Harry Joyce Custom 50 Head

OK....
I thought I would offer my views of this amp.
I am a gigging musician, 45 years old, and have gone through an amazing number of amps...looking, always looking for the ultimate "tone"
I read an article about the Black Crowes, and since I love their guitar sound, I looked for one of these. Found it on E-bay.
I got it, Cracked it open, and was amazed at the wiring. Beyond anal.
Next, I tried it out in a Mesa 4X12...Ok, but not spectacular. I tried it trough a Bogner 4X12....Oh man, this is the tone.
(I recently found out that Brad Whitford of Aerosmith uses the same set-up)
My amp is SN #32. signed on the chassis, and cab by HJ.
I am in a cover band, I won't make a living doing it, but I am a
General building Contractor, and a Firefighter, so this is more of a hobby.
The amp is very clear and clean, which allows me to add effects to get whatever sound I need for the song. My lead guitarist is jeolous of this amp, He says the tone is incredible. The head is very straight forward. two inputs, preamp volume, master, and treble,mid,bass and presence.
50 watts is more than enough for me, our sound guy does a great job of mixing it, and my other amp is an 18 watt Dr Z, so no problems power wise.

As I stated above, it does everything great.
blues-rock-country-etc.
it is very quiet, I do have a set of Phillips EL-34's that I would
like to try in it, but I don't want to mess with the tone yet.
Only complaint is inability to get great distortion, but that is why
I use the DR Z. I A/b both amps in concert.
In concert I use the following guitars. G&L Legacy Special, PRS CE-22, and a Washburn accoustic with inboard electronics.

I have a MKS Pedalboard with the following effects. Dunlop volume--
tuner--Hot Chili tube Distortion--Whirlwind A/B (I split off to the Dr z at this point) Fulltone Fulldrive--Boss EQ--Boss RV-1--Fulltone
ChoralFlange--Z Vex Super hard on (for boost). Everything is hooked up with George L's. I use a Sennheiser Digital Wireless, so I and the rest of the guitars can get out and have fun (we sometimes dance with the audience).
The Harry provides a blank canvas so to speak, and I use the effects to paint the song....it works very well.

I have never had a problem with the amp, and if I do, one of the best amp techs in Northern California is only a short distance from me.

Well....
Considering Mr Joyce passed away earlier this year, I guess this no longer applies

I don't think there is anything else to add.
I have owned Marshall,Mesa (every model),Fender (practically every model, even the vintage tweeds,browns,blacks, and silvers), Matchless
(what a joke), and dozens of assorted "boutiques" (Dr Z being my other favorite), and the "Harry" is my all time favorite.

Ok are you guys ready for this. I just got this amp from Charles yesterday, my amp is a custom 50 but my amp was one of two that Rich Robinson used on his last tour with the Black Crowes. He also signed the back too. Look at any photo's from 2000 on of the Black Crowes and you will see this amp. Ok the features, who cares this is a classic rock amp for real players, my guitar and my hands are the only features I need which is why this is a kick ass amp.

Well, what guitar, what pedals, what inputs, which ones do I jump? The sounds from this things are limitless. My tele which I would only dare use with my Fender 65 showman, has now found a new home. That thing sounds so fucking fat it's blows my mind. Strat + anything not fender or pre 1973 Marshall is a huge disappointment, but hold on, the HJ does not sound like either, here it is the new 3rd dimension for strats. Using a Ts-808 tube screamer get out of the way man. Note: strict blues players won't like prob, but us retro guys will reinvent a sound for blues players who like to push sonic levels of sound. A les paul is just charming the balance of bass mid and treble are perfect. OK this sums it up, I started playing and my drummer says to me, "wow the sound is so balanced and thumping", ok if your drummer says that about your tone and he doesn't even play guitar you know you got a tone monster. I am also using greenbacks which are the best speakers out there for rock, but I haven't tried the HJ's yet. As for you Hiwatt geeks, well who the hell you think made those things sound so good, but hey 30yrs later you got what hiwatts could only dream of. Unfortunately for the entire music world Mr. Harry Joyce has passed on. May God bless his soul.

It's a tank!!! This thing is wired military spec's.

Hmmmm.......it's prob the best I have ever come in contact. I did not have the chance to talk to Mr. Joyce but Charles is one hell of a guy.

I am 21yrs old, and I have had 17 amps in my short life. The amps are what I still own or have had since I understood what tone was, about 5 years ago. So these are what I consider real amps or "tube amps".
Fender:
Twin Reverb 67-68 black face
Blues junior
65 Showman
Hotrod Deville
Tweed Deville

Marshall:
Artiste 74' Jmp
Jtm-45 Re-issue

Orange:
AD-30TC

Harry Joyce:
Custom 50 "Rich Robinson"

Bought new in September 2000 s/n 036 from Charles B. in FL. Signed by Mr. Joyce and numbered. This is a straight ahead amp w/o many features. 2 channels w/ hi & lo inputs on each & no channel switching. I did not order the fx loop & it has no reverb. 4 12ax7 preamp tubes and 2 EL34 power tubes w/ solid state rectifier. I bought this amp based on his rep. & the glowing reviews of this amp on this site. Amp has plenty of power. Amp was going to be used for gigs. This is not a feature laden amp. It is a very straight forward vintage type amp.

