Goodsell Super 17 Mk.2 112 Combo

Are you kidding? I love the features of this amp! I'm way to OCD to try and deal with an amp sporting so many knobs, I have no idea where to start. Many people presume a lack of controls as being a negative. Not me. To my thinking, simplicity and ease of use are a plus in the features department. Especially when you can coax many tones out of the amp with a simplistic eq layout.

This is a 2008 model in tweed with Richard's personally designed RG30, which he explained is an american made version of a Celestion G12H30. Except instead of being made in China, it's made in Kentucky USA.

This amp has tremelo, reverb, gain, tone and a master volume. A footswitch to activate the trem. and reverb also came with this amp. Nothing else on the amp. Nothing else wanted or needed!

I use all types of guitars. Strats, teles, Les Pauls, G&Ls (and they are different with their pickups), SGs, P90s and Mini Humbuckers. They all sound really nice with this amp.

By the way, in case you think I'm in a honeymoon phase, don't. I have had an MKII head for a while, and it sounds great too. However, I actually prefer this single 12. I tried his 2x10, and it sounded good too, but I found the single 12 to sound a bit warmer and fuller, so that's why I went with it.

As many have already mentioned, it does give you a bit of tweed, with some vox and low watt marshall thrown in. However, without the excessive midrange the 18 watt provides. It's bright, but not harsh. The tone control is nice as it's subtle and you won't go into sound hell if you accidentally don't hit the special spot for you every time.

Master volume......The debate rages on about how master volume can suck tone out of an amp. Well, call me crazy, but every time I try to love a non-master volume amp, I always revert back to an amp with one. Not one that pushes squishy, high gain, but one that seems to make sense. Richard's amp makes sense. I also have a Dr. Z Prescription ES Jr. and that master volume is designed similarly. Post phase inverter dual ganged masters bypass the preamp, giving you more interaction with the amp's power output section. This prevents the excessive compression and sometimes cheesy gain you can get with pre phase inverter eqs. Now, some people like the pre pi set up, so I will not knock on personal taste. However, this is an intuitive master volume design that really works well with the gain control. It makes the amp sound warm and fat without gaining up too quickly. Of course you can get higher gain with the master lower and the gain pumped up, which gives you a classic late 60s plexi sort of sound, but with the master set higher and the gain set lower, you get a really cool tweed-like breakup that is rich and smooth. Kind of reminds me of Keith Richards or Eric Clapton pushing their tweed twins. Except, in this case, your eardrums are left intact.

The tremelo is based on the old Gibson design. It's much slower and warmer than the blackface fenders or the 18 watt marshalls. It's power is split with the eq section using half the 12AX7's triode. With the exception of the vox trem, and the brown fender trem, I have hear no better on an amp. Very nice!

The reverb is also a winner. Some folks really love that surf style reverb, but I get rather tired of it. I like subtle and not too much. The reverb on this amp is lush, but is smoother and warmer than a fender. This allows me to keep it on all the time, and stays on, even when I've got an overdrive pedal engaged. Of course, you can get a bit surfier with the reverb pushed up, but as the amp stays humble and modest, so does the reverb.

What else can I say? Not too spongy, doesn't distort too quickly, and gives you a pretty decent array of vintage tones. All with just three knobs for the eq and gain. What else could you want?

Seems to be built like a tank. I'll put my trust on a guy who used to rebuilt hammond organs any day. I'd think a person speciallizing in rebuilds and repairs would make sure his circuits, materials and solder points were well intact before shipping the amp out. Try and say that for Fender Custom Shop amps.

It's basically a one-man show. You send an email, you hear back from Richard. You dial the phone number, you talk with Richard. Like one reviewer mentioned, that's what I expect with a boutique amp. His amps do seem to reflect his personality. Rather modest, friendly and doesn't proclaim to be the next coming of Christ.

Hard to beat that.

I would say I hate to give all 10s, but I really don't even bother giving a review if something doesn't blow me away. Hell, I even had a 65 London for about 2 weeks. $3,000.00 and a lot of hype. Don't get me wrong. It's a very nice, well-built and great looking amp. But for me, I'd take this Goodsell any day of the week. This Goodsell doesn't sound like the London, but for my liking, it's a better fit. I don't really hear all the british tones out of this amp like many say they do, but I do hear great tone in a compact, no nonsense amplifier.

In the day of high dollar boutique amps, it's nice to see someone making high-quality at a reasonable price. I never thought there'd come a day when $1,900.00 sounded reasonable, but compaired to amps priced WAY beyond this one and really offering nothing much more, this is a good deal. Only Dr. Z seems to be the other well known, widely publicised amp company offering incredible value for the build quality. There are also tons of small amp builders offering clones of classic amps and their own voicings, but for an amp offered in a music store, this is nice to see.

