Kingsley Deluxe 50 Head

Hi all.
I'm one of the lucky owner of a Kingsley amplifier.

Here's the tone results of a three days test effected in my flat with a Fender Stratocaster Relic '60 and a Dino's custom cabinet (www.dinosguitars.com) 2x12 Eminence Legend (GB12 and 125).

First of all let me say I don't think an amplifier projected neither to emulate other amps nor to provide several timbres can sound very different turning up/down its knobs: it'll simply play its voice with more/less bass, middle, trebble, ... ;of course a tube amplifier has got his best clean when the volume (let me use it in general, without making a distinction with the gain) is next to the beginning of the saturation, and the best saturation when the volume is very high.

The voice of the Deluxe 50 is, like the well done point-to point amps, is METALLIC and ALIVE (not plastic like also taking into account the best no point-to-point amp) and, above all, FAT. This last one is the distinctive tone element of the amp: it doesn't have that sort of "cheapness" I've always found in the vintage Fender and Marshall and in several boutique amps (all beautiful amplifiers, of course!)and, on the contrary, it doesn't have that very defined bass notes of them (being very good basses anyway): it's like this fatnes surrounds every note.
In comparison with the amps cited before, the head works in a compressed band of frequencies, but...what a band!
A tip: if you have got a soft guitar as mine, to brighten the final sound a bit use the pedal boost around the minimum level.
Conclusion: the Deluxe 50 head is a boutique amp similar to no other amp I've listened up to now; great clean and gained sounds; very sensitive knobs; perfect touch response: a very funny amplifiers.

About the question if the Kingsley has got the sound of the Dumble...mmm...I've never tried a Dumble, but I've obtained THE SAME sound (the only difference was in his carved archtop) of Larry Carlton's electric solos of his "Kid Gloves" album.

About the soundfiles at www.kingsleyamplifiers.com: now that I have a Kingsley, I can say they are extraordinarily correspondent to my Deluxe 50: trust them!

the Deluxe 50 is a all-tube guitar amp (reviewed is the head version, also available in combos with your speakers choice), class AB with spring reverb. It has a solid state rectifier, preamp section with a 12AX7's, phase inverter is a 12AT7, while the reverb driver sports a 12AX7. The power amp section can be run with either a pair of 6L6 or EL34 (all you need is rebias). This particular amp came with Fenderish 6L6GC's. A quick look through the back panel reveals a full-size Accutronics reverb tank. Cool (as we will see, reverb on this amp is amazing). We also notice Solen filter caps in the power supply section. Kingsley and a very small number of other builders (like Carr) does this with guitar amps. They are developed for use in satellites, they use a polypropylene dielectric (not electrolytic, which is liquid and dries up over time) and have a lifetime of 150 years. So they should outlast the owner of the amp, and at least we should be able not to worry about having to change them after a while... I am personally convinced that the better is your power supply, the better the amp will sound. Actually, after your guitar signal hits the amp and is amplified by the first stage, from then on all you hear is the power supply... So, the Solen's must be largely responsible for the amp's note attack and spatial dimension. When current is needed, Solen's deliver. The neat point to point, hand-wired circuitry is hosted inside a chassis, which is bolted 'upside down' to the cabinet (like on a Fender amp). Covering looks pretty much like tolex, yet more refined and classy. Looks a bit more delicate than tolex, though...time will tell. Copper face and back plates and elegant brown and 'cappuccino' grille cloth with embroidered Kingsley logo and gold piping contour (very Marshall-esque) add to the amp's very distinctive looks... A robust looking black leather handle is fixed to the amp with chrome hardware, while the remaining hardware is gold (...am I being too finicky here?). The head stands on 4 oversized rubber spacers meant for sure to isolate the amp from the vibrations coming from the cab underneath.
This amp is a one channel affair, even if there actually are 2 input jacks. Controls are Gain, Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Reverb and Tone. We also got a bright switch in a pretty much Fender blackface fashion. It's worth noting that the variable Gain control is kicked in the signal circuit only when we plug into input 1. This can be used to tailor the input level on specific guitars, so to get maximum clean headroom, or else we can use it to adjust the preamp overdrive level. Instead, the global Tone control acts on the power amp section and can truly work wonders, especially when the amp is overdriving at high volumes. To the right, we find the on and standby switches, as well as a very cool blue jewel light. If you're having an 'off' night, at least this will remind you that your amp is on. The back panel sports: pentode / triode switch (to cut power in half), two parallel-wired output jacks, impedence selector (4Ohm / 8 Ohm), non recording compensated line out with level control, footswitch jack and gain switch. According to designer Simon Jarrett: 'This latter is not labeled, as it was not part of the original design. This switch changes the value of a resistor in the pre-amp, which results in more gain and a tighter tone with less bass. It is a useful addition, in particular when using different cabinets, as with a bass heavy cabinet the amp can almost produce too much bass. Engaging this gain switch makes the eq controls have a more useable range with a bass heavy cabinet'.
The footswitchable boost (footswitch is supplied with the amp) increases gain in the pre-amp and results in a louder sound when the amp is set clean. When the amp is on the edge of overdrive or more, the boost will not add as much volume but will increase gain further. I dig the level control directly on the pedal, so you don't have to run back

