SDG Vintage Amps Super Over Drive

This is another amazing example of SDG Vintage Amps quest for the ultimate guitar amplifier. This amp is a mid-power (22 watt, two6V6s) recreation of a very prized and nearly unobtainable boutique amp from a certain west coast celebrity builder. Along with the standard gain, bass, mid, treble, master volume and presence controls you also get controls for overdrive gain and level and switches for Bright, Overdrive and Boost. The amp is single channel and has a output jack for a second cabinet with a switch to match impedance.

I've been playing a highly modified Raven RP450 through this amp and the sound is nothing short of exquisite. When I first tried this amp, I struck an E major chord at the nut and the sustain was just unbelievable. The richness of the harmonic content just jumped out of it. Then I took the vibrato (Stetsbar) and slowly bottomed it out. Where most amps would go through a series of harmonics as the fundamental pitch lowered, this amp tracked all the way down and held the fundamental pitch for at least five seconds before finding an upper harmonic to feedback on. Rich, detailed, responsive. Just amazing.

This is the second amp I've bought from SDG and they are built like tanks. I would undoubtably gig this amp without backup.

Steve, (SDG's owner) is the best to work with. He can design, modify and build just about anything you'd want. He's also there if you have any problems with your amp. You call or email and he's the one who responds. How much better can it get?

I have been playing for forty years and have been searching for this sound for at least thirty-eight! I used to have a Fender Tremolux 38 years ago and like a foolish kid, sold it to get an Ampeg (ouch!). I quickly learned what good tone was by having suddenly lost it. Suffice it to say that I've been trying to capture that sound ever since. I accomplished that with my first SDG purchase, an SDG Super. What was missing with that amp though was deep overdrive which I got with various pedals (compromise!). Now with this amp I finally have the rig and sound that I have so long and so deeply desired.

This is another example of the fine engineering and superior quality of the SDG product. Most of the offerings from SDG are recreations of famous holy-grail amplifiers by Fender and Marshall. This particular amp is in a category all by itself, being a humble attempt to honor a particular custom boutique builder whose amps are highly coveted, astronomically priced and generally unavailable to we mere mortals. The SDG Super Over Drive is a straight forward 22 watt version of one of these amps. There are no frills or reverb, just unbelievable sustain and tons of smooth, high gain overdrive. I fell in love with this amp immediately. The top panel controls are laid out just like an original, with a single input (sorry folks, no FET input), volume, three switches (Bright, Overdrive, Boost), treble, middle, bass, od drive, od level, master, presence and on and standby switches. There is a line out in the back that is tapped from the output transformer and an extension speaker output and impediance switch (4, 8, 16). The amp features a Jensen neodymium speaker and all is enclosed in a Marshall 1974 style cabinet.

I'm playing through a double (GFS Nashville Overwound) humbucker equipped guitar with a Stetsbar vibrato. The sound is unbelievable. I have searched for this over-driven sound all my life. I hit a low E chord and the sustain and feedback make the hair on my arms stand up. I take the vibrato and slowly lower the pitch and the amp tracks straight through getting all the way to the bottom before waiting about five seconds to find an upper harmonic to feedback on. I've never heard something like this before except on some Steve Tibbetts albums.

When set up for a clean sound this amp is rich and gorgeous with complex overtones and a shimmering quality. I won't be using this amp clean much, but the tone is there in spades.

SDG's build quality is outstanding; the best parts, carefully selected, carfully assembled. This thing is like a tank. This is the second amp I've purchased from SDG and the term reliable would be an understatement.

Steve is a humble and wonderful guy. His customer support skills are second to none. You call up and get him. No secretaries, no layers between you and him and no "please listen because our menu options have changed" message. When you buy one of his amps, he basically comes with it, no excuses.

I've been playing for almost forty years now and have gone through numerous amps and other stuff. I'm also a recording engineer and producer and feel like I know good tone. I can't put into words how impressed I am with this amp. Everyone that has heard this amp has felt the same way. I bought it so I could finally put away the compromise pedals that I've accumulated to try and aproximate the sound this thing makes. Gerald Weber (Kendrick Amps) says that amps always sound best when they sound like they are ready to explode. This thing sounds like it is constantly exploding. Amazing!