After waiting for a week or so, my amp arrived. I took my Les Paul to my rehearsal space and got ready to be blown away. Much to my dismay, I was livid I had just spent $1400 on this amp. It was total ice pick in the ears. Very harsh and uninspiring to play. I figued it was me never having played a 'real amp' before and it might take some time to get the tones out of this amp. 3 weeks later, still was livid. So, I ordered 4 Brimar preamp tubes and a set of Svet power tubes. This helped some, but not enough. I emailed Charles and he asked me to call Harry, which was very cool. I spoke to Harry & he stated this amp was designed to be played w/ Fane speakers. so, I ordered 4 new Fanes hoping this would help this amp. It did a little, but not enough to justify keeping this amp. Amp was not noisy, but had a frequency that made my ears itch. Seriously. No matter what I did, I never could dial in a sound that made me smile and want to keep playing. At high setting, this amp was just even more annoying. This amp does not distort, it overdrives in a very non musical way in my opinion. After all of this, I figured I had given this amp every chance to sound good and never found a tone I was happy w/. I was happier w/ my Sovteks than w/ this amp. This amp is a one trick pony. You will either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground on this amp. If you want an aggressive in your face amp, that never settles down, this is for you. If you want an amp that is musical, will react to your nuances, look else where.

Internally, built very well. Turret board construction w/ mil spec wiring. Very easy to fix if it went down provided you have the knowledge to do so. However, the tolex was applied a little poorly. Also, amp had plastic shaft pots and plastic jacks. I feel if an amp builder is claiming their product is truly bada**, then it ought to be. Especially when you're in the class of amps this amp is supposed to be in. Never used it on gigs b/c I could not find a tone I liked.

Absolutley outstanding! Charles, George, & Harry were all very helpful and concerned w/ my less than impressed opinion on this amp. Please don't misunderstand my review. I'm not bashing this product, just stating my opinion. These guys were great. I work for a manufacturer and know what good prod. support is. These guys have it. Harry will talk to you forever and tell you some really cool stories. Charles is prompt on emails too. Warranty is Lifetime. There is only 1 service center and that is George. However, any competent amp tech could fix anything on this amp.

I'm 28 and have been playing 17 years. I've owned a Fender M80, Marshall Silver Jubilee 1x12, & the HJ 50. I now own a Bedrock 612 2x12 combo amp, '93 & '95 Matchless Clubman, Sovtek Mig 50 & Tube Midget 50 H. Use a sealed pine 4x10 cab w/ Fanes and a birch 2x12 cab w/ Celestion V30's. I own a load of pedals from Matchless Hot & Dirt box, Soldano GTO, many Fulltones, EDS delay, Zvek, etc. If this amp was lost or stolen I would not buy it again. I was on the verge of going w/ the Matchles to begin w/, but they had gone out of biz and the prices very too much. There was nothing I loved about the HJ. The only thing I hate about the HJ experience is I wasted my time w/ an amp that was just not for me. Here's some advice: NEVER BUY AN AMP W/O HEARING IT FIRST. If you must, make sure the seller offers a trial period. I got lucky on this amp since I ended up renting it for about a year for $200. I should have just went straight for the Matchless to begin w/, but we live & learn. Be aware when reading these reviews. They are often VERY misleading. Perhaps some will say that I have no clue when it comes to knowing tone. That may be so. However, I do know what inspires me to keep playing and the HJ was not it.

This head was made in 2001 as a "special "order,Pink Floyd style.The front panel :3 inputs,1 normal,1 brilliant and 1 normal and brilliant linked internally,normal vol.,brilliant vol.,bass,treble,middle,presence,master vol.,standby and a power switches.The back panel has an effect loop and slave out,ext. cab outputs,impedance selector,voltage selector.Internally this amp is made differently compare to "standard" HJ 50W head. Dual gain stage.

When i decided to get a HJ amp, i was a bit confused about who is a distributor for HJ amps.So i reserched all web sites, all reviewes on Harmony Central and e-mailed to Charles Bertonazzi and Greg Hopkins @
VAR.Bit later i found european phone # for HJ amplification and called.AND I GOT HARRY JOYCE ON THE PHONE !Sweetest and nicest gentleman on the planet Earth.We had a very nice conversation,i told him that i am looking for Floyd style amp,he said :no problem, i can build it for you and he directed me to Charles Bertonazzi.(actually i called Harry twice,second time after i got my
amp,just to thank him for a GREAT JOB ).

