Gomez Surfer

I received my Surfer August/2009 and have taken a lot of time going through what it has to offer.
Playing instrumental surf, I wanted an amp that could really push some air. I had been playing a pair of Fender Showmans for several years..after getting the Surfer I sold them. The Surfer has all the clean headroom one could want..as did my Showmans but with one huge difference...the tone! The Surfer has a more rounded tone..yes, it can split eardrums if you care to but one can dial in a much warmer tone then I was ever able to get with my Showmans. The control are very interactive where I could not tell much difference on the treb and bass after about half way up or so on the Fenders I can do so on the Surfer which really helps me dial in the sound I want. The harmonic (I believe it's called) vibrato (tremolo) is beautiful and much different then the Blackface Showman version of this effect.
I will match the head with either a 2 15 or a 2 12 cab and get stellar results with either. I am saving now to buy a 4 10 cab and am anxious to see what that set up will yield.
At 100 tube watts all the power I need.

I play a Jaguar, Strat, Jazzmaster w/ P-90's and a custom Baritone guitar with Kent Armstrong Lipstick pups.
Again, playing Surf, this is the holy grail.
The "sweet spot" volume wise is about 6-7..that said, with proper use of the controls, I can get a killer tone at much softer volumes..I have used the amp at huge outdoor gigs and also at indoor house parties...it's all good.

Dario builds his amps..I'll restate that...OVERbuilds his amps. No problems expected but I never gig without a backup..fortunate for me I own more than one of Dario's creations.

Five year warranty...world class customer support..via phone and email.

Been playing surf sense the first wave and have played pretty much everything out there.
I love the tone, the look and the service the company offers.

This amp is modeled after the Fender "blonde" Showman, the 100 watt Showman amp that Fender produced during the early years of the 1960's. The amp has two channels, the "Glassy" channel and the "Wild" (vibrato) channel. Each has treble, bass, and volume controls. The "Wild" channel additionally has speed and intensity dials for the vibrato, and a presence knob. A foot switch for the vibrato channel is included. Amp head and cabinet are sold separately; I purchased a tone-ring cabinet with a 15 inch Weber neo speaker.

The sound quality is the most remarkable feature of this amp and cabinet (and I refer to both the amp and cabinet together, as I've played this amp head only through the cabinet as described above). The sounds produced by this amp are really wonderful: clean, rich and deep, but with plenty of presence to cut through the mix if needed. The sound is large, but has a really smooth and creamy tone. With 100 watts there is nothing but headroom, hence the purpose of this amp: lots of clean headroom. When I first purchased this I wondered if it wouldn't be just a glorified Twin Reverb (an amp that I already have and enjoy), but that is not the case. The Surfer has a sound all of it's own, and it is to the Twin as the ocean is to a large lake. Whereas the twin can be shrill at higher volumes, the Surfer maintains that smooth richness even at high volumes. The vibrato is very lush and natural sounding - nothing too radical; it provides more depth to the already rich and deep tones of this amp.

No problems to date.

Dario Gomez is very approachable: he returns both e-mails promptly (often within minutes) and he seems always available by phone. He shows great interest in my questions and is very helpful. I am pleased to have this amp, and even more pleased that I was able to purchase it from Dario.

I've played for quite a few years and consider myself a student of the guitar. I currently play in a surf band. We gig frequently, and have been doing some recording this past year. I got the Surfer from Gomez Amplification just before our last recording session and, to my ears and the ears of others, the amp contributed positively to our tones. The producer was impressed with the sounds, as were the other members of the band. As importantly, I continue to be excited about the sounds this amp produces. This amp is not for modern crunch tones, but really does the clean tones incredibly - incomparably - well. If you like those clean tones for vintage or jazz sounds, this is an amp to consider. "Gomez clean" may re-define the idea of clean in the way that Fender has in the past: smooth, rich, and powerful clean.