Fuchs Audio Technology ODS-30 Head

This is one of the first heads with the factory SLX-upgrade. Additional option is triode/pentode switching. The amp is very versatile and is able cover almost any ground. Due to its dynamics the amp has all the features I need. Although footswitchable gain-boost would have been nice. The two button footswitch that came with the amp is for overdrive and mid-boost.

I use the amp at home, in the studio, during rehearsal and at small to medium size club gigs. I realy like the idee of a 30 Watts amp with a lot of power amp saturation. I use this head mainly with a Matchless 2x12 cabinet loaded with a Celestion G12H30 and a Greenback.

Other amps used: Van Weelden Twinkleland (best Dumble clone) and ??72 blackfaced Vibrolux. Owned a lot of differend amps in the past.

Guitars are Les Paul standard Heritage series '80 ('59 reissue), Custom shop Larry Carlton signature ES335, PRS Cu22 Artist package, MusiMan Silhouette Special, Fender '92 Vintage Reissue with CS-pu`s.

Styles: blues, rock, soul, funk, jazzy stuff. The amp suites those styles very good. The noisefloor is very low with the factory setup.
I visited the distributer to check out the Two Rock Signature head wich I wanted to buy at first. When I played the Fuchs however and compared the amps my mind was set on the Fuchs. I tried several Fuchs ODS heads (I think five in total) with differend power ratings before I bought the 30Watts SLX. This amp is very controlable, very accurate, very honest and dynamic.

It took almost one year of regular gigging before the amp opened up to its full extend. I guess it takes a while for the transformers and caps to settle in nicely. I could get nice low-medium drive jazzy tones with a lot of upper harmonics. Especially the ES335 sounded very full bodied with nice clear highs coming trough. However for other styles the amp was a little to much mid-heavy and had a somewhat boomy bass-response, especially when using humbuckers. Also the highs (especially with higher treble settings or with Brite switch on) were to pronounced and a little unpleasant. I could not use the pre-amp to its full extend because of this. I thought this was mostly due to the four JJ 6V6's tubes in the power section. So I contacted Andy Fuchs per email. He said the 6V6's could be replaced for a pair of 6L6 in the two centre sockets. So I swept two TAD 6L6 WGC tubes out of my Vibrolux. The amp instantly was more balanced and had more depth in respons. So a pair of new TAD 6L6 WGC's came in.
Next I checked the pre-amp and compared it with the pre-amp of my Twinkleland (Dumble-like amp) by slaving the effects loop send of the Fuchs to the effectsloop return of my Twinkleland head. The pre-amp of the Fuchs was by far not as musical sounding as was the pre-amp of the Twinkleland. When comparing the power-amps of the Fuchs and the Twinkleland by slaving the effectsloop send of the Twinkleland to the effects return of the Fuchs it was clear that the power amp section of the Fuchs was very good sounding now. Some pre-amp tube tweaking had to be done. I ended up by changing the first position JJ 12AX7 by a Fender 12AX7. I also replaced a Ruby 12AX7 for an EH12ax7. Noise floor rose somewhat. Big credit however was a super balanced, wel defined, versatile, smooth, breathing lovable little amp. Gainlevel rose substantial. The pre-amp could be used to it's full extend now. I can even get a EVH like brown sound now!? I instantly got very positive reactions from bandmembers and audiens. Very inspiring. Yes it's true, I sometimes dream about her now! I guess tubes do matter a lot in voicing this amp and in determining the amount of gain in the pre-amp stages. I use a T-rex Replica delay in the effectsloop to broaden the sound somewhat. With factory set-up I would give an 8. Improved by tweaking it is a BIG 10.

Never had a problem. Also very consistent tone-wise.

I have send Fuchs Audio Technology a couple of emails in the past about speakers/cabs to use and about changing power amp tubes. Always responded immediate and accurate.

Have been playing 30+ years. Currently playing in one of the upcoming bluesbands in The Netherlands. Regulary gigging. Other gear: Van Weelden Twinkleland, Fender style tuned 2x12 EV12L (old stock) loaded cab. Thiele like cabinet with Celection alnico blue for Fuchs in triode stetting. Fender '72 blackfaced Vibrolux. T-Rex Replica delay in effectsloop of Fuchs. RMC and Fulltone wahs. AnaLogMan/Maxon AD9 delay and Maxon OD9 for use with Vibrolux. TC-electronic G-force.

This Fuchs ODS/SLX is a beast on it's own. There are little other amps that are as versatile an do things as well. There is no comparison to be made in the big industrial market. I think quality comes with circuit architecture, component selection and attention to detail. The only serious competition is the Van Weelden Twinkleland. Honestly I think the Fuchs comes second in place.....