Next day i got e-mail from Greg Hopkins stating that Harry very ill and no longer building amps ( when i spoke to Harry , he was in the middle of building five 100 watters for Black Crows ) .Greg offered me to put me on the waiting list ( in case if Harry will return to amp building).What pissed me off was the fact that he was deliberatelly trying to prevent me from getting HJ amp.Obviously Greg was trying to hurt Harry because Harry told him he could no longer sell or represent his amps.It is also obvious that Greg is trying to save face by trying to make it look like the only reason that he does not sell them anymore is because Harry doesn't build them anymore. So he is trying to sabotage Harry's business and reputation.Even after all the lies about Harry's business he put up a phoney tribute site to Harry (with more false info) so he can stay connected to Harry's reputation and fame.Greg was the first US distributor for Harry Joyce, he is also the first one to fail at it ,that is why Harry took the distributorship away from him.

I don't want to use all the usual adjectives to describe the sound of the amp.I had no intention to be barbecued by my neighbours or my wife so when amp arrived i took it to the Guitar Center for a "test drive at full tilt ".
I played the amp through MESA recto 4x12,Les Paul and vintage strat and i let many others to play it .All the players were blown away by this amp.This amp is a tone monster,very flexible,very sensitive to playing style,very powerfull for 50 watter,sound is fat, singing,complete,inspirational,clear,without any mud.

The amp is very quiet.I look at this amp as a musical instrument by it self.When you playing it, you are not sure are you playing a guitar or an amp.I can go on and on about this amp and main reason because there nothing out there to match this amp.It is a Harry's masterpiece.You have to hear it,all descriptions of the sound without hearing it in my opinion are useless.

I just got this amp a few weeks ago.It is built like a tank,mil.specs, by the best amp builder,with reputation of building indestructable and most reliable amps out there.The inside of these amps is breath- taking.Lifetime warranty.

Can't be better.Before i ordered my amp,i went to Florida for a job interview.( i live in NY )I took one day off a went to visit Charles Bertonazzi and to place my order.When we met Charles showed me Harry Joyce 30w studio combo and played some Hendrix stuff ( first he is quite a player and second this combo sounds like a wall of stacks).

He also demonstrated HJ 4x12 cab with HJ 100w speakers with 2in. voice coils (best speakers i ever heard.)Ever since we keep close contact, he is very responsible person,prompt e-mails.Also George Scholz who works with Harry Joyce and possesses unbelivable amount of knowlege in musical electronics was very very helpfull and supportive. It seems to me that our relationship went beyond "seller-buyer".Actually i will go to Florida in octovber to visit both of them.

It is after 4:00am and i have to work today so sorry for cut corners. This is the amp which will never be sold or traided.Actually i am ordering one more,in the same style.This amp from category: "dream come true ".If you have any questions or need an assistance,e-mail me and i will be happy to help.

This is a recent head, though I have not popped the hood on it yet. I picke it up from a guy who had it for a few months, but needed an amp with more gain.

The amp layout is very reminiscent of a vintage Hiwatt, which is no suprise considering the man who builds these beauties was THE MAN at Hiwatt. The front panel features 2 normal and two brilliant inputs (which I've jumpered like a good tone freak). The controls are straight ahead...Normal Volume, Bright Volume, Bass, Treble, Mids, Presence, and Master Volume. There's a standby and a power switch as well...in old Hiwatt fashion

I don't buy amps for features. I buy them for tone. This is my first purchase in the master volume realm in many years. My last master volume amp was a Mesa T-Verb. It put me to sleep, so I dumped it. The Harry Joyce does not put me to sleep. It inspires me.

I gave it an 8 because there are definitely "swiss army knife" amps that offer more features...usually in exchange for tone.

The sound of the Harry Joyce is complex. I have dialed in a thick tone that is very responsive to pick attack...meaning I can go from fat clean tone to muscular overdrive by employing a bit of force in my performance. This in my opinion is part of what makes classic rock endure. When a player wanted to communicate aggression...and energy...they had to beat the hell out of their guitar...because there were very few "high gain" amps that could do what todays variety can do. I am more interested in communicating that same energy in my performance, rather than have an amp that sounds like it's on 11 regardless of my attack.

I am currently using Custom Shop Tele Jr's with my amps. I am waitiing to receive my first Terry McInturff Taurus Standard. The Tele's are for sale if anyone is interested :). My musical style is Rock...in all of it's disguises. This amp completes my tonal arsenal...which includes a Dr. Z Route 66, and a tricked out "small" combo that I use for occasional studio work...when I need a little something extra.

The amp has a clean tone that is reminiscent of the best vintage Hiwatt, only with more articulation. I cannot say that it's a better tone, because the Hiwatts have been aging gracefully (or otherwise) for many moons. I will say that this amp puts many amps of recent vintage to shame with the dimension and character of it's tone. The overdrive is very thick, but not muddy. I have managed to dial in my growl on the low end, and retain my clarity on the highs and mids. The distortion is not Brutal, but it will make many think twice about their distortion. This amp sounds so "real" that it tends to make amps with more drive sound contrived...or "fake". If I need that kind of drive, i have some incredible pedals. To me, that level of distortion is best left to an effect. There comes a time when overdrive/distortion loses it's musical quality. that's why so much of today's music blows.

