Siegmund Guitars Muddy Buddy Combo

My Muddy Buddy is outfitted with an 8 inch Weber speaker (I believe the 6 inch Webers are now out of production.) The cabinet dimensions remained unchanged. See Chris???s web site (www.siegmundguitars.com) for the detailed descriptions of the features of this amp.

Not meant to be a "feature full" product. Straightforward control set up -- a volume (pull to boost) and a tone pot. Very smooth, even sweeps over a wide range. The volume pot very efficient in delivering a variety tones while changing level - my bias (the attenuator pot located on the back panel) is set for clean tones up to about 11???oclock. Above that level setting, a progressively more distorted tone gradually develops; when dimed (boost OFF) the amp is very creamy and smooth. All settings are very responsive to the pick attack. This little amp has a huge sweet spot. The tone pot does a nice job of smoothly rolling off/on both end of the EQ simultaneously ??? ie. It doesn???t just add or subtract one end of the spectrum to make tone changes. The tone pot doesn???t have a significant effect in driving the distortion of this amp ??? the volume pot pretty much is the control for that. I like the amount of boost and the added EQ that the pull pot on the volume delivers. The volume knob is very ???grip-able??? and can be operated easily on the fly if the amp is placed near at hand. I can get out of a driven tone and into a robust clean tone very easily just using this knob and the Siegmund Double Drive pedal.

Haven???t used the headphones jack ??? glad it???s there for future wood shedding sessions.

The cab is quality feature -- check out the pictures on Chris???s website. Very old school electronics vibe -- as if from the pre-sputnik, pre-chip days when domestic electronics were considered ???furniture???. I requested a couple of extra finish options with the idea of seeing this amp ???glow??? at eye level on a bookshelf, and the results are very satisfying. People just want to touch it.

The line out on the back panel is probably my favorite ???feature??? ??? running this amp into the mixer/monitors/mains turns this midget into a stout articulate monster. The line out may just make this amp the find of the century for those situations where the mixing board rules the session.

A lot of tool in a small package ??? slip on the Tuki cover and it???s in my shoulder bag with cords, extra string, pedals, etc. Out the door with guitar in one hand, car keys in the other, I really don???t care if I have to climb a flight of stairs???

I give it an 8 because:

a) It's not designed to be a feature full amp by todays standards. For a very small all tube amp, it's loaded with everything I want.

b) If I need to change a tube, I have to send it into Chris. But these tubes were designed to guide the missles of the Cold War, so I'm thinking they should last.

The Muddy Buddy proves it???s worth right out of the gate as an ideal practice amp -- the sonic qualities of each particular instrument stand out clearly with out having to crank up the volume of a larger amp. I use the Muddy Buddy to adjust my pick-up heights and would also recommend that a person bring it to test drive a guitar prior to purchase. With this amp you can forget about ???volume fatigue??? when you are listening closely for a long period of time for tone nuances.

This amp reveals a lot about the guitar that is plugged in to it. I favor it with an ES335 w/Harmonic Design Z-90???s and a Callaham Strat ??? both these instrument have a wonderful ???airy??? resonance that this amp reproduces so well, and those two instruments cover a lot of sonic territory.

Without external EQ, level boost, or added distortion pedals: the clean-to-bluesy overdriven tones have and attack and decay that is warm, well defined and even. Say, in between a Tweed and Vox tone. The volume pull switch has a very usable level and distortion boost, as well as an enhanced, slightly scooped, EQ boost ??? typically when I pull it out I back off the volume just a tad to reclaim some to the tightness of the tone.

With boost/distortion pedals: I have run (separately) a Clark Gainster or a Klon Centaur through this amp and the results are excellent, showing off the boost and overdrive virtues of each pedal. Of these two, I really enjoyed the scooped middle that the Gainster delivers for the hollow ???Plexi-ish??? touch of tone it can deliver.

Here???s the bonanza: run the Muddy Buddy through the PA. I think the Muddy Buddy benefits from having more EQ controls and more tube boost, so always I use the Siegmund Double Drive pedal in front oof the Muddy Buddy. The Double Drive uses two micro tubes in switchable stages, and has three tone controls (interactive like a Tweed), a gain pot, and a drive pot. With this set up I feel like I have all the control I would have from the panel of one of my bigger amps (or more). With this pedal, and using the line out from the Muddy Buddy into a good PA, (toss in a pinch of reverb), the sound is HUGE and articulate. All the attack, decay, tube compression, air-y-ness, and sparkle of this midget are now massive without changing any amp settings. No farts, buzzes, ice picks, or limitations of practice amp speakers.

