TopHat Super Deluxe 212 Combo

2003 Super Deluxe.
1 channel with great tone.

I don't know how Tophat gets a Master Volume amp
to sound so huge at any volume. I have
sold most of my overdrive pedals. I can get any
rhythm tone I want out if this amp & lead tone. I use my AM Beano Boost
or Aramat TrebleMaster live for leads.
No unwanted noise. It is a fairly simple amp in every way.
I don't see myself ever getting rid of this amp.
I've been on a Tone Quest for about 5 years. The Quest
has now ended. I have an SG Jr & Les Paul Jr that seem
to be made for this amp.

It's Class A, so I'm sure to go through some power tubes.

Who cares tubes don't cost much, Class A is where the tone is!

I can't describe how cool Brian is to talk to. (I think it's Brian)
More than a wealth of info. He turned me on to
the correct speakers to run in this amp & answered
every other dumb ass question I could throw at him.

Plus, I bought my amp used.

10

I've been at the Rock thing for a couple decades.
Probably owned a dozen Marshalls, a dozen Fenders
& one or two of every other amp manufacturer.
I stumbled on to a review of this amp a few months ago
& had to try it. Glad I did. I am in the process of selling
most of my other amps. It's hard to describe how good
an amp can sound while typing. My tone is kinda Classic Rock
meets early Punk Rock (Just Rock). I can see myself using this amp
for everything I do. I've yet to hear it with humbuckers?
With P90's it's second to none.
You can't put a price on tone. I wish I had found this amp
years ago. Just think of the money I would have saved.

Amp was assembled 5/21/02. If you are a fender fan this is THE Top Hat for you to hear. Not as high gain as most of the others and VERY versatile! If you like to teeter on the brink of break-up I don't know of a better amp. Plenty of headroom (read:LOUD!)and very tweakable gain stage. Like a Twin on steroids with a touch of AC/30 thrown in. Take my advice and get a healthy pair of 5881s and it'll go from awesome to MAGIC! My only real niggle is that it has no reverb and I understand the Purer Signal Path argument so I guess it's okay.

I play in a Blues/bluesrock band and this amp is PERFECT for my sound.
I run a beat up old Strat (with a Gibson Burstbucker in the bridge position) or a Squire Esprit with PAFs through an MXR Microamp, Barber LTD, Zendrive, Verbzilla, Arion chorus, & a Dunlop Wah
into this beauty/beast for classic blues and rock tones that really please my discerning and picky old ears. I can go from VERY authentic SRV tone to Duane Allman (in spades!)to B.B. and Albert King, Freddy King, early Clapton, Ronnie Earl, etc,etc,etc!

This amp is built like a flippin' TANK! I do use it with no backup.

My only contact with Brian has been to purchase casters because this thing is so heavy (I'm 50 now and not as strong as I used to be)!
There is such a strong network of devotees that I have no fears whatsoever that, should I need it, the service will be excellent.

I've been playing for over 40 years and gigging for about 35. This is a finely made, top quality amplifier that delivers great tone by the ton! I can't recommend it enough. If something were to happen to it I'd cuss, then cry, then go in search of another!

Amp was completed on 01/18/2006.

With the cut control, fat/bright/off switch, and volume/master sections to control preamp gain and power tube gain independently, the versatility of this amp is truly incredible.

For rich cleans with low preamp overdrive, the master can be turned all the way up. Conversely, for nice, medium-gain vox-type distortion the volume can be cranked to introduce preamp overdrive.

I played a gig the very day the amp came, and it truly gave me what I had been hoping for. We play classic rock and folk rock, and it easily handled the whole range.

This is a 1-channel class A amp without an effects loop or headphone jack. It is Solid-state rectified, which allows for some really great sustain and a very sweet-sounding (as in honey) attack.

There are no features I would add or take away from this amplifier.

33 watts is plenty for large and small clubs/bars/coffee shops. A little loud in the apartment, but who cares? It sounds great. It is much more controllable than my 60W fender.

The sound that you can achieve with this amp is actually more in the hands of the player and the guitar being used. This is probably a turn-off to people who like to hide behind either just plain loudness, or super-ultra-shredder gain.

Such amazing touch sensitivity, I can completely control the sound of each note and chord by how hard I hit the strings, or what type of picking I am doing in the song. My girlfriend's first request was that I show her what I was talking about with this -- I played a lick soft and then hard, and even she was amazed =).

