TopHat TH-E50 Emplexador Head

Made in 2003, teal green with a silver sign (I heard they don't make these ones anymore, maybe I've got something unique). There is no channel switching feature; it's my understanding that a footswitch is a tone sucking extra....just AB it with another clean amp. Just the one channel here, so I can't really give it much for features, though it is VERY versatile and creates some awesome old marshall tones, and a few of it's own, which in my opinion are better than any older marshall. This thing makes 50 watts pretty DAMN loud; more than enough power for me. It has a FAT/TREBLE switch (JTM 45 to an older 70's JMP) and a BOOST switch to give it more gain in the higher frequencies without touching the low end gain a whole lot. There are a lot of GREAT sounds in here, but no channel switching...What can I say? Depends on your needs (live or studio, etc..).

hmmm...Honestly, it sounds absolutely fantasic. I use it with a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom with stock pickups....The Tophat has a sound all it's own. If you tweak it, you can find a TON of awesome sounds, from light SRV type overdrive, to heavy marshall, and another one I call the "Tophat" tone, which is extremely grainy and sensitive to pick attack. It can be a bit noisy, it kind of seems to depend on the cab I use it with (I'm using a randall 2x12 with vintage 30's, my favorite speakers). It's real quiet with this cab, so that's the one I picked up. It's got a real spanky clean sound with the master up and the gain down on the "vintage" voicing. Not fendery, more of a "plexi" type overdrive. These sounds are not for everyone, but in my opinion (sorry if I sound like a tone snob, haha I kind of AM one though) better players will be attracted to this amp. If you're a good player, you'll sound great. If you suck, too bad! haha Go grab a Mesa rectifier...Tophat's are very picky about how you play them. Not to be hard on Mesa (I think they make some GREAT stuff)...it's just that the Emplexador is a different kind of amp, for a different kind of player that needs a very touch sensitive overdrive. Quite honestly, I think the overdrive sound on the modern voicing is the heaviest thing I've ever heard, and just because it doesn't generate bowel shaking low end doesn't mean it isn't "heavy". To me, "heavy" means GUTSY and FULL sounding. This is the best sounding amp I have ever heard, hands down. I actually teared up the first time I played it in my bedroom (haha I"m not even kidding, I wish I was, yes yes, I am a dork) When music is your whole life, and the guitar is your instrument, the way it sounds becomes VERY important. I was never totally satisfied until I played this for the first time in a guitar shop a few years back. Saved up for three years and bought me one. Three words: ROCK AND ROLL. Best guitar sound I've ever heard.

I have no problem using this thing without a backup...Tophat amps are point to point wired from the best available components. Brian Gerhard and his crew don't cut corners, and it shows. Have you ever seen the inside of one? The service tech at my local guitar shop laughed and described it as a sort of work of art when it comes to workmanship. I've only had the amp for a couple months-ish, so I can't honestly comment on its long term reliability, though I have NEVER heard of a Tophat amp breaking down. It was my understanding that it has a five year garauntee on parts, and free labour for a lifetime, for any reason. I don't think I'll ever need to repair it though; just new tubes when it needs them. It's heavy and seems to be built like a german tank. haha someday guitarists will be using the term "built like a Tophat"...they have a great reputation for standing up. Very playable, road worthy gear. only ONE thing I wish it had: Metal corners instead of the plastic ones....though it still works if it gets knicked. That's just cosmetic, and doesn't really affect it's internal reliability.

I have emailed Brian and spoken with him on the phone a few times, as well as his wife (Joan,I think). These people are more obsessed with amplifiers than any guitar player I have ever met (including myself; that says a lot). They are very concerned about their product and customer satisfaction...Probably the nicest company I've ever dealt with. Brian always answered all of my questions when he knew I had zero funds to purchase one of his amps. Customer service has always been fantastic, even if you're not a customer. 5 year parts, lifetime labour to the original owner. Can't beat that.

