THD UniValve Head

I think every knows but simply a one channel class A tube amp. Rock (high gain) and Roll (low gain) input choices, volume, trebble, bass, attitude (gain), attenuater(hot plate), high/low voltage switch are your only controls. I use this in my home studio with a 2x12 cab loaded with Tone Tubby Alnico's. This amp at 15 watts is way more power than I need. I add effect at the board so no need for a effects loop. My only beef is with the very cheap tubes that were factory installed. Change these right away or at least pull them out and reinstall them as they can come loose in transit.

I use a American Fender Strat Plus with Fralin pickups, a Gibson Les Paul Class 5 with stock Burst Buckers, and a Heritage 555 with P90 type humber size pickups. This is where I could write for days. What sound do you want? This amp will cover them all if you put in the right combination of tubes. You will have to be very patient though because there is a lot of tweaking that will need to be done on both the amp and your guitar. This is a very bright amp so be prepared to turn the trebble way down. You may have to turn the volume down on your guitar as well, be patient.

When it comes to tubes do your homework. I went on line and found out what tubes were in the type of amps I wanted to sound like. Be patient you may not like the tube with one guitar but try all your instruments. I have found sounds I wasn't expecting and been very happy with.

Speakers are just as important part of your gear. Find ones that you like that can handle more than one tone. I tried my friends Univalve through my Marshall 4x12 1960A cab before I bought mine. Although it did drive the cabinet it sounded better when I switched it to two speakers. It became more punchy and the low end really came alive.

This is were I thought I had an issue but upon further review it was a bad tube and the fuse did its job. I bought this amp new a month ago and it comes with a 2 year warranty. With all the power tube changing that I do I might need to have that looked at in a few years. I don't take it anywhere so it will probable last for a good long time.

I have not dealt with them but a friend did and they did right by him.

I have been playing for over 20 years. I have been in bands done the gig thing. I have played Fender, Marshall, Boogie, preamp and rack gear, and now THD. All were good but you would have to sacrafice one tone for another or half you garage space. With the Univalve you don't have to. Just switch a tube and you have a completely different tone. I would buy another one if it were lost, stolen or god forbid broke down. This is just the most fun amp I have ever owned. i hate to sound like an old fart but you might need to be older to appreciate this amp to its fullest. You have to be patient and the tone will come to you.

Nothing new to say here. It's just about everything you might need in a high-quality, single channel amp. The controls are all very powerful/useful, the amp is very sensitive/multi-dimensional, and the Rock & Roll inputs provide a two very different tones to work with. The built-in Hot Plate is very useful if you need to control volume-to-gain setting, and having it built right in to the amp head is very convenient and portable. No reverb, but I use a pedal for that.

'89 Strat Plus Deluxe w/Van Zandt Blues, mid-'90s Epiphone Casino, mid-'90s Epiphone Les Paul Custom with SD JB/Jazz >> TU-2 >> Barber Direct Drive >> MT-2 Metal Zone >> Xotic AC Booster >> Xotic RC Booster >> Yamaha MagicStomp >> Univalve >> Avatar G212H. Mostly rock music -- all eras. To me, the most remarkable thing about the Univalve is that it must be one of very best high-quality tube amp values on the market. Even if you aren't shooting for "bedroom-level" tube tones or needing wide versatility in a studio setting, this thing is just a great single channel tube amp for playing live. I play through the Roll input with JJ 12AX7s and a JJ EL-34L, set the amp for a basically clean tone with a little hair on it, and use pedals from there. With the possible exception of extremely loud/extremely clean (given 15 watts and the inherent headroom limitations), you can dial in a wide range of base tone/volume combinations. I would think the Univalve would also be an ideal "dirty/crunchy" amp in a two-amp A/B approach as well. Either way, I haven't seen anything else that delivers this kind of quality and versatility for under $700.

So far, so good. I've had mine for four months and used it fairly extensively. Seems very well made.

No experience here.

I've been playing for 18 years. The Univalve is a stellar amp, and I would definitely buy one again.

My Uniivalve was made around 2003 in Seattle. It's a single-channel Class A tube amp with one output tube slot and two for preamp tubes.

The Univalve doesn't have four channels, on-board effects or many other bells and whistles. Yet it has a feature that trumps all that: The ability to take a wide variety of pre-amp tubes, plus just about any octal output tube you can find. You can also use nine-pin types likle the EL84 with an adaptor.

