Straub Amplifiers Cantus Head

See my 2006 review. I'm giving it a 7 because it doesnt have an effects loop but I dont need one because my pedals work great in front of the amp

I cannot believe my 2006 review is the most recent review. I am shocked that there arent many more reviews! This amp has a rich full tone like no other amp I've played. I own a vintage Orange 120 watt, Marshall JMP, Ampegs galore, Fender Champ, GT Soul-O 45... bla bla bla... They are all great amps for sure! I love them all, but truly, none of these can match the rich tone of the Cantus. I set it for clean or slight crunch and use my pedals for overdrive and distortion. That's just my preference at this time. There is a quality of tone that is simply wonderful. I don't play loud at rehearsals because I dont have the desire like I used to when I was younger. The bass player and drummer, whom I've played with for 30 - 40 years, completely agree that this amp is the best sounding amp they have ever heard. After 2 years of owning it, they still praise this amp. I am not exaggerating! I will continue to buy gear and will buy more amps until I die but after two years I am certain that the Cantus will be my favorite amp. Sure there are many great amps out there like Egnator and others but they are also quite expensive. I dont need multiple channels. By pedal board suits me just fine. I want an amp that can please my ear when it's set to clean and this amp does that in spades! But if you want to rock out, she will glady and competently accomodate. I really can say enough about how much I love this amp.

Havent had one problem and I dont expect any problems. She's built like a tank.

Harry is a man of integrity! Enough said.

I didnt need to write a second review. My motivation for writing this is because I am extremely pleased with the Cantus after 2 years. I want others to know abouyt the Cantus as it appears to me this amp is not getting enough exposure. It has the mots pleasing tones and classy distinctive looks. Give it your consideration if you want a great sounding amp that is in a class of it's own. It rocks if you like to play loud crunch or heavy distortion. I don't have the tolerance for hi decibel playing anymore. But I can assure you the Cantus will please rockers. But metal players should look elsewhere.

Power Output 50 watts, Power Tubes: 2 x EL34, Preamp: Presence, Bass, Mid, Treble, Master Volume, Volume - Preamp Tubes: 2 x 12AX7, Phase Inverter: 1 x 12AX7, Transformers: Custom Mercury Magnetics CAN50's, Impedance Switch: 4, 8, 16, Turret Board Construction: 0.125" thick FR4/G10 board, Silver plated Hollow Turrets, 0.090" Thick Black Anodized Aluminum chassis
Red LED lightup Faceplate: Reversed engraved Acrylic , Solid Sapele Cabinet w/dovetail joints on the cabinet with laser engraved logo, Back panel attached with custom hinge system ,Stitched leather handle, boost switch.. The standard (non-boost) mode is straight plexi with a master volume, the boost mode adds a stage of gain for the more modern sound.

I completely agree with one of the reviews - This amp sounds different than a Marshall but has the same attitude. It is not exceedingly bright like Marshall or Ampeg with EL34s. To my ears it sounds more Hi Fi but with plenty of attitude when called upon. Notes have a richness that I haven't heard in a Marshall amp. Don't get me wrong I love Marshall. The Cantus clean tone is not the bright tone of a classic El34. It is voiced less bright, but to me it has a broader sonic spectrum than a Marshall. I love the Hi Fi quality of this amp and it loves evey pedal I put in front of it. That is a good thing because I like using pedals. I set the the bass and mid at 12:OO and the Treble at 2:OO - Dial in warm clean tones to crunch and AC/DC tones. The boost function offers more than enough distortion for me. I play it through a Marshall cab w/4 x 12 (don't know what Model Celestions are in this cab - I bought it in the early 90s)and it sounds fantastic! I recently bought a Avatar open back cab loaded with Celestion 2 x 12 Celestion G12 HOT 100s - to dark sounding for my taste. My Strat and '71 Les Paul Custom both sound excellent through this amp.

Only owned it for 6 months but it is built like a tank. Based on the excellent looking workmanship and use of high quality components, I don't anticpate having problmes with this amp.

Based on my experience getting to know Harry ( I had the privilege of meeting him) I do not believe Harry will dissapoint a customer that needs assistance. I am certain Harry will deal with all customers fair and honestly.

