Red Iron Amps Custom Head

This is my second custom head from Red Iron Amps. It is a single channel with a volume, bass, treble, and a fat switch. The bass and treble EQ is a bandaxle type <sp> of EQ. I also have a pair of dials for power scaling, with a bypass switch in the rear of the amp. The power scaling circuit allows me to get power tube saturation at much lower volume levels. The rear has a speaker jack and an impedace selector of 4, 8, or 16 ohms and a couple of switches and dials for future project expansion. The amp is all tube and blows hard at about 80 watts. The cabinet is built of stained mesquite wood and the chassis is a very cool idea, channel steel.

Of all my axes, my weapon of choice 95% of the time, is my USA Fender Strat modded with Calaham pickups (underwound with pickup blender) and tremlo block. The tone I go for is a clean, bouncy tone for funky jam music. I tend to like a sweet, bouncy clean tone and a just at the edge of distortion dirty sound.

Now for the tone of this amp, the clean tone is very sweet and clean. Basically a very nice Fender tweed tone, but it has a special property. This amp uses a non-Fender tone circuit, it is a Hiwatt type of circuit, so it sounds a bit different. As you push this amp a little, it gets very exciting. The amp feels like you are about to break everything inside, but you never do. It is a very dangerous feeling. It goes everywhere at the edge and way over, but it never sounds like a Marshall or Fender or anything else. It is not exactly a Hiwatt either, but that would be the closest match I could make to describe the sound. This amp truly is a unique sound, and will certainly become an ingredient to my secret tone recipie. It is the best sounding dirty sound I have ever owned at any price.

100% Reliable, hand built, all tube, all discrete components, point to point wired, steel chassis, what more do you need to know....

It is never a problem to get support.

Overall I have put my money where my mouth is twice, and both amps have out-toned all of the rigs I have ever owned, at any price. The first amp from Red Iron, caused me to sell my Victoria Victrolux and vintage Fender amps. This amp has caused my to sell my THD Flexi 50. I only have a couple of amps left.

I found out about Paul "Red Iron Amps" from a friend of mine that sent me a URL of just another boutiue amp builder out of Texas. What I found out was Paul knows how to build amps that musicians really want and need. His amps don't have a tone of crap, but they do have a tone of ton. To be honest when I first started playing this amp, I was thinking of Ken Fischer!

This is an update to my first posting here in Harmony Central. The only feature I regret not getting is a master volume. Paul would have added it, but I told him not too. Other than that, it has everything I need with a volume, tone control, and fat switch. So the amp is a versitle as you want it to be within the analog dimension. If you are looking for a lot of digital crap, then you won't appreciate these amps.

My style is a full, clean, and articulate tone with and little nasty thrown in from time to time, and it covers those bases in spades. Think of any application were a Fender tweed sound works and that is what you get.

At this point in my life, I am a Fender Strat guy with underwound pickups for tone and note clarity. And sonic clarity is what I need from an amp. This Red Iron amp sounds like a hi-fi vintage Fender Tweed amp. Paul is the best kept secret in the boutique market. The clean sounds on his amp have blown away everything I have ever tried including Fargen, Victoria, and London Power. I don't know if it is possible to sound better than his clean sounds. Of course a good clean sounds is the basis for great distortion. In additon, a great clean sound is the foundation for effects. Because I have a full, rich sound every effect sounds like a wet dream. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

100% - They are built on a platform of Iron and everything is high quality. If I ever have a problem with thing, it will be because it was run over by a tank.

Always available and always willing to get you what you need.

Overall I really don't want to tell anyone about Red Iron amps, because once the cat is out of the bag, prices always go up with demand. However, my other self interest is to keep him in business so that I can buy more amps from him in the future; therefore, I am sharing this secret with you. In addition, I just placed another order today for a Hiwatt type of amp. I am sure it will be tasty treat.

I read the previous review from a guy that had a bad experience with Paul. I don't know what happened, but I can tell you that he is the real deal. Of all the vintage and boutique gear that I have purchased, my Red Iron is the only amp that has stood the test of time. Maybe the previous poster should have dumped his amp and bought one from Red Iron. I think his review would have been much different!

I sent Paul Sanchez an Epiphone EA26RVT to have the output transformer changed to a larger one, add an effects send return loop, add 2 speaker out jacks and change the 2 remaining 6V tube jacks to 12V tube jacks. His price $225. I sent him the amp. he emailed me told me the work was done. I sent him $225. I got the amp back. NO send/return loop. The output transformer mounted too close to the baffle board to mount a speaker. I called him up. He was tolerant. We decided I would return the amp on his dime and he would fix the errors. I asked him how long. he said 7 days. I emailed him back stating that IMHO a 24 to 48 hour turn around would be appropriate. he emailed me back stating that he would return to me $50 and the 2 preamp tube covers, he forgot to return. He sure didn't forget to tell me that the amp was done and to send him $225. I am filing with the Texas A/G. Avoid this Internet Con Man.

His claims on his website are brutal distortion. I emailed Kendrick amps and the president told me Paul Sanchez worked for them years ago. And all his work was reviewed by the shop supervisor. Avoid this Online Racketeer Paul Sanchez.

Depend on him to use the Internet to make contracts and then fail to perform them. On his voicemail, he says leave a message for the House of Prayer. You maybe should start praying.

See above. I have visited my pastor about Paul Sanchez. We prayed together about this.