Some other great features are a built-in attenuator, a very effective noise reduction circuit, a dummy load, two input for high and low gain, a voltage selector switch and a very effective line-out with adjustable level.

The only feature that would be great is some sort of way to switch on the fly between the high and low gain inputs to have psuedo clean-to-dirty switch. Right now, I just roll off on the guitar's volume knob.

I use Duncan-loaded Charvels (old Japanese models) for my band, which plays originals that are like The Refreshments meets the Scorpions. Since I do most of the lead work, I aim for a great high-gain tone. Using a 6l6GC output, a Telefunken ECC83 and a GE 5751, I get a distortion out of this thing you wouldn't believe. Nice low-end thump with beautiful sustain for the leads. An Ibanez TubeScreamer fattens it up a touch.

Whoever thinks the Uni can't do metal just hasn't figured out what tubes to use. This is certainly not a Bogner or an Engl, but it does a nice early Metallica sound if you have the right tubes, guitar and pickups.

The longer the gig, the better the Uni sounds, and it loves being dimed.

Between songs, I hear no hiss or other extraneous noise out of this amp. Even in venues that often create a lot of interference, it stays quiet.

After raving about the distortion, I plugged some 6189 low-gain tubes into the Univalve and turned it into a blues player's dream...very clean with just a touch of breakup if I attack the strings hard.

The attenuator is decent, but the Uni sounds better without attenuation. This amp reacts very strongly to different tubes, so take your time to experiment.

I am running this through an old Crate cabinet loaded with Carvin's version of a Celestion V30.

I've only had it about two months. After two practices, the output transformer died. THD replaced it and said it came from a batch that had a less reliable transformer. Since then, it's been running like a Swiss watch. Also, it had been sitting at a guitar shop for a few years, so I don't know how many people who don't know how to properly operate a tube amp may have handled it.

I won't gig with ANYTHING without a backup...guitar, strings, tubes, picks, etc. If I'm getting paid to play, I am going to do anything possible to finish the gig no matter how confident I feel in the gear.

I'm leaving this category as "no opinion" because I haven't had it very long, and it really seems my problem was kind of an abberation. If you like, I'll update in six months or so.

Every company is occassionally going to have a product that fails. I hope they all take care of it as well as THD did. They are pleasant, prompt and thorough. Not only did the replace my transformer in the incident mentioned above, but they upgraded some wiring to their current specs. And they didn't once act like my constant questions were a pain in the a**.

I have been playing for 16 years. My current band has been together just short of two years. During that time, I've gigged and practiced with a Marshall Jubilee, Laney AOR100, TubeWorks RT-2100 and a Line6 Spider II (borrowed!). The Univalve has given me by far the best tone of the bunch. The fact that I can drive it at near maximum output and get that great output distortion does it for me. And it's tiny, about the same footprint as a large laptop computer.

If someone stole it, I might scrape together a bit more money and go for the BiValve, which has double the wattage. That might help for some larger venues if they don't mic us...saves me from slaving it to my TubeWorks head. Plus I can still pull an output tube for smaller venues with no adverse effects (not true with all tube amps).

Seriously, this is a terrific product from a great company. They also have a great user forum (www.univalve.net) where people who own them exchange ideas and advice. Plus you'll have a tool to shape your own tone. And it's not even that expensive at street price ($845) and good shoppers can find an even better deal now and then.

The THD Univalve is an odd creature when it comes to features, for it manages to have both few and many all at once. At heart it is an 18 watt all valve boutique amp, designed for studio/ small venue use.

While the Univalve is a single channel amp, it offers both a high and low power input, labelled "rock" and "roll" respectively. The High power input offers everything from a raspy brit gain to a smooth hard rock distortion. The low power input has a beautiful clean tone to a crisp, bright crunch.

The tonal options of the amp appear somewhat limited, having a Volume, Treble, Bass and Attitude control. Each control gives quite a small range of tonal variation (your not going to get a good 80's hair metal sound out of this one) but saying that, the sound that is there is well balanced, warm and probably the best all round tone I have come across. When I purchased this amp I compared it directly to both a Mesa/Boogie Rectoverb combo and a VHT combo (can?t recall the model on that one) and I would have to say that neither had a shadow of the depth and richness of tonality that the Univalve can offer.

It is also worth mentioning that never before have i played an amp that responds so much to playing dynamics. The diversity of sound and tone that can be achieved through your guitars tone controls and your playing here really is amazing.