I forgot to mention the cabinet. I told Harry I would sell the Cantus for @200 more just for the cabinet. The Sappele wood is gorgeous. Photos do not do it justice. Like mnay of you I won lots of gear (too much). I have been playing guitar for 40 years. I wanted a killer sounding, highest quality, Marshallesque amp and I found it at a very reasonable price. Even though I sometimes wish it had the brightness of a Marshall EL34 amp (mainly for clean with a Strat) I feel Harry has come up with a design that sounds more balanced rich clean tones, awesome crunch and AC/DC overdrive to full out staturated distortion. This amp is a GEM!!

This is an update to my previous review. I've never done one of these and, after reading a few of the others, I felt maybe I was doing Harry a disservice by giving a rating of '5' for features. When I think of features, I think of lights, swithes, pull-out knobs, loops, etc. which, to me always take away from the pure sound of an amp. I think the best amps don't have 'features'. Harry's amp does indeed have every 'feature' I wanted...beautiful construction and beautiful tone. I probably should have just not given a response to this question, but since I screwed up his perfect score, I'll put a 10 here (if only I could enter a '20' the math would work out).

Purchased 2006. The amp is pretty straightforward as far as features, think master volume Marshall with a boost switch. If versatile means 4 different sounds with a footswitch, this ain't it. It has two sounds, one regular and one with the boost switched in, but best to think of as a single channel amp. The boost is not footswitchable which makes sense as there's a big change in volume and gain and I have to re-eq to get the sound I'm looking for. BUT, I wasn't looking for a do-it-all amp...I just wanted a great no-fuss amp that sounded in the neighborhood of my old 50 watt Marshall plexi that I've had forever. It doesn't have 'features' either.

I've read many of these reviews over the years and have come to take most with a grain of salt anymore, so I don't blame you if that's how this is taken. I've never submitted a review before as I've never felt compelled to, plus I don't really trade that much gear. I have an old Marshall plexi, and old Blackface Deluxe Reverb, and a couple other odd amps (Jim Kelley, Burman, old Marshall combo, ). I have played thru, however, a lot of other very nice amps at one time or another (friends or bandmates) like Bogner, various Boogies, Top Hat, Bad Cat, Budda, Fuchs, Guytron, Dr. Z and others, all of which were great amps at one thing or another.
The sound of the Straub is definitely in the Marshall camp, old Marshall in the unboosted setting, which is what I was mainly looking for. The boosted setting is much more modern sounding with more gain, not necessarily scooped but more low end and high end, more agressive. The thing that this amp does for me that I like so much, and that NO other amp I've tried has been able to do, is give me the sweetness and smoothness of my old plexi in the mids and highs (but still have that british attitude), and somehow keep the low end nice and fat but tight at the same time. My plexi can't even do it, its low end is loose in comparison, but the Straub is every bit as full. I don't know how Harry did it, but he's really onto something. All the new stuff sounds either shrill or dull in comparison, this just sounds right. You can put all the controls at noon (unboosted), set volumes to taste, and it sounds wonderful. And thats not to say that the tone controls don't have a lot of range, they do.
My old plexi (I hate to keep referring to it, but its my benchmark) was my '10'. I have to give it a '9' now to make room for Harry's amp. Its that good. Is it for you? I dunno, but if you're looking for an amp that has a great vintage Marshall flavor but still is its own thing and can do the higher gain stuff too, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Ok, its pretty new, although I waited a few months before submitting this so I could gig with it a few times. No problems and don't anticipate any given the beautiful construction. It even looks great with a solid hardwood cabinet and very cool backlit control panel. Really unique in a tasteful, not over the top way.

I haven't dealt directly with any amp builders except for the guy who does some repairs for me, but I sure hope they're all as nice as Harry. I mean jeez, I don't want to gush or anything, but he's really a nice guy, and I really enjoyed talking to him. It doesn't hurt he's into old Mustangs and carving pumpkins, like I like to do with my kids.
I get the impression Harry is (deservedly) proud of his amps, and just know he would be there if needed for anything at all. If I couldn't fix it over the phone with him I would send it to him before having anyone else work on it. I don't even know how long the warranty is, and to be honest, I'm not worried about it.