I think more factory attention could be payed to pre-amp voicing by doing optimal pre-amp tube selection/tweaking.

Front: Input jack, gain, brite, deep, rock/jazz, high, mid, low, overdrive input/output, master, accent, reverb. Rear: AC, fuse, on/off, standby, return trim/adjustment, return in, send in, send adjustment. All of these controls are very useful and interactive. A slight adjustment one way or another makes a big difference in the tone, thus you have a lot of options and a lot of different tones available. Be aware that since you don't have separate tone controls for the OD section, the tone you set up for your clean will affect the OD sound. The gain control adds more sustain/drive to the OD sound and also affects both clean and OD simultaneously. There are pull-out switches on the high(treble) control and mid control for gain boost and mid boost. HAND-TUNED: This is an option where as you can send the amp back to Fuchs (additional charge) and have the parts matched for the best performance. I had this amp done and it does make a difference in the tone. Also, with this option you get an additional pull-out on the low(bass) control that changes the mids in a subtle, but useful way. The AC cord is too short and the standard footswitch is hard wired and has a molded plug - easy to correct and worth doing.

What shocked me most is how much gain it has in the OD mode and how toothy it sounds - it really can rock. Listening to all of the sound samples, they sound pretty smooth and on the clean side with great sustain, but 99% of these are the 50 & 100 watt models. Once it was hand-tuned, the amp did sound better but there's still a lot of gain available. You can adjust this though as there are two trim-pots inside the chassis, one for overall gain and one that allows highs into the OD sound, but this also adds gain and sustain at the same time (it's a balancing act with both controls). Be careful of high voltages present if attempting this. The cleans are full and bright sounding, very rich and the reverb is some of the best I've heard in an amp, especially with only one control; and it's not tube driven! You can get a thinner Fender typ tone, or a rich jazz tone. The Jazz/Rock switch helps by changing the way the tone controls react. To get a good long sustain I have to really crank the amp, especailly the OD Input/Output (around 1 o'clock). I'm running the Master Out ad 10 o'clock and the Gain Control around 1 o'clock also. For solos I still need to add a clean boost to the OD channel as well as kick in the mid boost switch. I love the various tones I can get by using my vol and tone controls on the guitar when playing the amp at a low bedroom volume. I can see where this amp would be really great in a studio situation, but as I mentioned, I'd need a pedal in front of it to get a long sustain. This isn't the loudest 30 watt amp I've used, so depending upon your needs, you may want to consider the 50 or 100 watt models. This amp is very sensitive to the speakers you use and that plays a big part in getting a good sound. Most of the better sounding ones are the higher price speakers, but there are some reasonably priced ones that will work from Eminences & Celestion.

I haven't had the amp long enough to comment, but it seems like it's very well made and I believe it should be very consistent and reliabile.

Because of the above, I ended up not keeping the amp, but the dealer I bought it from Neil Morrision @ "Wild West Guitars" out of California provided excellent customer service and helped me work things out to my complete satisfaction. I would recommend checking him out because WWG had the best prices for Fuchs that I found as well as many other great products. Fuchs is a top-notch company and Andy and Annette were great at turning my amp around when I had it hand-tuned. I will say this about any product...If you have the chance to try it out before you buy, do it. It's tough when you buy an amp or any product online without trying it first.

I'm not trying to steer anyone away from Fuchs, the 30-watt model did not work for my situation. It's a high quality company and a high quality products. Just consider your needs before choosing the model you want.

Mine is a 2004 Fuchs Overdrive Supreme Head with 6V6 output tubes. It is a two-channel amp, selectable by either footswitch or pull pot on the face of the amp. A well-implemented effects loop and good sounding reverb are two "bonus" features on the amp. Every feature is both powerful and useable, and a wide variety of clean and overdriven tones are available through various combinations of the switches and tone controls. I had some concern that the 30-watt head would provide enough headroom for a respectable clean sound and punch in overdrive mode, but my worry proved unfounded. This is a very capable 30-watter, easily filling the 400-seat medium-sized, high-ceiling sanctuary I play in weekly with my band.

My primary guitar is a 1996 Parker Nitefly, and the wide variety of material we cover -- including jazz, blues, pop, and classic rock cover tunes -- requires versatility and utility from both guitar and amp. The ODS suits both the music and my personal sound preferences very, very well.