The interesting part of the Univalve is the built in attenuator, THD's Hot Plate. When turned on this allows the volume to be raised, so pushing the valves, without the added decibels. In a home studio environment this is one of the most useful features that you can ever have, especially considering how well it works. It also has a noise reduction switch, which dose just what it should without sapping any of the amps tone

In summery this is a very "pure" boutique amp, designed with the home studio in mind. In this roll their really isn't anything that THD could have done to improve the amp. Saying that, do remember that it is an 18 watt head and relatively tonally restrictive. If you?re looking for sweet Jazz/Classic Rock/Blues tone for your home recordings then this amp should be a serious consideration. If, however, you intend to play Black Metal or live at anything more than a house party then the Univalve is probably a little too "pure" for what your looking for.

I'm using three guitars at the moment, a Fender Jazzmaster 62 Reissue (the Japanese One) with standard hardware, An Eppiphone Les Paul Standard and a B.C.Rich Warlock with BDSM humbuckers.

The Jazzmaster sounds great, with its single coils offering a great range of tonal options that all sound just as they should. Surprisingly it also holds its own with the heavier sounds, offering a great classic rock tone (think Zed Zeppelin's Black Dog or Rock and Roll). The humbuckers of the Les Paul offer a warmer fatter tone, that sounds great clean, but gets a little murky when on a higher gain setting (but this is somewhat the nature of this axe, which is soon to have EMG's installed). The Warlock also offers great clean tones and a rich think gain great for old Black Sabbath and other pre NWBHM metal.

The noise produced is minimal, and the added noise reduction function eliminates even the rudimentary single coil hum.

As previously mentioned the sounds are great for all non Thrash/ Black/ New metal styles. I play a mixture of music including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, BB King and the Smashing pumpkins. The Univalve is great for the entire above, bar possibly some of the heavier elements of Sabbath, as it can lack a little bottom end at the lower volumes. I also play a little Metallica and Iron maiden, both of which I use my Yamaha DG1000 for, as the Univalve really doesn?t do that kind of high gain.

The clean channel can be played at max volume without any break-up, however the attitude control can give it a crunchy edge if that is desired.

The distortion is warm and sweet, not heavy, this head is great at singing sweet warm gain, but doesn?t really do the brutal metal thing.

I have never had a problem in the three months that i've owned the Univalve, otherwise theres not much that i can say here

All of the Warranty side is done at my local dealer, so i havnt had to deal with THD at all.

I have been playing for six years, and have owned several amps during that time. The THD is by far the best purchase that I have made to date. That?s not to say that this is an amp for everyone, but for those looking for tone over features, and wanting to record in a home studio environment I would strongly recommend trying one of these out.

If the amp was stolen I would snap another up without a thought. There really isn?t anything else out there that can directly compare to the sheer quality of tone and build that THD offer.

I love that it is a compact, pure valve amp that reminds me of why I wanted to play to begin with. There are all to many amps out there these days sacrificing quality for an abundance of often useless novelty features ( like the Line 6 Vetta) so its a blessing to see such a great little amp make a stand for quality tone and playing skill.

I would also say that the amp has helped further me as a musician, as I have learned to use my playing and guitar to create the sounds that i desire, rather than resorting to digital effects.

When I purchased I compared this to the Mesa/Boogie Rectoverb and a VHT 50 watt combo. While both are great amps in their own right, neither could match the amazing 3D sound that the Univalve can produce, and with the added bonus of the attenuator the Univalve won hands down.

In some ways it would be nice to have more power so that the Univalve could be used for more live work, however this would somewhat defeat the object of the amp (THD do make larger output versions, but in my opinion they lack the quality of tone that the Univalve has)

Hope this helps anyone who?s thinking about getting one of these. Also THD's website has plenty of audio tracks of their amps, of if you think this might be what you?re after I?d recommend a visit there.

All the features on this amp are for tone adjustment. And it has plenty. With a amp this bright, the tone adjustment makes a big difference. Treble, bass, volume, attitude, hi volt, low volt, rock or roll input, hot plate. I like to call the knobs, "tone removers", you have to remove the tone and brightness in certain places or its just to much. I think we all perfer to have "to much" not "to little." You find yourself working backwards on this one.

I didn't really care much for swapping tubes. I spent $200 bucks just to realize the one they had in it was the best. If I needed to change my sounds it's easyer to do it with effects and stick with the cleanest sounding tube (EL34) for me. Yet the tubes do change the sound and it's nice to have one more thing to adjust. You can never have too many options.

