TopHat TC-50 Ambassador 212 Combo

Amp was made in early 2001. This is the 50 watt 2x12 combo Ambassador. Four 12AX7's in the preamp (V1 input/tone; V2 reverb send; V3 reverb return; V4 phase inverter) and 2 6L6GC's in the poweramp (fixed bias (w adjustor pot on the topside of chassis for easy access), Class A/B). Two TopHat lableled 30 watt Celestion speakers. Top panel includes hi/lo inputs, clean/fat mini-toggle, normal/bright mini-toggle, dwell (reverb send), mix (reverb return), volume, treble, mid, bass, cut, master volume, on/off toggle, standby/on toggle. Back panel includes two speaker outs, 4-8-16 Ohm speaker selector, line out jack w/ level control, reverb foot switch jack. This amp is very simple to use - plug in your guitar and adjust a few knobs and switches to get the sound you want. The main mission of this amp is to deliver good clean tones very very well.

I play Les Pauls w humbuckers and P90's, and Strats. I have a great amp for distortion tones (a TopHat Emplexador) and I wanted another amp for clean tones, which was the reason for getting this model of Ambassador. I use an A/B box to switch back and forth between amps (or both together for some very spicy tones indeed). It is possible to play this amp to get very nice-sounding, very loud clean tones, or a slightly overdriven, crunchy sound. Doesn't matter if your guitar is equipped with Fender single coils, P90's, or humbuckers - you can dial it in either way thanks to the hi/lo inputs, clean/fat voicing switch, and preamp/master volume controls. Very nicely designed in this regard - Brian at TopHat really knows his craft!! The midrange control can be set low or "off" to get tones very reminiscent of Fender Blackface-era amps. Not exactly, but pretty darned good. And with the midrange set above 12 o'clock the amp gets very Voxy sounding. Boosting the midrange also allows one to push the amp into clip sooner. Overall, the tone controls are voiced very well - quite a useful range of tones. The reverb is really, really nice sounding, too. The reverb knob on most amps, like Fenders, is just for the reverb "return" - the reverb "send" is set at a fixed amount inside the amp. On the Ambassador, in addition to the reverb "return" knob(called "mix"), there is a second knob which controls amount of signal going to the reverb tank - a reverb "send" control (called "dwell"). What the dwell knob does, in essence, is control the decay time of the reverb (set the dwell low for fast decay and set it high for long decay). Very cool! Best reverb I've ever heard!!

Built like a tank. Hand wired, point-to-point construction using top quality components. I've only had this amp for one month so I can't really comment on it's long-term reliability. But I expect it will hold up very well.

Brian at TopHat stands behind his products - absolutley no question about that.

I've been playing for 35+ years. This is a great amp for my needs. I use it for it's great-sounding, loud, clean tones. But it can be set up for slightly overdriven tones as well - just roll off the volume on your guitar to clean it back up. This is my third amp from TopHat (I have the Club Royale 2x12 and the 50 watt Emplexador, too). Believe me, Brian builds GREAT amps!!!