I'm 27...I'm not some old school throwback wannabe. I just know what I like. There is a reason why every kid who touches a guitar will eventually try to play Zeppelin...and I'm not inclined to spout about it here ;).

Built like a tank. If Harry fixed the inherent problems with the input stage of the old Hiwatt design...it shouldn't blow up...shouldn't :). the tranny's look like they will outlast me. Harry Joyce is an amp builder of legend. Look in the dictionary for a definition of military spec...you'll probably see a picture of Harry.

Dunno. I've had great communication with Charles Bertonazzi. I will more than likely end up buying the HJ 2x12 cab from him. Even though I did not purchase the amp from Charles, he has been very helpful with all of my questions and concerns...I appreciate that because I KNOW he must be quite busy these days.

I have been playing guitar for 6 years. I have recently thinned out my herd of gear, but I have kept my most prized tone machines...My Dr. Z Route 66 w/ Top Hat 2x12, Lovetone Cheese/Source, Wobulator, and Doppelganger, SIB EchoDrive (analog chip), Matt Wells 5 O'Clock Shadow, and Budda Phatman. My guitars are amazing as well. I play two CS Tele Jr's that are absolutely mint and extremely rare (and...for sale). I am waiting for the ULTIMATE GUITAR...the Terry McInturff Taurus Standard.

I was going to purchase a Dr. Z KT 45...as it has a similar tonal quality...but I really wanted a master volume for several different reasons. I may still purchase the KT 45 in a few months for it's Vox-ish flavor (Dr. Z makes killer amps). There's really very little to compare this amp to. Harry Joyce is one of a handfull of builders from the last 40 years that has absolutely nothing to prove. His amps are among the best in the world...'nuff said. I sure would like to thank him some day...but I do not have a number for him :(. If anyone knows how I might be able to reach him, please e-mail me.

Overall, for the price I paid...this amp is one of the best deals i have ever made. Even at the full 1600 price tag it's a deal. I cannot emphasize enough the value of having such a great amp in my arsenal. Between the Route 66 and the HJ custom 50, anything else I would ever buy would just be "color"...my sound rests firmly between these two amps.

this is a 2001 model. it has a basic layout of a marshall but it has a volume for each channel and a master volume. it really kicks ass. first of all, i am a real player and used my student loan to buy this amp. there is a reason for the perfect rating for this amp, it kicks ass. i feel it is a good investment too, if god forbid i had to sell it i would at least get my money back. i play indie punk and love the mid gain tone of early amps. this amp has that play lightly and its clean, play heavy and its dirty vibe, i really love it. the bass, treb and mids are very responsive. i did do some mods to it which add to the versitility but stock it gets a 9, mine gets a 10

i mainly play a 73 les paul with mid-hot duncans. i also play a tele with a duncan "vintage for broadcaster" p-up. this amp is bad ass with both of them. i put a pot in series with the feedback resistor to give it a little more gain. im gonna put a switch to cascade the preamp to get more gain (propably wont use it). this amp really cooks. i have had a dual recto, a 78 marshall, 79 marshal combo, basmans, a soldano, fenders, and so on and this is the best sounding amp i have ever played through for rock. i play it through a rat pedal modded with germanium diodes, and a volume pedal. the cab is a 2x12 vox 3/4 open back with 1o year-old v30's. i replaced the preamp tubes with mullards and the outputs with svetlana el34's. i like the normal (really bassy) at 6 with the bright on 10 (daisy chained). i like the presence @ 2 and the treb @3 and the bass @6 and the mids at 4 or more. it is very responsive and not like a nitpicky boogie that the controls work like a mixer. if you turn it up it goes up. and it is as loud as a 100 watt marshall or boogie with none of that buzzyness. it sounds really fat!

point to point- nuff said not the best tolex job though.

i also bough mine from charles bensalati s/p and he was really cool, i know he can help me with any questions

ive been playing for 9 years and have owned many amps. this amp and my home made fender princeton 5f2-a 10 watt se class a is all i need. if it were stolen i'd go postal, it is number 31 of its kind made and hand signed, so i'd know whose house to blow up.

