Elmwood Modena Head

Elmwood Modena 60 EL34.

Very versatile - especially for GIGGING MUSICIANS! Check out the features at the Elmwood site...

Everything you need but not too much that would describe it the best i think. No 234channel ******** you will never use or need. Versatile and a tone machine... thats the Modenas.

The sound is superb... Very useful EQ - on both channels. With the fat and edge knobs you can dial in some bass and presence - very useful if you want to experiment with different cabs...

Clean channel is wonderful chimey and rich sounding, warm and shimmering when needed. Nice break-up sounds with the boost.
OD Channel is awesome with a very unique midrange and unique sound - hard to describe something in between of a Marshall/Soldano/Diezel kinda... with the boost engaged you can dial in some of the best leadsounds - really really great sounding amp.

Looks very well built and i don??t think that this amp is some kinda troublemaker like (all) new Marshall amps if you know what i mean. Great quality with top-notch components.

The guys at Elmwood are really great people and they know their business and stuff. Top notch customer service so far - you can ask them any questions...

Unfortunately the clips on Youtube are some kinda ******* - they don??t do that amp any justice...

With a nice reverb or delay added the amp opens up and with the right cab/guitar you are probably in tone-heaven... it??s really that good.

Not cheap but worth every penny...

My amp was made in 2004, and has the red stained birch finish. Looks very classy, with MOP logo, and blue LED's. EL34's, and 4 ecc83's.
This amp can cover almost everything, IMO. From fender-like cleans, to screaming distortion sounds. Mainly, it's not a metal monster, and cannot be compared to the chuggah chuggah of i. e. a 5150, but this amp is so much more versatile in every way!

Two channels, each with a boost. The footswitch has three switches: "Channel", which obviously selects ch 1 or 2, "Boost/drive", which engages or disengages the boost. In order to go from boosted clean to unboosted distortion, you first have to clik the channel switch, then the boost switch, so I try to use my guitar volume for some of the changes between clean/distortion. The less footwoork, the better I'm of. Wouldn't mind a switch ala the ENGL's, with one switch for each channel, but hey, it's no biggie!
It does of course have an effect loop, but I don't use it. I actually don't have any effects other than a chorus.

It also has a volume boost. Two master volumes, basically. To set the volume increase, you set your master 1 to the loudest you are going to need to play during solo's, etc. Then you adjust your master two till you get the difference you want. Stomp on the switch, and the boost kicks in! When the "Master 1" switch on the footswitch isn't activated, your volume is controlled by where master 2 pot is set... A slightly different twist to the volume boost than by other manufacturers.

Amp is 60w, and because mine is a '04 model, I don't have the pentode/triode switching (allowing for it to operate at 30w).

I have a Edwards LPC, Charvel Model 2, Warmoth/Musikraft strat with OFR, and a Jackson RR1. Depending on which guitar I use, I am able to get most sounds I want, out of this bad boy... I mostly play rock/metal. No death/black metal (in that case, I wouldn't own a modena, would I? :P)

The amp does hum a tiny bit when on ch. 2, and boosted. But have you ever heard a high gain amp that has been noiseless, without running a gate? I sure as hell haven't...

Ch1 has drive, over-all volume, and drive volume. Lots of possibilities withe these controls... Ch2 has Drive (unboosted), gain (amount of gain on the boost), and of course volume.

Only thing is I'd want the distortion a tiny winy bit more "chuggah chuggah", but I'm just being picky.

You'd want to check out some clips on youtube or elmwood.se to hear this amp...!

So far it seems very reliable. Had it for half a year now, and it has worked like a charm. Don't think any major repairs (if any) has been done to this amp. I wouldn't use ANY tube amp on a gig without a backup, you never know what happens... But shouldn't be a problem.

I haven't actually bought anything directly from Elmwood, but Peter always answer your emails very quickly, and accurately. No problem getting help from them, great guys!

When buying this amp, you get a life time warranty. This, of course, isn't the case when buying it 2nd hand...

I've been playing for 6 years now, and I've tried a lot of amps... This one is by far the best. But of course, there's still alot of amps I haven't tried, because there's not a lot of dealers near me.
Basically, if you want a KICK *** amp that can cover almost everything except for death metal, buy the Elmwood! Yes, it is a bit pricey, but you'll most likely be very satisfied with what you get!

