Retro-King Amps 18W Head

Made in late 2006/early 2007...Hand wired 18 watt head based on the old Marshall model from the 1960's. 12AX7 pre amp tubes driving EL 84's in the power amp. Simple set-up Volume and Tone...no bass, middle, treble, controls. Channel one has a two speed tremolo, channel two has just volume and tone controls with a hi/lo input. I ordered mine in the 20 inch small box head like the original. Easy and light weight to carry. Cool looking classic black tolex with gold piping and control panel. Giving it a 10 because you can jump channels, and get versatile sounds with a good pedal board in front of it.

Where do I start? My main guitar is a PRS Custom 22. I run the amp through a 1x12 cab with a Vintage 30 speaker. I play lead guitar in a classic rock cover band. When plugged strait in to the normal channel with the Tone control strait up at twelve o'clock, the sound is rich,smooth,balanced and articulate. Very touch sensitive, and clean. Turn up the volume and the amp breaks up beautifully starting at about 6. Turn down the guitar volume, and it cleans up nicely. I can use a Robert Keeley Modded Boss DS-1 in front of it, and get all the great classic rock tones out there.. For what I do, that is plenty versatile. Over the next few months I'm going to experiment with this amp through the various speakers I have laying around my garage. I'm particularly anxious to run it through a classic greenback and other low watt speakers. Since I'm currently running it through a 60watt speaker, it gets loud. Since we try to control our volume as a band, I still use a TDH hot plate to manage the volume while being able to push the power tubes on the amp for some of that rich natural tube overdrive. This is truly an outstanding amp for 60's/70's/80's classic rock music played at a reasonable volume. I love it!

So far so good. Played it out about 5 times since I got it last month. No problems. I fully expect it to fire up each time I use it...I also own an RK Plexi 50 and it has had no problems at all. I will follow up with a rating after a year.

Retro King owner Chuck Dean has been simply outstanding! Always responsive to e-mail questions, and very prompt with his delivery dates. I have no doubt that he will continue to offer top tier service to those who buy his excellent products.

I'm 43 and have been playing guitar for 34 years. In the 1980's I was a wannabe shredder always wanting to play fast at maximum gain levels. As I have gotten older, I have become much more in tune with variables such as tone quality, distortion and gain levels, and the quality and musicality of the notes/riffs that I play. The 2 Retroking amps that I play through really deliver on those variables. They really distinguish the subtle differences in how you attack or lay back from the guitar. At this point in my playing life that is exactly what I've been looking for. These amps are truly a great value as a player, and as an investment.

Retro-King 18W Head is based on the 1966 Marshall 18W. The major difference being that todays electrical components are light years ahead of 1960s electrical components as far as manufacturing controls and tolerances. I've owned many Marshalls ... some great ... some dogs. The Retro-King is a 2 EL84, 3 12AX7, 1 EZ81 tube amplifier. The EZ81 tube rectifier provides a warmth that solid state rectifiers lack. I do wish that the Retro King had an effects loop. But quite frankly as evidenced by the MP3 sounds on Retro-King amp site no effects are really needed to achieve a ROCK-ON tone.

My R-K 18W is used for Rock and Jazz. I play a Stratocaster with everything on 11 (hee-hee) in the high input. Also as with 4 input Marshalls or 59 Fender Bassmans I can jumper Hi2 into Lo1 and plug my Strat into Hi1. Nice. The natural sustain of this amplifier is truly amazing. The crunch available is reminiscent of that British sound. I run the 18W throught a Marshall 4x12 greenback cabinet. 18W drives this cabinet amazingly well.

I also use a Lawsuit Howard Roberts guitar in the Lo1 input. Very cool jazz tones. I run a Marshall 2x12 1922 cabinet with 30W Celestions. The clean sound is truly colorful and has an amazing amount of depth. The tremolo has quite a range of tones and sounds. The R-K comes with a pedal that allows me to change speed or on/off tremolo during a session or gig. Very nice.

I have used this amp for six months. I've used vintage Marshalls over the past two decades and I've never had a problem with any of them even though the components were 30 or 40 years old. I feel that with todays manufacturing methods and standards that this point to point constructed amp is very reliable. Being an ex boy scout I've always carried spare fuses and tubes with me.

