Victoria Amplifier Co. 20112-T

2004 model. Very versatile amp with bright and normal volume channels and a tone knob for both. Mine has Jenson C12N speakers. I don't know if they are custom made because they are awesome! I can use this amp at home at quiet volumes or at local jams in the Portland area. Volume is plenty loud! This amp delivers many different tones and is very light at 28lbs which is perfect for me.

I use a stock 1996 American Strat and a 1979 Les Paul Deluxe. This amp brings out the best of both of these different guitars. The Strat is punchy, bright and twangy, and loud can really sing. The Les Paul is beefier sounding and can really sing and sustain loud.

For blues, this amp is the best. I set the amp volume at 8 or 9 usually. If I want more of a clean sound, I set it at 7. Typically, I set the amp at 8 on the volume and 7 on the tone. Using the guitar volume cleans up the sound for rythym. On the normal channel, the sound comes out smooth and cleaner. On the bright channel, it's a little brighter and dirtier. Now, here's the best! Short a jumper from Normal #1 to Bright #2 and plug your guitar cord into Bright #1, and you have a real screaming singer!!! This is my favorite setting, expecially with the Les Paul. It's a little dirtier so back off the guitar volume when not playing lead. For lead, crank up and you are sceaming in a sweet musical way that makes heads in the audience turn to you. I use a Maxon OD808 as a volume boost and with it on the amp screams even more. This sound is very sustaining, but it's kinda like the cleanest distorted overdrive type of tone that just brings the best out of your guitar. Think Hendrix at 10, but without blowing out your ears.

The amp is pretty quiet except you can hear some minor noise when shorting the channels together like I do. It's pretty low and not a problem.

The 2 volumes, tone knob, and shorting capabilities make this amp very flexible. It's a wonder design and stood the test of time. I can attain many beautiful sounds with this amp. At low volumes, the Strat is best. It's twangy, punchy and brings out a great clean sparkly tone. At high volumes, both the Strat and Les Paul sound great in different ways unique to the guitars themselves.

This is not a metal amp. It's a great amp for blues and classic rock at lower levels suited for today's club enviroments. Basically, at higher volumes I can push the power tubes into a sweet sounding overdrive and not blow out any ears in doing so. My amp cuts into the mix with even the loudest drummers.

This amp takes my overdrive pedal very well. I have a HAO Rust Driver for distortion at low volumes that sounds good on the normal channels. Personally, I just love the sweet clean sounds this amp produces that I don't play with the HAO that much any more.

I don't miss reverb at all! The solid pine cabinet makes the amp resonate as if it has some reverb in it. Pine rules folks!!! Also, without reverb, the tone is better.

Oh, one last thing. This amp is low end solid without any farting whatsoever. I cranked the amp with a SG special and played full F barre chords on the 1st fret and the amp delivers a very tight bottom end when I was testing it at the music store. No flabby bass at all but there was one pissed off administator in the next room trying to work!

This is a very well built amp. Electrically, it's a brick. I can gig without a backup with this amp. The circuit is simple and without many features, there's less that can go wrong. If I'd gig, I'd have extra tubes and fuses with me.

Mark said the power tubes will last around 5000hrs and 10000hrs for the preamp tubes.

I love the laquered tweed. It's a little soft, so watch out and get a cover. My wife rubbed the vacuum on it and it left a dent. The laquer will prevent any fraying.

Mark Baier is very good at returning emails and answering my questions. I have full faith in his commitment to keep me and his other customers happy.

The warranty is as long as Mark is around. Eat nice low fat meals and keep the stress down, Mark! Don't forget regular exercise as well.

It's rare to have such a warranty. This was the #1 deal maker once I found out.

I've been playing 23 years. I traded a doubleneck Gibson for this amp. The lifetime warranty made the deal happen. I also play through a Dr Z Carmen Ghia and Maz38. I took this amp because it had it's own unique classic sound to it and I never used the doubleneck. I love the Dr Z amps too, but I now prefer the 20112 even more. It's like comparing apples to oranges, both taste great. The 20112 made my Strat come to life. This amp literally grew on me and is really versatle! It's very light at 28lb's and is plenty loud. Perfect for my home, jams, and future gigs.