Personally, the first thing I look for when checking out a new amp is a good, solid clean sound. If I like the clean sound, I will almost certainly like the distorted sound as well. Also, either I like the amp after 3 notes, or I will probably never like it at all...
I plug my strat into input 2 (the one with no gain control), tone controls roughly at noon with a bit more treble and a little less bass, bright switch on, pentode mode, gain switch on, a little reverb and volume at 30%. The strat has controls fully open, selector switch on neck pickup...stand back!
The Deluxe 50 welcomes me to Kingsley-tone-town with a velvety tone: solid, harmonically rich and extremely detailed, with a definite and round note attack, dynamically alive. Increasing volume a bit shifts the tone into the crunch zone...now it's time to throw the pick on the floor, as I get myriads of colors just by changing the way I touch the strings. Hey, I'm feeling like I'm Jeff Beck...That's great!
Tone is balanced across the frequency range, with deep yet clear bass, complex mids and very meaty, round trebles. Also when playing the strat or tele bridge pickup, the tone never crosses the ice-pick-in-your-ear danger zone. Highs just want to sound good: solid, big and wonderfully "oily". What strikes me most about this amp, though, is the note attack. You can feel each note coming from far, with a trasparent and flutey "ssstunf" that reminds me of Tony Bruno's spectacular amps. Maybe it's just by accident, but both Bruno's and Simon Jarrett's original designs (the Underground 30 and Deluxe 30, respectively) draw inspiration from the mighty Vox AC30.
Input 1 adds the Gain control to the tone recipe, resulting in overdriven sounds that range from crunchy to singing leads. Be aware, there's no trace of flat, mosquito buzziness here, neither of artificial, colorless sustain without dynamics... Here the overdrive amount and color can be modeled with the touch...think Robben Ford or Eric Johnson. Actually, these two guys have not been mentioned by case: with a minimum knob and switch tweaking I was able to replicate the tones heard on albums like 'Robben Ford & the Blue Line' or 'Ah, Via Musicom'...c'mon...let's just say it softly for now: maybe this Kingsley amp has inside the tone of the Dumble..?! Actually some time ago I was able to play through a Dumble and even if memory might play nasty tricks on me, I should say the sensations of playing through both amps are quite similar. Still, to tell the truth, the Kingsley keeps its signature tone throughout: clarity, smoothness, openness, harmonic richness, roundness and exceptional attack are embedded in this amp's DNA.
Still, I want to push this further: we have over here a '65 Fender Vibrolux Reverb amp that we regard as benchmark for clean tone. Truly a blessed amp (Joe Pass, Jim Hall and JL Hooker have played this amp!).... Bingo! With some focused adjustments we were able to get a clean tone absolutely on a par with the Fender's. Even without the Fender's vintage speakers, the Deluxe 50 fills the room with diamonds, butterflies and zebras and moonbeams...and fairy tales... Yet the Kingsley manages again to keep its own voice. This amp ain't no other amp's clone!
Oh, by the way: the reverb sounds terrific: it airs up each note without adding color and with none of the "boing" factor associated with lesser spring reverbs. More like what you would get sending a dry signal to a Lexicon rack.

It's clearly built to last. I've seen a lot lesser amps survive years of abuse with no problem, so I see no reason why shouldn't this. I have had it for too short to have problems with it. I give it a 9 based on common sense.

Even though Maple Ridge is 9 time zones away (i.e. I guess this amp will never ship back to Kingsley amps for repair), Simon Jarrett is a pleasure to deal with via email or phone and has always demonstrated kind and helpful both before and after purchase.

I've been playing for 20+ years and owned tons of gear. For guitar amp, if it's only tone you're after, it doesn't get much better than this. Only different.