Here???s some feeback I sent to Siegmund the morning after I plugged the Muddy Buddy into the PA:

???With my 335 w/Harmonic Design Z90's layed into the Muddy Buddy/Double Drive combo, my tone is real fat. With both drive stages on the Double Drive kicked in, there seems to be a natural "reverb" (for lack of a better term). It's a "type" of tone I hear other guitarists get with delays, compressors and a couple of distortion/boost pedals. But the MudBud/DblDr combination gives a fatter, warmer, more dynamic envelope than a series of effects in a pedal board. Even with only one stage on the DblDr and the pull out boost on the MudBud, that hollow tone begins to emerge. I'm going to experiment more with using the Mbud as a monitor and running the line out straight to the board with touches of reverb. I think I can set the MBud close to waist level right in front of me so the controls will be handy and I can also hear it in front of the stage monitors mix ( I need that " in front of the mix " volume to have fun playing my insrtument). I'm digging those micro tubes, and putting four in the signal chain is some great whoop ass in a small can. Wonderful cleans too... ???

Great right out of the box. I have had the Muddy Buddy for five months, no problems. I always bring back up to a gig, no matter whose amp I'm playing through. Now smaller size could make that a lot easier.

I have done business on and off with Chris Siegmund for the past six years. I own two of his pedals (one is a custom design I requested), and three of his amps. Nothing of his design and manufacture just "breaks", and I've hauled his amps in and out of cars, studios and gigs for years now. He has modified two of my tweed boutique amps, which is always a calculated risk, epsecially over geograghic distances, and we came out of both those projects pleased with the results. Even if Chris were a two or three man shop (he???s not, it???s just him) his willingness to solve problems, explore potential, and meet client demands and time frames I have found to be exceptional. I have purchased/custom ordered direct from many in the hardware end of the music world -- Victoria, Clark, Gerald Weber, Weber speakers, Callaham, Collings, Barden, Kent Armstrong, Barber Electronics ??? all good to outstanding products. In the area of service, promises kept and timeliness, Chris Siegmund, in my experience, is the best by far. In the area of quest for tone, no one is better.

One note here folks, Chris is a stand up guy, so all the impossible-to-please, win/lose customers need not apply. Buyer be aware: he uses tubes, so be patient if an under par NOS product surfaces and needs to be replaced. His products are tools built to last, not to serve trends and fashion.

I played in high school, made a private folk rock alblum with frinds and moved onto other things. About 15 years ago I picked the instrument again, and made another private CD, this time folk rock-alt-country.

I currently play in a blues and vintage rock cover band. We recently lost our other 2nd guitarist and we decided not to replace him. We like the space and dynamic that a single guitar/keyboards/bass/drums affords.

My band mates were amazed at the ???wall of tone??? the Muddy Buddy put through the PA (especially the poor bastard in the other band with his new $olid $tate multi-function pedal board that ran directly into the PA). Our soundman, who typically asks me to turn down my bigger amps, kept sliding the Muddy Buddy level up to the point where I finally asked for ???a little less, please???. For once Mr. Soundman was a happy guy. The Mud Bud eclipsed any ???straight into the mixer??? pedal board he had heard to date, and smoothed our love/hate relationship. All this has got me looking at my 35 - 45 watt amps, scratching my head, wondering where this will lead???

I still see my self as a die hard, gotta-have-a-backline, 212 or 410 kind of guy, but the beauty of running the Muddy Buddy through the PA is that I don???t mess with the tone when I slide up the volume on the mix board ??? I just get MORE of the good juice I hear right next to me from this little box (my own private monitor). The clean tones of the Mud Bud almost rivals the cleans on my Clark Piedmont 410 (when it uses a GZ34 rectifier), albeit with out all of the unique three-dimensional watery clean sparkle that combo magically produces. As for drive and distortion, I have only coaxed similar chunky, hollow, wrung out harmonics (think Billy Gibbons in studio) on two of my other much larger amps ??? a Siegmund Midnight Blues 212 (think JTM45) and a Bandmaster 115 with a Mercury Magnetics, AC30 style, output transformer. But to get power tube distortion, both those amps need the volume I could only dial in at larger venues or outdoor gigs.

In the area of smaller amps. own a Silver face Fender Champ (w/Gerald Weber???s Tweed Mod), an Ampeg Jet Reissue, and a Zvex Nano. Very nice small amps, but nowhere near the sonic quality of the Muddy Buddy. In comparison with the Mud Bud, my Champ plays like a one trick pony (great smooth distortion, period), and the Ampeg is chimey but lacks the dimension and envelope of the Siegmund. The Zvex (also with two micro tubes) is a hoot to play, but really sounds more like an effect vs. an amp when played alongside of the Muddy buddy. Essentially, no comparison with any of those smaller amps I own. I???m not looking any further in the small amp category. I hope the micro tubes in the Muddy Buddy last forever (ha). I???d replace it immediately if???