I would definately replace this amp if lost or stolen. It's so perfect for my needs.

I love the light weight, sound, and looks of this amp. The amp is perfect for my needs so I don't wish it had anything else. It's modeled after a classic.

This is a update to an earlier post.

I ended up taking the Jensen P12N reissue out of the amp and replacing it with a Weber alnico Blue Dog. What a difference, before the speaker change I was always a little put off by the amp while playing my telecaster. It was just too harsh through the mids. Once I put the Weber in it the amp just clicked. It is slightly darker overall but has much better tone. The mids are no longer strident and harsh, I can't believe how dramatically the amp changed for the better. I believe an earlier post expressed a celestion blue as the way to go and if the blue and blue dog are at similar this guy is right on. Do yourself a favor and dump any reissue Jensen and put something else in there, you'll be happy you did. Whereever I go people just did the amp, they cannot believe how something so small can sound so great.

I have had no problems at all to speak of.

I broke one of my pre-amp tube sockets (put a tube into the socket and wrecked it). Called Mark and he sent me one within a couple days. He would have done the repair but I didn't want to drive out to his place.

The longer I own the amp the more I realize why it's one of the "holy grail" amps to own. It's amazing to me the variety of tones I can get from an amp with 2 volume and 1 tone controls. It weighs nothing cuts through the mix, is reliable, you can crank it without killing people, the list goes on and on.

Victoria 20112-T, ~20 watts from two 6V6's, has a tone control and two volume controls. This amps is as simple as it gets yet it is one of the all time classic tone machines.

This is a update from my prior review below. I have had my Victoria Deluxe almost two years and find that it is one of my favorite amps and has the most natural tone and distorion of any amp I've ever played. My only problem is that the P12R Jensen speaker kept cutting out on me and sounded raspy at times. Also when I tried to play with a bass player and a drummer the amp just didn't have enough clean headroom for alot songs we did. I called Mark at Victoria amps and we discussed different options to enhance the amp, Mark suggested that I try a speaker with a higher sensitivity rating (dB) to increase the headroom. After researching the currently available speakers on the market I opted for the new Celestion Century speaker that is rated at 102 dB vs the P12R that was rated at ~93 dB. After I installed the speaker I took the amp over to a friend's house in order to try it out. The amp is nothing short of amazing now!! The volume increase is such that I could easily play with a band and have excellent headroom, the distorion is smoother and the bass is tighter. Overall I am absolutely in tweed heaven. If you own a low power amp that you love but can't play out with please consider changing to the century speaker, I've now got a very gig-able amp that is light weight and easy to move.

Brand new tweed Deluxe. Built like original Fender or probably better. Great attention to detail. Chassis mounted better than in originals to minimize rattle. Jensen P12R, 1 Normal Volume, 1 Bright Volume, Tone, controls very interactive. Not many knobs or features but the most important one - GREAT SOUND. Costs lots of money, including airfreight, duty and VAT. Still cheaper than old Fenders and more reliable. Very light, easy to carry.

This is the best! Sounds punchier and sweeter than a couple of narrow panel Fenders I managed to borrow for comparison. There is nothing better for roots rockabilly, blues or jazz. Easy to get the sounds of Sun, Chess and Blue Note records. Works perfectly with Strat, Tele, P90s and ES175 with humbuckers. Very dynamic and touch sensitive, don't have to worry about knob settings as it is impossible to get bad sounds. Interactive volume controls can shape the sound more than equalization on some modern amps. No need for reverb or effect pedals. There is no effect on earth that makes this amp sound any better. Enough power for club gigs with a good drummer who plays the drums instead of hitting them. I have had silverface Deluxe, Princeton, Twin Reverb, black face Super Reverb, tweed Blues Deluxe and Blues Jr. None of them could compete with Victoria soundwise. There is something magical in the simple electronics of tweed era circuits and Deluxe in particular.

No problems so far. Easy to fix if something happens. Never take more than one amp and one guitar to gig.

No need to deal with Victoria, the dealer will take care of that if ever needed. From what I have heard Victoria is top notch in customer service.