Modena 60, basically 4 channels although advertised as 2, from shimmering cleans to bluesy grind to crunchy 70s rock to 80s big metal sound and through to modern high gain lead madness. With 2 master volumes, you not only have the dual settings for the clean and gain channels, you have volume control over each too. Wow, how long did it take amp makers to finally give us these simple features, that we have all wanted since our first Shiva? Outstanding.

There are so many great amps out there, how do you judge the tone of any one amp against the hoards? But here goes ...

This does an excellent clean sound, with enough headroom for small/medium clubs. It breaks up into a nice bit of thick grind when you start pushing some air, but single coils keep the sound clean for any level you would need.

The slight crunch tones are outstanding, this is the result of putting the drive on channel 1 ... Stones and Black Crowes tones forever, surprising it covers this ... most high gain amps can't handle this at all.

The normal gain channel tone is very thick and crunchy, a real joy to play, and yes, it does metal very well.

The drive added to this channle puts you into modern high gain territory, but with a great feel and more note articulation than you get from the rest of the pack. I love the lead tones from this channel, you can wail, there is a Soldano type quality as the notes cut, but it is still easy to shred. The best lead amp I have played.

Don't know yet.

They do answer Emails, never had a problem yet that needed servicing.

If you are reading this you already know this amp is a thumper and a crusher ... however, it does 70s rock perfectly, has plenty of very high quality clean tones, and with 2 master volumes this amp gets my highest ratings ever for versatility and tone. Worth every penny, and a much better gigging amp than the XTC or SLO.

This amp is hand-made in Sweden and the one I own was made in october 2007.

The amp is 90 watts pure tube, equipped with 2 KT88 poweramp tubes and 4 12ax7. I have it connected to a 4x12 Elmwood speaker holding Celstion V30:s.

The amp has 2 channels, each with individual boost and EQ. It also has 2 master volumes. This makes it as versatile as a 4-channel amp.

As for Eq you have seperate Bass, Mid and treble for channel 1 and channel 2. On the back you have Fat and Edge knobs for controlling Low and High end in the power amp.

The Fx-Loop goes from parallel to serial. This makes it easy to controll the blend of dry and wet tone.

The looks of this amp is amazing. It's made of Red Stain Birch, making it the best looking amp ever. You have to see it to belive it.

The clean channel is extremly dynamic, the best I've ever tryed. It never distorts even at full volume. When activating the boost it produces the best blues sound you can ever dream of. The clean channel goes from crystal clear to warm blues.

The channel 2, gain channel, goes from Brown to screaming leads. Without the boost it has superb brown voicing making it a breeze to produce the guitar sounds of Van Halen and Dann Huff.

Activate the boost and it sounds even better then the Bogner Ecstasy 101B, that always been my preference amp. The leads are in your face without every going blurry. It's as clear as the clean channel, with the only differnce that this is the gain-channel. Play the most bizzare chords and every tone is still crystal clear.

I haven't found a sound I've couldn't reproduce with the Elmwood Modena M90. It took me 10 minutes to get the sound I've had in my head to pop out of the speakers. The closest to get that sound is the Bogner Ecstasy. The big difference betwween this two amps are. that the Elmwood Modena M90 tone is more clear and has a smoother distortion than the Bogner Ecstasy.

Some of the sounds I've managed to get is the tone from:

Stevie Ray Vaughan
Keith Richards
Steve Vai
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai
Andy Timmons
Michael Lee Firkins
Greg Howe

I've only owned it for about a week and a half. But it's high quality and seems really sturdy.

I've bought this amp with the 4x12 Elmwood speaker and Jan and Peter was very helpfull. Me and my friend drove up to Tanumshede in Sweden and was able to try the Elmwwod Modena M60 and the Elmwood Modena M90 head to head. They were very helpfull helping me out in my search for the optimal tone

I've been playing the the electric guitar for about 24 years, 32 years in total and consider myself a advanced giotar player.

If it was stolen or lost I would replace it in a heartbeat. I love everyting about it...the looks, the tone, the versatilely...everthing.

Yes, this amp has all I need. This amp has not this much features as my Marshall JVM - but it's another type of beats. The only thing missing is the switchable loop - but since I use only a delay in the loop - I don't care.