Well, Im a metal head, at home hobbiest looking for the best sounding all around amp. The best thing about this amp is, it has incredible clairity. Bright clean tone and punch! I match it with a carvin maple top and a 2X12 thd cab. It is has so much clairity my frigen eye balls vibrate. Dripping in tone is a good description simply because the amp is very very bright and clear. However, It puts out exactly what you put in, including effects. If you have cheap effects or a crappy guitars this amp = "trash in - trast out."

Use good equipment and fine guitars and this amp will bring just that.
It is like a true old school no BS amp. What you put in is exactly what you get out, including effects.

I have found this amp will play any type of music. Its like a perfect platform for whatever sound you want. I like metal and wanted clean clear professional hi gain distortion and or liquid bubbly cleans with delay and reverb so I had to add effects. no problemo.

I remember someone in hear said not to use pedels. Nothing could be further from the truth this thing was made for pedals. Just don't overdrive it or put distortion on top of distortion, usecommon sense.

I also like to bypass all effects for the natural clean tone of my carvin guitar. Ahhhhggghhh! The crispy bright tone! You must try this amp.

Perfect.

TBD

My long endured search for gear ends with this amp + I added a rocktron prophesy tube preamp with effects. It's like matching two of the finest instruments. Now I have "angus young" and and "dimebag" forever on tap with absoulte quiet clairity. No hiss, no pop, no fuzzs. I just need to add a prgrammable footswitch and Im done.

Mine was likely made in 04 or 05, serial #1782. If you're reading this I'm going to guess that you know all of the features.

I selected it based largely on reviews here, and had never actually heard one until I got mine. Oh my...to those of you that spoke highly of this amp - thank you! This is the amp that I've been searching for.

It has all of the features that I was looking for, and there isn't anything on the amp that I won't use - it's a nice fit for recording or gigging as is, and works well with everything I've put in front of it.

It has plenty of power, at least for what it is designed to do. No, it's not going to fill an arena with bleeding eardrums, but it sure can get loud enough to be heard in any blues venue I've ever been in.

I'm using a Les Paul Custom with '57 humbuckers, a PRS with stock HFS pick-ups, and an old strat that's pretty much stock.

I'm using the amp for country, blues, and rock. Think SRV or Gibbons through early VH. For a little added crunch I've got a Fulltone Full-Drive, and I'm also using a Vox wah - that's it.

With every bit of gain poured on, sure, it's noisy. It is quieter than my Marshall with the same amount of gain, and is really quiet played clean. The noise reduction does seem to suck a little tone, and the attenuator does too, but it's a compromise I suppose.

With the volume rolled off the guitar just a bit the clean channel sparkles, and full on it has just a little edge. Switching to the "rock" input it has a great tube distortion on it's own, and it's really articulate. Again, it's really volume sensitive, and a little tweak here or there with the pick can get a great result.

It won't get dirty enough for metal, at least not to my taste, but that's not what I was looking for or expecting.

I'm not going to blow smoke up your ass and tell you that I've owned a ton of boutique amps...pretty much just marshalls and fenders all my life with the occasional peavey - all pretty good at what they did. This one is just a little more sensitive to attack and feel than I've ever experienced. Someone said that this amp will force you to play better, and I have to say that I really agree with that.

Mine is pretty new, but it's built to last. I wouldn't gig without a few fuses and a spare set of tubes, but other than that, I'd trust it. That said, there will always be a back-up amp...I just don't expect to have to use it.

My e-mails have been answered promptly, and Andy has been friendly and helpful. My gut feeling is that he'll stand behind his work, and I'd do business with him anytime.

I've been playing since 1979, and gigging since 1982. What other gear do I own? Just what you've read above I suppose...I don't have the funds to warehouse a bunch of stuff, so what I've got is what I use. I've still got a marshall that I'll probably part with soon, but only because I have what I need.

If it were lost or stolen I would most certainly replace it.

The sound is what I like the most about this amp, but there's also a lot to be said about the quality and the size. I don't have the luxury of a road crew...and I'd rather spend my time and effort playing rather than lugging gear all over the place. This thing weighs less than 30 pounds, and just put a marshall out of work - it has a better sound for my style and taste, something I never thought that I'd say.

