The series effects loop sounds great with any decent modulation device.All in all this baby has all the features Lord Hendrix himself would require to play his largest ever gig!I apologise for my nit-picking

No question, this sounds like nothing else around.Vintage can give the most pristine clean tones,overdriven crunch and, if you're a bit adventurous with the pedals, some quite unique filth.The modern channel is the great prize in my opinion.All the review cliches apply.Utter distortion with the gain full out with every note perceptible.Floor the power amp and back off on the guitar and it's bell-like all the way.My fave is heavy on volume and sparse with the gain.The tone is just divine and suited to just about any mainstream style but if you want more it is all there.I reckon the only thing it can't do is a convincing vintage Fender amp-if you want that get a Fender.The Hellcat is 35W and,girls and boys, we all know the power rating can be a bit confusing.At a recent gig I took a Marshal TSL 100W combo as a back-up but AB'd it with a Lehle unit.The Marshall wound up didn't even approach the clarity of the Hell Cat running through a Cornford 2X12 in a full-on gig situation.I have had this amp for over 4 years and still get a thrill firing it up.If you have the cash this amp is the only choice

4 years-not even a valve gone.Rugged is the word

Have the amp looked at every year or so.No problems.Cornford are reknowned.The boss man will speak to you himself if required.I get the impression that were the amp to develop a fault in 10 years time the Cornford boys (& Girls!!) would be a helpful as if I'd bought it yesterday

9 merely because of the features.Which is ironic because , being an amature, I simply don't need them.I am a lucky boy and am fortunate enough to own a Cornford Harlequin & Carrera(see my review on that Bad-Boy).I also have a music-man valve head(based on the Bassman).I sold my Marshall-they're just not that good(sorry).I love my Boogie Mark IV and have a lingering love for my hybrid Fender combo which served me faithfully for over ten years when I was penniles and couldn't afford any good stuff(please remember it truly is all in the fingers and that no hardware really makes you great!)My beautiful wife bought me an Orange Tiny Terror for Christmas(almost as good as this but cheap!!) and I run a couple of Cornford 2X12's.I own some great guitars and some which distinctly aren't so great.Everything sound beautiful through this.
I feel I know what constitutes great tone and this is at the top of the pile so TRY ONE
P.S
I have serial No 58.This early they didn't have that awful bloody cat tattoed onto the front plate-get rid Cornford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!