The M60 and the Elmwood cab together are a dream team.
Very nice clean, blues, crunch, high gain sounds - this amp can do all the tricks.
Not noisy at all, even when cranked up.

The EQ is very powerful it can dramatically change the sound.

Since the additional drive channel adds some knobs so we have - gain1, gain2, volume, master - the amp can produce a lot of different distortion sounds by different settings of this knobs only.

I have waited one year to get this amp here in Germany - and LOVE it !

It's my best amp, beside this do I own a Boogie Lonestar Special, Marshall JVM head and a Zentera modeling amp.

2 x EL34's ,4 12ax7, 2 channels amp - both with a boost feature that makes it sound like a 4 channel amp, 2 master volumes, FX Loop (not switchable but w/ level for serial or parallel),Fat and Edge knobs (Bass resonance and Presence style),Included Footswitch....
Check the site for more details at http://www.elmwood.se/
I'm rating 9 because a Foot Switchable loop(in and out)would be a nice feature on the amp. As would a Bias Feature.(similar to what Diezel is doing.) But hey the tone is what it's about......

Simply the BEST of the BEST. This amp is like a fine wine. You don't know how good it is until you've tried all the best boutique amps than tried this one. I got this amp on a trade deal and was hesitant since it was "yet another underground boutique amp builder". But being an amp junkie I though why not. When I got the amp I saw the most beautiful box on an amp ever! (Red Stained Birch!)When I lit it up I was blown away! WOW! Tone so real it knocked my socks off! Most of all No Fizz! I didn't think my Boogie IIC+'s, Diesel's and VHT sounded Fizzy until I compared it to the Elmo. (our nickname) I ended up selling my Diezel, VHT and Boogie IIC+ since I didn't use them anymore. It is really THAT GOOD! My soundman is blown away. And he knows I'm an amp fanatic. We've tried everything. You name it I've owned it, and probably twice! There is no tone in any amp like this Elmwood M60 Modena. The clean channel is super full and almost Matchless like. (I don't think it's as good as a Class A amp like Matchless or BadCat though) but it is the best clean sound on a high gain amp period! REALLY GOOD. And when Boosted it sounds like a Non-Master Volume amp cranked up ala AC/DC.... and everything in between. My IIC+ had a nice clean tone too but I'd rate this better. The Gain Channel is what it's about for me though, and the tone is pure like a fine wine. No Fizz.... Killer Gain....try one as soon as you can. I didn't think my other amps were fizzy until I played "Elmo".

I've owned the amp now for 3 months with no problems. It sounded great even with the original tubes that I know where more than a year old. I love 60 watt amps since replacing power tubes is relatively inexpensive. Wish the amp had a easy Bias Feature like some amps are doing now (Diezel).

The guys in Sweden have been very good at returning emails promptly.

Owned it all and glad I ran across this amp. If you are thinking of getting one do not hesitate. It's not quite the modern low end beast a Diezel is, it's more refined and toneful. The tone is better than anything I've tried or owned. Real clear and REAL sounding. I don't think the clips on the site do the amp justice at all! Check out these amps!
Some amps I've owned: Bogner Fish (3 or 4), 100b, Uberschall (3),Marshall's, Mesa/Boogie Trip/Dual and Single Recto's, IIC+'s,Triaxis,Soldano HR50, SLO100 (2), Matchless, Dr Z, BadCat, Cameron Modded (2), Cornford, Egnator,Jose Modded Marshall,VHT, Mad Professor, etc.

Made 2005.
Front: Two channels, individual EQ, boost/drive on both, two mastervolumes, all footswitchable.
Back: Effects loop w/mixcontrol, global edge and fat controls, 4 or 8ohm speaker jacks.
I find it to be very versatile as you really have four different sounds and two different volumes to switch between on the footswitch. The only thing I think is missing is reverb.

Guitars: 70's Fender strat, 2004 Gibson LP standard, Eugen Paragon w/Rio grande PU's, Samick HJ 650 jazzbox. I haven't used a lot of effects with it. A little delay is all, but I'm waiting for a reverbunit that I have just ordered. That's about all I need with this amp. I use all guitars regularily with this amp and it handles all of them really well. It's quite sensitive to what guitars and pu's are being used so the guitars personality shines through. Since I have quite a few different gigs from standard jazz with the box, to metal shredding with my own band, studiojobs, teaching etc. I need an amp that can do "as much as possible" within reason, and this is getting close to that.

