Cornford Hurricane 112 Combo

This amp deserves 100%, so I need to modify my expectations. Let me put it like this - it has all the features you need. Granted, it is a single channel 1x12 combo with no standby. Why would you want to spoil it with unnecessary extras?
OK, it looks a bit 'hand-built', like say, a Dumble, but that is part of the charm.

I confess to having bought my Cornford Hurricane on the strength of magazine reviews and the opinions of others (mainly on Harmony Central). Last night, for the first time I used it at a band practice. I was hoping to play some blues, so took along my David Noble Bluespower (a very tasty hand-built semi with Tom Holmes humbuckers) and plugged in.

Oh my God! Plagiarising from the TV sitcom ?Friends?, let me replace the word I want to use with the word ?puppy?. This amp is puppy awesome! Puppy gob-smackingly puppy fantastic! This motherpuppy is beyond belief?.Why? It turns my distinctly average pentatonic noodlings into A1 cool guitar playing. For example, I wiggle my fingers a bit on the G-blues scales at 15th fret and the puppy thing plays Freebird exactly as on the record. I play my blues lick in the 5th position and the pupper plays genuine Santana circa 1977.

It truly is the most responsive thing I?ve ever played through. I?ve owned a number of digital modelling amps and, until now, I thought that they were ?as near as dammit?. How ignorant I was!

It sounds equally good with single coils, for example, a Parker Nitefly.
The best amp I've ever heard.

I haven't owned it long enough to give an opinion, other than to say that anything built to this standard cannot help but be totally reliable. As already stated, this amp desrves 100%, so I give if full marks.

Small company of dedicated individuals.
Not sure about warranty.

Age 43. Playing for 28 years, use Gibson Les Paul Studio Gem with P90s, a Noble Bluespower, a Parker Nitefly, Crate VC115, various Line 6 amps, Yamaha DG Stomp. This Cornford Hurricane is unique - I'd replace it with another one immediately.

My amplifier is serial number 415 and I suppose it was built in 2002. I bought this amp used. This amplifier is certainly versatile enough to cover most styles. It isn't a channel-switching monster, nevertheless it has rather conveniently located send and return jacks and an wonderfully rich reverb. Currently I'm using the amp at home, but I do internd to use it for gigging and recording in the future. Don't be fooled by the 20watt tag: this amp has enough kick to keep most people happy!

I own a Gibson Les Paul Standard with a Jeff Beck at the bridge and a '59 at the neck and a Fender Mexican Stratocaster. I've also played a PRS McCarty through it and listened to a beautiful 60's Gibson Firebird through it. One thing remains constant: the all sound remarkably different i.e. the Hurricane preserves the sound of each guitar beautifully. You need to crank this amp a little to get the best out of it; it does clean (country & warm jazz), it's also wonderful for Hendrix/Trower blues-rock when using a strat. With the volume cranked it sings beautifully.

I sold my Marshall small box 50 to get this amp - not because the Marshall was a bad amp, just for reasons of portability; I've also owned a Fender 'silver face' Twin, Fender 'tweed' Bassman, Mesa Engineering Triple Rectifier. The latter amp was incredibly disappointing (possibly I didn't know how to get the best out of it).
Also, it responds extremely well to volume variation on the guitar.

I'll let you know!

I've e-mailed the company once and am awating their reply.

I've been playing on and off for 15 years and I have owned a lot of gear in that time. I'm in the process of selling my Mesa Engineering V-twin which sounds very good through the Hurricane as does my ProCo Rat II, though I'm looking to get hold of suitable overdriver/boost pedal e.g. Fulldrive 2 or Hotcake. My Fulltone SupaTrem sounds wonderful through the amp. Overall I'd say that this amp is best suited to minimal effects.

I won't bore you with the details, they are correctly outlined in the other reviews. My additional comments are:
- 5 or 6 knobs that actually make a difference is perfect for me and beats the hell out of 12-30 knobs that do relatively very little
- what a pleasure to finally use a valve amp that, due to its power, needs to be used from volume 6 onwards (volume 6 will start to shine through a generous drummer, volume 7 / 8 creamy, 9/10 screamin')- you actually get to hear what a class A valve sound should be. If you need more front of house power - mike it up
- how amazing to have amp light and small enough to be handy but which I (and countless other guitarists) would choose ahead of any stack (with perhaps the exception of a Cornford stack if the volume was really necessary)and, in fact, any other amplifier on the market!

