Victoria Amplifier Co. 20112-T

Made in USA. Not much to it as the other reviews have said. Volume, tone, no reverb. The newer ones come with a standby switch. Pretty basic stuff which is fine.

I was HUGELY disappointed with the sound of this amp. I read carefully through the reviews. Since everyone was gushing over it I thought it was safe to buy one. My thinking was if it sounds as great as people claim it should be worth what seemed like an exorbitant amount of money. I'll never think that way again! It didn't deliver the tone I would have expected from an amp costing half the price. Really just take cost out of the picture. Amps don't have to be expensive to sound great. Once I got it I realized people may have been making this amp out to be better than it actually is. Or maybe the earlier ones were better. I seriously doubt that though. I thought this amp was muddy sounding. And the Jensen speaker it comes with is just the worst. Flubs bigtime on the low end. Clearly hand wiring and overpriced "vintage" components don't necessarily make for great tone. Tone is everything with an amp and that is exactly what this amp lacks. The only amps that might be a bigger ripoff than this one would be the Fender Deluxe reissues since they are priced even higher. But then again they may actually be great sounding amps. I haven't heard one so I don't know. But whatever you do don't fall for the "hand wiring" hype.

It's constructed very well and I'm sure will last a long long time. This is by far the best feature of this amp. Very well made and nice looking. It came with a cheap vinyl handle which I was rather annoyed about. I was quite sure the rest of the amp would outlast the handle by a long-shot.

If you buy this guitar you had better know what you're getting because to return it you're going to be out a bunch of money in shipping fees and restocking fees. Since it's so overpriced you're looking at a huge loss if you sell it. Trust me on that! The warranty is worthless. Also worthy of mention this $1600 amp doesn't come with a single scrap of paper. No warranty card. Not even so much as a manual. You feel like you might as well have bought it from someone out of the back of a pickup truck.

There are a great many guitar products out there that are over-hyped and MASSIVELY overpriced and this amp DEFINITELY falls into that category. The original deluxes may have been great sounding amps but this clone is NOT proof of that. If you're looking for great tone you may be in for some serious disappointment with this amp. I sold mine at a loss even though it was brand new. I'll NEVER spend this much on an amp again I don't care what claims people make about how great it sounds. I ended up buying a Blues Junior which is a truly great sounding amp and cost a fraction of the price of the Victoria. In fact what I paid for the BJ is just about the same as what I LOST on the Victoria when I sold it. I'm still burned up about that. I wish I had gone with a Blues Junior in the first place. Live and learn!

This is a 2003 Model 20-112 that I acquired in a trade.
As for versatility, it is more versatile than I thought, but still - it's a low-wattage tweed amp, so low volume bedroom and recording situations are the only ones where you will have adequate clean tones. At about 3.5-4 on the volume control it starts breaking up.
The amp has 4 "channels", although they are just 4 variations of a single voicing. A Normal channel with a high and a low input and a Bright Channel with a high and a low input.

One Tone Control, two Volume controls that are interactive (mildly when plugging into a single input, but really changes the voicing when you 'bridge the channels)... no reverb, no FX loop, nothing other than simple, toneful circuitry.

I give this category a 7 since it IS a minimalist amp on features, but it does what it's supposed to do with flying colors.

This model and the Clark Beaufort are likely the best made clones of the 1957 Tweed Deluxe amp... other very good replicas are available but these two are the benchmark.

In my opinion the Victoria is the most accurate to the original. The build quality, component values, and especially the transformer construction render this model the most true-to-original of all models.

The cleans are superb, albeit not loud enough for most gig situations. By the time you get the amp loud enough for a standard gig stage (even small clubs) the cleans are already sacrificed, but the resulting bluesy slightly overdriven tones are phenomenal! If you need cleans to cover clean songs, this isn't your amp (unless you intend to play at home, in coffee houses, or in a recording studio)... even mic'd, it would still be debatable.

That said, the tone from this amp when pushed is about the best tone that is available on any amp. The power level is nearly perfect for small to medium club gigs without mic'ing the amp, larger rooms may need a mic, but that's true on many amps of higher wattage levels anyway. The sweet midrange voice of this amp helps it cut through the mix even when not so loud that your bandmates look at you funny.

