Mojave Ampworks Coyote Head

Incredible is the word to sum up this little tone monster. This all tube head has a pretty wide range of tonal possibilities without having the modern features of channel switching, effects loop, or reverb. With this amp you don't miss or need these features, the tone is all you can think about after hearing this amp. It's a 12W amp, but in a class A configuration is plenty loud for most if not all applications, and can drive a 4X12 to very loud levels.

With the high and low sensitivity inputs, channel levels for treble and bass channels, tone, and midrange controls, this amp covers Vox AC-30 to JTM-45 territory. This amp breathes and responds to pickup changes, rolling off the tone control on the guitar, effects pedals, etc. in an excellent manner. All of which open up different tonal possibilities. Of course my favorite is the treble channel wide open and bass channel at about 50% to 60% up, Holy Grail comes to mind at this point.

The amp has a classy look and feel and has help up to normal playing and moving duties. I don't expect to have any problems as everything looks as if it was made with top notch quality parts and workmanship.

Victor is a delight to work with. As I stated in my review of the Peacemaker head, I was encouraged to play and try out the multiple coyote configurations and ask any and all questions. Victor truly takes pride in his work and along with this original design is considered a tube amp expert and guru. Notice all of the older Marshalls you see for sale that say "serviced at Plexi Palace". Excellent support in meeting my needs.

The coyote head has been a joy to play since day 1. This all handmade tube amp delivers delicious tones that make it hard to put the guitar down when it's time to stop for the night. I would purchase another Coyote in a heartbeat if I were to lose this one. I compared this amp to older marshalls and my bogner shiva combo. The coyote produces a beautiful and full distortion due to pre AND power amp distortion. The Shiva had more of a modern Preamp only distortion tone. I would recommend this amp for anyone who is looking for a top notch amp that produces usable distortion tones. It's not going to work for modern trash or metal tones, but that is not what this gem was deigned for. If you're looking for the vintage Vox AC-30 meets vintage marshall, this is the amp.

This is a brand new 2002 Coyote Head, Serial #CY-0009. This is a hand-built, point-to-point wired 12-watt one-channel amp (with 3 12AX7's and 2 EL84 output tubes). The front panel features are, from right to left: High Sensitivty Input, Low Sensitivity Input, Mid-empasis/Mid Cut Switch, Treble Volume, Bass Volume, Tone, Standby Switch, and Mains Switch. On the rear panel are a dedicated 16 Ohm output and two 8 Ohm outputs in parallel to allow plugging in two 16 Ohm speaker cabinets. This is a great feature, as this amp loves multiple speakers. More on that in a bit. In any event, though this amp does not have multiple channels and all kinds of bells and whistles, it will give you a panoply of sounds, most of which are controllable from the guitar.

I have two guitars that I play: a 1961 SG/Les Paul and a 2001 PRS Santana III with Voodoo PAFs. I play mostly heavy rock, blues, and classic metal and this little tone monster really delivers. I was especially blown away when plugging this through my old Marshall 4 x 12 with original 30-watt speakers. Massive CONTROLLABLE tone. This is an amp where you can roll off the volume and get a really lush and detailed clean tone, roll it up to ten and it roars. The settings I used for my two humbucker guitars was Treble Volume on 10, Bass Volume on 6 and Tone on 6, Mid Switch on Emphasis. This yielded a highly distorted tone with great complexity. Not at all shrill, as one would expect with the treble all the way up. Playing through the Low Sensitivity Input gave this same setting a less intense gain structure but took NOTHING away from the volume.

I can't get technical, but Victor Mason has a very unique pre-amp. Most amps that have 3 12AX7's--such as old Plexi Marshalls--(12AX7's are dual triodes, 2 tubes in one), split the functions of the tubes. For instance, and correct me if I am wrong, Victor, but the first tube in a Marshall splits the triodes between the two channels. This yields less gain and more noise. The Coyote uses both triodes in each of the first two 12AX7's for gain without splitting them. To make a long story short, this amp is ballsy and muscular and has almost NO noise when cranked to the max. That, to me, is the most impressive achievement. How many of us love our amps cranked, but can't stand the hum and hiss they make? With the Coyote, that is no longer a worry.

As for the tone, it can nail the Brian May sound with ease, it's also got the AC/DC sound, either by rolling back the volume, or by plugging into the Low Sensitivity Input. I was also getting a great old Leslie West tone with my Santana III and a Keeley Compressor. The best aspect of all is that if you roll back the volume even, a little bit, you change the character of the amp completely.

Now for the speakers. When I first heard the amp, I was visiting Victor in his shop in Apple Valley. I heard the Coyote in combo form and through my little Bogner 1 x 12 loaded with a G-12H. My cabinet sounded pretty darn good--certainly better than it had with other amps. Then Victor plugged the Coyote through his Marshall 4 x 12 loaded with G-12H's. WOW! Big difference. The tone was bolder and more aggressive. And even full up, the high frequencies were sweet, so the amp will not give you ear fatigue And the controllable feedback? Killer. Unfortunately, my 4 x 12 is now relegated to the garage because of 2 children and the space they take up, but I will be ordering one of his 2 x 12 cabinets. THAT will be awesome, indeed.

This is a hand-built amp and while in his shop, I had a chance to see how these tone machines are put together. Everything is soldered using old fashioned turret lugs on a solid-looking board out of what I assume is glass epoxy. Not sure about that. Chassis is a heavy gauge aluminum and tube sockets are ceramic; all wiring is with teflon coated wire. Victor also pointed out his massively oversized choke, nearly as big as other amp's output transformers. A lot of amp builders neglect to use chokes, which really smooth out the voltage and the resultant tone. This amp and it's bretheren are top-notch all the way. In short, this is an amp that will last.

Victor Mason is a wonderful man to buy anything from. He graciously came in on a Saturday, when I visited, and spent over three hours with me. He also stands behind his products as few other would.

Overall, this is an incredible amp that will please even the most discriminating player. And while 12 watts may not sound like a lot, it really packs a whallop. However, for those who want more, he makes his 30-watt Sidewinder (4 EL84's), 38-watt Plexi 45 (a JTM clone with either KT-66 or EL34 tubes), and his top-of-the-line 100-watt Peacemaker (this amp NAILS the brown sound everyone wants and features the same great preamp as the Coyote and Sidewinder amps. I really love my Coyote and can't wait to make it howl again!