Tech 21 Trademark 30 110 Combo

One more thing--it appears that easy speaker swapping in this combo is practically out of the question. The current speaker sounds great, but you guys out there like me that like to mod things could be disappointed.

This is Tech 21's technical info. on their Special Design speaker in response to my e-mail inquiry.

Dear Mike,
The 10" driver in the Trademark 30 is a ceramic version of our custom Alnico used in the limited edition (which was a tonal approximation of the Vox 12" Alnico blue). The SPL is roughly 97 dB. The response is basically flat from 50 hz to 1.5K. There is a wide 10dB peak centered at 4K (from 1.5K to 7K). This gives the speaker a nice, smooth presence without sounding "honky".

If you would like to experiment with speakers, there are two very critical things to keep in mind. Number one, the amplifier is packed so tightly, that only a speaker with the four spoke basket will fit. Jensen-style baskets will not work. Number two, this is a 10" speaker, so there is a definite limit to how much bottom you are going to get. We have tried using higher wattage 10s to try to tighten up the bass, but not without a loss. It basically worked, but was roughly half the volume of the original speaker and sounded muffled on the top.

A technical correction to my post below. On a solid state amp you can mismatch speakers "upward" i.e., put a higher Ohm speaker on a lower load amp but NOT vice-versa (just the opposite of a tube amp). In fact it may run the amp cooler and prolong life.
However your wattage will drop by maybe around 25%, but your output volume will drop only about 10%. So it looks like speaker options can be explored more than I indicated.

This review is for the newly released Trademark 30, Tech 21's upgrade to the Trademark 10, but NOT their previous wood cab Limited Edition reviewed under its own category.
Feature set is identical to the Trademark 10, except it is a 30W RMS amp into a 4 Ohm Special Design Tech 21 speaker. Includes XLR line out with ground lift, external speaker jack, effects loop, headphone jack, and like the Trademark 10 and GT2 pedal, 3 amp types, 3 levels of clean/distortion, and 3 cab types.
Why the "7" rating. Because I was hoping (i.e., expected) Tech 21 to design a slightly bigger cab around the 10" speaker and more powerful amp. This would have made the sound larger with more depth. Instead they shoehorned the 10" speaker into the Trademark 10's exact same cabinet. They also to my dismay got more mileage out of their power amp design by using a 4 Ohm speaker. Not a problem except that if you want to experiment with different 10's, you're limited to various Weber alternatives, which they even offer as an option. I wanted to try a Jensen Neo, but no 4 Ohm option, or a Tone Tubby--again no 4 Ohm option.
Also the feature rating goes down a notch or two, because small (and some not so small) amps with lots of good features are offered in this crowded price range. For $40 less, you can get the 30 Watt 10" Vox Valvetronix (Guitar Player Pick Award), and I can tell you because I own its 50W brother, that this is one versatile, great sounding amplifier. $280 for this amp is really pushing it considering its fast-becoming-outdated feature set.
Having said all this, I can also vouch however for the Trademark's excellent build quality and cosmetics--right down to the beefy leather handle--very classy job indeed.

I'm going to review this strictly on it's Tweed" setting since that is the sound I keep gravitating to for myself, both on this and the T10. If any 10 owners out there can attest, I was awfully difficult to get a decent clean setting on the 10 at any reasonable volume. Well that problem is pretty much gone. The 30W amplifier and the 10" speaker give a lot more headroom to this baby and you now have a lot more useable range with the Drive and EQ controls. This thing will really let lead notes hang out there and sing with so much sustain that it is complete overkill to leave my Barber TonePress on, which I usually do with my other amps. (If you don't have one of these by the way, check out its reviews here on Harmony--then get one yourself.)
Even with the cab being as small as it is, this thing is surprisingly loud and full sounding--enough to keep pace with my Traynor all-tube 20W and my VOX AD50VT. Keep pace volume-wise anyway. The tone is a very very good tube-like sound that Tech 21 has always been respected for, and I'd be proud to just bring this little guy to a sit-in with other club-level amps. But when I carefully A/B it against the full-tube Traynor and some of the more versatile sounds I can get with the VOX Valvetronix (both with 12" speakers and bigger cabs), the T30--though big and loud can sound by comparison more constrained a bit in it's complex harmonics and detail, which I suspect is the speaker/cab's fault more than anything. This is real nuance however that should be expected considering that the main benefit of the T30 is its greater portability. Nonetheless, it hangs right there with the higher-end 12 inch'rs.
I suspect it will also record nicely direct, since I often resorted to the T10 for lead tracks with excellent results.

Haven't had it long enough, but I owned the Trademark 10 (identical packaging) and it was solid as a rock. Did blow a power amp in it once though under warranty, but I believe that was from using a guitar cable to run a remote speaker. That's a definite no-no. Live and learn.

Excellent response and communication from Tech 21. They are at the top of the short list of broad-product line manufacturers in terms of customer support IMO.

Although the size of this thing ever so slightly compromises the big tone that could have been possible, it's size is what makes it so perfect for a portable grab-n-go amp for sit-ins, rehearsals, and small club gigs. For this purpose alone I rate it a 10, that is if it's your sound to begin with, but I'm going to ding it for lack of some additional effects being offered by other manufacturers in this price range, like VOX, since if you want the versatility, you have to drag pedals along with the Trademark, and that defeats the simple grab-n-go concept. Could have been a little bit bigger too. Factoring in the relatively steep price, it's an 8.