THe low-mids and the highs are perfect. The upper mids can be manipulated to taste with the interactive tone controls. THe low end is the least consisent with this amp. Different speaker combinations can change that character as can which input and whether or not they are bridges. With the inputs bridged and a guitar with hot pickups slamming the amp hard, the lows can 'flub' or 'fart' a bit. Not a bad thing necessarily, since the original tweed deluxe did the same thing, however, it's about the only aspect of the tone that I can find to discuss in ways other than total worship.

It is a very quiet amp, and only generates hiss or hum when the unused channel volume control is maxed out (no surprise here).

I have used both single coils and humbuckers of differing varieties. All sound their best through this amp. I can't imagine anyone, with an understanding of what this amp is designed to do, NOT being totally satisfied with the tone.

One mention here about the cabinet. The Cabinet on this amp is an integral part of the total tonal package. Hold this amp up by its handle and lightly knock or rap your knuckles against the sides... it resonates like a tuning fork. That quality translates into the booming, huge sound that comes out of this tiny 1X12 package. I believe that the cabinet construction is as important to this amp as the selection of components and speaker. It is also likely THE biggest difference between this amp and a 5E3 kit that would cost much less. Worth the difference in $$ ??? That's a personal decision, but to me, it is.

Only had it a few weeks, however I got it used, it's a 4 year old amp, that was well taken care of, but played regularly. The amp came to me with original tubes. All tubes except the rectifier tube were fine... the rectifier had a broken plastic key that was likely the fault of the previous owner, not the manufacturer. It still worked fine, but rattled in the socket a bit. Simple replacement solved it.
Based on Victoria's reputation, I wouldn't hesitate to rely on this amp, although for committed, responsible musicians, not bringing some type of backup to the gig is a bad idea. If any amp would make me rest easy doing so, it would be a Victoria.

No dealings so far.

I have played for 25 years, I have owned dozens of amps, newer ones, vintage ones, boutique ones... some are great and exceed expectations, some are just what I expected and some have disappointed. This amp DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! It far exceeds my expectations and is probably the best representation of an original '57 Tweed Deluxe amp that I have ever seen or heard.
I play classic rock, country and blues and this amp delivers in spades. For covering clean songs, it's a bit limited, but when you buy a 12-15 watt Tweed amp, you don't expect that capability.

I absolutely do not miss the reverb or fx stuff when using this amp. THe fact that it weighs only 26 lbs is also icing on the cake... 3 am treks home from gigs are much nicer these days!!!

My 20112-T was made in 2006 and I purchased it new. It is stocked with Groove Tubes in the power and preamp sections and a NOS rectifier. The speaker is a Jensen P12Q. The controls are very simple: volume for normal channel, volume for bright channel, tone. No reverb. No effect loop. No speaker out. Of course, it would be idiotic to put reverb or an effects loop in this amp - since it is a 50's era Fender tweed replica. And, frankly, it doesn't need reverb. But a speaker out would be nice so one could beef up the tone with an extention cabinet for certain live settings. So... I will give it an 9 instead of a 10. A great feature of this amp is it's so damn light. Very easy on the back. Overall, it's a one trick pony blues and rock amp for lower volume settings. As such, I wouldn't call it "versatile". But I can't imagine anyone buying this any requiring versatility. It is what it is and people should understand what they are getting!

The tone is amazing. It is hands down one of the best sounding low power 6V6 amps I have ever played. What else can I say? You just have to hear it to believe it. It is an addictive tone. You get it in your head and you can't get it out. Pure and simple and elegant. I play my strat and tele through it. I have a Les Paul, but frankly I don't like the LP through it nearly as much as the single coil guitars. Somthing about the circut just seems to jive with the Fender style guitars. This makes sense, since Leo Fender designed his amps and guitars with each other in mind. He didn't have an axe with humbuckers on his test bench! I play blues and rock and this amp just cranks out all the great tones that sound right on. This distortion from 8 - 12 on the dial is heavy, but its not Mesa heavy. It musical and harmonic.

Haven't had any problems yet. Knock wood. The CABINET RATTLES a bit and I have heard that is a common problem. But I live with it because the amp just sounds so sweet and fine.