The only noise from the unit is the cooling fan, and to my ears it is a tad too noisy. In "ordinary" gigs it wouldn't even be an issue, but in the quiet of a church it can seem louder to me than it really is. In making this comment, however, readers should understand that I am a classically trained musician and the only acceptable noise to me would be none at all; so, please keep this in that perspective. Most people wouldn't give this a second thought. I do wonder what I'd do in a studio setting, however; I don't think there's a switch to turn the fan off. As for noise from the amp itself, it's negligable, even at extreme settings.

The clean mode excels in producing a full, balanced sound, with rich, tight bottom, a thick, somewhat pronounced mid-range, and a smooth sheen in the high end. I have been impressed with the generous amount of headroom in the clean mode. On my Boogies I frequently have a sense of a "sponginess" in the cleans which does dirty up pretty fast. Not in the Fuchs. Clean is clean, and only when near the very upper range of the gain control do you get something that is akin to a distorted sound. The one exception to this is when the mid boost control is engaged; at that point you get a sense of overdriving the sound. When I auditioned the amp at the dealer before ordering one, I must admit I didn't consider the clean anything exceptional. But time with the amp has increased my respect for its clean mode: it's really quite fine.

In the overdrive mode one finds a harmonically rich, singing voice with sweet, full mid-range, articulate but not overbearing highs, and generous bottom. In both modes ? but especially overdrive ? the amp is deliciously touch sensitive, enabling the player to add a tremendous range of nuance to his or her playing. The ?bite? to the sound can be quite aggressive or very delicate. It's a real pleasure to play!

More than anything else, what led me to purchase this amp is the clarity that this amp, even in overdrive mode, has. The strings sound "stringy." The overdrive sweet, pure, sustaining and soulful. And though like all high gain amps there is a "darkening" of the sound when you kick the overdrive in, to my ears the Fuchs is much less so than other amps I've heard -- including my Mesa IIC+.

The ODS is a superb sounding amp with a wide variety of useable tones and colors. What a pleasure to walk away from each session saying, What a great sounding amp!

I don't feel capable of making a judgement at this point as to the amp's reliability. Everything I see indicates superior construction and components, and everything works as it should. One of the plusses when considering this amp was the confidence others expressed from their dealing with Andy Fuchs and his company. In my correspondance with Mr. Fuchs everything pointed towards my being able to count on him for continuing service of the amp.

So far, communications with Fuchs Audio Technology -- Andy Fuchs in particular -- has been great. Friendly and accessible. The warranty is 1 year parts and labor.

I've been playing 33 years. I've owned a Marshall and several Mesas through the years. For the past three years or so I've relied on my Triaxis/20-20/Groundcontrol setup at work, and the Fuchs was purchased to compliment that setup and sound pallet. I also own a Mesa Mark IV and Mark IIC+, and especially like both channels on the IIC+ and the second channel on the Mark IV.

I did compare the Fuchs to other amps for around the same money as I was looking for an amp. As always, each amp always had one or several real strengths as well as deficiencies. I chose the Fuchs for the outstanding singing quality of the overdrive, the well-implemented effects loop and other features, the overall quality of the piece, and overall value of the amp. To my ear, it comes from the same "sound family" as the the Mesa IIC+ I use, but it does certain things in both clean and overdrive modes that go beyond what my Mesas can do. As we all know from experience, each amp is different instrument. I love how the Fuchs sounds and feels, and I'm very satisfied with my purchase.

If there's any one feature I'd like this amp to have, it would be "preset rocker switches" such as those on the Mesa Mark IV that allow one to "program" certain features of the amp to engage when a particular mode is selected. This is a brilliant idea Mesa had, and I can see something like being a real plus to such a capable piece of gear as the ODS-30.

It's apparent, though, that the amp's best "feature" is truly its superb sound quality. I can live without these kinds of "extras" when the sound is this good.

Amp was made 2003 comes with 4 6v6 tubes standard. 2 Channel Clean - Overdrive - Reverb -Effects Loop - 2 Function Pedal - Deep Switch - Rock-Jazz Switch - Bright Switch - Short Chassis Head very Light!!!