Yes, I compared it to several things. A Line-6 pod pro came and went (quickly) and I demo'ed several Marshall combos and a couple of the new Fenders. Like I said earlier, I don't have money to blow on gear - I need to get my sound with a few good pieces rather than a rack full of stuff. Years ago I had an 18-space rack loaded with toys, and didn't have half the tone I have now. Being essentially a simple player and a lazy bastard to boot, I needed to simplify, and I have.

I saved a long time to get this amp, and it was worth the wait.

This amp has very few "features" but it has a wide range of excellent tones, depending on what pre-amp and power amp tubes you put in.. Extremely well built too.

Many excellent sounds with a wide range of guitars (humbuckers, single coils both strat and tele). Noisy at very high gain but that's only to be expected and the built-in noise reduction circuit works well. Swapping the tubes and fiddling with the dials makes for many hours of audio fun and it's quite inspirational. I have a Phillips JAN 5751, a Mullard 12AX7 and an RCA 6v6GT in it at the moment and can say, "so THAT'S what all the buzz has been about those tubes..."

It seems to be built like a tank so I don't expect any problems. It had an excellent reputation for build quality. I've had it for two months.

I bought it (and got a great deal) from Avatar Speakers (www.avatarspeakers.com). It was the best deal I could fine and it's paired with one of Avatar's excellent G212H Special 2x12 speaker cabinets, with one Celestion Vintage 30 and one Celestion G12H30 70th Year Anniversary Special. $659 for the Univalve and $278 for the cab for a total (with shipping) of $971

Playing for 30+ years, gone through a whole bunch of toys including Fenders, Marshalls, Mesas etc. and this seems the best of the lot. I chose this over a Mesa Lonestar Special. The only, repeat only, problem with this amp is the $$$ I've been spending buying NOS tubes to try in it. I've managed to get a few good deals of some old Mullard, Amperex and RCA tubes but you really have to shop around because some tube sellers will really screw you for something like an old Mullard 12AX7.

non sto a ripetere quanto gia detto, il punto debole di questo amplificatore e il riduttore di potenza, che essendo un semplice reostato rovina il timbro del suono a qualsiasi settaggio. non e paragonabile all'Hotplate. condivido l'assenza del loop, in quanto la filosofia del progettista e di ottenere il miglior timbro valvolare senza perdite di segnale. per l'effettistica si puo utilizzare l'uscita slave collegata a multieffetto e finale stereo (triamping).
si sente anche la mancanza della possibilita di cambio canale immediato, ma sarebbe comunque inutile vista la differenza di volume esistente tra i due canali.
io uso l'amplificatore in casa, ma con una KT88/6550 nella sezione finale e la cassa adeguata, c'e abbastanza volume per suonare col gruppo.

uso diverse chitarre: PRS Custom 22 s.t., Les Paul Special P-90, Stratocaster Std. del 1990 con EMG DG-20, Replica strato '60 della liuteria Jacaranda. il mio stile di musics spazia dal pop-rock all'hard rock, con divagazioni sul blues e rock-blues.
l'amplificatore e abbastanza silenzioso e non necessita dell'inserimento del riduttore di rumore (forse in registrazione sarebbe utile). l'amplificatore puo fornire tutti i suoni necessari per i generi sopra descritti. per l'utilizzo dal vivo e necessario munirsi di pedaliera effetti con distorsori e overdrive, in quanto sarebbe possibile usare solo il canale pulito, per avere un bilanciamento di volume tra i vari suoni.
il suono in generale e molto bello e dinamico, si puo variare il timbro grazie alla possibilita di usare diverse valvole sia preamplificatrice che finali (la EL34 da il crunch migliore, la 6L6 il miglior pulito, la 6V6 GE i migliori suoni vintage-style con la strato....etc.)
ho letto le recensioni, molti lamentano una eccessiva chiarezza del suono, distorsioni fuzzy etc. io stesso stavo per rivendere la testata, finche ho capito che e FONDAMENTALE accoppiare all'ampli la cassa giusta (piu che altro i coni adatti). la soluzione migliore, a mio avviso, e una 2x12" con Celestion G12H-30: niente piu suoni acidi o fuzzy, sia i puliti che i distorti vengono riprodotti in maniera eccelsa, sembra di suonare con un amplificatore diverso. il suono buca il mix benissimo, ma i bassi sono definiti e potenti e gli alti sempre rotondi e musicali, per dosare i medi, dato che non c'e controllo di tono per queste frequenze, basta ridurre un po i bassi e gli alti. a me piace il suono con i controlli di tono a palla, sia sul pulito che sul distorto, ne viene fuori un suono ricco e potente.
con la cassa giusta non e necessario usare valvole a basso guadagno per arrotondare il suono, provare per credere!
si possono ottenere distorsioni anche molto elevate, ma le migliori si ottengono settando l'ampli su un crunc e aggiungendo un overdrive o un distorsore, quest'ultimo tarato con poco gain.
e un amplificatore che a seconda delle valvole usato puo somigliare ora ai Fender, ora ai Marshall, ma ha un distinguibile timbro personale molto bello con qualsiasi valvola.