I've been playing about 30 years. I have a few strats, a Les Paul, Tele, Hamer, a custom Byrdland-type thing, Steinberger...a good mix of stuff I guess.
It won't get stolen or lost, stupid question. If it were abducted by aliens, I'd have Harry make me another.
What do I love?...the way it sounds. What do I hate?...the way it makes my other amps sound I guess.
Why did I choose this one?...good question. This is the ONLY piece of equipment I've ever bought that I didn't get to try firsthand. I doubt I ever will again. I can't explain it either, other than to say I just knew it was what I was looking for after talking to Harry. The way we agreed on the sounds of other amps just made me feel like we were in tune with each other. No hard sell, quite the opposite really. And don't be in a hurry, he doesn't crank these out in large numbers. I didn't really shop around a lot because I've tried most of what's out there at some point, but compared to other amps I have checked out and priced, Harry's amp is a steal. But to be honest, I didn't buy it because of the price.

Cantus 50: Made in July,2006
I spent alot of time learning about and searching for a Plexi-style tube amp. I rate this category a 10 because this amp has the features I expected, and they function as they should. It is a single channel amp with a boost switch. The other reviews cover the controls better than I can. This amp is versatile. But in a way that requires one to play with greater skill and style. There are no gimmicks, effects loops, or channels to switch. This is an amp that is built to be played with your head, heart, and hands to create music. What you put into it is what you get out of it. I play somewhat of a blues, blues rock style. This amp has more power than I could ever need.

I am not going to pretend to know about all the colors of tone or which sounds you can get out of this amp. The more I play through it the more I learn. It will be some time before I have discovered them all. The other reviewers do a great job covering this anyway. My guitar and pedals are listed below in the overall rating section. I can say the amp is very quiet while at rest. Also, it is a very loud amp when volumed up. With a great sound. Very musical in my opinion.

I have only had the amp for 6 weeks. This amp is very well made. It is also a very nice looking amplifier. Some of the other reviewers have had the Cantus for a couple years with no problems. Time will only tell, but I am not overly concerned. Of course if it broke tomorrow I would be very concerned. Harry and his production team are just getting started on a larger scale with distributors. Another amp, the Cantus 12 will be out as well. They cannot afford for anything to go wrong. I believe they make sure the finished products are top quality.

Harry has been very friendly and helpful throughout the entire process of ordering to delivery of the amp and even after. I do not know if the amp has a warranty. I feel Harry would be fair about any problems that may arise. He builds these amps with quality components and a person would probably have to do something wrong in order for the amp to have problems. I never want to find out but feel Harry would take care of me.

I am 47 years old. I am only a hobbyist and play for enjoyment. Perhaps therapy. I fell in love with the electric guitar sound in the sixties. I had always wanted to play, but for one lame reason or another I never did. Well you only live once. So at 40, I purchased a Legacy Speacial from G & L. It is a Strat style guitar with humbuckers that fit into the single coil sized slots. I also purchased pedals from Fulltone over the next several years. They are: Choralflange, Clyde Wah, Fulldrive 2, and Deja-vibe. I also purchased a 2x12 cab from Avatar that arrived just in time for this amp. They make a nice cab for a good price and are great to deal with. The cab is closed back and loaded with two Hellatone 30's. The equipment I have is far better quality than my playing ability deserves. There are better products out there of course, but for the money I have been pleased with the equipment. I would rather have products that inspire me to grow and learn instead of some bad sounding mass produced items that make me dread to even play. I spent over a year and hundreds of hours online reading reviews and talking with amp builders. There is an endless supply of builders and amps! There were other amps out there that I believe were fine products made by nice folks. This land is the land of many choices. A few amps were less expensive than the Cantus and many more were at a considerably higher price. There were a few at a comparable price. I wanted a Plexi-style tube amp made with pride, care, and quality components. I wanted to deal with a person I felt was honest,dependable,friendly, and of course competent. Harry Struab and the Cantus were an easy choice. I feel the reviews others have given on this site are accurate and played an important part in my deciding to purchase the Cantus 50. I am glad I did. The more I play through it the more I love it. The amp has everything I need to get a quality sound. I would purchase it again if lost or stolen. I am writing this review to let others know about Harry and his amps. That I feel he can be trusted to deliver a quality amp. I am not a great musician just someone who loves to play. Anyone who desires to play and can afford this type of product can get much enjoyment out of it. There are no rules or laws about which musical products you can have according to your skill level or experience. I am grateful for that. I do believe this amp was made for the professional and is meant to be played loud to get the most out of it. I take the amp to a place to do this from time to time and hope to more often in the future. It is way overkill for home playing, though it still sounds very good at low volumes. Plus the power is there when you want it. I probably need a Cantus 12 as well but have not been in trouble with the neighbors yet. Perhaps a move back to the country would do me good.

