Cornford RK 100 Head

I bought this new from Coda Music, England. I think it was manufactured in 2009 - serial no: RK 125. For a full description, go to www.cornfordamps.com. Although it has only 6 knobs, the amp is one of the most versatile I've seen. Controls are very sensitive. This is the Sound of Rock!

I use it with a '94 American Fender Strat and a Japan Fender RK signature Tele (perfect match!). I play pop-rock, blues-rock.
It can cover almost any sound in the history of rock. It's all in there, just spend some time tweaking.
I don't find it to be noisy.
The sound is very inspiring, the overdrive is organic...well, first weeks I got it I couldn't stop playing it.
Tried it with a whole bunch of pedals (it loves pedals), in front of it and in the efx loop: Trex, MI Audio, Xotic, Homebrew, EHX, Hardwire, Boss, Eventide...you name it.
At the moment I only use a Trex Mudhoney in front of it for light crunch, and MI Audio Boost 'N Buff (mostly for being a very good buffer) Hardwire Reverb, Boss DD-20 delay, Homebrew THC chorus, EHX phaser in the efx loop.
The efx loop is a wonder: it's tube buffered, very clean and warm. I learned that the delay settings I used with my pedals with other amps were rather wrong!
And the Cornford RK 4x12 cab makes a huge difference. Tried the head with good old Marshall cabs. The pine RK cab has more bass response.

Very reliable so far. I played it anywhere from clubs to outdoor stages. Built like a brickhouse.
This is one heavy f*cker (with its case, approx. 35 kg)

I e-mailed at info@cornfordamps.com. No answer. I called them and spoke to Mr. Paul Cornford three times. He's a very nice guy. Very helpful. Thank you, Paul! Best customer service.

I own/owned Fender, Marshall, Peavey, Mesa Boogie. Never heard an amp so dynamic. It really lets the sound of your guitar and your playing come through. Made me a different guitar player. Turn down the volume knob on your guitar - voila: clean, turn it up: lead. It makes me focus more on my playing.
I brought it to a guitar clinic, Guthrie Govan and Jose De Castro played it. They used pretty much the same amp settings with their Suhr guitars. But the sounds that came out were very different.
Well, I guess the "tone is in your hands" crap is true! :)))
I'm already planning on getting another Cornford head and cab - fantastic value for the money!

I don't understand the people.
The features is a 10!!!
You know this amp has a channel.
well, this is an amp with a channel, but
FX loop tube buffered, two speakers outputs, 4-8-16 ohms, fuses with leds for the tube amps, and a wonderfull footswitch to change clean or dirty without changing your tone!!!
The best features!!!!

I play with stratos. Single and humbucker.

This amp is the more dinamic amp. You will go from clean to ultra saturated with your volume pot.

The FX loop is perfect.

The sound is not than fuller as the Marshall sound but is fatter and warmer.

You can change the pots position, and you will have always a good sound, but the gain no more than 6, because is very dirty. Perhaps if you want more gain you must to use a booster better, as Richie Kotzen does.

My RK is now 3 years old. Perfect. As the first day.

I prefer don't rate this because if you call them is a good service, but if you write emails is difficult to have answer.

I bought it used, but it is as new in all.
The owner bought it new two months before.

single channel with attenuator switch (actually behaves like a twin channel amp). 4 EL34's in output stage and 4 12ax7's in pre amp. Serial FX loop, 2x mono speaker outputs. presence control & 3 band passive EQ which works backwards if you know what I mean (knobs up full = zero attenuation). Used for very heavy rock/Stoner/metal/doom etc. my previous amp was a mesa rectoverb 50 combo which has 5 different modes and two cahnnels + a solo boost switch so I was a bit sketched out about the lack of features initially however, one minute of riffing on the rk 100 made me feel complete as an astral being. It's versatility lies in controlling what goes in to the input stage by tweaking your guitar's volume/tone knobs.

I mainly use a les paul 1960 reissue with a bareknuckle warpig in the bridge but I've had exemplary results with an SG too. yet to try a strat or tele but don't feel the need to as I don't use fender's much really. This suits me down to the ground as I play very heavy stuff, very loud with lots of gain but I can get awesome tones out of this from clean to blistering high gain. In a word 'Awesome'. I was using it with the RK 100 cab, which cornford designed purely as a partner to the head but I found an orange 4x12 ppc gave me more beef on the bottom end. The rk100 cab seems a little more glassy (high middly) by comparison to the orange though it is still an awesome cab with good/excellent build quality.

no problems yet. Built like a sherman tank, very heavy which I always find is a good sign for amps..

bought second hand but hear that cornford are pretty reliable on the fixing front. The design is apparently so simple that any amp tech worth his salt could do a repair job on this.

been playing about 12 yrs and had whole host of other gear from marshall dsl (*crap) through fender twin (*ok ) to peavy 5150 (very good) mesa dc series (very good) recto (very good) to this (awesome). This is the best thing ever in my opinion as it gives the guitar plenty of space to shine whilst delivering honest tones by the sack load. Other high gain amps I've run through over the years tend to take over the sound of the guitar after a certain point on the input gain but the RK 100 just sounds killer and has shedloads of headroom. I'd be heartbroken if this was stolen and I'd have to write to jim'll fix it to get another one.

4x ECC83, 4x El34, 1 channel with pre amp foot switchable attenuator, valve failure fuses...

Everything you need and nothing you don't!!!

it only limited by the user.

Sound are superb!!!

switch on you have hardly any hum and no hiss, with the attenuator engaged you can produce some awesome open low gain tone ala Led Zep, Free, Early Clapton, Jeff beck. Roll back the volume and you have a very nice clean tne that even Johnny Hiland would be proud to use, by using the tone you can color the original sound to your own taste (roll back for rhythm and wind it up for lead so that it cuts) what i am trying to get out this amp is very reactive to you playing, pick technique, velocity of the attack, volume and tone change it truly is the most dynamic new amp out there today.

Moving your foot over the high quality footswitch and disengaging the attenuator the amp just rips up anything you throw at it and asks for more. The tone is nothing short of spectacular, Very rich mid range which never fizzes no matter how much gain is present, thumping but not overpowering low end (mesa take note) and sweet articulate treble. This setting allows for some serious gain to piled on it go from anything from Hank Marvin to Metallica!!! But once again its completely up to you how this amp sounds, it is not made for players who rely on pedals, sound FX and don't know what the controls on their guitars are for.

It really is the epiphany of the players amp.

fell out the back of a Land Rover, not even a rip, dent or loose valve this thing is built to last.

call them and you will know why this is a 10

The best 100 watt English amp ever.

If have played many many amps over the years and this is the only one i have kept!!!

thats a review in its self.

You need this amp.

I sold everything I owned to buy this amp. I waited patently for 2 months for someone to build it ! I had to have it after trying a Hellcat in Electromusic in Doncaster. It was well worth it. I am the happiest amp owner in the country now. I have tried so many amps to get the right sound and nothing comes even close to this beautiful monster. Its a VERY simple point to point hand wired amp. Its very heavy but its pure quality. It takes some time at concert level playing to learn how the few but very effective settings can produce and shape sounds. Guitar settings and position take on a new relevance. Most folks would rate this amp low as versatile because it doesnt have switches and buttons to press. In real terms of creating the sounds you want though it deliveres. It delivers sounds that most amps just dont have in the pantry. Just got to work it out.

I've been using a Telecaster and an Explorer with it. Ive only heard amps that sound like this on recordings. Dont want to rave on too much about this as I dont want everyone else to have one ! In fact its the first amp that I have refuse to share at gigs.

Its a solid reliable hand-built brickshit house

Its a Cornford..Nuff said!

I've been playing 25 years. Tried most stuff out in that time. Amps like this remind us all that are being conned by most manufacturers.
If it got nicked or blew up tomorrow I would order a new one and not play again until it came. Thats the truth!

2006 single channel all valve hand wired monster! Completely no frills 100watter.

The sound quality on this is simply superb, the best i've ever heard infact. I had been looking at upgrading my rig for a long time, but i just couldnt find and amp that i really liked enough to justify spending a couple of grand. The RK100 is a big fat ballsy rock amp with no stupid switches or tone shaping devices. With just six knobs accross the front panel some people might say that its not versatile but thats a gross injustice because the RK100 covers alot of sonic territory. Its essentially a single channel amp with a footswitchable boost to give you a bit more gain and a little less mid for your solos. The sound is excellent, great for heavy riffing aswell as articulate leads, it will do pretty much any style that you want it to.
I use my RK100 with a crate BV412 (v30's), my main guitars are a PRS 20th anniversary and a 1989 PRS CE24, the band i play in plays melodic rock with a modern edge.
When trying out this amp i compared it with the diezel einstein, Engl powerball, mesa stiletto and the bogner shiva, the bogner was good as was the diezel but none of them had the grunt and clarity of the Cornford, the bogner came closest but the customer support network isnt that good in the UK yet. This really is one of the best amps made worldwide at the moment, its simplicity is a blessing, especially in the current climate of channel switching gizmo amps. I dont need four channels, i just need one good core sound and i'll adjust that from the guitar rather than on a footswitch or a bunch of transistor pedals.