Well, a strat actually sounds like a strat, a PRS sounds like a PRS...I cannot think of any other amps that do that. If you want it clean its warm and generous, if you want it driven its whatever you want it to be EXCEPT unclear. You will hear every note and nuance that you play (or mistakedly play)even on max gain, max volume...it is stunning! (Assuming that you hit a few notes).
I tend to stick the amp gain on 7 and use the guitar volume and drive pedal to alter the levels of drive that I need - frankly you can do whatever you want, it is still stunning!
Variety: whatever you want
Brutality: whatever you want but the notes (remember) will always shine through

Built like a tank.

Don't know but I guess and I have heard that you simply call the man himself thus my score - his agents are certainly 'hand-chosen' and very kind and helpful.

I play a strat ultra and a PRS, I use a GT5 and a separate wah for effects, I gig regularly. I love it, I realise now how limiting my prior amps were (over-loud and over-heavy!)- Marshall / Mesa / Fender
I will use Cornford until I am wrinkled and old.

Bass, Mid, Treble, Reverb, Hi/Lo Gain and an FX loop...what else do you need?

I use a LP Custom, Strat and Axis and they all do something crazy through this amp...they sound like a LP, Strat and Axis. It's amazingly versatile. I can play blues to metal and even use my acoustic on it and it keeps amazing me. I get to do something I haven't done for years...use the volume control on my guitar to change sounds, not just volume. Reverb is the "best" I've ever heard and the distortion is "creamy" and "brown".

Used it for 6 months now and it's had not a single issue (aside from my playing)

Talked to the company direct via e-mail and Paul Cornford himself e-mailed me the same day. Then, Jo Molloy did a follow-up e-mail the next day. Incredible product, incredible people.

It was a bit pricy but hey, compared to what??? I had a Koch (piece of garbage), Mesa Tremoverb (not good, not bad, just kind of there), Marshall (I had a couple and had probs with every one of them I ever had...serious JUNK). After I got this amp, I sold everything but my vintage stuff. I gig about 200 dates a year and this amp is the answer to my prayers. If I need more volume, I mic it...novel concept, eh? Thanks to Cornford amps for making my life easier and for making me sound good. I will be getting their 6 watt Harlequin for my studio and maybe the new 35 watt Hellcat head (I collect and I think these things will be great collectibles)

20 Watt All Valve amp made in Britain. Built to last

Brilliant, Great Blues tone
Brings out the best of any guitar put through it.
Strats sound better through this amp than my Fender Blues Junior.

Built like the proverbial Brickhouse

Never had any cause to use it.

Beats any other amp I have used, i.e. Fenders and Marshalls

This amp was made in 2001 it is number 295 produced. The amp is very versatile. Personally, i can get any tone i have ever wanted out of it. Despite its single channel and few controls it is more versatile than a lot of multi-channel all singing amps i have tried (MESA Trem-O-Verb!). The power is just right - plenty loud enough to cut through at a small gig, small enough to be miked at bigger gigs and not piss off the P.A. guy!

I have recently read that Joe Satriani has produced most of his new album with Cornford's and that the Hurricame is his personal favourite amplifier. I'm not really a fan but it impresses me that such a simple amp can be used by people like him and yet at the same time be perfect for blues, country etc. The reason is that the amp sounds incredible. I use it with a 52 reissue tele. It makes the tele sound good even though it ain't. More to the point it makes me sound good but at the same time it makes me want to improve. Crank it up (turn up the gain) and it really is like being in front of a far sweeter, more manageable vintage marshall. Incredibly though, if you turn down the gain, turn up the lush reverb and it sounds exactly like a samll Fender.

I've had no problems to date. I really can't see any problems occuring - these are simple amps built well. Treat them with respect and they'll last a lifetime.

Cornford are a newish brand and there is a lot of hype around them now. I hope they remember me when they are rich and famous - i'm sure they will! One year warranty - not quite as good as a Matchless lifetime warranty but then look what happened to them!

I really cannot emphasise enough for people to go and buy this or any other Cornford amp. I had to sell my old Mesa and i felt bad taking money off the guy who bought it knowing he could have spent the money on a Hurricane! Oh well! I would buy another one in a second if i lost it.