When I first got it I started with setting all EQ controls to 12 o'clock, and got really cool sounds with all guitars right away, be it rock, blues, jazz, high gain leads... I almost didn't touch the dials for a long time. I just played with guitar volumes, switched guitars and channels. So it's that good. Then when I started to work on the EQ settings it just got so much better. It took me a while to learn how the controls worked together though, cause every one of them are very effective. Only slight changes can totally alter the feel of the sound. But to me it's a good thing because I already get more great sounds out of this amp than I could ever have expected. And...when I'm not playing it's really quiet...

I really feel I have only scratched the surface with this amp and that it can really become truly awesome when I get to know it even better. I give it a ten in advance...

Well, since I have only had it for a couple of months I really can't say how reliable it is, but this far it's behaved perfectly both gigging and in the studio.

I've had quick and helpful responses to all emails I've sent to the company, but then again I haven't had anything to complain about this far...

I started playing 25 years ago and although I haven't been a gear freak, I have owned or used quite a few tubeamps. A couple of Peaveys, a couple of Carvins, Mesa boogies, Marshalls... This time I set out to find "the amp" and spent half a year mapping out the candidates. I ended up with the Modena because I wanted a handmade alltube amp with a really good clean sound as well as great crunch/leadsounds with gain levels from slight crackle to massive metal. With all the footswitch capability it has it seemed to have everything I needed. At a price I could afford. I mean, it's not cheap but the competition is way more expensive.... I'm happy to see that it's living up to the standard I was hoping for.

I bought this a few weeks ago, direct from Elmwood (there are currently no dealers in the US). Made in 2005. This is a two channel amp with a footswitchable boost on each channel. Channel 1 controls are: volume, treble, mid, bass, boost volume, boost drive. Channel 2 controls are: gain, volume, treble, mid, bass, boost gain. There are global fat and edge controls (called depth and presence on most amps), and two footswitchable master volume controls. Also, there is an effects loop with a blend control that goes from fully wet to fully dry. The amp is 60 watts and runs on two EL34s and four 12AX7s.

I play blues, classic rock, hard rock and "alternative". I need a wide variety of sounds and I like to get them through the footswitch. The Elmwood does this quite nicely. I use all the features of this amp, and if I had my wish, the amp would have a third channel (with separate EQ), a 16 ohm speaker output (only 4 and 8 ohm outputs are provided), and external bias adjustment and measurement.

This amp suits my style quite well. I'm using this amp with humbucker equipped guitars - a Brian Moore DC/1 and a project guitar, both with a JB in the bridge. The DC/1 has a Duncan Alnico II Pro humbucker in the neck. The project guitar has a Duncan Jazz pickup in the neck. The amp is very semsitive to the pickup that's being used. Lower output pickups produce a smoother sound and higher output pickups produce more of a pronounced edge. This is really useful because you can totally change the characteristics of the amp by changing guitars.

I can get a nice clean sound (with a good deal of headroom for a 60 watt amp), a dirty neck pickup blues sound, a crunchy rhythm sound and a sustainy lead sound - just from the footswitch! If you actually go and turn the knobs, you can get scooped metal, old Marshall crunch, warm jazz tones, and probably quite a few other tones I haven't discovered yet. The tone stack is very powerful and interactive and allows for tremendous flexbility.

The Modena has great feel - the gain is tight with just a little "give". At lower gain settings, the sound is crunchy and more open. At higher gain settings, you get singing sustain. There's as much bass thump available as you want - the bass and fat controls allow for a lot of control over that. The Modena is also quite quiet, even at higher gain settings.

I've on;y had the amp about 3 weeks, so no idea here. The amp seems to be well built.

I've emailed back and forth with Peter and Jan at Elmwood many times. I've been tweaking the amp to get the optimal souund for me, and they've been quite helpful.

I've been buying high gain amps at an alarming rate for a couple of years now. The Modena is the closest to my ideal I've found so far. It's the best balance of tone, feel, aggressiveness and features. If it was lost or stolen, I'd either buy another, try the Elmwood M100 or await the 100 watt version that I hear is coming. I'd prefer not to lose this one and keep playing. :-) Kudos to the Elmwood crew - you guys do fantastic work!