This amp may not be for you, but it certainly is for me. If you're looking for an amp that can cover a lot of ground in the vintage flavor, you owe it to yourself to try one of these amps out. The heads are cool, the 33 watt sounds amazing (but is heavy), and the 5/17 looks interesting. If you're in Nashville, they sell them at Corner Music, where I got mine. They are friendly and easy to deal with, and they always seem to carry cool stuff nobody else bothers with. In fact, the salesman who sold it to me was harping on how he bought a 5/17 on the spot from Richard when he brought his amps in to demo.

Get one of these while you can as I can see as his demand increases for these amps, and the word continues to spread, the prices will go up.

A home run Richard!

The amp was made in 06. Um well the amp isnt really versatile to begin with, for mine or any ones style really. But this amp wasnt meant to be. I mostly play a mixture of all styles of rock, minus super heavy stuff, and some country/alt-country.
It is a single channel amp, control layout is gain tone and volume, and in my case also reverb.
I really wish it had a high mid and low eq instead of the single tone knob. Its a well balanced amp but certain guitars can be a little thin sometimes (where normally they wouldnt). As I mentioned before my amp also has the reverb option. I dont ever really use it, maybe just a touch here and there, but mostly stays off. After the initial purchase of the amp I later found out that the reverb option on this model is an extra $300. Which kind of made me mad because its not footswitchable and its really not that good of reverb. So in retrospect I should have done better research and bought the one without reverb. I could have bought an Electro Harmonix holiest grail for what I paid for the reverb option! Oh well, live and learn I guess.

If your plugging staight into the amp you can get some really great clean semi/clean tones straight out of the gate. Which it does really really well.But thats really all the baby will do. At higher gain settings (this is an extremely clean amp) or with an overdrive in front of it, it tends to break up in a grainy kind of way (not very pleasing) also (and I still havent figured this one out yet) certain notes (at higher gain settings) will kind of modulate and dampen the speaker out. Almost sounds like the amp and or speaker cant handle the sound or something. Literally it will cause a really fast oscillating sound and then cuts the volume coming from the speaker. Its a bit hard to explain really.
Currently I'm using a les paul double cut with p'90's through it, but I'm really in the market for a good SG standard.
The amp itself isnt really noisy, but with my p'90s it becomes a hum factory. Especially around certain lighting. Again though not the amps fault. Its a really quiet amp.
Like I said before I mostly play rock in all styles minus the really heavy stuff. You know classic rock, alternative, and some alt/country. This amp does the alternative country thing pretty well. In fact it really excels in this area. Put a decent compressor in front of it and your good to go.

I can totally depend on it, without a backup. Its solidly made, only thing I would change is the combo's dimensions. Its tall and skinny, which loses some low end, plus its an open back. If it were shorter and had a bit more depth I think it would beef up the low end. Almost like the dimensions of a british ac-15.

I've been playing for about 7 years. Other gear I own? I have a fulltone fulldrive2 (duh who doesnt, you know) a vox wah and a boss dd-20 delay also a danelectro dan echo delay. And of course my gibson double cut LP with the p'90s.
If it were lost or stolen I would not buy it again, I would probably get a dr.z or actually a mesa boogie maverick.

This is a preliminary review. I have only had the amp for 2 weeks.
Amp was built in 2007.
It is a 2xEL84, class-A design that uses a trio of 12AX7's and a 5v4 rectifier.
One of the features that sets this design apart from other EL84 designs is that the transformers are based on vintage Hammond B3's.
It is a loud 17 watts and is loaded with a Celestion G12H 30 watt speaker.
This amp has reverb and is in a bluesbreaker combo style cab covered in green tolex with a wheat grille.
This is a single channel amp and it suits my needs perfectly. It has volume, tone, gain, and a reverb knob mounted on top. There is a standby switch and a red indicator lamp as well. The long power cord is removable and attaches to the chassis underneath which is where the power switch is found. The tubes are mounted horizontally and there is a large opening for heat to escape which is covered by a sturdy grill. There is a "convection" effect created by the open back cabinet and the top mounted vent that allows the tubes plenty of ventillation.

I am 45 and have been in love with the electric guitar and the cool sounds it can make since I saw B.B. King playing on TV at the closing of the Fillmore East. I was lucky to have been mentored by an older neighbor who turned me on to the Beatles, Cream, Hendrix, Allman Bros., Jeff Beck etc.
I am primarily a blues player that learned to play and appreciate country telly while being a busy weekend warrior for a number of years. I now play out with various groups every few weeks and primarily enjoy playing at home with friends. It can be argued that this is amp is not versatile due to it's simplicity. It would not be my first choice for metal or jazz standards. It does not have insane distortion or loads of headroom but for what I play and want to hear it does everything I need it to. It is loud enough to gig with and can also get great overdrive even a living room levels. The 1x12 combo format is perfect for me so I can grab a guitar and amp and go. For these reasons I give it a 10.