Handwired, no PCBs!

I actually spoke to the guy who built my amp, most helpful.

This is a great amp, the best i've ever owned (ive owned mesa dual rec, genz benz el diablo, marshall jcm900, jcm2000dsl, crate blue voodoo). Once i had a play on it i knew i'd have to have it because its got bags of character, loads of grunt and no crap to go wrong. I could have had pretty much any amp on the market but this one just stood out and worked with my style so well that i couldnt pass it by.

number 33,1 channel,with boost switch,effects loop,el34s,100 watts of the best tone out there,if your in the market for a new amp you owe yourself to try this,i have been use to channel switching,but i dont miss it,with a good guitar you will be amazed at the versatility of this amp,just wicked.i play smaal to large venues,and it delivers.

prs custom 24 artist pack,bare knuckle crawler pickups(geoff whitehorn models)i play in a classic rock covers band,anything from angus to slash,have owned most of the so called best out there,soldanos,bad cats,marshalls,fenders,roctron,line 6,have bben playing for 32 yrs,this amp is amazing,i am tottaly blown away by it,after yrs of foot switching,was not sure it would suit my style,but this covers everyting i need from it,gorgeous crunch,super lead tone,back the guitar of for the keith tone,back it off a bit more and it cleans up,what more do you need,to me this is the best rock head out there,at last i am happy.

its cornford,built like a brick s***house,would not consider a back up at a gig,spare valves yes,but then i would with any valve amp.

never had to deal with them,but rumour haas it they are awsome,so no more said, i bought this from manson guitars in exeter,best guitar shop in the south west,if you want service,no quibble backup,try them.

if this was stolen,it would break my heart,i would most definatley get another,this is the tone i have been searching for in the lsat 32 yrs

Made in Feb 2005
el 34 output with a bias switch for 6l6's. HUGE output tranny.. geez, heavy as heck too.
One channel with a boost, treb, pres, mid, bass, gain, master vol
The boost fattens up the tone and gives nice thick gain. Can do the heavier metal very easily, all the chuggah you could want!
Cleans are sparkly and chimey, very useable channel. I can't complain too much about not having a clean channel because I knew what I was getting into when I bought this amp. If I wanted a clane channel I could have optd for the MK50 which sounds very similar to this head, just not as "Nasty" and "Mean".

I have a Gibson SG standard with Burstbucker PAF reissue in the bridge and the standard 490t in the neck. This is all I could ask for in a solo head, it has a distinct mid cut that's as professional sounding as a well produced guitar solo on a studio album.. That's really what this amp sounds like imo.
If you're a rythm guy and don't do much lead, check out the MK50 or the Hellcat.
I normally have the gain set at about 3 o'clock with the boost off, that is the sweet sounds ala AC\DC, VH, Scorpions. then engage the boost for sustain and lead heaven. This can also be used for the heavy heavy Crunchy riffs too.
I also have a Zakk Les Paul with EMG's and that guitar with this amp are a match made in amp heaven! :)
I have had people come up to me at gigs and tell me this amp is the best amp they have ever heard in thier life.. and I belielve them. That's why i bought this amp.. I heard someone play a modded MK50 (actually it was an MK100 w/boost) and it was simply the best sounding amp I have EVER heard live.
Anohe good thing about this amp is you don't need to be TOO concerned about the speaker cabinet, it will sound good with just about any 4x12 you use (that's been my expereicne so far)_

Solid as a rock so far, no complaints

Cornford is A+ customer support! Martin, Paul & Carol have been nothing but freindly, courteous and helpful to me all the way around!

I've been playing for about 22 years, mostly metal/rock/some shred type stuff.
I'm not selling this baby and I'm praying to god it never gets stolen!
I am like a hawk when I play gigs nowadays!

It's not very versitile in a live situation without a volume pedal, but it does the trick for what I do.