I have been playing for over 30 years and owned or tried almost every piece of professional equipment there is. Have been going towards simpler and simpler set up during last years. Started with Marshall stack and went to smaller and smaller amps. This will end to Victoria's Champ, I guess. Saving money for that already......

Wish I had this years ago.

This is a 2003 Tweed Deluxe made exactly like the original. The amp has two channels (normal & bright) and a single tone control. The power output is 20 watts through 6V6's. Preamp tubes are a 12AY7 & 12AX7. The speaker is a Jensen P12R. There are no extra features on this amp so I must give it a 5, but what makes this amp such a classic is that it is a pure tone generator, and adding effects loops, channel switching etc would take away from the pure tone of the amp.

I play a Les Paul Std. and a 52 Tele, American Std Strat through this amp with nothing but a cord and I am able to get great sounds that go from clean to mild breakup to full distortion. This has to be the most touch sensitive amp I've ever played. This is a Blues players dream. I actually like the amp best with the strat because the out of phase sounds are the best I've ever heard. I have owned almost every amp ever made and if I had to choose one as my only amp this would be it.

These are time tested designs and will hold up many years with minimal care. Mark at Victoria Amps is honest and will do whatever it takes to help you pick the right amp and keep it running in top shape. In fact when I went to try out the amp at the store the speaker blew! Mark immediately sent another one and it was installed right at the store so I wouldn't have to wait for the amp to be sent back to the factory.

One of the best!! See above

I've been playing for 30+ years and like I said before I plan on giving this to my grandchildren some day. The simplicity of this amp is probably one of it's best features, I have owned a Boogie Mk IV in the past and this is the exact opposite end of the spectrum and I must admit I now believe that less is more!

I am using this amp primarily as a practice amp, so I am not really concerned with how many buttons it has, all I know is that an amp has to sound good, otherwise I'm constantly fiddling around with it. I love the interactive controls on the amp, that is really the mojo of these amp designs, it gives you much more versitility than the one tone control. Tip: if you get hum when your in one channel and you turn up the other channel to change the tone of the amp. Hense using the interactive controls, the noise you hear is because the the first pre amp tube is internally shorted. Mark Baier told me this as I was concerned that maybe I had bad power tubes or a bad connection somewhere in the amp. The tone control works well between 4 and 10 but ranges higher or lower are either too bright or too muddy to me. It's very light and surprisingly loud. As far as HC ratings are the amp is probably a 3, but those of us who really know amps it's all you need. I'll give it a 8.

I really think after all of these years I finally found the amps that work for me. I bought this amp because I wanted a similar tone to my victoria Bassman without the weight and this amp does everything I could ask for. The tweed deluxe is a classic amp and this amp does not dissapoint. I never heard this amp side by side with a real deluxe but it's got to be fairly close after all they did a review with a tweed twin and they thought they were close, and actually I think they preferred the victoria. To me this amp has that classic sound and all my guitars sound good through it. The amp came with a c12n, I thought that this speaker was nice but a little too bass heavy. I also tried an old c12s from a old ampgeg jet I had and that speaker sounded great, less bass, more even across the sound spectrum. Worrying that I might blow that speaker up I bought a reissue p12n the debate is still out on this speaker. It seems too fall between the other speakers but it's not fully broke in yet so a complete opinion would be unfare. Changing tubes in any of the positions yields complete changes in how the amp responds so if your not totally happy, buy some tubes and experiment it's the best way to learn. So many people buy and sell amps constantly trying to find their sound but never change the critical components ie... tubes and speakers, to me this is where you can really find your tone without going crazy. A concervative rating would be a 8.

The amp should last a long time after all the old ones do.

Called a few times always helpful, I can't complain.

Overall I'd buy it a heartbeat, I'm very happy.

This amp has a retail of $1995. This is the price I listed, as these are hard to come by in many cases and on many Victoria amps, there is a waiting list.

Features? I have to give this a "10". The amp is light, small, easy to carry, simple to use, and the single tone control is incredibly effective. It has more than enough power for a great saturated tone in a 75 or so seat venue or club.