This is a no frills amp having a single channel, with reverb and the usual gain, bass, middle, treble and master volume controls. It's rated at 20 Watts configured in class A, via a pair of EL84s. There are 4 preamp valves, one of which drives the full length reverb springs. It has solid state rectification. The cabinet is pine and contains a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. There are extension speaker sockets and also a reverb on/off footswitch(supplied). And not forgetting the effects loops jack sockets conveniently located next to the input jacks (Hi and Lo). Note: there is no standby switch.
How versatile is this amp? I would imagine in the studio you could wring out any kind of sound you wanted, short of the heaviest type of scooped metal. However, I bought it as a gigging amp that I could turn up 10 (OK so 7 is about right!) to drive the power amp and play aggressive blues. So for me it does everything I require. This is an amp you set up and forget about, using the guitar volume to change the amount of grit and a volume boost pedal for those isane moments.
As I bought this amp for a specific purpose and it fulfils all my needs I would give it 10, bar for the lack of a standby switch, which I do miss between sets and while setting up etc.

Now the pleasurable bit - the sound. Firstly, I mainly use a horrible old 80s Strat, but while it looks horrible (BMW metallic blue - yuk!) the maple neck and whatever wood is hidden under the paintwork, makes it sound good through any amp. But through this amp it sounds great. I set the gain so that there is just enough dirt when the guitar vol on 10, back off when I need it slighty cleaner and hit the vol boost pedal when I need more. But the best setting is the first one. This amp seems so much more responsive than I remember any of my other amps sounding.
Over the years I have tried to deafen myself with various 100W halfstacks and none of them gave the sensitivity to pick attack like this baby. (Ok so I have finally learned that I only ever needed just a few watts of delicious valve power:o) )
I do have to say that despite the single 12" speaker and the relatively small cab size (although big for a single speaker amp) it produces all the lows required. It seems clear that the amp has been designed to produce the whole frequency range, not just annoying raspiness of some amps. (BTW all comparisons are to other vavle amps. I would never entertain the idea of buying solid state - not until the digital modelling bit rates improve anyway).
You do have to spend time playing with the tone controls as they are configured in the traditional vintage way and hence are both passive and interactive. i.e. move the treble control and the bass is affected too. (The rough settings for me are gain on 7, reverb on 4, bass on 6, middle on 3 and treble on 4)
The sound is best heard rather than subjectively described. If you are thinking of buying a high end guitar combo, ask yourself will you be using all those features and all that power than comes with a thousand pound price tag of the typical PCB based, mass produced amp? Just try one of these babies and let your ears decide.
The sound rating is an easy 10. whilst I haven't had the pleasure of playing all the best amps, I've had a few.

I have gigged it a few times now and rehearsed with it and so far so good. The only slight concern is how the lack of a standby switch will affect valve life. For the techies amongst you this amp is configured with cathode bias so the current rises slowly as it's switched on. I would still have preferred a standby switch though if only for reason mentioned in the features section. Not sure how to grade this section as the amp is still too new to be judged. If the apparent build quality can be taken into account, it will last longer than I will. Naturally being hand assembled, point to point wired it is built like the proverbial tank. Does that make it a 10? Guess so.

Despite them taking two days to answer one email I guess they're OK. - Only kidding! How many amp manufacturer's would even bother to reply?
Martin the production manager rang me back and was quite willing to discuss the amp's design.

I've been playing for 27 years now and have owned various Marshalls, Boogies and Fenders. Currently, I also have a Mesa Dual Rectifier - in case I get a touch of the male menopause and start another rock band. In this section I'm supposed to say what other amps I compared it with, but given that I wanted a point to point, hand wired combo I could listen to and love, that didn't cost the earth (i.e. over 2 grand like some US boutique amps)is there anything else?
Anything I wish it had? Hmmm, I guess if I'm completely honest with myself, for those less than "turn it to ten" moments, perhaps the option of valve rectifiction would be nice to compress the clean sound a bit more at lower volumes. But that really is being picky.
This section is another easy one to grade.......10/10

Have fun. Johnny Fretwell.