I have been playing music for 45 years. I started in the grade school band. By the time I was 23 years old I had learned 9 musical instruments, taken lessons on seven of them and performed professionally on those seven. I have played in 3 piece rock combos, 15 piece jazz bands, and I've been the only white guy in an all black 9 piece soul review. I currently own 4 electric guitars, 1 electric bass, 2 guitar amps (only one of which now works), 1 bass amp, 2 acoustic guitars, a rack of effects, and 2 keyboards. I record and rehearse in Los Angeles, CA.

Paul Sanchez was referred to me by another speaker cabinet manufacturer online. Paul Sanchex referred me to a different onlone speaker manufacturer when I asked him about speaker cabinets. I am still praying. Maybe he'll return more than $50.

I had Paul at Red Iron Amp build me a custom amplifier to my specifications. So, I received every feature I wanted, and nothing I didn't. That is kind of the idea for getting great tone. No sense in having tone robbing things in the circuit if you are not going to use it. The head's features included: A volume knob, single tone control, fat switch, standby, and power switch. It has a 4/8 ohm speaker selection switch in the back. It doesn't have a master volume because I didn't want it. Paul would be happy to give it to you if you wanted one.

The amp deviates from the standard 12AX7 preamp tubes - Paul used a higher fidelity, 6SN7/6SL7, dual tubes for the preamps (I prefer the 6SL7). I also choose to have a tube rectifier (always go with tube because you can add a solid-state plug-in into the rectifier slot if you want SS - this gives you the option of both). Finally for the output tubes there are two paths. A set of 8-pin and a set of 9-pin tube slots. This gives me a ton of options to try different sounding output tubes. Forget about modeling amps, this is the real-deal you can model any sound with tubes!

When I first received the amp I was impressed, but I hated the tone of the amp. I emailed Paul and told him his amp sounded like crap. Instead of being arrogant, he was very cool. He was calm (probably because he knows he a tone god), and told me that he would send me a different preamp tube at no charge. I was using one 6SN7?s and one 6SL7. When I received the new tube, I was blown away. The amp had totally changed its character and its tone. The clean sounded so good that the harmonics produced in the amp sound sparkly, like a natural reverb. But, I was still unhappy. I emailed Paul once again and told him I loved the clean but the overdrive/distortion sounded like crap. Again, he was very cool. He instructed me that what I was hearing was normal tube compression and rectifier sag. I would have none of those excused (turns out he was right), as I wanted good tone. He instructed me to swap the rectifier tube with a solid-state plug-in. So, I went to the thetubestore.com and ordered new tubes for everything, including a Weber solid-state rectifier that plugs into the 5AR4 rectifier tube slot. Once I received the tubes and SS rectifier, I swapped out my rectifier tube. It turned out that the amp had a cool sound from day-one, it was just the characteristic of that particular tube, once I swaped the rectifier tube, I got a completely changed tone, and it sounds purrrrrfect. It actually sounds good with both a tube and SS rectifier.

I play blues, funk, and jam style music. My main guitar is an American Fender Strat Plus with DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Blues pickups. I plug into a Teese RMC3 Wah > Analog Man Juicer > Captain Coconut II > Qtron + > Analog Man Modded vintage TS-9 > Foxrox Electronics ZIM > Analog Man Comprossor > Boss Tremolo > vintage Ibanez PT9 Phaser > Analog Man Chorus > Bad Bob Booster > Boss TU2 Tuner > Rapco passive A/B box > Line 6 DM4 > Gibson Echoplex Pro > Red Iron Amp or Victoria Victrolux amp.

The best guitar amp in my rig, prior to the Red Iron custom, was my Victoria amp. In a side by side comparison, the Victoria sounds like a cheap asian knockoff of a Peavy practice amp. Ok, maybe not that bad, I still like the Vicky, and its not for sale, but there is a night and day difference between the two amps. The Vicky is great, but the Red Iron has fidelity like a 10,000 stereo system. It picks up EVERYTHING from dynamics to a callus on your finger, and I am not kidding on that!

It certainly suits all of music styles, and it doesn't have noise. Your sound is entirely up to your playing technique and the tubes you put in the box. It is as simple and straight forward as that.

Here is a little tip that you will want to know. If you looking for mostly clean, lots of headroom, and nice smooth overdrive go with dual 6SN7's for your preamp tubes. If you want something with bite at volume level 1, go with the 6SL7! In fact get both sets of tubes, and swap them based on your mood!

There isn't much to the amp that can break. Everything is hand wired and high-quality. Other than bringing tubes to a gig, this amp will outlive me.

As you have read above. Paul provides world class support. I am sorry that I was such an idiot at first. I have grown up with crappy amps for so long, it took me a while to understand what good tone is. I have owned nearly every modeling amp out there. I was screwed up in my understanding of amp tone. Once I started swapping tubes and getting familiar with tube technology, I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO ANYTHING BUT TUBE. You cannot go wrong. In fact, if I didn't like the tone of the amp, Paul was going to totaly rewire the circuit! How cool is that.

This amp is the best tone I have ever heard in an amplifier. Other than that rectifier tube I hate, it is stock as Paul shipped it. If it was lost or stolen, I would go back to Paul the Tone god. Paul should change his slogan to something like "Bringing tone - one musician at a time". By the way, feel free to email if you have any questions about Paul or his amps. You can reach Paul at www.redironamps.com.