Some folks from Harmony Cental know me from Guitar Amplifier Blueprint and Groove Tubes, and have played many of my amps. On the issue of sound, this amp has all that I need. It is a very quiet amp, due to it's simple design and classic circuit topology. Victoria uses period correct voltages and very expensive transformers, carbon composition resistors (much more musical and dynamic than current metal film resistors), and amazing caps in the tone circuit. The tubes are all NOS, the amp being delivered stock with an NOS RCA Command 5751 and GE 6V6's as an example.

This is a tricky amp to find just one sound you love. This is no fault of the amp, it is a side effect of a clean circuit design that shows very subtle differences in any tube. I guess this is one reason Charlie Kittleson at Vacuum Tube Valley uses Victoria Champs, Deluxes, and Bassmans for their NOS and new tube shoot outs. Most players today have not played a tweed era design, and are used to more complex and higher gain front ends and circuits. These designs are versitile, and have lots of front end gain, but the side effect here is a loss of frequency response, more noise, and much less touch dynamics. I guess if one listens to the latest Mark Knopfler stuff, you see that he uses tweed amps with his JTM-45 for the distorted heavier stuff. Remember, Layla was done with a tweed champ and tweed deluxe, so if you want to really rock, these amps can do this just as nicely as they do blues or jazz.

I guess I stated in all in a bit of writing for my own company:

Victoria 20112T - (Fender Tweed Deluxe). This may be the best built and most articulate amp I own. It may look like a simple amp (two volume controls, one single tone control), but it is the most complex amp I own. Every tube in this amp sounds different. It shows the most out of any tube, as it's simple complex circuit has very little coloration. This is one of the amps that is generally used by Charlie Kittleson over at Vacuum Tube Valley when they do tube shootouts of NOS tubes. The carbon comp resistors, proper transformers, and caps, are all period proper. The reason I say this amp is complex, is one gets use to one sound they love, but then experiments, using a 5751 in V1 rather than a 12AY7. The amp changes completely ... not in a subtle way where you have to strain to hear the difference, but the difference is right there for even the most blazee listeners to hear. Different 12AX7's in V2 change the feel, sound and dynamics too. The there are the many 6V6's that go in and out of this amp.... RCA, GE, Haltron, Sylvania, Mazda, Raytheon, Vissaeux. Even the years that differ an RCA 50's to 60's will change the amp in a major way. The amp is a joy to play, and a joy to carry. If I could have only a half a dozen amps, it would be a Victoria Deluxe, Victoria Bassman, a Victoria 2x10 Super, a Black Face Fender Deluxe Reverb, a Marshall JTM-45, and a GT Solo 45 (as I can get any sort of high gain out of that with pedals). By the way, the "stock tubes" in this amp as suppiled by Victoria were NOS GE 6V6's, an RCA Command 5751, and a wonderful 12AX7. As of December 02, the 20112T tube compliment is an NOS RCA 12AY7 in V1, a Telefunken 12AX7 long smooth plate in V2 (or a 12AX7C in V2) and either GE NOS Oval Smoked 6V6's or RCA 6V6GT's.

With Vcitora stuff, you cannot really talk on the reliability issues, as these amps are built with very high levels of detail and components that can cost many times what standard components used in very expensive amps may cost. I support quite a few Victoria amps for working folks, and have never seen a single failure of any type. This even includes items like input jacks, and high use items that are prone to failure. The tweed bassmans and twins from Victoria are used on some of the largest stages I have worked, and will work week in and week out with no complaints. The new Victoria designs like the Victorlux, are showing up with more folks in both the rock circuit (the Vox and Matchless group), but also on the country scene.

I think the warranty is lifetime, but am not sure. When you think that a Fender tweed can run for half a century, as these were made with the least expensive parts and labor possible, I am sure this Victoria will outlive my kids when they get it when I am long gone ... as the amps that were played back in the 20th century.

The support from Victoria is second to none in this industry.

I have been playing since I was 8, and am 53 now, so for a few years. There is nothing that I dislike or would change on this amp. I even love the purple pilot lamp. If this were lost or stolen, I would purchase another as quickly as possible. I have compared the Victoria amps to other products, mostly because of my own business client base. I looked at "similar" amps for less money, the same general amount, and even more money. This was worth every penny, and I can find no area for improvement in workmanship, tone, quality, or components. There was not where to go "up" and there were a lot of choices to go "down". This amp was also played side by side with other amps of the same model/type from other makers. Many people were surprise by how different the two "same" amps sounded and felt when playing.

