Kendrick 2112-TC

The Kendrick 2112 reviewed here is, as far as I can tell, the first of the "Texas Crude" series (on the Kendrick Demo tape, Terry calls it the 2112 "Texas Crude"), as it departs from being an "exact" replica of the early tweed Fenders. It still looks like a late 50's Fender, and while it isn't as far removed as the 50 and 100 watt 'Crudes (the Gusher and Spindletop EL-34 designs), it differs from the origional 2112 (tweed Deluxe replica) in that it is a higher power amp at 35 watts (two 5881 tubes, as opposed to the two 6V6 tubes), and it has a slightly larger cabinet (about the size of a tweed Super or Pro). This model was made in 1992, and is one of the first ones made, serial #0059(!). It still even has the typed instruction manual (which doesn't mention the 2112 yet).
I cannot, in good conscience, give this amp a rating on FEATURES that is any higher than three, as they consist of four inputs, Vol., Mic.Vol., and Tone, and they all go to 12(!). That's IT! (unless you consider the ground switch and a power on/off switch "features"). Having said that, this amp was not intended to have zillions of pre-programmed sounds at the touch of a foot, obviously. I will say that the Volume controls for each channel are interactive (the one not plugged into affects the tone of the one you are using, more on that later), which is interesting as it is something rarely seen on any recently made amp. It's also interesting to note here that this is the only Kendrick, or for that matter the only "over 20-watt" tube amp I have seen without a Standby switch (except maybe for certain early 60's Vox AC30s). Even the normal 25-watt 2112 has one. I don't know why they did this, except maybe the origional buyer could have special ordered it that way just for novelties-sake. Weird! I just gotta keep those volumes down and guitar signal off while it warms up. Hey, I hate the damage done by cold-cathode emission just like everybody else.

Starting out, I have to say that I like the sound of single coil guitars through this amp the most, even better than with the Victorias, as Kendricks seems to be more complex and have better sparkle with Fender style guitars, even though the Victoria is the more exact reproduction of Fender tweed tone. My style (by the way) is the obligatory blues, blues-rock, jazz, all that stuff, and rare is there any country in my style, though some will creep in if you grow up with everyone around you listening to it (all the cool fast-fingerpicking stuff too). The Kendrick just has an extra helping of that Texas personality (I know that that has got to sound cliche'd by now), and I ain't talking no "tears n' beers" redneck Texas, I'm talking Texas as big as it is, in all it's grandeur, and it's heritage of fine musicians (the names Eric Johnson, Billy Gibbons, both Vaughan brothers, David Grisson, Albert Collins, and Freddie King leap to mind). It sounds nice enough with humbuckers, but I think as far as that goes (from what I have experienced, anyway), the Vickys tend to sound better with those. (I also have a Jennings-Thompson Spectrum guitar that has a variety of Fender-ish and Gibson-ish sounds, and while it sounds different in the Vickys and the Kendrick, is just as good, really, just depends on my mood I guess). With most humbucking guitars, it seems to "flatten" the amp, as if the signal is hitting the amp way too hard, and some do it worse than others. It's the reverse of what you'd think as far as the hotter HBs go, my late 70's Les Paul has fairly low output pickups, and it (to me) is the worst offender as far as the "flattening" goes, as it has almost no dynamic sound, while the newer Les Paul Classic series (my favorite), with the really hot ceramic magnet HBs, doesn't do it hardly at all, getting a nice mix of grind, crunch, and "singing" sound (more of a Freddie King or Billy Gibbons "singing" as opposed to Eric Johnson or Robben Ford). The least offensive is the ultra-hot humbucker in my JT's bridge position, it's very musical, and just plain nice. It isn't noisy at all, but Kendrick amps that have the footswitchable extra gain stage tend to have a certain amount of hiss when the gain stage is activated.
Now about the Volume interactions, This is where a lot of the versatility is. By the way, the tone control just rolls off high-end, and the sound is at it's fullest and crispiest with the tone all the way up, so that's where it stays, except for darker jazz sounds where it sounds the best rolled off a notch or two. Being that the Mic inputs are padded and don't sound as excellent with guitar, I never use it (although I let a harp player use the amp, and it sounded excellent). Now plugging into the Inst.Vol. is where it's at for guitar. With the unused Mic Volume turned all the way down, the amp's sound is at it's fattest, and turned all the way up to 12 the sound is at it's thinnest and cleanest (helpful for cleaner, louder club work). The sound doesn't change dramatically with this control intil it gets to nine, and then progressively works from there. To me, it sounds the best set to 10 for clean, bell-like stuff, as anything past 11 is just thinner (helpful for neck-humbucker hollowbodies, for more of a "Wes" sound).
Live, it's got enough guts to handle medium size clubs, but not excessively clean. Let me also point out this. Most 2112's in all shapes and sizes and power modes come with the Kendrick Blackframe 12" speaker, but this one has the Brownframe 12", which was designed (I believe) to go in the EL-34 powered monsters, and has more midrange thrust and achieves a smoother sort of British tone than the Blackframe 12", which is more "Jensen-ish". The Brownframe 12" sounds, well, "browner" than the others (and the high end isn't as crispy). The lack of bottom end in my live playing sound also indicates it was designed for more of a closed-back operation, though it does sound a lot better in open-back cabinets than tho