Have to be the most exciting head ever released on the market, 60 watts of tone ,consisting of 2 Independent channels with seperate master and volume controls and boost controls for each channel, even though it's only a 2 channel head it can act as a 4 channel head when using the footcontroller allowing the boost to be activated on and of for both channels, but also setting mater 1 and 2 at different levels allowing one for rythym and the other to solo, that's how have it set anyway. The look of this head is stunning, beautiful red stain on birch with black front grill and mother of pearl elmwood logo on front of head, there is two standard finishes one being the red stain the other being a darker almost cherry finish, but you can customise the finish, but it might be at an extra charge. The modena houses 2-el34 power tubes and 4- preamp valves. don't be fooled by it only being 60 watt's i've owned 100 watt heads and this baby drowns them no problems.Comes effects loop for all your rack effects. And the great thing is all heads are handmade in Sweden.

All of my guitars are custom made, and all consisting of mahogany backs with maple tops, and Suhr humbuckers. The clean channel is heaven you can dial in anything and i ain't fucking around you can get the stevie ray bell tones to lushs jazz chords , pop, classical you name it , the modena can do it. plus when activating the boost/drive control you get that bluesy break ac/dc crunch ,it's amazing. Know for the fun Part The gain channel- super quiet, and would have to the most spectacular gain ever , my stlye consist of more hot rodded blues and heavy rock and this nails it, the gain is tight smooth, with the smoothest mid range ever. this head is heaven for the gain freaks out there. And it has the meanest bottom end ever heard in an amp, it dosent break up or get loose it stays tight and focused no matter what levels you are playing at, you have to give it a try

It is built like a tank, i've actually had a amp tech open it up , and the comments from him were it was the best designed head, especially for workmanship and quality of componets used in making the head than anything he has seen on the market, plus the transformers are top of the range quality.

The staff at Elmwood are the best bunch of guys you could ever want to deal with, i've spoke to them a few times and everytime it has been a pleasent experience, because these guys know amps, and they have proven it by creating the most exciting head i have ever had the joy to own, i don't care what anyone says, this has ended my search for the perfect guitar amplifier

Would buy another in a heart beat, i love everything about this amp, the features, looks & sound. Nothing to dislike about this baby.
I have owned shit loads of gear my recent gear before the modena was
2-mesarecto pres with a vht2/50/2 and mesa boogie 2/100/2 i thought at the time was the ultimate, but then when using the modena i really started to think , shit this sound 10 times as good as my boogie rig, and i have never looked back since, don't bother with marshall heads or boogie heads or any other factory production run company [besides maybe a bad cat] which are quite an awesome sounding amp also. because you will only be selling yourself short.

This amp is new for 2005. The same guys that made the Elmwood 3100 (awesome 3 channel amp) have come up with one of the best two channel amps I have ever played. Really versatile as it has footswitchable master volumes, and footswitchable gain boosts for each channel. Great loop as well. I find it to be able to create the most beautiful singing lead tone that really goes beyond most other stuff I have played. It is super responsive and has a very sweet midrange that allows it to sit perfectly in the band mix and is super responsive. I play hard rock, fusion, blues, classic rock etc. Excels at all of the above. Powered by two TAD EL34s this baby screams at any volume level.This amp also looks incredible as it comes in a nice hardwood headshell.

I play An Anderson hollow drop top and Suhr standard and classic. Les Paul and Tele too. All sound great! Very Quiet noise floor in the high gain settings even with boost engaged. It can do clean cleans, gritty cleans to massive crunch with boost gain and boost volume level on the clean channel all via the footswitch. Perfect channel for Jazz or Blues or classic to hard rock.
The clean channel with boost engaged can get the most beautiful controlled feedback and is awesome. The second channel can go from where the first leaves off to over the top mayhem. The amp is super vesatile but also sounds awesome.

Been using it everyday for the last month or two with no glitches. If something was going to fail me it would have by now.

Have not needed service or repairs yet.

I have been playing over 30 years and owned over 200 amps. Most of them high end expensive things. This one ranks among my very favorites. I have a Suhr OD100, Two Rock Mad Dog, Mako Custom 100,Diezel Einstein and a couple other great amps but would put this right near the top of the heap. GREAT AMP. I would also like a 100 watt version someday as well as a 3100 as these guys are making great stuff.

the website at http://elmwood.se has pictures and the Manual as well as a couple clips of their amps. Check them out!!