DUE TO THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF EMAILS ABOUT HARRY JOYCE AMPLIFIERS AND CABINETS,IT IS NECESSARY TO STRAIGHTEN OUT ONCE ALL FOR ALL THE STATUS
OF MR.JOYCE AND THE FUTURE .FIRST OF ALL WE AT "HARRYJOYCE AMPLIFICATION" WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INTEREST AND MANY PURCHASES.THERE IS SOME TOTALLY INCORRECT INFO OUT THERE THAT HARRY IS NOT BUILDING AMPS FOR HIMSELF ANYMORE ,THIS IS TOTALLY FALSE "RUBBISH AND INSANE" AS HARRY PUTS IT.HARRY IS STILL BUILDING AND DESIGNING AMPS ALONG WITH COPILOT GEORGE SCHOLZ OF SCHOLZ ELECTRONICS FOR HIMSELF. CUSTOM BUILT FOR YOU PLAYERS OUT THERE THAT CAN ONLY TOLERATE THE BEST SOUNDING HAND BUILT AMPS, ALL POINT TO POINT MILITARY SPEC.ON BEHALF OF HARRY JOYCE HIMSELF, HE HOPES ALL OF YOU WILL CONTINUE TO APPRECIATE THE WORK HE DOES FOR THE PLAYERS WHO ONLY WANT THE BEST.HE WILL NEVER BUILD AMPLIFIERS FOR ANYONE ELSE OTHER THAN HIMSELF SO YOU CAN GO TO SLEEP ON THAT ONE.WHO ELSE WILL GIVE YOU A LIFETIME WARRANTY?"SIGNED HARRY JOYCE AND STAFF"

This is a brand new head purchased from Charles Bertonazzi in Ft. Lauderdale, the new distributor for HJ amps. I've been playing mine for about a month now. These amps are hand-wired in England by Harry Joyce, the gentleman who hand-wired the classic early HIWATT amps, famous for their bludgeoning tone and peerless reliability. The 50 Watt uses two EL-34 tubes for the output stage. Superficially, the amp appears to a replica of a HIWATT amp: 4 hole input section; two channels-Normal and Brilliant, volumes for each; bass, trble, mid and presence; master volume; standby and power switches. Rear panel features dual speaker outputs, impedance selector (16, 8, 4) 0 db slave output. Most HJs also include a non-tone-sucking effects loop; mine doesn't as it was built as a special lower-cost promotional amp, and I'm an old school guy who doesn't use an effects loop. Cosmetically, the HJ looks very HIWATT; mine is covered in vintage style black vinhyde (just like my old HIWATT)with white piping. Harry has wisely added chrome corner covers. It would be a mistake to consider this amp a HIWATT replica, though. An extra preamp gain stage and circuit modifications make the HJ a completely different beast, although the HIWATT tonal heritage is certainly evident in the HJ's extended and even frequency response. The old HIWATTS are famous for unrelenting clean headroom and extreme volume (many, including mine, were tortured trying to get them to break up earlier), while the HJ is designed for greater versatility, offering a great range of tones throughout the sweep of the volume controls. Incredible overdriven lead sounds start to happen when the channel volumes approach the two o-clock position. Although this is a master volume amp, it doesn't sound like one; completely open and natural sounding. This is a very straight-ahead vintage British style amp with few frills (no channel-switching, reverb, or flashing lights) but I give it a 10 for features, as I feel this amp offers great versatility and is the ulitmate expression of the British Style tube amp due to the careful voicing and incredible contruction quality.

OH MY GOD!! This is how I always wanted my Marshalls, vintage Fenders and Hiwatt to sound. I'm not sure how to put the Harry Joyce sound into words. It's extremely responsive to picking nuances-you can have it set to break up and get your sound to clean up just by reducing your attack. No need for channel-switching. Just set up a great lead sound and then roll back your guitar volume for your rhythm tones (OR set up your rhythm sound and then crank for leads)-the HJ maintains it's tonal balance and quality between clean and crunch-no other amp I've ever owned does this as well as the HJ. The Harry Joyce is not a super high gain modded Marshall or Boogie sound; it's more along the lines of the BEST EVER JTM-45s and early plexi tones but with the hi fi HIWATT voicing. A very singing, vocal sound characterizes the distorted lead voice of this amp, beautifully full and balanced with great harmonics, but absolutuely NO trace of ice-picky harshness. The amp has solid state rectification and extremely efficient power transformers; the combination of NO SAG and extremely fast transient response combined with the fat EL-34 distortion creates is a blast to play through. The sound is unique , yet sounds classic and familiar. The tonal character of every guitar comes through the HJ loud and clear. Strats and Teles are beautiful, but PAF-style humbuckers are glorious with the HJ. I'm currently running the HJ through a 4 X 12 cab with reissue Greenbacks; never really loved this cab before, but with the HJ, it sounds just like 1967 (Cream, Hendrix, Who..). The Greenbacks break up and start melting the tone at just the right point for that British Blues tone. The ultimate "woman tone" is here when you use the neck humbucker or P-90, but no need to roll back your tone-nice clarity. But the HJ also takes on different personalities with different speaker configurations-sounds like a tweed on steroids through 4 x 10s, almost Voxy through Alnico Blues, etc.. HJ offers a 2 x 12 Fane cabinet that I hope to purchase over the next few weeks, which I expect will offer a deeper cleaner character and really let the HJ shine. The amp is very quiet overall, with just the faintest residual noise at the more extreme gain settings on the channel volumes. For me, the Harry Joyce is the ultimate rock and roll amplifier, but even a country shred picker buddy of mine is blown away by this amp and will be using it for recording (it's the ultra-fast picking response combined with real tube warmth thathe loves). Not sure it would be the ideal JAZZ amp, but I'm sure the HJ could handle that elusive fourth chord in a pinch! Note that this is a real , professional, LOUD amplifier designed for stage use. Might not be the right choice for bedroom players looking for low volume lead tones. However, I will note thatI am running my HJ through a Trainwreck power attenuator at rehearsals and gigs, and the HJ works GREAT with the attenuator. Maintains its tonal integrity even when greatly padded down. None of my other amps work this well with the attenuator. The HJ also loves all the pedals I've thrown at it -tubescreamer or a Klon Centaur especially nice for sending lead tones over the top.