These guys seem to me like they'd never break. I've only owned mine for about 6 months now, never had trouble. When I do see a used Kendrick, it's always in good shape and sounds neglect-free, as in no unusual hums or anything. Ask me in a few years, but I don't expect ant problems, and haven't carried a backup amp, except when one just happened to be in my Suburban the day of the gig. It looks like you'd have to shoot it to kill it.

I called them the other day with a question and they seemed to be friendly enough over the phone, though I have never had any ongoing dealings with them, and really no reason to. I have met Gerald Weber (founder, creator of Kendrick) at several guitar shows around here in the Dallas/FortWorth metroplex, and he seemed to be just freakish enough to be cool, friendly, and serious-minded at the same time (I'm careful saying this stuff, he is a boxer, y'know). He could very easily fit into the Austin hippie scene, and he very well may (see the web site at www.kendrick-amplifiers.com). Also, I did get to see his band play at the hotel next to the Arlington Civic Center one night after a day at the guitar show, and they rock, lots of Gibbons influence (how'd you guess?), and they even did origionals(!).

Okay, synapsis: tone is great with Fenders and my JT guitar, and pretty good with most Humbuckers; interactive control volumes are cool; the speaker, "brown, brown, brown"; and for construction, it's built like a tank. Overall rating - gotta give it a nine as it sits, because I think some changes can be made to fix the tonal problems. In order to form a more perfect tweed-type amp, here are some changes I'm proposing: One, I'm adding the Model 100 reverb to be retro-fit inside the cab, because I'm a 'verb Junkie (BTW, Kendrick can add this to any amp, it goes into the signal after the phase inverter for the "onboard" 'verb sound, because if you're like me, I hat the way most stand-alone units sound "added-on" and "distant" from the notes). The second thing to do is I'm thinking of having them rebuild a baffle board to accomodate two Blackframe 10" speakers. This will eliminate the overemphasis on midrange, add the missing crispness at higher volumes, and tighten up and add some "whomp" to the bottom. All of this can be done, by the way, for somewhere in the neighborhood (with no exact address yet) of five to six hundred bucks, which is reasonable considering that since this amp cost $1500 (and they don't make the old tweed types anymore), that would be exactly what I would like on the amp. This will more likely than not solve my gigging woes, and I'll have a bigger, better, stronger amp. Now, if it were stolen, maybe I'd get the Vicky, which is "just as good, but different" with it, and better with humbuckers, but not as good (to me) with Fenders and single-coils. But during those times when I'm not COMPLETELY obscessed with searching for new and better tones, I'm content with this amp, and I just like "being" with it, which says a lot, because I get impatient and bored with things somewhat quickly, which is precisely why it is so difficult for me to follow any kind of diet plan, but that's another story. I have owned "vintage" Fender amps before, along with a Sound City 120 MK-IV head (which grinds like a Marshall and has the throatiness of a Hiwatt), and this is the most "alive" and "gigable" amp I have owned. I just hope I can find decent replacement tubes for this one. Bottom Line: If this review has you thinking (read: salivating), try and find a good used Kendrick, and try many guitars, and as many different "volume" settings as possible, I'm sure you'll be pleased. (if you want to cantact me and arehaving problems, try my old address at james2@kbsc.com, it will be functional for a while).
In the meantime, "Plug In, Tune Up, and Jam Out."