I've been playing for 7 years, though I progressed very quickly. I guess you could say I'm good when compared to other players my age (20), though when I sit down with an older player...er, haha let's just say I know who's boss. I'm not Stevie Ray Vaughan, nor am I Vince Gill or any of the "Jimis". That's the beautiful thing about the guitar though, and the Tophat amp; I could NEVER sound like SRV through one, but SRV could NEVER sound like ME through one. Music is such an amazing and PERSONAL thing...I need an amp that sounds unique when I play it, MY sound, not anyone else's, you know? That's something some guitar players spend years discovering, and I've been lucky enough to find it in the Emplexador. I would work for another three years to buy another one if this one was lost or stolen; I've played virually EVERY amp by EVERY manufacturer, and this was the perfect one for me. I chose the Tophat because it was the BEST sound I'd ever heard, coupled with true quality and craftsmanship. The only thing I wish it had? Maybe cream coloured knobs instead of white ones...it would make an awesome 2x12 combo as well. I'm giving this amp a 10- it's the perfect amp for me..Maybe you like fender tones, or vox sounds, or whatever...they're all good sounds, it's just that for myself the Tophat Emplexador was the perfect amplifier. Brian makes a lot of GREAT amps that make a lot of GREAT sounds...most players could probably find one they like. In my opinion, the Tophat Emplexador 50 watt head is the best amp out there, hands down. -Rosco

Mine is a 2000 mopdel in Burgundy with gold trim. 50 Watts. EL34 output section. Hi & low inputs, vintage/modern voice switch, master volume, normal/treble switch, normal/fat switch. Bass, Mid., treble & presence controls. Impedience selector 4/8/16. No channel switching with this amp. That's it.

I use Fender Custom Shop Tele Jr's with p-90's. I use a Tophat closed back 2x12 with Celestion Vintage 30's. I feel as if I own four or five Brittish heads with the Explexador, and, given the way this amp is built and functions, that's true, literally. The switches basically turn on and off various circuits that appeared in Marshalls over the years. In the vintage mode I get absolutely gorgous, clear tones that make me play chords all day. Playing with the 'treble' and 'fat' switches provides increased gain and drive, and sweeping the mid control takes me from really clean, sparkley sounds into more swirly mid's and finally into a mid gain drive. Within the vintage voice alone, I feel I can dial in the sounds of three distinctly differen Marshalls (the various Plexis), and I can replicate Fender and Vox sounds real well. On the 'modern' voice, this amp really jumps foward. Basically, you get more preamp gain in this voice, so it can go from raunchy JCM sounds all the way to a Mesa Boogie style saturation (though it never looses the sound of the guitar or the notes like a Mesa can at high gain settings). If you were to go to a music store that sold vintage and modern Marshalls and Hiwatts, you'd literally have to buy about 5 of them to get all the sounds that the Emplexador can do. I'll spare you the details of guitar volume knob placement and such. Suffice it to say that EVERY SINGLE SOUND IS GREAT, CLEAR, RICH, BOLD, AND FUN! I never tire of the sound of this amp, no matter if I'm in my apartment with the master way down or on stage with it blaring in my ear. I've never heard an amp that can do so many sounds remain so simple and toneful. I've owned and played many amps, and the only one that ever caught my ear like this one does was my 1954 Fender Deluxe. Of course, like the Deluxe, this has no channel switching, but when I return to my "more versatile" amps, I literally can't tolerate the loss in musicality and tone. I am convinced that (without spending $3500) one can not get this kind of tone out of channel switching amps. The Emplexador has made me a botique snob. I give it an 10 for sounds.

Built so well that it's fun to look at the circuits! The whole package inspires confidence.

Brian is a fantastic person to talk with. He's chatted with me on the phone for good chunks of time and he's emailed me, too. His advice is always excellent, frank and helpful. He even steered me away from buying one of his own amps becuase he didn't think it would do what I was looking for it to do. You don't usually find that kind of honesty from people who are building and selling their own products. It's a really nice, and increasingly rare, feeling to talk with the person who crafted something you own.

I've owned so many amps, from Mesa to vintage Fenders to Marshalls. I recently sold a Dual Rectifier Head, a Maverick Combo and a Prosonic because the Tophat just burried them. I play very loud, driving rock with thick rich chords through p-90's, and this is the only amp that doesn't burry my ideas underneath a buzzing schmooshed distortion. Every note is there, and so is all the distortion. When I first got it I wanted to be able to hit switches with my feet and bounce around the sounds, but now I don't think about it at all. What is gained in tone by getting rid of all the extra circuitry, PC boards and switches is triply worth it. Yeah, I was scared to loose my switching amps; but I jumped and am so glad I did. The amp loves all guitars, too, and I've tried Les Pauls, Teles and Strats though it. Each guitar comes shining through with its own character, beautifully. All pedals I've tried work well, and my Prescription Electronics Germ is a great little clean boost for this amp. I've just bought an A/B box and a 1x12 Tophat Club Deluxe for my clean amp. They're just great sounding amps from a great company.