Ruetz Amplification J1 Prototype 50 Watt Amp Head

I dont know what year the amp was made exactly but the post below says it was sold on ebay 2004 from the hands Ruetz. I bought this Amp from a person on craigslist and was fully overwelmed and amazed. I was looking for a 70s Marshall online and found this and was able to talk the guy into a great trade! That was 2006. I run it into a 1960AX Marshall Cab with G12T-75 16ohms. The amp has 16ohms and a 8ohms output. And yes it does have a footswitch for channel switching. It has on the back a effects loop and level knob thats really cool. And No there is NO headphone Jack for this but thats fine with me cause it sounds really nice and everyone should hear it anyway. I wish I had a really choice built in attenuator due to the fact this is a 50 watt very loud amp. You can turn it down to room level but it sounds its best cooking up higher. Other then that this thing is a dream. Features I dont yet use but it has: a Bias locking control on the back with testing inserts for something I need to learn about, its for setting the Bias of the tubes like setting the idle of a car so I hear. Meaning this thing will take other tubes then whats in it. So yeah thats more versatility. I use this amp at my practice space thats a fair sized room with no windows and it sounds really nice and I would say each channel has FULL BODY in the sound. I have had it in the home and its not bad there either. A 2x12 8ohms would be nice for home with a very nice high end attenuator Well can you tell Im pleased yet? HEY RUETZ > VERY NICE THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL AMP THANK YOU!!!!:) Here is a link about Ruetz: http://www.ruetzamps.com/about.htm

I Rock out and aim for classic 70s Zepplin UFO Marshall Plexi sound that I really liked. As well i like to play a nice full body clean tone and this thing does Just that. NO JOKE Both channels "meaning there are two" are really super . I play a Gibson SG with active Duncan Dave Mustain pickups in it. This amp gives a great clean and a great gain channel with a vintage pull trebel knob thats really cool also. This will give the over all tone less bite. It sounds great in all angles with this amp really. I keep the gain at around 7 or 8 to high it breaks up more then I like but its quite a burly wild cat screaming amp. I love it . I could play clean tone Jazz on this and Rock and Roll Oldies too Rippen Super Metal and it frigen holds its ground or may I say breaks it up. Seriously its pretty nice. No buzz no hiss when going through a Monster Rock cable and No effects. when I hooked up a Vox wha I would get some his but Im sure thats due to the effect having some reason. OVER ALL I RATE IT A TEN PLUS.

Well I was told I could send this one to the maker and get it repaired or any mods done for very cheap if not free due to the fact of this being the 001 prototype one of a kind Amp. Or may I say till he makes more:). I would use it but dont really gig. I play alot and use my amps quite a bit and this one I plan to wear out!!! Meaning Im not selling this one. THIS Amp still looks Brand spankin NEW even after going through the Makers hands to some guy on ebay to some guy on craigslist to me some guy on Harmony Central Reviews.. lol.. Wow.. Yeah it looks really nice. The first guy bought it off Ruetz as just a chasie and he tolexed it in Red and a Plexi Marshall style head. With the gold trim and gold vent top and back. Real nice Ruetz logo in whight and black in the center. Ill try to get Ruetz some recent photos and post them on his website of this Amp.

I emailed the Ruetz email and he resoponed within 24hrs really nice as well. Never had to do a repair but,Well I was told I could send this one to the Ruetz and get it repaired or any mods done for very cheap if not free perhaps due to the fact of this being the 001 prototype one of a kind Amp. Very Cool to know hes around and can take a look if anything goes wrong with it. He ansered email fast!

Im 33yrs old I live in California near Oakland SF Bay Area. Ive grown up playing guitar since about the 10th grade of high school.
I own some boss pedals a breedlove acoustic thats really nice. yada yada. If this was lost or stolen I would probaly take a huge ..... well you know what I mean ,I would really have to find it or buy a NEW J1 RUETZ that he now has posted up on his site.
http://www.ruetzamps.com/index.html

I bought this J1 Prototype amp from Philip Ruetz late in 2004 afer I saw it up for auction on E-bay. It started off as a J1 Preamp, but Philip decided to go ahead and make it into a powered head instead.

I play mostly classic rock, 60's and 70's stuff, and dabble every now and then into the newer stuff. This amp handles all styles, heavy/crunch/clean.

It is a 2 channel switching amp with a...you guessed it...clean and gain channel. Operates with a 1/4" push on/off footswitch or from the front panel with mini-toggle switches. LED's for each channel, it also has a tube buffered effects loop with a level control.

It has your basic bass/mid/treble/vol on the clean side, bass/mid/treble/gain/master vol on the gain side. The treble control on the gain side has a "pull vintage" option which rolls back the highs for a classic rock type sound. Totally different sound when it is engaged, but cool.

I have done some small to medium sized gigs with this amp and have not had any problems with having enough volume with it's 50 watt rating. Soft to loud without problems.

This amp has a bias adjustment control on the back with test points for setting output tube current. It will handle 6L6GC (comes stock), EL34, and KT66 output tubes (I've tried all of these). All have different sound characteristics. I have not tried KT88 or 6550 tubes but it will probably handle them. Very well designed transformer circuits. 6L6GC seems the all around best sounding tube, EL34's a little more Marshall crunch, KT66's a little more Fenderish clean.

I use mostly Les Pauls with WCR Fillmore humbucker pickups and Seymour Duncan Antiquity humbucker pickups. I do ocassionally play a stock Fender Strat with 3 single coil pickups.

This amp covers the gammit of sounds. Roll back the volume for clean articulated sounds, mid volume for 70's crunch, wide open volume for grinding power chords.

Clean channel is noise free, gain channel has no more noise than most high gain amps. More noise of course with more gain dialed in and higher volumes.

Tone controls are real working tone controls that DO make a difference in the overall sound of the amp. Plenty of bass/low end if you want it, highs are plenty unless in "Vintage" mode, in which they are rolled back.

Clean channel stays pretty clean even at higher volumes, up to a certain point when the tubes start to get saturated. Then more of a crunch sound, which you'd expect.

You can go from a little gain to a Boogie RectifierSoldano type gain. Not sloppy though, well controlled. 5 preamp tubes will do this for you!

I would take this amp on a gig without a backup. That's how good Philip's work is.

I had one problem with a transformer shortly after I bought the amp, sent it back to Ruetz, everything was repaired to like new condition. Remember, this is a protype amp where problems are supposed to be worked out. That way, when full production is started the bugs will be already worked out.

Service is excellent and Philip is very open to suggestions for improements on his products. He is very responsive to e-mails and open for comments....good or bad.

Right now he is still an independent builder, but hopes to market his new line of amps within the next year or so. All problems go straight back to him for repair for now.

My warranty is for as long as I own this particular amp since it is S/N 001. His new J1 Custom (single channel) and J1 Deluxe (2 channel) models will both feature 5 year warranties I believe. They are both based off of this Prototype amp.

I have been playing off and on now for about 25+ years. I currently own some Germino heads and cabs, but I have had Marshall, Soldano, Fender, Carvin, Peavy, Orange and other type amps. This fits right n with them. Hopefully a classic one day!


If it were lost or stolen I would definitely buy one of the newer J1 amps. I like the overall apperance and style of this amp.

I also like the versatility in tube selections and the overall design/setup of this amp.

These amps will be made one at a time when production starts, and probably for quite a while after that. Good/bad for the consumer. Quality, with a wait time. But, worth it!

I took a chance on this amp, buying from a relatively small unknown amp maker, and I have not been sorry one time! Philip has sent me pictures of the newer J1 amps and he has made many improvements since my amp....all for the better! Much continued success with your line of amps Phlip!