I play a 2001 gibson les paul standard plus with alnico 490R and T pickups. The difference between the bridge and neck positions is much more pronounced with this amp. Using the fat setting takes the edge off of the bridge position, and the bright setting can add just the right clarity and ... well, brightness to the neck setting to allow it to shine through for rhythm parts.

This amp is completely silent, even cranked.

You will always have some grit in your sound with this amp, that's what it's made for. The distortion is the perfect classic rock tone, and it really brings character and personality out of the guitar. you are free to use it as a tool and not a vice, which is what I would imagine a lot of guitar players just dream of having.

As much as people can say this is not a metal amp, I have to heartily disagree. Metal has nothing to do with the amp. Check out some early Black Sabbath and you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm not saying it'll give you great gain tone, but on its own this amp is your friend, it can give you whatever you'd like to have.

I have used it in conjunction with an ibanez piece of crap tube screamer, which sounded fantastic and added sustain and some additional gain to the sound. Some folks have said that this amp is not very friendly to overdrive or distortion pedals, and I would have to disagree. You should have some understanding of overdrive vs. distortion and the way that the tubes are supplying the sound to understand which pedals are going to work well with this amp.

I also use this amp with an MXR wylde overdrive pedal and I have to say, this is a match made in heaven. I was debating picking up a TIM, or a vox bulldog distortion, or a fulldrive, but for the price these seemed absurdly contradicting the reason I paid more to get a great-sounding tube amp. The MXR wylde pedal coordinates perfectly with this amp because it allows you to get completely transparent boost, and also to change the tone in other ways so that you can get bluesy tone, metal tone, singing leads, anything you want. The amp can do it on its own but they seem to like eachother so I'm sticking with that =).

Hand-built, I expect no problems. The tube holders are a nice touch. I would use it on a gig without a backup. I have put in a JJ 12AX7 in V1 for more gain, and changed out the TAD small-bottle 6L6's that came with it for some TAD big-bottle 6L6's.

I believe Brian is regarded as one of the most friendly and approachable boutique builders in the industry. You can tell by the instructions that came with the amp and by the fact that it even comes with extra fuses that he cares a lot about each amp.

I hope to have this amp for the rest of my life. I expect that with time it will sound even better.

made in dec 2005..1 channel AMP with master, cut, bass, mid, treble volume fat/normal/bright switch. perfect amount of features. thought i'd miss having reverb but now wouldn't want it.woldn't want anything to cover the beautiful tone of this baby. this amp sings. 30ish watts of power. plenty of juice for most clubs. i give this amp only a 5 on features due to the lack of bells and whistles. i consider this rating perfect because i wouldn't want or need anything else. any pro would have no trouble making this rig sond like a 2 channel amp!

comes standard with 2 12ax7's and a 12ay7. i replaced the 12ay7 with another 12ax7 and got a bit more dirt per brian g's (owner of top hat)advice. wow, the clarity of this overdrive is beautiful. this amp cleans up wonderfully by backing off the vol on my les paul. quiet amp even at high volumes. i compare the sound to angus youngs. this is a real players rig. metal heads, stay away.

i'm still in the honeymoon stage so i have no idea of the reliability.
from what i've read, they are built like tanks. i'm going to baby this one either way.

brian at top hat is the best. he makes himself readily available and stands by his product. he was helpful and informative about his amps. he even kept me posted as to how the progress was going as he was building my amp.
one year warranty that i don't anticipate using.

so far so good. i play out virtually every weekend. do mostly classic rock and even some 80's. i've played many rigs over the years and after 25 plus years of seaching for the ultimate tone, i think i may have it.

IF your asking how many nobs. Well then no feautres. But i put 10 because it said that was versattile. Oh my!!!!! You can get any sound. My friends plays metal (he ran through some death metale pedal. IT SUCKED IN MY OPION) and loved it. I get the u2 egde tone i desired. It is sooo versatile

Nothings perfect. Only jesus.BUt this is the best amp ive own. Seen. AND PLAYED. It rules it sounds voxy for your u2 likes. And marshally when you turn the volume up and the master up. You can get anything. the only thing i dont realy hear a diference is the Soft/normal rectifier switch. (not that its bad i just dont hear a diference). THIS THING ROCKS.

I mean everything feels tight and secure. I unscrewed to look at the back to see bryans beautiful handwired work. And they were realy in there. But the tubes are a little lose. I mean this thing is built like a rock. But no nice amp should be thrown around. Im geting a road case because i love this amp alot. Ive only had it for a week though.

I hear good things about bryan. Sooo i guess if i need help he will be there for me.