The level of construction quality in this amp is not approached by any other builder I am aware of, certainly, NONE of the major manufacturers come close. If you know what a HIWATT looks like inside, that's how Harry's amps are built today. NO printed circuit boards, every component lead carefully bent, hand soldered to turret boards to British military spec, then each connection electricaly and visually checked for integrtity before Harry puts a dot of paint on the connection to certify it's integrity. This amp will be ULTRA-reliable and are the EASIEST to service in the world. My HIWATT never failed in 25 years and neither will my HJ.

Charles is extremely helpful and easy to work with. My amp had an intermittent treble pot (robably got smacked HARD in transit); I sent Charles a note about the problem and the replacement pot was in my mailbox the next day. Can't beat that!

I've been playing guitar seriously for 30 years. My first good amp in 1970 was a Marshall Bluebreaker style combo my music teacher gave me (wish I'd kept it!), and I've owned an endless progression of good and not-so-good tube amps. My main guitar is a PRS McCarty with rosewood neck. I also use a '56 Historic Goldtop (P-90s), a Fender Custom Shop Strat, a real '56 ES-175, Heritage 535, Rickenbacker 360, Gretsch 6120 and Silver Jet, plus a bunch of others...I came to this amp without any real preconcieved expectations. I was looking to have my HIWATT restored to original specs by the RIGHT folks and someone recommended I check out the HJ amps. I've always been one to collect amps for different tones, so I snagged up this HJ just to check it out. I wish this amp had been here 30 years ago-it really is the best amp for me. THIS is what I've to sound like and what I've always wished for in my other amps. When I bought the HJ, I owned 9 amps, including a Mesa Blue Angel (main gig anp), Marshall RI Bluesbreaker, 1961 Brown Fender Concert, Holland Gib Droll, Holland JTM-45 replica, Mesa Maverick...Several have been sold already. I'll keep the "real" ones (old Marshall and Fenders, maybe a Holland), but the rest are out of here! I play in two bands. the members of both don't want me to use anything but the HJ-("man, we sound for real when you use THAT amp!")If stolen, I would buy another Harry Joyce amp tomorrow. In fact, when my wife's not looking, I plan to buy another, just because I LOVE this amp so much and these aren't going to be available forever. At roughly 1400.00 for a 50W w/effects loop, I feel these amps are an astounding value. I know this review is an unqualified rave, but it's impossible for me not to rave about the best amp I've ever played through. If you're a rock and roll guitar player, you owe it to yourself to play though a Harry Joyce amp. Mine has revitalized my love for playing guitar!

I got this amp new in 1998. I actually won this amp from a giveaway in "Vintage Guitar" magazine. Yes...miracles do happen!!!! First off this is a "no-fills" amp so if your looking for purple metal-flake covering or built-in digital effects this aint it!! On the other hand if you want a beautiful amplifier built like a tank with convenient user-friendly features you may want to check this out. This baby is "hand-wired" through-out and is built to British Military specs. This is a two-channel amp, normal and brilliant, with four inputs. Two inputs for each channel, "buffered" and "non-buffered" accessed through the front panel. The front panel also sports these controls...normal volume, brilliant volume, bass, treble, middle, presence and a master volume. Also on the front panel is a red power indicator lamp and two toggle switches one standby and the other mains(power). The back panel yields a mains voltage selector, mains plug, fuses-mains and high tension, a series effects loop, 0 db slave out, two 1/4" parallel speaker outputs and an output impedance selector. The only feature I really miss on this amp is reverb. But I did say "no-frills". One feature this amp has that I think is really cool is the "convertible" feature which allows the user to play open or closed-back for a variety of great sounds. Also the H.J. custom 50 has more "punch" than any amp I've ever played!

