Red Iron Amps SE 10 Head

The Red Iron SE 10 is a single channel, single ended, Class A, cathode biased amplifier head that I purchased directly from Paul Sanchez, Red Iron's owner/builder, in February 2005. It uses a total of three tubes: power, pre-amp and rectifier and depending on the tube complement selected, has a power range of about 4-10 watts. The front "panel" has a single imput jack, volume and tone controls, power and standby switches, and a small blue power-on indicator lamp. The rear "panel" has a rotary speaker output switch to accommodate 4, 8 or 16 ohm speaker loads. At my request, a pentode/triode switch was installed as well.

The chassis of the amp is constructed of a section of very heavy three sided anodized structural iron. The transformers and tubes are mounted on top; true point-to-point wiring crossing at hum-reducing right angles is located inside; the two remaining sides constitute the front and back control surfaces--hence my use of quotes around the word "panel"; and the ends are closed with finished mesquite wood. There is no cabinet or covering, nor is one needed. The red iron chassis is beautifully interesting in its own right. The amp is featured on the Red Iron web site and I recommend that you look at it for yourself; my description really does not do it justice.

Since the amplifier is cathode biased, the SE 10 can use a wide variety of tubes such as 6V6, 6L6, EL84 and EL34 power tubes; 5791 and 12AX/T/Y-7 preamp tubes; and 5Y3 through GZ34 rectifier tubes. Other, more unusual tubes can be used as well. The transformers are huge given the amp's output power but as Paul Sanchez notes in his website, an oversized power section is a key to great tone.

If you are a knob junkie, this amp is not for you but if you are looking for great tone at lower volume levels you need look no further. As a side note, the pentode/triode switch doesn't add much at this power level. Paul Sanchez waned me about this but installed it anyway, free of charge.

I ordered the amp directly from Red Iron and did so without hearing it first, something I'd never done previously. Paul Sanchez's association with Kendrick amplification (he was the service manager among other jobs), other reviewers favorable experience, and the common sense approach he brought to amplifier construction gave me needed confidence. It wasn't until I first heard it, however, that I realized that I had made a correct choice.

I play a variety of styles including blues, texas swing, rock-a-billy, folk rock, "classic" rock etc., everything but thrash metal, and really prize a clean tone with a bite. The SE 10 delivers this tone in spades, particularly when the tubes are optimized for it. I found that for my purposes, a NOS preamp (RCA command 5791) tube and NOS power amp (Marconi 7581) tube plus an imported GZ34 rectifier provide the tone I want. With this tube setup, the amp stays clean up to about 11 o'clock and gets into a smooth overdrive beyond that setting. For more gain, substitute a 12AX7, a 6V6, and a 5Y3 and you get instant overdrive. I run the amplifier through a closed back, two-ten cabinet I built of solid redwood stocked with Eminence Copperhead and Ragin' Cajun speakers. Together the amp and cabinet have a clear but punchy sound.

I have tested the amp with four guitars, a McInturff Monarch with P 900s (DiMarzio humbuckers with P 90 voicing) a Heritage 535 semi-hollow body with Duncan Jazz and JB humbuckers in the neck and bridge, a tone chambered Les Paul style guitar that I built from my own design and that uses a Jason Lollar Charlie Christian pickup (unbelievable tone) and an acoustic guitar I built from a Martin kit with a Fishman Rare Earth sound hole pickup. The amp responded beautifully to all four. The McInturff, the most rock-like, went into overdrive quickly; it developed a lot of gain with a rock edge. The Heritage had a pure clean tone initially but also entered gain territory early due to the humbuckers' output, but true to its jazz nature, the guitar tone never became raunchy or grating. The acoustic guitar had this beautiful warm tone that would not overdrive regardless of the volume setting.

The best of the bunch however was the homebrew semi-solid body guitar with the Charlie Christian pickup. The touch sensitivity displayed by the amp was unbelievable with this guitar and I could get clean to full blown gain with a simple guitar volume adjustment. I could not force a bad tone at any setting. The guitar just sings.

With the exception of a shipping problem (see below) I have had no issues withn the amplifier but then I haven't had it long and never travel with it. The amp is literally built like a tank; it certainly weighs about as much.

The amp arrived three weeks after I ordered it (very quick for a custom job) but I had to wait a couple of days to hear it. Like all mail order, the amp was subject to shipping hazards and although it was triple wrapped, the power switch was damaged somehow. I contacted Paul Sanchez and offered to install a replacement if he would send it. He express-mailed it to me two hours after I made my request and I had the part in my hand within 36 hours. Can't beat that kind of service.

I was looking for a low-power amplifier that could produce both clean and overdrive tones using my favorite tube type--the 6L6/5881 family--at bedroom, or at least living room levels. I got what I wanted in the Red Iron SE 10. I own several other amps so I have basis for comparison including two mid-60s blackface Fender Princetons (one with and one without reverb), a Top Hat Club Deluxe II, a Fender Bassman reissue, a Fender Blues Deluxe, and a mid-60s Ampeg Reverb-o-Rocket. However, the SE 10 is the amp I consistently turn to, and the one my family begs me to use. Its the only amp I own that produces the sound I want at a volume level they can tolerate. Enough said.