I bacame a dealer for Andy a few months back and have had several of these amps come through our shop. The first one we received was special ordered Red with Matching 2x12 Cabinet. We ordered this one in a 50 watt with 6L6 instead of 6v6 tubes. Upon plugging in I used a 57 Reissue Strat and really could not find a sound that I really liked out of the amp. It sounded thin to me and I was devastated. However once we plugged in a Les Paul this amp came alive and even more so with a Baker B1. It literally blew me away. The sounds range from great clean with just the right amount of clip if you need i to probably the best classic style overdrive channel I have heard. The thing about this amp that separates it is how it sustains and sings. Notes are fluid and punchy ala Robben Ford if you wish. We received one in the other day that was supposed to have 6L6 tubes. They put 6v6's in so I called Andy and he said try it if you do not like it I will send you the other tubes. I had the fear that I have a 30 watt amp that is going to have no headroom and break up like a Deluxe Reverb. Andy said I think you will be impressed. The verdict is this they both sound good but the 30 watter kills with the 6v6's. Tons of Headroom and awesome sustain. I am now recommending the 6v6 setup to my customers. The 50 watter sounds great but it will cut your head off as will the 30 if you wish. We prefer the 30 because the push of the amp comes sooner and is perfect for most venues and recording. I have become very fond of this amp, and I try to keep one at my house at all times. Usually I can't because customers or buying them or ordering them off our site. Also the Jazz Switch and the Deep Switch along with being able to cut the EQ give you so many options in your tone it is amazing.

I have not had a complaint yet. Also the Cabs are built very well and Andy is using a specially designed Eminence I think. We loved the full rig it sounds great.

Andy Fuchs has always treated me nice. Even when I was the new kid on the block he trusted me when I placed my orders and has always helped me with any questions I have. I give Andy the big thumbs up!!! Thanks Andy

I have been plaing for 17 years and this is a great amp. One of the cool things is that this day and time guitar players have so many choice, but 90% of them are just a copy of a previous design. Andy has really got his own special tone being made here. If you like Jazz - Blues - Fusion - or just plain great classic rock it is in this amp & with the Headroom I am sure it would accept a heavy distortion pedal if needed. If you listen to Audio Clips on Fuch;s site I assure you that tone is in that amp!!!

The ODS-30 is a new line recently developed by Andy Fuchs to accomodate a lower wattage output on a 4x6V6 platform. I believe all fundemental circuitry in the 30 is the same as his ODS-50 & 100 lines.It is a 2 channel amp that is footswitchable with a LARGE selection of tone enhancement options. the primary channel includes a master gain, bright switch, low boost, mid boost, gain boost (removes the tone stack from the circuit)and standard high, mid, and low tone controls. the primary channel feeds the OD channel which has independent gain and output level controls. both channels use master presence, reverb (accutronic spring type) and volume controls. The back panel has the effects loop which has send and return volume controls, is switchable for line level or pedal level effects, and is switchable for parallel/ series (I run a DL4 back here with marvelous results). I had Andy set up my footswitch for channel swiching and mid boost. You can dial in virtually ANY tone you need from it's vast array of options!

I've settled on Anderson's as my main guitars. They work EXTRAORDINARILY well with the FUCHS. the Amp likes whatever I throw at it. It makes single coils shine, keeps the meat in humbuckers, and accepts with ease a VERY hot (Andersons can produce soom voltage) input. front loaded effects (I have a Budda Phatman) couple very well with the ODS. I play a variety of styles - modern jazz/rock/blues/ballad.... raw to refined, the Fuchs can handle every thing I need. It tends to have a more "focused" sound - with good punch that I really like. you can get more "diffused" sounds from it but it's not the amps forte. Andy Fuchs is a master of design, and the noise floor on his stuff is amazing, even in OD mode it makes VERY LITTLE noise. The clean channel is just that ... CLEAN you can dial every thing up, run the amp real loud and get some dirt but thats not the point. If you want dirt thats what the OD channels for....but... IT DON"T DO DIRT.. what it does is SING! The fuchs really does capture the Dumble lead vibe... but it my mind it's more refined. It's like scrathing a misquito bit, It feels so good and you can't get enough. I've played/owned/heard almost everything out there and for my money (these things aren't cheap.. but they're worth every penny) this is the finest amp being manufactured today. There is one small caveat... this amp will ACCURATELY reproduce what you put in it! If your chops aren't up to par it will tell you. However, If you've got the goods, this amp will keep up with you and will do whatever you ask of it.

OK, OK, OK, so I blew it up..... I changed the power tubes (I always gotta mess with something ;-) )..all old tubes aren't always what they are cracked up to be! Andy fixed it for me (see below). In general I believe his work could be best described as STOUT!

ANDY IS THE MAN! when it comes to service he WANTS you to be satisfied. As mentioned above, when I blew it up. he fixed MY error for free and all I had to pay was return shipping. gotta love it!

This is my third fuchs. I've had a bassman 6L6 and a traynor EL84 modded (see my other ratings). That lead me to wanting an ORIGINAL. These things aren't cheap (nor should they be) but I will NO DOUBT own more of these in the future... It's the best there is.