The tones I hear from the amp are different than all my other amps of similar type. It sounds different than my Matchless SC-30, TopHat Club Royale and other EL84 amps. It also sounds different but reminds me of my Victoria 1x12 deluxe and Carr Rambler. These are all amazing amps that I love and don't plan to part with.

It has a little Vox, tweed deluxe and 18 watt Marshall in its sounds. The amp is very bright but it is not brittle. A deal breaker for me is an overly bright "ice pick" tone that can't be dialed out. This isn't even an issue for this amp. The lows are tight and the highs give presence. I primarily play vintage strats and telecasters. I also use a Suhr strat. All my strats have a master tone roll-off and blender pot. I got a ferocious slide tone using a les paul that was very pleasing. I tend to use the bridge pickup and by playing with the vol and tone knobs and my hands (no pick) I get my tone. The amp has great dynamics. Even with the amp cranked I can play lightly and get a reasonable clean tone. Dig in and if growls.

The overdrive is very rich and full of harmonics, chime, and "swirl". Doulbe stops create beautiful overtones that I love.
The amp is paradoxically tight and responsive and still forgiving.
There is an apparent increase in gain with the tone control fully clockwise. I am not bothered by normal single coil hum and the amp is quiet at a reasonable distance.
I'll also give this amp a 10 because it sounds beautiful.

The amp is new and I have no experience with it's reliablility. It arrived Fedex in perfect shape and the fit and finish are top notch. I usually gig with a Pod as a desperate backup but we keep a Hot Rod deluxe in the band trailer for emergencies. It is a class A design which keeps the tubes cooking and I always keep a set of spares. The builder seems very proud of his amps and I believe he will stand by his product.

I spoke with Richard Goodsell before buying the amp and he was very courteous and helpful. I explained my style and we discussed the reverb option for a while. When I had a question he got back to me the next day. So far so good.

I have been playing for about 40 years and have played and owned a lot of amps. I have been through most of the boutique builders. The ones that have met my expectations and walked the walk have been vintage Fenders,Matchless, TopHat, Victoria, and Carr. Now this Goodsell joins the herd. The amp when I bought it was very reasonably priced and a great value.

This is Goodsell Super 17 Mk2 #175, made some time in early 2006. I've had the amp for about eight months.
My band plays r&r and r&b in a variety of styles including Motown, Beatles, Stones, Petty, ballads, even a little country (we prefer Jamaica, but Liechtenstein will do in a pinch).
This isn't a feature-laden amp, but that's not a drawback. It has one channel, and front panel knobs for gain, tone, and volume.
It has an effects loop in the back, no headphone jack.
It has nothing else in the way of features, but that's how I like it.
I use this amp for gigs and for recording. Its 17 watts provide plenty of power considering that we always mic amps.
I've used it unmic'd in small clubs with no problem.
My amp came with the British Celestion G12H30.
I'm giving a 5 for features but keep in mind that the features provided are perfect for my needs.

As other reviewers have stated, the sounds from this amp are remarkable. The player has access to a wide range of tones depending on type of guitar, various settings of the amp's gain, tone and volume, and various guitar settings.
The amp isn't a high gain monster but can get pretty righteous when the gain and tone are cranked.
Clean sounds are sweet and chimey in a Voxish way, very useable for r&b songs. I have no trouble nailing AC/DC Highway to Hell tones by cranking the gain.
I use Strat, Tele and LP and all three shine through the Goodsell.
The amp isn't noisy at all and sounds great with its complement of stock modern (inexpensive) tubes.
The sounds from this amp are inspiring. I've read more than one comment that one feels that one's fingers are connected directly to the speaker while playing, and it's true. The amp has a kind of "Tweed Deluxe meets Vox" vibe with some Richard Goodsell magic thrown in to boot.
You really have to play one to get the full experience.

I've been gigging the amp without backup for about eight months now with no problems.
The build quality is excellent and I foresee no problems down the line.

Dealing with Richard Goodsell is a pleasure. He's knowledgeable and friendly and has a great sense of humor.

I've been playing since 1963 and have owned many amps. This is the best one yet, it's that simple.
I'd replace it in a heartbeat if lost or stolen.
I love the way it sounds, the way it's built, and the way Richard provides support.
I'd change nothing about it.

I received this amp a couple of months ago (new) and I keep liking it more and more every day. The sound is awesome and addictive. This is the reverb version which is not supposed to have an effects loop, but when I ordered it, Richard Goodsell said he would add the effects loop to the amp at no extra cost.

It uses EL84 output tubes and 12AX7 preamp tubes, Fender style reverb tank and a Celestion G12H speaker. It only has three knobs; Gain, Volume and Tone which you would expect to limit amp but the tonal variations are still excellent and confirms the thought that less is more. It has more than enough power for the type of gigs I do which are smaller venues.