The custom 50 really doesn't have a sound that reminds me of any other amplifier. It can be really clean or in your face!! I play a variety of guitars through it, Fenders, Gibsons, Carvins, Danos, and also a variety of styles, rock, country, blues. The custom 50 handles it all with ease. It's a real good rock amp but what I most enjoy is how clean this thing sounds. When I plug my strat into this amp I really feel life is good. There really aren't many amplifiers out there I can play through and say...Oh Yeah, that's the sound I've been searching for, but with the Harry Joyce H.J. Custom 50 I can honestly say..."This is it"!!!!

Reliable? It's got a lifetime warranty!!! I wouldn't worry about this amp even if it didn't have a warranty. After two years of daily use I haven't even had a hint of a problem. It really is built to last a very long time. I believe this amp can take a lot of punishment and still come out on top. Well, I mean don't do the "Pete Townsend" on it but through normal to almost abusive playing this amp can take it!!!

Like I said I won this amp so I dealt directly with Gregg Hopkins of Vintage-Amp Restoration who builds the outstanding cabinets these wonderful amps are housed in. Gregg is wonderful to deal with! He has a very friendly manner which immediately put me at ease. I don't forsee having to have this amp repaired any time soon other than replacing tubes or rebiasing but I feel confident that if my Harry Joyce needs work I will be taken care of in short order!

In my 23 years of playing guitar I have never been happier than I have been with the custom 50. I have owned Marshalls, Peaveys, Ampegs, Fenders and the Harry Joyce definitely beats them all! If it were stolen I would lose the sound I've come to be known for. I really wish I had a few more just in case some idiot were to walk off with it. If you're a guitar player and you're still searching for "that sound" you really owe it to yourself to try a Harry Joyce!

On the front, the layout is just like the old Hiwatts. Seperate volumes for the normal and brilliant channels, bass treble midrange presence and master volume. On the back of the amp is a 0 db slave output, ohm selector and the (optional) effects loop. My only regret is that it does not have a voltage selector, which is only an issue if you plan to take it overseas.

I'm playing an '81 Les Paul Deluxe through a J. Evermann fuzz drive and Morley volume pedal. This is a rock amp. It rocks harder, bigger, and fatter than any other 50 watt el34 based amp I've ever heard. The bass is unbelieveable, there's almost too much. You have to back the bass knob way off if you dont want to rattle your ear drums. Bar chords feel like you're being kicked in the chest. At higher volumes, the sustain is infinite. I can play a single chord and never hear the end of it. When you open it up all the way, it sounds as thick and meatty as a side of beef. As for clean tone goes, this amp has a lot more head room than other 50 watt amps. Our practice space also has a Hiwatt Lead 100, and the Joyce can keep up nicely. Compared to the Hiwatt, there is definitely a similarity of tone, particularly in the quality of the overdrive: Thick, big and monsterous. The underlying tonal quality of the Joyce is just a little... sweeter, I guess. It sounds a little more natural, a little more woody. When finger picking, all notes cut through and sing equally. Solos and individual notes are full bodied and sharp without being piercing or painful to the ears. And the low end.... I could really go on and on about how great this thing sound. Suffice it to say that it is an absolute beast. You really do want to jumper the channels, though. This sound is far above what you can get out of each channel by itself. With the channels jumpered, you can control the volume of each channel so as to find the best mix between the two. I also have a '77 Marshall JMP 50 watt head which sounds great, but really doesn't come close to the Joyce. I wont even go into what it sounds like when I A/B them and play through both at the same time.

I'm confident that this amp wont have a single problem for years to come, outside of replacing and rebiasing the tubes. The inside of these amps is a work of art. There maybe a handfull of people in the world that can craft a tube amp of this quality. They come with a lifetime warranty, which tells you what confidence Harry must have it these amps' reliability.

As of this posting, the amp was probably made about 3 weeks ago. I ordered it from Charles Bertonazzi, the U.S. distributor. He's great to deal with, and is very helpful. He gave me a great deal on the amp, and shipped it for free. The lifetime warranty on this thing is priceless. The wait time on one of these is quite short, also. It took less than a month for me to receive it, from the time I mailed my check. Pretty quick, considering these are made one at a time and shipped from England.

I am never going to get rid of this amp. I might buy other amps top play other types of music, maybe a vox or an old fender tweed, but I do not ever need another rock amp again. If I ever have a son, I might name him Harry. I may save up and get another one. I understand Harry came out of retirement to make these, so who knows how many more will be built?

This is a head based loosely on the Hiwatt amp. It is hand-made and point to point wired to military specs by Harry Joyce, one of the founding fathers of the Hiwatt amp. This amp was made earlier this year and is the 2000 model. It has 4 inputs, 2 low and 2 High for each channel. The control layout is as follows: Normal Volume, Brilliant Volume, Bass, Treble, Middle, Presence, Master Volume. I ordered mine without the effects loop and chose only the slave output. I use this amp in moderate size clubs and find that it has more than enough power to handle any situation I throw at it. At the same time, it is not too loud. It is just right.