la costruzione e i componenti usati sono di prima scelta, ha fusibili di protezione per alimentazione, filamenti, anodica. a me e andata una valvola in corto e si e bruciata, l'ampli non ha avuto il minimo danno grazie al fusibile dell'anodica che e intervenuto (bruciandosi) immediatamente. il cablaggio interno e un capolavoro di progettazione ed esecuzione, io lo metterei nella categoria dei boutique-amps, pur avendo un costo onesto.
il case, oltre ad avere un'estetica a mio avviso perfetta, e robusto come un carroarmato.

mi e capitato di richiedere informazioni, sia all'importatore che al produttore, mi hanno risposto in pochi giorni e in modo cortese ed esaustivo.

tutto considerato, e un ottimo acquisto. credo che amplificatori del genere aumenteranno di valore col tempo, alla stregua dei famosi Fender e Marshall ( a proposito il progettista e costruttore si chiama Andy Marshall, che siano parenti? :-)
dimenticavo, ogni pezzo e autografato dal sig. Marshall e la firma e protetta da una mascherina di plexiglas.
e un'amplificatore progettato per gustare il timbro valvolare nella sua pienezza e per registrarlo. poco adatto per l'uso dal vivo e non versatile come altri amplificatori "moderni", ma che si puo comunque adattare ai diversi utilizzi, come detto sopra.
in definitiva, un apparecchio per palati fini.

For what it is supposed to do, it has all the features it needs. I believe this is a recording amp designed for studio use. That doesn't mean it can't do other things, it just means that its feature set reflects what it was designed to do. Based on that, it deserves a 10. But, overall, its feature set is limited and somewhat frustrating when out of its intended environment - the studio.

Using a Am. Std. Strat, old Duo-Sonic with S-D humbucker in bridge, old Musicmaster, '70s Les Paul, and others. The best match for almost any tube combination is my MusicMan Axis SS, unbelievably rich and versatile...so sweet.
For country, blues, '60s and '70s rock, reggae, jazz, modern jazz, punk, and, with effects, anything else, this is now an essential link in almost everyt guitar that goes into my console.
It's noisy with single coils and at crazy high-gain settings. What isn't?
Without the ability to add post effects at the console, it would be limited to just the rich pure tone it so accurately generates from any guitar. The tubes do change the amp's response pretty dramatically, but all the combinations I've come up with do sound somewhat similar in their purity and dynamism. The different tube combos are more of a nuance-type thing, not as drastic as some would have you believe. When you push them too hard it can get a little raspy, but raspy is good for some stuff.
It just sounds great. You can set the amp any which way and randomly twirl the guitar's knobs and it still sounds great. While it decently emulates certain classic tones, for me every goddamn note sounds great, regardless of settings. I've spent way, way too much time and money trying to find the tone this amp gives me in spades. I use a 2x12 with a variety of speakers, this creates an abundance of variety, sometimes too much...if that's possible.
You can run anything through this amp as well. It fills out some drum machine crap really well. It did wonders for a thin stand-up bass pick-up I was having trouble with.
The amp does sound best when not using the attenuator. It is too loud for many home studios.
If you A-B it with a Pod, you will wonder why you ever thought the Pod was worth a damn. Night and day.
I generally record electric guitar tracks on three channels, one mic on each of the dissimilar speakers, and one track from the balanced out. Among those three and in combination, it gives me great sounds in the monitors and on finished tracks. It is a must-have for any serious studio.

If you're gigging with it, bring spare tubes and fuses. Otherwise, it's bullet-proof.

They're cool and they stand behind their stuff. I've never had a problem but I've heard they go out of their way to take care of customers who have problems.