If there are folks in the Southern California area that would like to try this amp out, drop me a line, and I'd be happy to let you play my amp and A/B it with other amps. I do not sell amplifiers, so this "try out" would be just for fun.

What can you say about features - this amp is a replica of a 1959 Fender Deluxe. Features are minimal, but consistent with the original vintage model. The features are excellent for tone purists and probably insufficient for people who want effects loops etc.

I have several early 1960s Stratocasters, an early 60's 335, Historic 57 Goldtop Les Paul, and several jazz guitars including ES-175DN, Super 400 CESN, and L-5 Custom. I own several vintage tweed amps, a Matchless, a THD Univalve, several vintage blackface amps, and a vintage Vox. I bought the Victoria Deluxe because I wanted a vintage Deluxe, but prices had reached the stratosphere ($1,900 to $2,500). You pay that much and invariably, you need to spend another $400 to get it in shape. Then you burn out a transformer and your expensive "investment" just lost half its value.

I had some trouble with the Jensen P12R reissue speaker that came with the amp. There were some unpleasant overtones in the upper reaches of the high E string. Other P12R reissues had the same problem so I sent spoke several times with Mark Baier (see Customer Service) and ultimately replaced the speaker with a C12N, at Mark's suggestion. I find I play this amp more than all my vintage amps because (1) you can get great tones at reasonable volumes and (2) I don't run the risk of blowing a vintage speaker or transformer. Don't get me wrong, I still play and crank all my amps, but just not for practicing scales, etc.

The Deluxe breaks up very quickly (no news here) but I find it excellent for practicing jazz and blues - depending on the channel I use, the guitar, and the settings of the pots. I tone with my 63 Fender Reverb Unit is unbelievable!

I think the nature of this amp, and the theory for buying it, makes it highly reliable. You are getting a 1959 Fender Deluxe in new condition, rather than a 43 year old one. And lets face it, 43 year old speakers may not hold up to the tone we seek today. See also customer support. I did have the one speaker issue discussed below, though, so I can't give it a perfect rating.

As mentioned above, reissue Jensen P12R speakers did not agree with this amp. I was getting overtones that were unacceptable. The great news is I spoke to Mark three times helping me diagnose the problem. He was highly responsive and returned my calls very promptly. Ultimately, he agreed to take the amp back and fix it for a very reasonable price. And he fixed it very promptly. Try that service with other companies or on your vintage amp!

This is an excellent amp for lower volume situations where you want the tweed tone at a reasonable price and with excellent service and reliability. I also owned Victoria Bassman that I thought was excellent but, at 45 watts, I could not get the tone unless I endangered my hearing. I would definitely buy another (the used prices are very reasonable as well) and I would buy another Victoria, particularly their new Brown 3x10 Victorialux!

Serial # 601...It's probably a 96-98 model. Two volumes, one tone. You can bridge the bright and normal channels with a patch cord to balance and focus tones. It has a Weber P12N and NOS tubes all around. I play a an ash bodied Tele with Lindy Fralin pickups and an ash bodied bridge. I usually just end up playing rockabilly, blues, and jazz through this amp and I find that to be a lot of fun. I think reverb could come in handy but I wouldn't want to alter the tone. I wish I had a great analog delay pedal for my rockabilly stuff. As far as power...this thing is loud! I sold a 40 watt amp when I bought this Victoria. Go to your local dealer and turn a Deluxe Reverb Reissue up past three. It's loud. I play and see shows in Greenwich Village all the time. Now, I've been in a 30x20 room listening to a band with two guitarists with half stacks...CRANKED! OK? No one asked them to turn it down! I've also heard Deluxe Reverbs in the same room turned to 3-4...very clean and it was loud enough to hear over a band. But of course the band wasn't as loud overall. So, I would recommend if you are buying this amp not to disturb your neighbors; don't...buy the Champ model.