AWSOME AMP. Thats all there is too it. I got a great deal. Anyways GOD BLESS

My TopHat is a 12/04 Super Deluxe! This amp has two channels Hi & low both work great! This amp is very touch sensitive not for the beginner. Yeah it's true you must have your chops clickin no sloppy licks it will reveal all!! "strait out" I use the amp for live gigs also I do a bit of recording with it as-well. The Super Deluxe works great for small and medium gigs I used a Club Deluxe for years, the old style script logo "God I loved that amp!" I sold it because it just diden't have the power the clean headroom that I needed... I owen lots of amps mostly fenders I just needed my Club Deluxe to have the power! Then I went to The Namm show two years ago and brian said that he was thinking of a Super Deluxe! WoW!!! I got very excited to say the least... The Amp is a bit different however, It's got the TONE BABY!!! with Lot's of head room and the amp is the same size, it's a bit heaver way more muscular with tons of EQ...

I use a Anderson Drop Top with single-single-Humbucker. I have a Gretsch 6120 also 6128 for my Beatles / Rockabilly sound... I have a 59 U2 dano for slide very cool sounding guitar. I also have a PRS 24 for the heavey stuff... I play all styles with this amp... mostly inside gigs however it works well outside, lot's of power...Great crunch at any level or if you want clean, no problem baby.

Very dependable/ I know Brian personally He will fix anything wrong no qustion!!! Very reliable product!!!

The same Very dependable trust me... I have had two now, one Club Deluxe for 5 years and not one problem and I played weekly...

I have been playing guitar for 40 years Wow! I turn 50 this year started playin when I was 9 I got hooked when I heard Surf music!!! I also have some cool surf amps 65 Fender Bassman, with a 65 fender reverb unit matching... I sold my 63 Jazzmaster and got a cool old Gretsch 6120 with a Bigsby... Killer for Surf/ Rockabilly!!! Also got a Cool 64 Vibroverb with a single 15" D130F all original!!! O'yeah the Top Hat Super Deluxe, I got all in to my stuff i forgot about the review... I give the Top Hat a 9 I think giving 10 is like saying Mint any thing clean... I dig the Super Deluxe it's got the new complex tone of this generation and generations to come!

Single channel amp with hi/low inputs, vol/treb/mid/bass/cut/master controls, fat/normal/bright switch on the top panel, soft/normal rectifier switch on the bottom panel, 12AT7/12AX7/12AX7 preamp, 2x6L6 cathode biased poweramp, V30 and Greenback speakers.

My amp is S/N 12, made in 2003. All components are top-notch, amp is point-to-point hand wired.

Versatile? For a single channel amp, most definitely. See below. Would I like to see additional features on this amp? Heck no. Starightforward uncluttered signal path. Let your hands do the talking!

I play classic rock, pop, and blues. Mostly with P90 and humbucker Les Pauls. This amp is probably the best I have ever played! It can be set for mostly clean or nice and crunchy, either way with a Voxy-Marshally tone or with a more Fendery tone, depending on EQ settings. The fat/normal/bright top panel switch and soft/normal rectifier switch work beautifully allowing for a wide variety of tones and slow or fast attack. Also, replacing the stock 12AT7 in V1 with a higher gain 12AX7 turns this amp into a great medium gain tone machine!! The amp also works extremely well with pedals of all sorts. Between my vol & tone controls on the guitar, a few pedals (delay, chorus, wah, OD), I can achieve a wide range of tones which suit my musical styles to a "tee". Like the Club series amps, the Super Deluxe set up properly has great touch-sensitivity, pick softly for clean tones, or hit the strings hard and the amp overdrives beautifully. The voicing of the amp is beautiful. There is absolutely nothing about this amp that I dislike!

Rock solid construction. No worries.

Brian Gerhard designs and builds great amps. His customer support is 2nd to none.

I've been a performing guitarist for over three decades. I've owned many amps in the last couple of years, Mesa-Boogie, Soldano, Dr. Z, Matchless, other Tophats. For the medium volume rock-pop-blues bands that I play in, this Super Deluxe is easily the best of them all. It has great versatility, depending on how it is set up, and has a fabulous voice and feel to it. It is an evolution of the Club series amps from TopHat (similar tone qualities and feel) with a better EQ, more clean headroom (if desired), takes pedals better, and is a bit more muscular sounding overall. The Super Deluxe is an absolute slam dunk home run (sorry to mix metaphors!), thanks Brian!!!!!!