I'm a 30 year veteran of rock, hardcore, and, now, "Americana". I have had a home studio for 20 years. I've owned roughly 40 amps, from vintage Fenders, Gibsons, and Ampegs to rack-mounted, stereo multi-effected monstrosities. This amp does just about anything, in the studio, that any of the others did, only much better. It's definitely not as convenient as a Pod or plug-ins, but the results are worth the extra effort. It has more texture than any amp I've heard. Switching around the tubes is fun, but switching around guitars is even more fun. You'll see when you buy one. You can go completely insane with tubes and get into bidding wars on eBay over a blackened old Coke-bottle tube from Australia which may or may not work. I find myself hiding my favorites when idiots are coming over to record. It really is a dangerous obsession and sometimes it's hard to discern which damn tube you have in the dang thing.
I hate the flashing noise reduction light. I hate the grid voltage switch's proximity to the standby switch, the most frequently touched part of the amp. I hate the two inputs rather than a switch. I hate the fact that to get some sounds you have to destroy your hearing or suffer the tone-kill that the attenuator subjects you to. It would be nice if they provided an EL84 yellow jacket for free.
I'd have a replacement overnighted if it were stolen.
It's a great amp, it will change your life for the better.

I won't repeat what you can read in dozens of other reviews.

See below

Rock solid.

Haven't had to deal with them. But I'll tell you this: It's the first time in my life I've felt like writing to a manufacturer and just tell them how much I lover their product. No wait, I did write something like that to my girlfriends parents at some point.

There are a lot of reviews about this amp posted here already, which is not surprising, since it is so inspiring. I think it's the rare case of a product that has a very bold individuality, but at the same time adjusts to just about any user's needs. This combination of straightforwardness and versatility is truly lovely and rare.
I have also read critical remarks here, and I would like to react to some of them. One of the important things to know about the Univalve is that you can't just plug in and dial up any sound, which is what more and more people seem to expect these days, knowing only digital modelers. If they had more experience with the legends these modelers are trying to emulate, they'd understand that with any true tube amp, you have to put in a little work to get to your sound. This goes for setting up and adjusting the amp, but even more for your playing technique. But that is ultimately what making music is all about. No classical guitar player would expect to get a "great" sound without training his fingers to coax it from his instrument. The Univalve is relentless in a way, since it gives such a clear, unaldulterated impression of everything you do. And that includes all the little slips and boo boos other amps tend to wash over. You can't fool this amp. With a Line6 modeler in "rectifyer" or "insane" setting, with the noisegate activated, you can pretty much hack your way through anything, and still sound "impressive". But if your left hand is just pressing down on the strings without working on the tone, and your right hand is only busy picking away, that's what the Univalve has to work with, and it won't necessarily make it sound like much. However, this clarity is very helpful as you start shaping your sound with your fingers. There is no chanel switching, to gain boost, no complicated EQ stuff, not even a reverb to thicken your sound artificially. This throws you back to your playing skills and ends up helping you become an individual! Suddenly you understand why a guitar amp can be nothing less than a musical instrument, how it can sing and breathe and react in all kinds of exciting ways to you and your instrument. It's challenging at times, but so worth your while! The Univalve will help you develop into a musician with a personal sound, not only because of its tube switching capacities, but also because it is so honest about what you do when you play!
I must have spent three times the Univalve's price on effect units and other gadgets over the years, trying to make inferior amps sound like this. With just the guitar plugged in, you don't feel the need for any of them. Day by day, I have eliminated the following effects from my chain: a Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor (a great pedal that makes even solid state amps sound "valvy", but obsolete here, unless you want to be able to switch to more distortion while plugged into the "Roll" input), a vintage Tube Screamer (no need! Who knew?), even a Boss RV6 reverb unit (for some reason, you don't miss reverb with the Uni.) and a nice old Ibanez Chorus (what for? It just blurs the exciting clarity of the tone, making it seem less real). All I left in there was my trashy little Danelectro Tuna Melt Tremolo, which seems to turn the Uni into an old Fender amp at times, and an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal which helps me adjust the degree of distortion and find the sweet spot while playing. I have a Mesa cabinet with a Black Shadow speaker which I thought sounded lovely, but then I hooked the Uni up to this 1967 Marshall cabinet some fool left in our practice room, equipped with Greenbacks of course. Oh my god. The clarity, the headroom, the punch.

Finally, a word about guitars. If your amp makes all your instruments sound more or less alike, the Uni is going to make you fall in love with each one of them all over again. I've never heard an amp "understand" a guitar's character like this! Even th