My brand new 50 watt Cantus was delivered in March 2006. The amp is very well constructed using Mercury Magnetics transformers, Hexfred ultra-fast recovery solid state rectifiers, Vishay/Dale metal film resistors, 1987 Seimens El-34 NOS power tubes and a red LED lighted front panel. It was originally being built for Cliff Culteri of WWW.Destroyallguitars.com, who is a dealer for Straub amps. I kind of "intercepted" it from Harry with Cliff's blessing, so the amps features were pretty well conceived already. However, there were still a couple of options I asked for. I wanted to go NOS on the tubes, so Harry gave me a suggestion for tubes and the dealer name. Since I had expressed interest in trying other tubes, he then suggested a bias pot and test points be installed on the back of the chassis. He installed not just your average bias pot, but a vernier dial 25 turn pot with a lock! I took the chassis out to inspect the construction, and found impeccable turret board PTP wiring & soldering. Everywhere you look you find quality parts, from the ceramic tube sockets to the jacks & switches, all top notch. The chassis is .090 anodized black aluminum. All of the name plate info, serial number and the front panel control lettering is laser etched on. No painted on stenciling or decals to rub off. It?s a single channel amp with a boost switch. The boost is not foot switchable, and because of the volume disparity between the clean & boost, you probably wouldn?t want to. The boost sends you into gain heaven, LOTS of gain! I think most people buying this amp are not too concerned as they (and myself) realize this amps not a channel switcher and are quite content to use it either set one way or the other. Or just step back to the amp, turn a volume knob and flip a switch. The cabinet is made out of quarter sawn finger jointed Sapele wood. The front panel has the Straub logo laser etched in, very nice. The back has a Sapele wood tube protector that snaps in place with a couple of high quality spring loaded cabinet latches. It?s finished off with real Rosewood knobs and a great leather handle.

I?m currently running the amp into a borrowed (and very nice) 70?s JBL 2X12 closed back & ported speaker cabinet. Bob Burt is building a matching open back Sapele wood 2X12 V-front cabinet for me (another Straub suggestion). I was going to wait and review the amp with the Burt cab, but quality takes time, so I?ll review it with the JBL?s. As I?ve only had this amp a couple of months, and I?m using a borrowed speaker cabinet, it hasn?t seen a gig yet. It is however getting a serious basement workout. I?m 50 years old and have been playing since I was a teenager. I currently play in a classic rock/variety band, with music ranging from the 50?s thru to today. The guitars I?ve been using with the amp are, a 1960 custom shop rosewood fretboard strat with Fralin vintage hots, Callaham bridge assy, bone nut and large Dunlop frets. A ?crafted in Japan? 1968 maple fretboard strat reissue with VanZant pickups and Callaham bridge assy. An Orville by Gibson ?Clapton Cut? explorer with WCR crossroads pickups, and a Gibson Les Paul Junior Special Plus. My pedal board is a Pedaltrain Pro, and contains a Klon Centaur, Teese picture wah, An Analogman TS-9 silver, original TS-808, a Boss CS-2 compressor/sustainer, and a Boss CH-2 chorus all powered by a pedal power 2. I have also been using it with my Sennheiser EW-172 G2 wireless. I find that running the master at the 1:00 position or above and the volume at 9:00 or above gives the best results. It sounds great. I have a Savage Rohr 15, a blackfaced Fender deluxe RI, and I?ve owned many others, this amp is a new sound entirely. O.K, I?ll admit I?ve never owned a Marshall, which is one of the reasons I purchased this amp. The controls are all voiced well and you really don?t have to search for a great sound. Harry says that with the master wide open, it?s like a late 60?s Marshall plexi. Wow, it?s loud, but what a loud it is. The master volume works well, but you really need to open it up a bit for the great tones. When this amp is in the sweet spot, it?s got a huge full sound, I bet with a 4X12 it?s wonderful. The harmonics and sustain coming out of my strats is fantastic. All of my pedals and the wireless work flawlessly with the amp. It?s dead quiet unless the boost is on, it?s not real bad then either. This is a fantastic amp, really inspiring. Absolute quality, Thanks Harry!

I have only owned the amp a short while, so I?m basing my opinion on build quality. This amp is built with the finest components available today. The circuit is designed on a tried & true Marshall plexi, the construction is excellent, so I?d have to say the odds are pretty good this amp will easily outlast my lifetime. I?ve been an electronics technician for 30 years now, (also an ex avid amateur radio buff) and have seen all sorts of equipment, industrial, military and hobby. I?ve seen some real crap, and real quality, this amp my friends is quality. As far as repairs to the amp should anything happen, Harry appears to the only repair resource. At the present time he is available, but what about 5, 10 or 15 years? The amp comes with no documentation, but I feel confident that when the time comes that Harry can no longer do mods & repairs, he will have something setup to cover it.

My experience purchasing this amp from Mr. Straub has been extraordinary. We spoke on the phone quite a bit about the amp before my purchase. Harry called and emailed me several times letting me know the status of the build. He also helped with suggestions for the NOS tubes, bias pot & jacks, front panel knob options, amp case and speaker cabinets. He actually talked with Mr. Burt for me about the cabinet wood & finish, and gave Bob the supplier info as well. How?s that for customer service!! As I said above, this amp was originally being built for Cliff Culteri, who is a dealer for Straub amps. Cliff let me buy the amp directly from Harry. Thank you. Cliff knows great equipment?check out his website at WWW.Destroyallguitars.com. I only live about ? hour drive from Harry so I met him part way to pick up the amp. I have to say, this is the first amp I?ve purchased in a K-Mart parking lot! Thanks for doing that Harry, glad it didn?t have to ship. It was a real pleasure to meet and talk with you.

Overall this purchase has been excellent. Would I buy again? Well I waited a long time to get this one, not sure I would wait that long again. But I'd be pretty depressed about losing this one. Harry says production may be boosted soon with his new 12 watter coming out.
This is a fine amp, nuff said.

This is about the finest amplifier I've ever owned among a great, great many. It was made in 2004, I believe, for another customer, but it might as well have been made specifically for me. This most beautiful amp was in absolutely perfect condition. Harry offers plenty of options, and he's already offered to make any changes I might like. It's a one-channel amp in the Marshall style (w/o the Marshall negatives), but also with a character of its own. It feels like a two-channel amp with the boost function. Great master volume circuit--very smooth. Mine has the Mercury Magnetics transformer option and a solid state rectifier for a bit more edge and output. Though it feels simple, it's a very versatile amp for me as I play almost exclusively traditional to semi-modern electic Blues. I wouldn't mind if the boost was footswitchable, but I imagine Harry could make it so. I also wouldn't mind if the cabinet were a little smaller, but, since it's not heavy, it's no big deal. This is an amp with all the features I want & none of those I don't (like reverb (ugh!!) It's in the most gorgeous, striped mahogany head cabinet you'll ever see, has a unique-looking Lexan, light-up (red and black) control panel and is not extraordinarily heavy. The Cantus uses two EL34's and three 12AX7/Ecc83'a. It's a 50-watt head, fixed bias. It came with an excellent roadcase at a price that's unbelievably low compared to other "boutique" amp makers. I understand from Harry that, until recently, he did all the work himself on these amplifiers, even making the beautiful cabinets himself. Harry builds very few of these amplifiers, and he's recently been not even taking orders while he develops his 12-watt Cantus......So, when I saw this one available from a terrific guy in Knoxville, I was falling all over myself to grab it!

I'm sure nobody cares what guitars I play, but I've used this amp mostly with humbuckers (though a little single-coil) since I received it. It's incredibly sweet tones and smooth overdrive are great for Blues. The EQ controls seem to be very sensitive, giving you a wide range of tones. The boost is great for overdriven tones at lower volumes and the normal setting allows great range from clean to massive, ripping plexish sounds. I like having the solid state rectifier to give just enough edge to cut through. It's a rather quiet amp, depending upon the preamp tubes used, I think. At Harry's suggestion, I tried substituting a couple Bimar ECC83's for two of the JJ's it came to me with & I used a NOS Westinghouse 12AX7 for the phase inverter. WOW! It was even better to my ears! AGain, it seems to be a very sensitive amp--in a very good way--and tube changes, EQ settings, etc. seem to make a lot of difference. I'm also going to try a pair of GE/Sylvania 6CA7 Fat Bottle power tubes that Harry suggested when I get a chance. What you appreciate in tone is subjective, I know, but, for my money, this is the best sounding amp I've ever owned or heard.
I first noticed Harry's amps on the webpages of musicians selling other things. Invariably, those players said of the Straub: "This is one I'm NEVER selling," or words to that effect. Now I know why.

I haven't had it long enough to know for sure, but I have a feeling, from the reports of others and the apparent build-quality, that this amp can be depended upon indefinitely! Harry, who happens to originally be from my area of the country though he's now in Minnesota, even offered to help me out if I had any problems or wishes when he's back in this area visiting extended family a couple of times a year. When was the last time an amp-builder offered that to you?!? If I talk myself into taking this gorgeous amp to a gig (and I'm sure I will because it sounds so good!), I'd have no qualms about using it without a backup.

I've talked with an awful lot of the amp-builders around these days, and many of them are very helpful, friendly and easy to deal with. There is no one--NO ONE--better than Harry Straub in customer support. He spent well over an hour on the phone with me (And HE called ME back!!) talking about the amp, etc. He gave me many suggestions and tips. He offered to help me with anything I need or want w/re: the amp, told me about his development of the new 12-watt version of the Cantus, history and present set-up of his work, goals for the future, etc. He was incredibly supportive and open without the manic, ego-driven kind of stuff I've experienced with others--even though many of those guys were very helpful, too.

I'm an old enough guy to have been playing a long, long time. I've owned just about every amp--high-end to moderately-priced--you can name, and I've loved a few (most notably a twice-modified Naylor SC38 & a Guytron GT100 & a John Martin Spitfire-inspired amp). More often, I have high expectations and am then disappointed. I had VERY high expectations for the Straub Cantus, but this time I wasn't disappointed. It has exactly THE sounds that satify me (If I was a better player, I'd say "that INSPIRE me!"). I really believe--like many others have said--this is one I'm not selling....ever. It's pretty amazing that Harry builds these amps and makes them available at the relatively low prices he does. (..which apparently has irritated some of the "boutique" builders who are a bit bigger..that's ridiculous; isn't it?) I'm getting in line as fast as I can for one of his 12-watt Cantus' as I imagine others are. This is absolutely the greatest value in an amp with regard to sound. That Harry is the best guy to deal with and that these are also the best looking amps you'll ever see is just a considerable bonus. There, have I gushed enough? But, believe me, I'm not delusional (this time!). It's all true.

Constructed carefully over several months this year. The Cantus falls into the Plexi/Modded Plexi camp. One channel, with a Boost which is accessed by a front-panel toggle switch. Variable cab impedance switch as well. The front panel is made of clear Lexan, the text is laser etched and is back lit via cold-cathode lighting, which not only looks cool but is wonderful on a dark stage. I paid a little extra for the Mercury Magnetics Transformer upgrade and choice the EL34 and tube rectifier options. Harry Straub offers an impressive amount of options and really will tailor the amp to what one is looking for within the basic parameters of the circuit design.

Harry builds his heads with a variety of finished woods. Mine is all Mahogany, just gorgeous, and I can easily access the tubes from the rear with a simple-yet-ingenious design of his. By the way, Harry ships the heads in flight-worthy cases and packs those very, very well, so UPS was unable to work its usual "magic" with this package!

I play variations of Strats and Les Pauls (Fender, Gibson, G&L, Heritage, Hamer, Ernie Ball/Music Man), and most are fitted with lower-output pickups. Professionally, I play a variety of musical styles-blues, classic rock (fellow older folks-remember when it was just called "rock"?), jazz, country, etc. I purchased the Cantus initially for my Hendrix/Blackmore/Trower/Page/Beck type of excursions, though I am now planning on using it for all of my gigging situations. As noted before, it is a very quiet amp, with no more noise-floor issues than any other amp that goes into the high-gain realm. In fact, it's much quieter than most. Out of my amps, only the Bad Cat Hot Cat is quieter, and the difference is minute. In its regular mode, to my ears the Cantus sounds like the finest Plexi I've ever played, and I have played many (one advantage of living in the overcrowded Northeast!). Cleans tones are lovely, and a Strat, with the gain way up, is classic Hendrix tone-and the best part of this is one can get a really beautiful overdriven tone with the Master Volume pretty far down. Certainly, the amp sounds its best with the MV up and the power tubes sweating a bit, but here is an area where the Cantus gains the edge over the Hot Cat.