Tone is an objective thing. Now, I've played good vintage Tele's though some killer old Deluxes before. Now that setup is a jawdropper...just makes you want to play all day and now and then you stop and think, "How does it do that tone?" And here I have probably the best known tweed boutique amps and best revered boutique pickups. And how do they compare to that old stuff? Well, it could just be the broken in age of that old stuff but honestly, as good as this new stuff sounds, it's not really as jawdropping. It sounds great though and it's better than owning some priceless stuff that you can't play anywhere. But for the money, this boutique stuff is worth it. They are so well made and they do sound better than anything new being produced. I wish Guitar Player would play a Victoria, A clark, and a Kendrick next to each other and compare.
The amp hisses when it's turned up loud but I expect that...very minor. The cabinet does buzz, especially with the bassy speaker that I have in it. But it also resonates and sustains very well. The amp will stay clean for a while depending on how hard you are hitting the guitar...with a soft touch you could turn the amp up halfway and only get a soft clip. I'm rating conservatively. I have yet to hear a 10 !!

You';d be hard pressed to find an amp out there that is as prepared for a beating as these point to point wired amps. Put it this way...this thing got bounced around so much driving through bumpy New York city streets that a preamp tube cracked...I'm talking thrown around! Well, without knowing it I plugged it in and let it warm up for an hour before I was going to record with it. Well, when it made no noise I found the cracked tube. I replaced it and it worked fine. That happened in a reissue amp of mine and it fried the whole reverb circuit. Well, you make the call. Leo Fender designed these amps to be stacked in the back of a pickup truck and bounced along bumpy country roads from hee-haw to hee-haw.

Don't know yet. I'm sure with a little persistance Mark would accomplish anything within reason. You have to expect this amp to be similar to the old ones warts and all. Perfectionists might want to lower their standards a little bit. I've worked in guitar shops and see people pas up the best gear because they expect it to do stuff that the gear can't do...like they run their finger up every fret of a vintage strat to check for buzzes...their gonna buzz buddy.

I've been playing ten years. It's a great amp and I think Victoria makes high quality stuff with some minor quibbles. This amp won't do everything but it's fun to sit around and wail on it. It definitely sounds great...not jawdropping though. No one is going to steal it and I'm not going to lose it. I do wish it didn't buzz and I wish it had a different speaker in it. Too bassy...nice for jazz though.

Bare bones tube amp. Plug in and play. 2 normal and 2 bright inputs; 2 volume controls (1 for normal and 1 for bright); 1 tone control; on-off switch (no standby); ground switch.
There is no point in adding anything else to this amp (except maybe a standby switch). It is as close to perfect as you can get. You make it sound different by opening your ears and using you hands, and it makes you feel like the king of the world.
The amp is plenty loud. For stupid loud, you can always mike it.
I don't rate the amp highly for "features," because it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles. But I really consider that a plus, given the overwhelming superiority of this amp's tone. Not only do you not need to spend years trying to figure out where to set millions of knobs and switches, but there is hardly any setting you can dial to get a bad sound out of this amp.

I use a Heritage 535 with stock humbuckers. Most of the time I only use the neck pickup. I play jazz. This amp is perfect for what I do.
The amp can be a little noisy when you crank it up, but not in a way that detracts from what is happening. In a band setting you would never even notice it.
This amp makes the most beautiful sounds I have ever managed to coax out of a guitar. When other people play it, they have the same experience.

Mine is less than a year old. So far no problems. But you know how tubes are.

I have had some of the same experiences as other customers. Mark B. loves his work and seems to try to be responsive to his customers, but I get the impression he may be spread too thin. Fortunately, I have never had to deal with him over a problem. For the kinds of things I have e-mailed him about (e.g., to ask whether Victoria has an owner's manual or makes an amp cover), he did respond, althoughly slowly. He was apologetic about the delay, and, frankly, what I was asking about can hardly be considered an emergency.
It may be that the best "customer support" for this product is that the amp is a known design, which should mean many people across the globe can repair it. I don't happen to be one of them, so this may be wishful thinking. If I never have to find out, so much the better.

This is a really expensive, light weight, easy to play, great sounding amp. I am delighted. If it were ever stolen, I would replace it if I had the cash, which is a big if.
I have played some Dr Z amps that also sound great. I think they are in the same league. Really, you get what you pay for.