I use a custom relic tele with a Fralin bridge pu and a Gibson mini-humbucker in the neck as well as a '56 relic strat and a '68 SG standard through this amp. I find that each guitar retains it character when played through the amp. It doesn't really seem to prefer single coils to humbuckers or vice versa. It really lets each guitar sing with its own voice. It is VERY, VERY quiet even at ear-splitting volume. I usually jumper the channels to get my sound. The amp has an amazingly articulate sound to it. It has a certain depth to it that it unlike any amp I've ever tried before. The bass is so tight it is hard for your ears to believe it. It is easily the best sounding guitar head that I've ever had the luxury of playing through, and while it is a master volume amp...it doesn't sound like it. It sounds very non-master volume. I've had Mesa Boogies (new and old), Marshalls (plexi 50's & 100's, metalfronts, 60's, 70's, and 80's), Fenders (Supers, Twins), a Bruno, and various other amps over the years. The search is now over. This thing is really the bomb, period. I will never get rid of this amp. I've had a few of my good friends play through the amp and they were all blown away. One of them just ordered one the other day. They sound that good.

It is one thing for an amp to sound good. It is another to peek inside one of these things to see just how meticulously crafted one of these things is. It is like surgical in it accuracy and cleanliness. It is something to behold. It is built like a brick sh!t-house!

I got my amp from Charles Bertonazzi down in Ft. Lauderdale. He is Harry Joyce's new US distributor. He has been great and has helped me from the hundreds of questions I had all the way through to my final purchase of the amp. He is a player himslef and a HJ convert so he really knows the amp inside and out. His email is harryjoyceamps@hotmai.com He has been a real lifesaver with this. He answers emails very promptly and keeps me informed on HJ updates etc... On top of all this, it comes with a lifetime warranty. Enough said.

I've been playing about 15 years. If the amp were stolen I would first break down in tears and then I'd order another one...but that won't happen right? I really love everything about the amp. It is just that cut and dry. I am finding it very dificult to put into words how awesome this amp really is. Just check ont out and you won't be dissappointed.

This is a brand new Harry Joyce 50 watt head. It is a two channel beast that cosmetically resembles the amps that Harry built at Hiwatt, but there the comparisons end. End comes with an effects loop, a zero DB output for driving another power section if need be, and has a master volume. The control layout features 4 inputs, one hi and one low input for each channel, and one channel volume for each channel Normal and Brilliant, Bass, Mid, Treble, Presence, and a master volume. Think 60's Marshall or hiwatt for the layout. The tone control work well, and you can get some amazing tones just by moving the midrange knob around a bit. Try some different tone settings. The amp goes from pretty clean, to Pete Townsend "wont get fooled again" to Billy Gibbons best early ZZ tones. This is a new amp that sounds and acts like a 60's tone machine.

I primarily play Les Pauls, and this amp loves Gibsons. It is the amp that I have always wanted. The response time is nothing short of incredible. The notes that you play seem to reach your ears before your pick hits the strings. The amp cuts without being brittle in any way, and the noise floor is low. A very noise free amp even at insane volume levels. I jump the two channels and get great results. By the way, with the Master volume wide open this amp is louder than my 60's marshall 50 watt by a long shot. I would be frightened of the Joyce 100 watt head. No need for more than the 50 here. With this amp I can run the volumes at about 3/4 of the way up and play lead. There is enough gain to do so without a pedal of any kind in front of the amp. Then by just using the guitar volume I have been able to back off a bit and get both dirty chording and clean sounds that are very nice. The gain pedals are leaving my pedal board. Actually this is the first amp that I have ever played that seems to sound so good that one does not want to use any little effects devices. Hurrayyy for Harry!!!

The workmanship in this amp is perfect. All point to point hand wired by Harry himself. He is building these one at a time. This is the man that wired amps for Townsend, Page, etc. in the 60's. Harry's amps are ultra military spec, and just built like tanks. I intend to tour with this amp for the next 10 years and do not forsee anything other than normal service.

Gregg at Vintage Amp Restoration in St. Louis is the US distributer for Harry Joyce. He is a very easy guy to deal with. I sent a deposit check and he sent a demo amp to try. Gregg has an authorized HArry Joyce tech in St. Louis, but I don't think that I will ever need him. My tech looked the amp over and agreed that it was the best built guitar amplifier that he had ever seen. Lifetime warranty on these puppies!

I have been touring and recording as a pro for the past 20 years and have never run across an amp that has made me this excited. If it were stolen, I would be on the phone to Harry or Gregg faster than you can say rental amp to buy one of these again. I am actually ordering a few more so that our band can store some in Europe for oversees touring to avoid renting over there. Besides, there is no better rock amp on the market that I have heard. I compared this amp to my 68' Plexi Marshall, a Nedsel Komet, reissue Marshalls and everything else that I could get my hands on, and the Joyce won hands down. This is the first time that I have ever considered selling my plexi head.
You owe it to yourself, if you are a rock guitarist to try this amp right now. Im not kidding, really do it. Go on then.....make the call.