The Muddy Buddy is a 1 watt single ended class A - high quality miniature practice/recording micro tube guitar amplifier ( can be used for microphone - harp - keyboard , I beleive ).
The Muddy Buddy has all of the features that I could possibly need for home practice use .
I asked Cris Siegmund (designer/maker) if it was possible to add a power control (attenuator) that could reduce the 1 watt rms when neccesary , as I beleive that even 1 watt is still too loud when cranked for home/bedroom playing .
Chris carried out some tests for me and came up with a power control feature that decreases or increases the bias of the output tube from 1 watt down to 1/16 watt thereby enabling me to crank the amp up at low volume levels without the usual complaints from my wife .
On/Off switch .
Standby switch .
The Muddy Buddy has a 6" Alnico Weber VST speaker installed that sounds great , especially at low volume levels .
Unplug the Weber and I can use the 8 ohm speaker output to drive larger speaker cabinets .
The volume control pulls out for an additional gain boost .
The tone control makes the signal brighter with less bottom end in the higher settings , turned down it emphasizes bottom end and lowers high end response .
The line-out provides an attenuated signal from the speaker, which can be adjusted with the control knob and can be connected to any amplifier input - effects or mixer , also can be used as a quasi overdrive unit .
Headphone out , use headphones and the same line-out control knob to adjust the volume , line-out signal remains the same .
Finished in a beautiful finger jointed pine cabinet ( 10"x10"x4 1/2" ).
What more could you possibly need for a home practice amp ?

AT LAST a small tube amp with GREAT TONE .
I play the guitar mostly at home , and mostly in the bedroom , I play mostly blues and have been looking for a low wattage ( 1 watt or under ) tube amp that will give me great blues tone at low volume levels and the Muddy Buddy does a great job of doing this .
How does one describe sound ?
Unlike most of you guys (and gals) that read/wright these reviews I do not know the technical terms for describing tone (sparkle -chimey etc),
but I do know and love good tone , or should I say what sounds like good tone to me (very subjective).
To my ears the Muddy Buddy sounds very dynamic - very clear-clean tones , and I kind of feel every vibration of every string that I play eminating out of the speaker , beautiful clean-dynamic-tubey tone .
It does not seem to get into the heavily distorted/overdriven territory , not at the volume levels that I play at anyway or with the single coil Fender Strats that I play , I have not tried a guitar with humbuckers yet , but I'm sure that a more distorted tone could be achieved with humbuckers or a pedal .
I do not use many effects pedals with the MB as I don't like to color the natural, beatiful tone of this amp but the best results that I have had is with a SIB Fatdrive pre-amp pedal that gives it a bigger rounder sound , and then into my 1x12 Celestion Greenback cabinet the Muddy Buddy sounds absolutely HUGE , hard to beleive that it's only I watt .
The power control (attenuator) lowers the power from 1 watt to 1/16 watt and does a great job of doing this although some loss of tone is noticed at the lower settings , I prefer the 1 watt setting .
Using the MB as a quasi overdrive into the front end of a bigger tube amp sounds fantastic , part MB part bigger amp - GREAT -.
Headphone out for late night playing .
All in all by far the best sounding low wattage amp that I've played through .
In fact Muddy is not what it is at all , but pristine-clean-clear-dynamic clarity of tone .

I've had the Muddy Buddy now for 6 months and it has never let me down at all in this time and I can't see it doing so for a long time , this amp is superbly build with high quality components , even if it did Chris Siegmund would sort it out in no time at all .
The Micro-Tubes are supposed to last for many hundreds of hours use (I beleive) so I won't have to renew them for a long time , Chris changes them free of charge for original owners ( I Think ) .

This is where I would give marks of 100 if I could .
Chris Siegmund gives by far the GREATEST CUSTOMER SUPPORT from an amp maker that I have ever encountered , he answered my endless barrage of inane questions sometimes within minutes with total enthusiasm and commitment .(and witout getting pissed off with me).
I have never dealt with a more helpful-friendly-knowledgeable amp/pedal builder than Chris Siegmund(and I've dealt with quite a few ).
To me customer support is almost important as the item being purchased , and you will not find better customer support than with Chris Siegmund . THE BEST .

I've been playing guitar on and off since the 60s as a kid in England (now live in the USA).
I currently own 8 low wattage tube amps , from vintage to modern boutique and I have owned and tried many more that I either returned or sold , I will definately be keeping the Muddy Buddy , it's the best sounding low wattage tube amp that I currently own or have owned in the past , and I would definately have to buy another one if lost or stolen , I couldn't live without my little buddy .
Chris Siegmund not only hand builds guitar amps but also effects pedals - acoustic and electric guitars - violins and lord knows what else! , he could probably make you a set of drums or a suite of furniture if you ask him - WHAT A GENIUS -.
Chris Siegmund is not doing this for the money - he is doing it for his art and the love of creating beautiful musical instruments , and I hope that I can now call him my friend .