Trimmed and Burnin' Amps Superburn

This review is a revision to my previous review of the Superburn head. At that time I did not have the matching 212 Cabinet with Weber speakers. Both the head and the cabinet arrived in solid flight cabinets (very sweet!). As indicated before this head is a very simple head in terms of controls but is very rich and complex in the tones it delivers. Previously I have this amp a 5 in the features category. This was because I did not yet have the 212 cabinet. Now I do! Once I received the matching 212 cabinet I feel obligated to elevate this to a 10. Although the head only has volume, bass, treble, and presence, the tone changes in a linear fashion over the volume range. By "changes" I am not referring to a progression from good to bad or from bad to good. I am stating that the amp starts out at a low volume as very nice and punchy. Once the volume is increased the punch never goes away but a bit of creamy distortion blends itself with the tone. For that reason the features are very cool and complex. Please note that my previous review labeled this head as a Class A. This was incorrect: It is a Class A/B.

I play single coil guitars exclusively. I have had a terrible time finding an amp that sounds good with single coil guitar played at any volume. Usually amps such as new Fenders sound good at low to medium volume levels but crap out as you crank them up. This amp is very useful from volume level 2 to 12. That is no easy feat to accomplish.

My previous review of the Superburn head was based on running this head through a sub-standard Carvin 212 open backed cabinet. I have since received the matching Trimmed and Burnin 212 Cabinet. This new cabinet has made the Superburn head sound even better (if that was possible). I highly recommend buying both the Superburn head AND the cabinet!

I play primarily blues and pop-country. I achieve a nice punchy clean tone that is great for country music and for clean chording for blues. When I crank this amp up it delivers a sweet distortion not abrasive like you would find in a Marshall or Carvin. These tonal characteristics make this amp a must for blues and country musicians alike. If you like the clean tones of a Matchless Clubman 35 but dislike the Clubman's distortion then sell the Matchless and buy a Trimmed and Burnin Superburn head. You will be glad you did.

I have had this amp since December 2007. It has never given me a problem. If I did have any issues with the amp I am 100% positive that Trimmed and Burnin would resolve any problems (I am honored to know the owner of Trimmed and Burnin Amps personnally).

OUTSTANDING!

I've been glowing about this amp and I can't stop! It is very cool. If you wish to see the amp please go to myspace.com/gregbach. You will be glad you did. NOTE that I am NOT a paid endorser of the amp or any other Trimmed and Burnin product. I simply believe that this amp is the best choice for my style and tastes. My overall rating of this amp is a confident 10.

The Superburn is a Class A/B head from Trimmed and Burnin Guitars/Amps out of Bellingham, Washington. The features include:

Off/on, stand by, presence, bass, treble, volume 1 for the Bright Channel with inputs for high and low, volume 2 for the Normal Channel with inputs for high and low. There is also a three position ground switch. The Superburn head has two speaker outputs that can be wired as a 8 ohm impedance to the main speakers, 4 ohms when used with two 8ohm speaker cabs.the tubes are:1. 5UG4 rectifier2. 6L6/ 5881 power tubes1. 12AY73. 12AX7.

As you can tell the controls are quite simple. If a guitar player needs more controls that is offered with a Class A amp then, in my opinion, the guitarist just isn't practicing enough. The Superburn has only the controls necessary to tweak the tone slightly in order to get "your" tone and to assist in modifying the tone for different types of guitars. This amp is not extremely versatile in terms of controls but it does not need to be since it does what it does so well. If you need more "versatility" then maybe consider practing your guitar a little more!

I ordered this amp for two primary reasons. (1) I wanted a Class A amp that could provide a lush clean tone that was extremely responsive to pick attack. Usually, clean tones are something an amp designer tends to thinking of as an after thought. (2) I also wanted an amp that could produce very warm bluesy tones when cranked up. What I wanted to avoid was an amp that tried to do everything including being a high gain rock amp.

I first demoed the Trimmed and Burnin Superburn at the Back 2 Blues in Canada in July of 2007. The amp was set up on stage connected to four ten inch Weber speakers. Since this was a live blues fest with many other blues bands performing using the same amps I knew I was not going to have much time to dial in the amp before starting my set. It took around three seconds to dial in drop dead multidimensional lush blues tones (lucky for me otherwise I would have been in trouble).

The head I own is currently connected to a non-Trimmed and Burnin 212 cabinet. With this set up it does sound very good. However, I will soon be ordering a matching Trimmed and Burnin 212 cabinet with Weber speakers. Trimmed and Burning does a fantastic job with their amp and cabinet designs. (see www.trimmedandburnin.com).

Using the Superburn head on the Normal input channel I am able to get Brent Mason style clean tones that are very punchy (his tones, mind you, not his playing ability!). When the amp is cranked between 6 and 7 it begins to produce warm Class A overdrive providing nice texture to chording. When the amp's normal channel volume is set between 8 and 10 harmonically rich overdrive is created which I highly value for soloing. Setting the amp to 11 or 12 on the normal volume channel produces overdrives that are quite nice for players who wish to have overdriven tones that border on classic rock. I'm not a classic rock player so I set the normal volume below 11 for soloing.

Under the "surprise" tone category I was blown away by the tone I achieved when setting the amp around 5 on the normal volume channel and placing an ordinary Ibanez Tube Screamer in front of the amp. Using this stomp box with other amps I usually set the drive on the Tube Screamer on full or at least close to full in order to achieve the tone I am looking for for solos. The "surprise" I identified is that the Superburn responds so well to the Tube Screamer that I could back way off on the drive on the Tube Screamer to achieve rich blues lead tones. This allows me to play much cleaner on chording (which I prefer) and simply add a litle color and volume to the solos by stepping on the Tube Screamer.

I've given the Superburn a 9 out of 10 in this category simply because the head currently is connected to a non-Trimmed and Burnin 212 cabinet. I should really give it a 9.5 in this tone category. Once I receive the Trimmed and Burnin 212 cabinet I'm confident that it will achieve a 10 out of 10 in the category of tone.

My Superburn amp is very new to me so I really do not have much experience with the amp to truely rate it on reliability. I can, however, say that a different Superburn head was played at the Back 2 Blues fest in Canada in July of 2007 at high volumes for three days straight on an outdoor stage and never broke down, sputtered, or spit.

I also personnally know the owner of Trimmed and Burnin Guitar/Amps and have the utmost confidence that if problems do occur with the amp he will ensure that it is repaired promptly and correctly. I've given the Superburn a 10 in this category for the reasons listed above.

Once again this amp is very new to me so I have not have an issue with breakdowns that would require me to interact with Trimmed and Burnin Guitar/Amps for repairs. However, I have toured the Trimmed and Burnin shop in Bellingham Washington, talked extensively with the owner Shannon Coberly, and probably have sent and received a hundred e-mails regarding my custom order of the Superburn. Trimmed and Burnin has been extremely responsive to my "picky" preferences in ordering this very unique amp.

A word on my pickiness: I wanted a Class A amp that was very unique. To meet this demand I requested that Trimmed and Burnin source and order dark burgondy tolex for this amp. It did take a while to find this material and I must give credit to Trimmed and Burnin for tolerating my preferences. To add additional uniqueness to the amp Trimmed and Burnin designed the head so that you can see the tubes glowing from the front of the amp through the grill cloth. This was not my idea but an idea from Trimmed and Burnin owner Shannon Coberly. This is a stunning feature that sets this head above the rest.

I've been playing blues guitar for over 20 years and have owned many amps over this time. I am very please with my Superburn amp. I just wished I had ordered it a year ago!