Then, turning on the Boost switch opens one up to a higher-gain area of fantastic sounds. With Strats, I've found that running the Boost and setting the gain around 11 o'clock lets me back off my guitar's volume for a bold clean sound suitable for live work, a crunchy rhythm tone with the volume knob slightly up, and David Gilmour-ish lead tones with the know wide open. With humbuckers, as other reviewers have stated, early VH tones are readily available. Harry actually adjusted the Boost for me, taming it a bit, and I know from what I have that no player could ask more more,and more stunning, gain.

One last point-I recently used the Cantus with a Zinky 2x12 closed-back cab in what is acoustically the worst room I've ever played-and I've played there before with other amps-and this time I managed to achieve a coherent, rich tone which had other guitar players in the room asking what the heck I was plugged into. At a recent outdoor gig, where I could push the Cantus more, it just sang and sang.

I fallen in love with it so much that I've decided that, at least for unmiked gigs, rather than gig with the Hot Cat head, I'm going to go into a Reeves (Hiwatt UK) 50-watt head and the Cantus and switch between them, the Reeves for those great clean tones and the Cantus for dirty rhythm and lead.

Other than having to take some extra care with the uncovered mahogany, I feel as though I will be able to depend on this amp for a very long time-the workmanship on everything from the cabinety to the wiring is first rate, and Harry uses some of the finest components available. As for a backup-I never gig without backups of everything-that's just unprofessional.

Anyone who reads through the rest of these reviews will quickly learn that Harry Straub is special. One, he is quite simply a nice man, and that means a lot in my book. Two, he is devoted to tone and displays a strong love for what he does. Three, he keeps his customers in mind-Harry sent me photos of the woodwork when it was finished, he kept me posted on other particular points, double checked with me about how I wanted the gain on the Boost feature, put up with some undoubtedly silly questions of mine and has called me a few times just to see if I'm liking the amp. I most definitely want to deal again with Harry, given the opportunity.

Other than this sentence, I'm leaving this blank; instead of reading this, go to www.harrystraub.com and treat yourself to the fine work of an even finer gentleman.

2004 Straub Cantus Head. Most of the features have already been mentioned by other reviewers. Some of the optional features I went for, where the upgraded caps, the MM transformers, Rosewood knobs and the GZ-34 tube rectifier.

WOW, what can I say. As I get older, I have gone back to simplicity. About a year ago I bought a Bogner XTC. Great amp, but it takes a degree in electrical engineering to dial in your sound, with all the bells and whistles it comes with. I then picked up a Bogner Shiva. Very simple amp, and very easy to dial in a good tone from clean to crunch, to medium gain. I was looking for an amp along these same lines, but with much more gain. Enter the Cantus. In less than 5 seconds I can dial in one of the most sweetest, creamiest distortions you have ever heard. Then if you are really hardcore, and can handle it, just switch on the boost switch ! You'll never need all the gain this amp can provide. And did I say quiet. I have never heard a amp with this much gain, be as whisper quiet as this one. I currently run it through 8 Celestion Greenbacks.

PTP wired and built like a tank. I do not forsee any problems, ever, with the build quality of this amp.

Harry is such a blessing to deal with. From my original call to him to tell him what I want, to the final delivery. He kept me informed every step of the amps construction. He even had gone on vacation the week he shipped me my amp, and provided me with a phone number of where he would be, if I had any problems. It dosen't get much better than that. He even sent me a Christmas card last year!