Burgundy, hand made in Britain (October 2001)
20 watts,all valve class "A" combo. Gain, Bass, treble, mid, master volume, reverb (with reverb pedal), effects loops. One channel. Just an amps with the basics really. Very pleased about the reverb and the effects loop though. I use a delay, so find this useful and the reverb is nice for around the house. I don't mind having one channel. Too often, 2 (or 3)channels can cause more bother than it's worth. One channel is simplicity. Set yer sound, away you go. With amps like this, I don't expect and don't want bells and whistles, so to judge it low for lack of features misses the point really. One buys stuff like this because they sound and perform well. More of that later though. One thing I do
find odd, is the lack of standby switch. Don't know how that is going to affect anything like saving the valve life etc, or allowing it to warm up - I shall see. I suppose when a company puts so much effort and time into a product like this, there must be a reason - perhaps it simply doesn't need one...

Guitars used; 1960 Closet classic strat, 1952 tele reissue, Fender custom shop strat and a gibson flying V.

Yeah yeah you've heard it all before I know. But this is something special. Really, it is. Think of a sound you want (Thrash or doom metal excepted perhaps - this is a little combo after all), think of that sound and you will find it hear. SRV? No prob. Little Wing? Easy.
Gilmour? in spades. AC/DC, Beatles, Gary Moore, Townsend, Shadows...they are all there. And you know who else? Yep, Me. Thats who. It sounds how I always wanted to sound. But never quite managed.

How do you think a strat should sound? Plug in and you will hear exactly what one should sound like. Do the same with a tele, or a Les Paul etc. They all sound exactly as they should and how you want them to be. This little bugger has character and it WILL make your guitars and you sound better than they ever ever have.

Clean (gain low) is full, bright, deep...beautiful really. Sprinkle a little reverb and you will not stop playing all night. If you generally play rock, this will make you play clean. It's that plush.
Ok then add a little gain. "Clean, but dirty". Oh my....You can still play clean here, just hit the strings less hard. Hit 'em hard..?Wallop! Clean her up with your guitar Vol if you want to...it all works...better than you had ever imagined. Total complete response from your amp - it does what you tell it to do. Gain up high and you have a gorgeous distortion. Not brittle and harsh. Think smooth and full; creamy, if you will. Even with a lowly 1x12 this sounds so rich it will amaze anyone.
One interesting point here. This amp is only 20 watts. How often have we all bought amps that were 100watts, 60watts etc and really never used 'em to their full capacity even on stage. Most musicians I know in bands, play in pubs and clubs where this kind of volume is not remotely needed. These same amps in the bedroom are equally as daft; what is the point of a 100w Marshall DSL for home use? I had one, and never, ever got to see the best of it. Same with my Fender Prosonic. Now think of this; an amp which you can actually turn up and push it, really push it, to get that sound you want, without annoying the club owner; How useful is that? And it sounds equally as good at home. Why? Because it is small. But trust me, this thing can belt it out with the best of 'em if needed. C'mon hands up. Who has bought a huge amp, and never really really used it, thinking bigger was better and cooler? A lot I imagine. For people who do use this type of volume, Cornford also do a 50W head (and cab), which sounds equally as good. To conclude, once you have played on an amp as good as this, you will never go back. I will not criticize other amps; Marshall, Fender etc because they all have their place, and players can, and do, sound amazing through them. C'mon these type of amps are our musical history for gods sake. I would however say that an amp built to this standard just seems to have that extra magic and versatilty to enable you as a player to be what you want.For all the talk of Hybrids, or Modelling amps etc, they will simply never sound like this can. Even if you cannot afford one, or do not even want one, just try one; Just once, and hear what magic like this feels and sounds like

Built with pride. Looks expertly put together, and feels and looks like it will not let you down.. take a look in the shop and you will see a product that cannot be faulted on build quality.

I have e-mailed Cornford once or twice, and Paul Cornford replied immediately and personally. This type of small company will not let you down. Therefore no problems. When I bought the amp, I was quoted 2-3 weeks. It came on the 14 day

You should know by now what I think of this amp. Easily the best I have had and I have had a few. Marshalls and Fenders mainly but I also had Line 6 and a Mesa Subway rocket. And an AC30.

This is exceptional; though. True it is also (in some instances) double the price of some amps, but heck, it is worth it when you plug in and play. Don't take my word for it, try one in a shop and see. If you don't like then hey, good for you. But at least you would know