Kingsley Deluxe 1 112 Combo

Update on my previous post. I had simon modify the output section to dual single ended with about 15 watts clean output with 2 6L6's or EL34's (or KT66, or KT77, etc.). Can still use 1 or 2 6V6 via a plate voltage/bias switch. It does everything it did before, but now has the added bonus of being a very useful club amp.

Same as before, sounds fantastic, but louder, more bottom and brighter with the 6L6's. A bit more noise than before, dual single ended designs are apparently prone to this, but just slightly more than my other 15-18 watt amps.

No breakdowns at all, other than one output tube failure, easily fixed.

The best customer support I've had. Good advice from a knowledgable amp builder.

The best combination of build quality, sound quality, and service that i've had with any boutique amp.

3 watt single ended 6v6 combo, made in 2005 by Simon Jarrett. Celestion blue speaker. The features are detailed in previous reviews. Used at home and for recording, and have used slaved into mesa boogie 50/50 with excellent results. Can swap output tube with almost any octal tube without rebiasing (tried it with an EL34, no problems, cool AC/DC sound and noticable increase in output volume)

Excellent sound quality overall, has a very distinct voice, but will do a decent marshall plexi or fender imiation if that's your thing. Very quiet. You can manipulate the overdriven sound easily, with preamp or output tube sounds as desired. Gain goes quite high. Not a lot of clean headroom, as you would expect from this type of amp.

Better built than any production amp I've ever seen, I don't expect any problems.

Great personal service from Simon and Christine. They were always available during and after the building process.

Excellent amp, versatile and unique. I also own a Dr. Z Carmen ghia, and a mesa boogie 50/50 tube power amp. I would buy another in a second.

Handbuilt by Simon Jarrett in 2004, I probably have the only Kinglsey DeLuxe 1 in the UK. This is an amp that imho gets my guitar back to the roots of what having an amplified guitar is about. With a maximum output of 3 watts in pentode (half that in triode), one channel with two inputs, clean and drive, and some musical, useful and carefully thought out controls with lovely tone shaping and a smooth switch, this amp drives a celestion blue with just one tube. This can be a 6V6, 6L6 or EL34. The result is an amplifier for those who want to experience the very finest sound from a tube rig. Forget soupy, scooped or chain saw pre-amp distortion. It'll do that if you want. No, this amp excels in harmonincally rich and musical power stage driven distortion at volumes that restore intimacy and pleasure to playing an electric guitar. Sure, mike it up through a PA for stage and it'll bring the house down. It even has a slave output (post power stage) which lines out exactly what the amp feeeds the speaker. I'm giving this a 10 because OK this is not versatile like a Line 6 combo. But in the territory of low power combos it is at the peak of the art. The amp that comes closest to it is the Carr Mercury, but guess what. The Kingsley has no attenuation cicuit. The Carr does. Does that make the Carr more versatile? Maybe it does. But not at the cost of losing the Kingsley tone.

Used with strat style guitars, sgle coil and 'buckers. The amp is quite and is 100% controllable from the axe. At full volume it'll play clean, but with attack, warmth, richness and edge. Wind in the guitar volume or switch in 'buckers and drive it up, or just attack the strings harder. Either way, you have 100% control. But hang on. Attack, warmth, richness and edge? All at the same time? Yes. Welcome to the incredible possibilities of a really well made tube amp.

After a couple of months, zero issues. It is built to last 100 years and then some. The amp case is copper, the wiring audiophile grade, all point to point, the cab beautifully crafted with the chunkiest leather handle this side of indiana jones.

It is build by Simon Jarrett. He's a craftsman, runs his own thing. He's there if you want to talk, he'll design the amp the way you want it. 100%, honest, reliable and evertything a corporation isn't. Since he's in Canada and I'm in England a factory service is not an option. However, tha amp is built for servicing for ever. End of story.

During 11 years playing I've owned or used a Marshall, Fender, Dr Z, VHT, Laney and Mesa. I'll keep my Fender as it works well slaved out from the Kingsley. I cannot imagine ever needing another amp for sound reasons. It is a doddle to use for recording but really, the main thing is it does all those elusive tone things I have been looking for since 1992.

I own the one and only Kingsley Deluxe 1 in the world. After searching for a super-low-power tube amp amongst virtually every manufacturer out there, the only thing that came close was the Cornford Harlequin. Still, at 6 watts, I knew it would be too loud at the volume necessary to achieve that saturated tube sound so many of us crave. My research suggested power attenuators tended to degrade the signal, robbing an amp of it's inherent character. Time to think custom - if you can't find it, shave someone design and build it! Talking with Simon Jarrett about my needs, I commissioned the Deluxe 1 in early 2002. Please visit www.kingsleyamplifiers.com for complete specs, pictures of my amp (Honduras mahogany cabinet), and a well-stated summary of the design principles, features and benefits of this unique prototype.

I play a custom Bunker hollowbody with DiMarzio humbuckers as well as a '52 Tele reissue (single coil, naturally). With either guitar, this amp simply speaks the truth. You hear a lot in the audiophile world (ok, I am one) about the value of quality in every part of the signal chain. Believe me, the same holds true for guitarists. Until you hear your guitar and your sound through a truly superior amp, you just don't know what you have. Having invested in two fine guitars, I also invested in an amp that did them justice. Some nuts-and-bolts stuff: the amp is dead quiet until you crank everything, especially your single coils, at which point that hum is actually part of the charm. I wanted an amp I could turn up and get the sound of a Marshall stack at low decibels; there's only one way to truly achieve that, and that's to drop the wattage way down while leaving all other aspects of a great tube amp alone. Beyond this, as the man said, talking about tone is like dancing about architecture.

Superb build quality. Put together by a man who gives a damn about his product and reputation.

The Kingsley Deluxe 1 was a collaboration between Simon Jarrett and myself. This amp would not exist if Simon was not easy to talk to, intelligent, flexible and creative. Before you decide to buy a mass-market amp, whether you needs are low-power or not, talk to him yourself. You only have one lifetime to explore your musical horizons. Get the best you can afford.

I've been playing for over 20 years. If this amp was stolen, I'd certainly ask Simon to build another, although this being the very first Deluxe 1, it is in a sense irreplaceable.