I have played a G&L S-500, G&L ASAT, Gretsch Phoenix, Guild Rockabilly and an Ibanez AS200 through the amp so far and each guitar really shines with the Goodsell. It lets the soul or tone of each guitar come through without coloring or disguising it. You really hear the nuances of the guitars pickups and it is very a very touch sensitive as well. The Gain knob adds crunch which is dependant on the output of the guitars pickups, the Tone knob will alter the bass and treble freqs up to about 12 o'clock but turn it further and it adds to the gain giving more tonal possibilities than what you would expect with three knobs. The volume does just what it says. So it goes from luscious cleans to awesome crunch. If you want real heavy singing style distortion you will need to use a pedal. Turn the amp up all the way and use the guitars volume to control the overall level and your pick attack to control the dynamic and your in tone heaven.

So far, so good. The build quality looks excellent and I have not had any issues with reliability.

Customer support is excellent. When ever I have had a question about the amp Richard is always glad to talk to me about it. He even sent me some extra tubes that he matched up at no charge so I would have some spares.

I have been playing for 30 years, mostly Rock, Rockabilly, Blues and Country. If the amp was stolen, YES, I would get another one.

I just today received my Goodsell Super 17 MK.2 and it's brand new. The features on the amp are very basic but that's what makes it so nice. You've got a volume knob, tone knob, and gain knob. The extremely cool feature of this amp is that you can turn the gain all the way up to full yet control how loud the amp gets with the volume knob. You can turn it down to very low levels and still get full gain! That's not a feature I've seen on any other tube amp other than the one's that offer wattage cutting switches. There is a standby switch on the front with the power switch in the back of the amp. The speaker can be unplugged via a 1/4" jack so that you can plug into a cabinet. The amp is fitted with the wonderfull Celestion G12H. I have to give this amp a top rating for features just because of the way you can control the gain volume! I can actually record in my home with a medium sized, 17 watt amp versus the tiny 5-10 watt transistor radio type amps being sold for that purpose these days!

If I can get absolutely heavenly clean, full bodied strat type tones out of an Ibanez RG550 guitar switched to the middle, single coil pickup, imagine what it would sound like with an actual strat? Keep in mind, this guitar has a basswood body and tiny, thin neck. Well, I do have a strat and it sounds unbelievable! I also play a Les Paul Custom that sounds equally impressive running through this amp! The amp is so precise, with impecable clean, bright, defined tones that I can actually talk into my guitar's pick-ups and it sounds like a PA through the amp! There isn't a nuance that this thing won't amplify, it's amazing!

The overdrive is absolutely perfect (warm, crunchy, growl like smoothness) and the touch sensitivity this amp has is like no other I've ever played. With the gain set at 1/2, if you play your chords lightly you get a beautiful, bell like tone but if you simply hit the strings with more dynamics the distortion growls! This is a guitar player's dream, to be able to control the sounds of the amp by how dynamic the guitar is played! It's incomparable to anything else in reference to this characteristic and justifies why there are only three controls. You don't need any more than that and the tone is so good it doesn't need reverb!

I needed a medium sized amp like this particular Goodsell (yes, there are larger Goodsells also!) after purchasing a Divided by 13 STR 37 for $4,000.00, one of the hottest amps in the world right now. After playing it, I didn't think there was anything out there that could touch it short of a Dumble or a Trainwreck. I was wrong. With the Goodsell, I now have a couple of the best sounding amplifiers on the planet! I'd give it an 11 if I could!

Just got the amp today so it's difficult to say anything about the reliability. However, the amp weighs in at a hefty 47 pounds, yet, the chasis is only 19" high and 20.5" wide. That's lot's of weight for an amp that size so it tells me it's made of heavy duty materials. Based on that I can speculate that this thing will hold up for years!

I spoke with Richard Goodsell shortly after I purchased the amp on-line and spoke with him for about thirty minutes. I can tell he really cares about the satisfaction of his customers as he kept thanking me for trusting that the amp was everything he and others said it was without ever playing it. He also emailed me after I received it and told me if I ever need anything to call him. Site unsean or unplayed, this is probably the smartest purchase I've ever made. I think the customer service speaks for itself when the owner cares that much!

I've been playing for 28 years and my style is a mix between blues and rock. First, if the amp were ever lost or stolen I would probably cry like a baby! After my distraught, I'd go right out and buy another without question! Honestly, I've never, ever heard of or personally played an amp that accentuated the touch sensitivity aspect of playing like the Goodsell does! That feature alone makes this amp an extreme rarity and very special. It needs nothing more than what it has because it allows the player to be better than he ever thought he could be without bells and whistles! It's one of those amps that, when you sit down to play it, you can't stop! The only reason I did tonight was to write this review! There is no comparing this amp to anything else because for what it is, a medium sized amplifier, it's in a class by itself! Please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions!