Reynolds Valveart JFR25 112 Combo

I???ve been amazed by my Reynolds JFR for six months now and i thought write review about it. It???s a 25watt class A el84 1x12??? combo amplifier. It???s point to point hand built by a guy named Pete Reynolds and his second in command Shaun. Located just out of Sydney, Australia. http://www.reynolds-valveart.com.au/ It was made in June 2009.

My JFR is slighty narrower and taller than the normal version. This give a tighter more focused sound. Also i chose to really make it look as good as it sounds with a red burgundy tortext and a wheat grill cloth.

It has all the normal bells and whistles, valve driven fx loop, a boost function (which adds extra gain stages) , valve driven reverb, a pentriode/triode switch and a switch to take out half of the power amp tubes. And in order to accommodate for a wide range of different electric guitars the JFR has multiple eq switches. Boosting and cutting certain frequencies. Basically whether you have a single coiled strat, a humbucking les paul or anything in between the JFR will boost the guitar???s individuality.

Each amp takes countless hours to build. Everything is hand wired and built to last.
Two years ago i decided i wanted a new amp. Something that had a great clean but could still be pushed to a hard rock type distortion.

Well i???m happy to say the JFR has this in spades. I really wanted something unique. Something that had a sparkly top end yet not overly bright. Something that had a crisp clean but if you played hard the amp would give a bit of bite. What i would have never imagined though is that an amp that does all this exists.......But it then has the boost channel! -Full explanation coming up-.

I had a look at a few local builders but once i heard clips of Reynolds JFR i was sold. Pete Reynolds customer relations and people skills are second to none. He does absolutely everything to help build you exactly what you are after. Need more gain? More mid???s? An FX loop? Solid state rectifier? The sky is the limit. If it is possible, Pete will find a way.

After spending alot of time working out exactly what i wanted. The build began and ten months later......Here it is (link)

Features:
25watt Class A - Loud the tone just gets better every step of the way up. 25 watts is plenty loud for any type of gig. If it???s too much volume you can switch between pen-triode and the triode modes.

Footswitch - The footswitch has two buttons, one for reverb on and off and one to active the boost channel.

Bright Switch/Push pull pot - There is two differently voiced bright options. The switch cleans up the mud on a humbucker equipped guitar. And the push-pull pot adds a bit more bite to the mix. Both sound very different, each can be used together or separately for different tonal results.

Boost Channel - Activating the boost channel (either by switch or footswitch), adds extra gain stages and turns the beautiful silky clean channel of the JFR into a rock machine. Thick singing mids, but also tight and focused over the entire sonic spectrum. This isn???t another channel, it???s the same clean channel just boosted. This is one of my favorite things about the JFR. Most multi channel amps I???ve played sound like you???re switching amps altogether when you???re switching channels.

Attenuator - The attenuator is a push pull pot located on the volume, I have never come across this before but it attenuates the signal between the guitar and the amplifier. This means that if you have high output humbuckers, normally you wouldn???t be able to get a clear clean sound. But with the attenuator engaged, the signal is lessened and suddenly the humbucker has more characteristics of a singles coil pickup.

Valve buffered fx loop - A clear fx loop with send and return level controls. It really doesn???t take away any of your tone if you have the right settings.

Sound Quality:
I???m not going to try and compare this amps sound quality to other amps, because honestly it???s impossible. The Reynolds JFR has a tone and voice of it???s own. It has a crisp top end and a real punch in the mid range. But having said that the bottom is well rounder and thick. It???s the most musical amplifier I have ever heard, let alone have the privilege to own.

The clean channel with a splash of the valve driven reverb, just sings. Without a pedal, it can go from jangley chording to a blues solo, all depending on how hard you dig into the strings. The JFR seems to amplifier more of your voice and style. It???s the class A factors, it???s extremely responsive.

The boosted channel has a lot of gain on tap. With the gain a third of the way up, the bright switched engaged and the pull bright pot pulled up, you???re in classic AC/DC territory. Turn off the bright switch, another third of gain, put on the gain ???silly??? switch and you???ve got the thickness and grunt of Metallica. These are just examples but with all the eq switches and gain on tap you really are spoilt for tonal choices.

Since purchasing the amp several months ago, i have not only received more complements about more tone. But dozens of emails, with questions about what makes it so unique. The JFR is indeed something special. It needs to be heard in person to really comprehend what a gem it really is.

Reliability:
???You should be able to throw and amp off the front step, dust it off, put some new tubes in at and play again all night???. That???s the belief of the builder and it really shows, this amp is solid. All the switches have a heavy feel. Everything is well built, from tortex to the hand made handles. I have yet to have a single problem with it.

I would whole heartedly depend on this amp, i would easily gig without a backup.

Customer Support:
Pete Reynolds could not have better customer support skills. We live in different parts of Australia. And because of this there was alot of emails and phone conversations in order to get exactly what i wanted. Pete always answered every email, and in some cases it was even a same day response. The Reynolds team strive to work with you in a joint effort to build the ampfilier that you and you alone want. They will help you find the sound you???re after. Customer service to this degree is very, very rare.

Overall Rating:
Ten out of ten. There is nothing i would change or improve about this amp. It is exactly what i have been searching for. The clean is so three demential and lush. And the boosted channel can scream or sing depending on your playing style. If it was lost or stolen I would instantly order another. Reynolds Valveart is a very special company, if you have any questions please email me at patdavidgray@me.com . Pete and Shaun are a brilliant team and they will strive to get that sound out of your head and into an amplifier.

The website details are http://www.reynolds-valveart.com.au/

The Amplifier was ordered October of last year and was finally built by may of this year. Well worth the wait.
I play alot of styles, everything from country through to metal, and this amp does it all. Because of my effects pedal fetish,I had an effects send and return put in, and a boost switch was also added to the channel 'B' volume for extra volume control.My amp really does go to eleven.
I have some lower back problems and so only got a two speaker cabinet. It is well contsructed, though still weighs an awful lot. Though as for the output, I am thankful I declined the quad box. Weight I guess is the sacrifice you make for quality construction, so though I hate lugging it round, the tone of the thing makes it a fair trade-off.
With the Pentiode/triode switch,I have the option of dropping out some valves or getting the extra sound. I have all the grunt I need for the halls I play.(Generally 50 -300 people venues, I am usually miked up through front of house anyways.)

Sounds range from the (B channel)old Bassman sound to a more (A channel)british vox sort of feel.

The A and B channel can used simultaneously or singularly for greatest variety. It feels like a two in one amp in this regard.
The natural distortion is to die for in this amp, and blending between channels gives you a wonderful selection to work with.

I play an '78 SG and an old japanese no-name second hand thing, though I have heard friends guitars through it too. Anything with a P-90 pickup will make your mouth water through this thing. It complements humbuckers, and seems to pair well with anything old.

The only time I get hum, is when I have my effects looped through, but even then it is minimal, and there is an anti-feedback switch located on the back panel of the amp which seems to help here.

This amp is my prized posession. I wont use anything else now I have it.

The guys at Valveart are an excellent team, these amps are their babies, and they will do any works on them you want, the tone can be customised to suit anyones taste.
I was called out of the blue by them once cause he thought he may have wired something a little wrong. I said he was crazy to change a thing, but he insists when I am in Windsor next to drop it by so he can check on it.
That redefines customer service in my book.

I have been playing for 13 years now, I own a few amps, but this was the first big purchase I have really made, other than my SG.

If it were stolen....<gasp>...I would probably drive all night to Windsor and place an order for a new one.

The weight is my only issue with this amp, but my only issue. The amp cost a little more than most in the 50 watt range, but the premium gives you the best customer service money can buy.

I had been shopping for a new amp for over a year, played everything from Marshalls, Vox's, Oranges, Hughes and Vettner's, Ulbrich's and the like, but nothing offered what this amp has: The ability to blend two individual sounds to suit any song.

Reynolds valveart is a great business, run by a couple of blokes who take great pride in doing a great job. I urge people who care about their tone to try one out, it really is worth it.

* Not sure the year it was built, as it was Pete Reynolds personal amp that he would use to show potential buyers?
* This amp isn't as versatile as some others but it does exactly what i need, which is provide the ideal sound for blues, jazz, funk and rock. When i feel like high gain i just use my HotCake overdrive to beef things up a little.
* Twin channel (clean and gain) with footswitch supplied, it also has a bright switch that alters the sound on both channels. There is no headphone jack but thats cool i just use a cheap 10watt practice amp in my apartment as the the JFR25 is too loud.
* I wish this amp had a seperate equalizer for each channel and it would be nice if you could blend the clean and gain like you can on other larger reynolds.
* I use this amp for rehersals. recording and at gigs of all venue sizes, as you are always micked up anyway.
* If you aren't familiar with this amp it is TUBE all the way. I think it has 4 x EL84 and some AX7's (not sure, check out the website or call Pete) It also has a great spring reverb that helps when playing in larger areas.

* I use a Maton MS2000DLXSD with twin Seymore Duncan humbuckers (The Aussie equivalent to a Les Paul)
* As i said before, this amp suits Rock, Blues, Jazz, Funk and Pop
* You would be amazed that this thing is 25watt, i would honestly take the Pepsi volume and tone challenge on quite a few larger amps i have heard, tube and especially solid state. I practice with a heavy handed drummer a bassist, 2 other guitarists (one uses a 50watt Reynolds Combo and the other uses a 125watt VOX) and i would be lucky to even get the volume Knob to 2 out of the 10 available.
* Not a great variety of sounds. Very clean, overdriven clean, very overdriven clean, spacey reverb, and the gain can take you to ACDC on steroids kind of sound. If you want saturated gain just use a distortion pedal but i find i only use mine when i want to muck around with some old school favourites.
* I find the clean channel starts to break up and platau in volume at about 5 of the 10 available.

* Solid as, but light enough to carry up three flights of stairs when i get home. No i wouldn't consider a back up amp, I'll leave that to the pro's and wanna be's
* Haven't had any problems so far but i haven't had it that long.
Even if i did have dramas, Pete is the kind of gentleman and genius that could fix it very quickly, easily and with little cost if any at all.

* The customer service at Reynolds valveart is faultless because you deal with the man who designed and built the amp there are no music store car salesmen giving you the run around. Pete not only builds his own amps but he repairs all kinds of other amps which are circuit board nightmares often built in major production lines, so if he can fix those he can easily fix his own hand wired creation.
* The warranty is pretty much lifetime except for obvious damage and wear and tear.

* I have been playing guitar of all kinds for about 14 years and i don't have that much other gear, i dont really need it.
* If it were stolen the only other amp i would consider is a Reynolds 50watt head and quad box but i'd have to move to an apartment on the ground floor.
* I love this amp because you don't see hardly any around and i love to see the look on muso's faces when they hear the angry little bastard fire up. It is beyond impressive in my eyes.
* I am almost analy retentive when it comes to spending this kind of money on anything and I must have spent a good 3 months researching and test driving many other amps before i made a desicion.
* You have my word that i am not plugging this product because i get on with the owner of the company, six months ago i didn't even know Reynolds existed, but me and my band members a very glad i found this little Aussie secret.
* CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE OR MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO HEAR THIS THING FOR YOURSELF. I WOULD HATE TO THINK THAT PEOPLE AFTER THE SAME SOUND WOULD SPEND THERE HARD EARNED CASH ON ANYTHING ELSE.

The JFR25 is a custom built 25 watt all valve amplifier. It is a 1 x12 combo with a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. It has 4 xEL84, 3 x12AX7 and a GZ34 rectifier valve configuration. It has a solid pine fingerjointed cabinet covered in fender black tolex and fender wheat grillecloth. The circuit is all point to point wired with custom made interleaved transformers. It has a clean channel with a bright switch and a "boost" channel with gain and master volume. There is shared bass, middle and treble. There is an on/off and standby switch with red and green pilot lights to tell when it is on and off. It has an extension speaker out with switchable 4/8/16 impedance. There is a fixed/ cathode bias switch. The circuit is class A with no negative feedback. There is no reverb: I did not want reverb but you can have it if you want along with choice of speaker and covering. The cabinet is 24 inches wide by 20 inches high and nearly 12 inches deep: a generous size. Knobs are chickenhead style.The baffle is plywood an is semi-floating to aid resonance.Overall, not feature laiden, but allI need and the simpler the circuit, the better it probably sounds.

Using the amp with a Chandler Stratocaster and a Hamer Echotone(ES-335 copy). Clean channel is designed to sound like a vintage blackface fender but with more bottom end on tap: it does this beautifully. You can play jazz, funk, country, blues etc on this channel and get shimmery, sparkling, chimey tones with little fuss. Sound projection is excellent and the sound is very present and responsive even at low volumes. At volume 7 (out of max 10) it starts to break up for some vintage overdrive. The boost channel does not give ultra high gain but it's not meant to :more like a cranked vox AC30. What it does give is the most incredibly responsive sound you have ever heard: clarity is spectacular and it is particularly suited to the Stratocaster but the Hamer Echotone also sounds huge: think Clapton/Bluesbreaker/ vintage Marshall sounds but with more bite, clarity and responsiveness. A sound that makes you want to play and makes you play better. At high master volumes, you get extra power tube distortion and rectifier sag if needed. Don't be put off by the 25W rating. This thing is in the same league as an AC30 volume wise and that is only through one speaker. (I know, I used to have a JMI AC30). If you play mid-scooped nu-metal, go elsewhere. Everyone else, form a long line!

This is the first amp I have bought that did not have a rattle or some kind of problem. It is built like a tank and built to last. If you look at the internal construction, it is immaculate with quality workmanship and components throughout. This amp was less expensive than the Fender Pro Reverb I bought and returned which had a fault that could not be repaired. Sorry Fender, you guys haven't made a decent amp since the late 1960's.I don't expect any problems with the point to point wired JFR25.

Peter Reynolds is the main guy at Reynold's Valveart and kept me informed throughout the building of the amp with emails and pictures of the amp. He is always willing to talk about amps and any questions you might have. The amps have a lifetime warranty for labour and most components have a 10 year warranty. I don't expect to have problems but I am extremely confident that Peter would fix any promptly and professionally.

This is a fantastic amplifier which has an incredible sound. It is made to last and is portable and loud enough to use in medium sized clubs. Playing lead guitar through this amp is an experience to die for: the notes leap out at you with power, clarity and sustain. It responds to your playing in a way I have never experienced before and I have played or owned a lot of very good amplifiers. Go out and try one of the Reynold's Valveart amplifiers: you will not be disappointed.