Tamerlane Amplifiers Hodgee Ba Ba V1 Head

For an amp that people claim has little features, I think it has it all.
I have a Tamerlane Hodgee Ba Ba Head with 2 -EL84's. One tone knob with a pull out option for bypassing the tone circuit, pretty cool, almost like a 2 input amp. My volume knob (was a recent custom addition by Gar at Tamerlane) also has a pull out option to do some "magic", i.e. bypass the output circuit, adding gain. (Now acts like a 3 input amp). Additionally amp has a switch to cut output (wattage)in half, a rotary switch for various speaker cabinets at 4, 8 and 16 ohms... plus a line out jack. Wow, a line out jack! A great trick when playing big clubs, just line out to PA and save your back - why carry a big rig?

If you find one buy it. These are a value, and beat the "Z's" and other boutique guys hands down at about 1/2 the price. Plus, your buying from a great guy. The amp brings your guitar alive, notes breathe, have a natural reverb to them "organic" is what I hear. I play a Gretsch thru it now, the Hodgee sounds Voxish' and Magnatone'ish' but never breaks down or shocks you (like the other vintage amps I've had).

Built like a tank. The chassis looks like you could throw it under a truck and not worry about it, not sure what gauge the metal is, but it really is about an eight of an inch thick. The cabinet is perfect, these amps are really a bargain.

On a scale of 1 to 10, this company gets a 99 for customer service. Gar likes to e-mail questions and responses, and really gets quickly to a point where he offers more than I expected, really takes the time to customize your amp.

Like everyone else, I have to admit that the owner (Gar)is very interested in giving you the very best, he is exceptional in his care about his products. The amp I have sounds great, was very surprised how changing the tubes (changed the rectifier tube to a GZ34 and the preamp to a 12AU7 to lower gain at Gar's prompt)and makes it a whole different amp, really.

If you?re looking for features, this is probably not the amp for you, but if you?re looking purely for tone, read on. This Hodgee Ba Ba series of amplifiers has only two control knobs (volume and tone). The tone control is a push-pull pot allowing you to bypass the tone circuit altogether. While I was really intrigued by its simplicity when I heard about this amp, I was also a little skeptical thinking it might not provide the controls necessary to dial in the desired tone (see next category). Additional features on the back of this amp are 2/4/8 ohm speaker output and a line out jack. There is also a switch that lets you choose between a solid state or tube rectifier, and you can use just about any tube rectifier you like. I?m giving this amp a 8 on features, because it doesn?t have many of what I would consider features (effects loop, reverb, tremolo, channel switching, etc...), but it?s really not fair to rate an amp like the Hodgee for features. It was purposefully designed to be low on features, and I view that as a 10 when looking for a pure and simple hand wired tube amp that can deliver the tone.

I primarily play Telecasters, but I also play Strats and a Les Paul Jr. I have run all of those guitars through the Hodgee, and the best way I know to describe this amp?s sound is to say that there is not a bad sound in it. There is not a tremendous amount of variability in the tone as you might suspect from a two knob amp, but what it delivers is just right on to my ears whether it's clean or overdriven. It?s like the amp has one huge sweet spot that is found by switching it on. You get nice bright clean tones when you roll off on the guitar volume, and a thicker, more compressed and overdriven tone as you increase the volume. The amp also gets a little darker as you increase the guitar volume which is nice when playing single coil pickups that tend to do the opposite. Gar tells me the reason the amp rolls off and cleans up so well is because of the inherent gain structure of the Hodgee?s 5e3 circuit. With certain speakers, the tone control is necessary to make the amp as bright as I like it and especially when using the neck pickup, but with others, I switch the tone circuit out and all I change is the volume. And with the tone switched out of the circuit, the amp gets to full volume very fast (around 9 o?clock) and then the volume control becomes more like an overdrive knob. The harmonic response and complexity in the distortion is incredible in this amp when the tone is switched out. At 20 watts, it is designed to get power amp distortion and, boy, does it ever. No buzzy or muddy overdrive here, just thick, clear, complex sounding tube overdrive. I play primarily middle of the road rock music that gets heavy at times and this amp does all of that beautifully. It is also very compatible with the pedals I've used. I?ve pulled so many amps in and out of the line-up over the years that my band is typically oblivious to the change, but there were several comments from them about my tone the first night I played through it. It really is a wonderful amp, and it lets me play at club levels without an attenuator. While this is not meant to be a clean amp by any means, it has a surprising amount of clean headroom for a 20 watt amp. I have run this head through 1x12 and 2x12 cabs using the following speakers: Weber Blue Dog alnico, Celestion Blue alnico, Tone Tubby ceramic, and Tone Tubby alnico. It does nicely through all of these, but I find that the brighter speakers work best for complementing the harmonic complexity in the mids and highs of this amp, and also for allowing you to use it with the tone circuit switched off. Obviously, the ceramic speakers provide a little more clean headroom and a mix of one ceramic and one alnico is where I've landed for now.

I?ve had this amp for about 6 months and, while 6 months is not a long enough period of time to say with much validity, I would be very surprised if it failed. Each one is built by hand and I would certainly count on it. Also, the amps come with a 3 year warranty on parts and labor

I can?t say enough about Gar Sukup at Tamerlane. He has spent hours upon hours corresponding with me. He has worked with me on several of these amps now (see other reviews on Hodgee Ba Ba Version II and Version III), and while most people would have probably lost their patience with all of my questions and requests, he has been nothing but helpful and responsive. I could go on and on about the level of service here. It?s a good thing his product is so good, because I?d be tempted to do business with him even if it weren?t.

I've owned many boutique amps over the last 10 years (Matchless, Bruno, Bad Cat, Alessandro, Bogner, Dr.Z, etc...) and while Tamerlane didn?t have the name recognition (as of 1/1/04) when I first heard of them, after talking to Gar at Tamerlane via email and hearing what he had to say about it, I really wanted to give one of these a shot. You win some and lose some buying things sight unseen, and I?ve done both, but this was like hitting home run for me. While I don?t own all of those amps I listed anymore and, therefore, can?t do a side by side with all of them, I have done side by side comparisons with some of the ones I've kept (Matchless Chieftain, Bad Cat Black Cat, and Bad Cat Hot Cat). While the Hodgee doesn?t have some of the flair, weight, and size of those amps, I?d choose the Hodgee for tone every time. And a new Hodgee costs less than half the price of any of those amps new or used. I would certainly replace it if it were stolen and I actually liked it so much that I bought one of the other versions of this amp as well (different review). If you have any questions, I'd be glad to try and answer them for you.