Holland Magma Head

2003 model, One of the nicest Tolex jobs I have ever seen...neat clean and top quality material...no cheap thin vinyl here!! 2 separate channels 4 inputs, reputed to be a Marshall JTM45 clone!! Set up almost identically. Presence, middle, treble, bass Ch1 volume with high and low inputs Channel 2 volume with hugh and low inputs. No reverb, no effects loop, No master, nothing to suck the life out of the pure signal path(THAT'S WHY IT SOUNDS SO INCREDIBLE). Presence/cut control knob on back. 4,8,16 ohm inputs. Mine has two EL34 power tubes with three preamp tubes and a 5U4 rectifier, chicken head knobs, Marshall Plexi/JTM45 style cabinet!! Looks so damn cool, I can't stop looking at it. THERE'S A BIAS ADJUSTING TOOL BUILT RIGHT INTO THE REAR PANEL SO YOU CAN SWITCH BETWEEN EL34S KT88S 6L6S, ETC. BEWARE, THE TUBES MUST BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE HIGH VOLTAGES(AROUND 460VDC)PRODUCED BY THE HOT RODDED OUTPUT POWER SECTION IN THIS BEAST. USE ONLY TUBES THAT HANDLE THESE VOLTAGES.

Vox, Marshall Plexi, Fender Bassman, Matchless tones are all there. When cranked and overdriven with quality pedals, it sings like a vintage Plexi, and chirps like a Fender depending on pick attack. I never get the volume past 5-6. It goes up to 12. With my pedals I get classic blues tones, Plexi crunch, R&B chime, Brit overdrive and chime. It's so damn versatile. NOTE: USING DIFFERENT TUBES CREATES DIFFERENT TONE PALLETS. I SWITCHED MY RECTIFIER TUBE FRON GZ34 TO 5U4GB AND WHOA NELLIE...SAGS LIKE MATCHLESS/MARSHALL JTM! BEWARE, YOU'LL HAVE TO ADJUST THE BIAS WITH THE TOOL ON BACK IF YOU SWITCH RECTIFIERS. JUST WHAT I NEEDED...PURE AMP TONES AT BEDROOM TO STAGE VOLUMES. dRUMMERS BEWARE!!!!

Aircraft quality aluminum chassis, cloth covered point to point wiring, Sprague hand made transformers and components, It rivals Matchless and Victoria in build quality and I've heard that it shares some of Victoria's components. It just keeps on going and going.

Company is going through some profound changes, but Val Evans always manages to respond to my e-mails within a few days. Hey, he's a famous Nashville session guitarist. He's got a life, but he's as good as gold. Thanks Val. Just like the category says"incredibly kind and helpful". I've heard that Mike Holland(founder) is no longer with the company, but what the hell do I know...please keep making these amps...your loyal fans are growing in numbers. Hang in there!!!!

I've been playing for about 20 years and have owned Matchless, Vox, Fender, Bedrock, Crate, Marshall, and other good and not so good amps, and let me tell you, these obscure gems are just as good and more versatile than the aforementioned models. It is just an incredible feeling to play something made so well that sounds so good!
REMEMBER THE TUBE CHANGES. I ALMOST SOLD THIS AMP UNTIL I BEGAN EXPERIMENTING WITH THE TUBES. I HAVEN'T EVEN BEGUN EXPERIMENTING WITH THE PREAMP TUBES YET..USE POWER TUBES WITH HIGH PLATE VOLTAGE SPECS!!(460 VDC) PEACE.

The Holland Magma head, is a 2 channel head (no switching) - 4 inputs
bright and normal - for each type of input a volume and 1 master volume.
This head is been modified by Harry Kolbe Soundsmith (New York), and it is been modified, to obtain a very brown tone and a slight crunchy sound on the first (normal)channel.
tubes: now equiped with 1 * GE 5751 + 1 * RCA 12at7 + 1 Siemens 12ax7 + 1 * 12ax7 Mullard. and for the moment 2 mullard el34 brown base + 1 Telefunken GZ34

This is not a metal monster, but one of the best blues-tone-making machines I have.( and I do have a lot of them)
This amp gives you a very balanced and warm and bluesy sound.
I wanted some crunchy sound by low volume, that's why the mods by Harry Kolbe., but you can do easy without it.
This top gives you 50 watts all tubes sound, and the character is changing by the type of pre -and powertubes you use.
If you use 6L6 GA or GC's, el34 or kt66 they tone remain simply of the best.

As for the speakers, I hooked this amp on a Soldano large form cab, with 2*12 eminence legend speakers.
This cab is my standard apart from a 2*12 weber (R12B) and a 2*12 Vintage 30

This amps has very large and heavey and reliable transfo's, it makes the head heavy, but I have never had any problem with it.
I did 31 gigs and about 100 sessions, no problem

Since I've been born in Belgium Europe, there's is no single suplier for Holland amp, I bought it at Van de Haar guitar parts, but I have mailed, several times to Mike, and HE ALWAYS REPLYS IN MAX.2 DAYS WITH ALL THE INFO YOU NEED AND AN ANSWER TO ALL YOUR QUESTIONS.
This is what I can call service !

I am 46 y.-playing guitar for almost 30 years I have owned around 20 or 30 amps, I think the whole fender range, had up to 10 amp at the same time, you know, that specified gig, with that specified amp.
I sold all the combo's, due to my back-problems, just ketp a Black Cat 30R combo, then I have a Bogner Metropolis head, a "tamed" single recitfier 50 head, an old Sovtek mig 100 head ( also a very fine but very basic amp).
Comparing the Magma head to another amps is not easy, lets say a much far better bassman 135 watt top.

If this amp would be stolen, I would hunt it down, with my dobermann's nose on the track, and Lord have mercy, when it would return with any scratch, you can play with my girl but not with my amp.
In fact I am about to get me a second Holland amp (Gibb droll 3*10 + 1*10 reverb)