I've talked to Chuck Dean the owner/manufacturer several times online and over the telephone. He stated to me that his amps are based on Marshall amp design. Marshall amps were originally based on Fender Bassman design. But being a performing musician and having years of experience in electronics he said that he tweaked his design to bring out the best sustain and depth of sound that it is possible to achieve. His MP3 sound bytes on his website sole me.

I've been playing guitar for over 30 years. I own several Fender Tweed amps (1957 Vibrolux, 1959 Bassman) and several vintage Marshall amps (1978 vertical input 50W 2x12 combo, 1969 100W Superlead head, 1970 100W tremolo head, 1968 10W combo, 1968 18W combo.) $1395.00 for a botique quality point to point amp is nothing short of amazing. I hate taking vintage amps out of my home studio as moving them around does nothing positive to 40 year old components. My Retro-King has recently manufactured components and has THE SOUND. Also I can tailor this sound to meet my needs be it Rock or Jazz. A great sound and a great value. A top notch tool.

What a find if you?re looking for a great all around amplifier!!!

I got a chance to put my Retro King Amplifiers 18 Watt Head (white tolex w/gold piping) through its? paces and couldn?t be more impressed. I play a variety of music from originals to covers in the y'allternative through classic rock genres and I've had no problwem getting an appropriate sound no matter what the style.

This is a 2 X EL84 tube driven two channel 18 watt head based on the Marshall Mini Bluesbreaker design and made in 2005 in Central New York.

There is a Normal channel with Volume and Tone controls & high/low inputs and a Tremolo channel with Volume, Tone, Speed and Intensity controls with high/low inputs. The channels can also be bridged to get a little for oomph!!!

A cool feature that Chuck offers on the tremolo channel is the way the two button footswitch offers on/off and the ability to toggle between two different speeds when engaged!!!

We tried a variety of guitars ? ?61 Relic Strat, ?57 Junior, CS Esquire w/P90 in the neck, Ibanez ?lawsuit? Flying V and a RI Gretsch 6118T Double Anniversary through a ?73 Marshall 1960A Cab w/original Greybacks and in each case the guitars retained their individual character. The guitars? volume and tone controls have a great effect on the ability of the amp to get a wide variety of very usable tones at any volume. Varying your pick attack also adds even more to the wide spectrum of tones available. We ran the amp through the full range of its? controls and found a different sweet spot for each guitar ? mostly between 12 o?clock and 3 o?clock on the volume with the tone adjusted based on the pickups in the guitar. Even when the amp was ?dimed? it retained its? character and string definition was not compromised.

Next we tried the head through several different Cabinets and speaker combinations ? ?71 10982A w/original G12H 30?s, Celestion Blue 2 X12? Cab and three Marshall 4 X 10?s. Each of the Marshall?s had a different set of speakers - one with a mix of Weber Silver 10?s and Blue Pup?s, the second with four Weber Thames and the third with original ?69 Marshall 9384 Greenbacks. Each of the five cabinets sounded great and offered their own character to the Retro King. Based on what we heard from this amp it?ll work with most any cabinet or speaker combination. To me it seemed to find its? comfort zone with the original Celestion 9384?s or the mix of Weber Silver & Blue 10?s. The other two guys didn?t think the pairing with the ?73 Marshall could be improved on!!!

The component choices and workmanship are both top notch and add to the overall character of this amplifier. The stock tube compliment (2 X EL81, 3 X 12AX& & 1 X 6CA4/EZ81 Rectifier) that came with the amp sounds great but I imagine that swapping different preamp and power tubes to tailor your sound would be a very rewarding experience.

Chuck has been very responsive and patient during the whole process. He answered question, explained his vision and followed up to let me know how the build was proceeding.

I had Chuck go through my JTM45 RI with a PTP upgrade and he reviewed the components and workmanship for any errors. He then offered some suggestions to tweak the circuit to improve its? overall sound which gives me an ideal amp for any larger venue. I get many compliments on how great my ?Marshall? sounds and that it really stands out in the mix.

The Retro King Amplifiers 18 Watt Head would be a great amp for any small or mid sized club. It will also get a ton of use in either a home or recording studio with its? wide variety of tones and the way it compliments any guitar you plug into it.

Give this amp a try and you?ll find a bunch reasons to make it your amp of choice.