I have had this amp since August, and waited until now to submit my review, as I wanted to spend some time with it. I can honestly say, that it gets better everytime I plug into it. I have re-tubed it with NOS Mullards, and currently have it driving two Marshall 4x12 Classic cabinets loaded with Greenbacks. Plug in one each Les Paul, and welcome to tone heaven. Many thanks Harry. Now about that 20 watter : )

This is a 2004 model built by Harry Straub. It is basically a 50 watt Marshall Plexi style amp which also has a master and a boost switch. All Heyboer power, output and choke along with point to point wiring and top of the line hand picked components for tone. Mine has Electro Harmonix EL34EH's in the power section One JJ 12ax7 preamp in the gain stage and two 12ax7 sovtec LPS's. It also has solid state rectification, mine has Hexfred rectifiers which is a fast recovery rectifier. Two speaker outs in the back, an impedence selector for 4,8 and 16 ohms. The front reads as follows, power, standby,presence bass mids treble volume booster volume and input. The cab is a thing of beauty. I initially was sceptical about havinf an all wood head, being use to tolex but I thought what the heck, why not be different. It is made of African stripped Mahogony, and coated with a clear urethane finish. The logo is laser etched into the front and is truly a work of art. The control panel is also laser etched and backlit, (mine is red) and adds a beautiful feature to this amp when turned on. So with the build quality and workmanship along with the hotrodded feature on this amp I give a definite ten. I have learned over the many years I have been playing that alot of features doesn't mean that you have a great amp, in fact it usually means just the opposite. Simple uncluttered features are all the features I need, especiallt if the amp is as good as this one is.

I sold my Germino rockgrinder to obtain this amp and in all fairness to Greg Germino I must say that I will be buying one of his amps again no question. I was just looking for a little more versatility as far as a higher gain goes, not that gregs does not kick ass. I still feel his amps are the best vintage marshall style there is, period. However after researching a long time and finding this amp, it has the tone that the Germinos have but also can get more modern and aggressive when needed. In fact the gain this amp has is scary. Huge bass, great mids, and super sweet trebles are all there. With the boost off this amp is the true marshall plexi sound of the sixties and seventies, just big huge marshall crunch and sustain. With my 1970 custom les paul with original neck and #3 burstbucker in the bridge this amp is tone heaven. I run it thru a Germino 2x12 with greenbacks. This cab was made like the original marshalls were made, not like the crap they sell now. Engage the boost and this amp will rival any amp that dares to be in the same room with it! From hot blues to the brown sound and beyond is there if you so desire it. This is definitely not a bedroom amp! As far as it having a master volume which I have been leary of in the past, the preamp gain sounds just as good as power tube distortion, I had to hear it to believe it! Fantastic harmonics and rich rich tone. This amp has caused a huge problem now with my pedal board. I use all Fulltone Custom effects and the distortion pro might be looking for a home soon. The Choralflange, Clyde wah and the Soulbender will probably be keepers. The vesatility of the master and volume allows me to be able to dial in alot of different Marshall tones and the guitar volume can enable me to go from classic vintage to over the top hotrod by the turn of a dial. Truly a great amp and I would have to agree with one of the reviews in that the tone is equal to or and better than most amps. The price I payed was ridiculously low for an amp of this caliber. I truly can't understand how anyone could buy a reissue mass-produced amp of any kind. People knock "boutique amps". Maybe it's the word that bothers people. Boutique, it does sound kind of snobby, but if you want an amp built the way amps are supposed to be built, and an amp that will thunder at the twist of a volume pot and retain tone at higher volumes then get with someone who knows the art of making a truly great amp! You definitely won't be disappointed with the Cantus.

Harry Straub has a great reputation and stands behind his products. Built one at a time and by the way he only builds in the neighborhood of ten amps a year so I have no doubt of the quality and components that go into making these wonderful amps. Amp has never broken down and I will not use a backup.

Five year warranty on the amp. Harry is very accessible via email and has even given me his cell #. The amp was ordered and it took 4 months to get it because he had other amps going out. During this time he answered all my questions usually the same day and while my amp was in the build process he sent pictures of where he was at, the inside outside wood finish process, how it looked before and after finishing, etc; you can't get any better than that!

I can't imagine a better tone, having had some of the best amps out there. A Germino Rockgrinder, and a TopHat Emplexador, A Marhall 9200 power amp with a digitech 2120 preamp into two Marshall 1960A cabs, a Randall RG80 which I still have a is IMHO one of the best sounding solid state amps out there. It was made in the early 80's and still sounds great. I'm not saying this will be my last amp but it will definitely be in my collection for the long haul. From cream to Eddy, this amp delivers the goods.