No comment.

I am a semi pro that has been playing 25 years. I love this amp and highly recommend it to plug and play strat and tele players looking at 6V6 style amps. However, one needs to realize it is not loud enough for all band settings. It will not cover loud bass players and loud drummers in all settings. So if you need that, look at the up-power Victoria amps like the Double Deluxe, 35310, etc. Overall, I can't say anything bad about this amp. I love it to death. It sounds sweet and is very inspiring. Pretenders need not apply! Go buy a Crate or some other piece of junk. But if you can actually play, and your style is blues and rock, you're gonna love this amp. I'm now shopping for an up-power Victoria to add to my live rig for playing clubs. Something to A/B with my King Amplification Tigerhund 18. The Tigerhund is a SCARY 18 watt 6V6 blackface inspired combo. Its rated at 18 watts but its 50% louder than the 20112.

Late 2005 Model
Tonally the amp is very versatile if you know how to use it.
1 channel, 2 volume, 1 tone...all you need with this amp.
An output for an extension cabinet would be nice, but really not needed.
A standby switch would be nice in order to extend tube life, however this amp is meant to be true to the original.

The sound quality is outstanding. The amps tone is very warm without the ice pick to the ear sound you get with a lot of amps. The tone knob is perfect for dialing in just the right amount of brightness. Otherwise, the tone is so well balanced that it really sounds perfect without any tweaking. At low volumes the amp does clean well and breaks up nicely with a tube screamer in front. When you push the amp past 4 it gets nice natural tube distortion which I use as the basis for my tone.

I think this amp could be used for any type of music except metal. With a tubescreamer I can even get Black Sabbath type tones. Generally, however I play straight forward rock n roll which this amp is perfect for.

I actually bought this amp shortly after the purchase of my Fender 57 Twin Reissue. The Fender really opened my ears up to what real old school rock tone was all about, however it was way too loud for band practice and most the gigs I play. Because of this I sought out the lower wattage victoria.

The tone is simply rich and creamy...this amp doesn't come with reverb and quite honestly it doesn't need it. The sound that comes out if this amp is so thick and rich on its own that reverb is not required at all.

I've owned a ton of amps over the years including a Peavy Classic 50, Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue (which sounds like garbage next to the Victoria), JCM 900 (great for metal)...but this one is by far the best sounding and most usable amp I own.

Once you play a handwired amp like Victoria, Matchless or Dr. Z you will never play a reissue circuit board amp again. There is no amp modeling device out there that comes even close to sounding like any one of these amps.

Mine has worked great and has really become my workhorse amp. Back in the 50's amd 60's these amps were considered to be bullet proof as most problems were related to bad tubes. I don't worry about this amp breaking down at all.

Warning: Inherent in the design of these amps is that they can be noisey and the cabinets will rattle. I understand it is essencially exepted as a given that some of this amps will ship with cabinet issues. Be sure to try out your amp before you buy it...I would avoid picking one of these up on ebay for just this reason. Also, if you live in the midwest you should stop buy the factory and buy one direct. I actually live about 20 minutes from the factory so if I have issues I'll take the amp right back to Victoria for repair.

I've talked to Mark Baier over at Victoria and he is a cool cat. Until I have a problem with the amp my rating will be no opinion.

Worth every penny paid. If you are serious about music and having great tone pick one of these up. If you are a casual hobbiest you should probably look elsewhere.

Bought new in '06 5E3 Fender "tweed" Deluxe AKA narrow Panel replica.
12" Jenson AlNiCo (made in Italy).
Plenty of power for the girls I go out with.

Often touted as the quintessential Blues amp, but I use it slightly lower in output where it has more charming complexity in each note's morphology.

I use it for general guitar duties in a quieter Jazz/Popular quintet, in resturant/bars, etc. Some mic'd Showtunes jobs in bigger venues too.

It is sized just right for levels I play at for about the last 25 years, and quite light to schlep.

I'm giving it a ten in this catagory because it is just the right size and volume, and the tone is beautiful at any volume level I need.

Beautiful lacquered tweed suitcase linen. Leather handle. Solid finder joined pine cabinet underneath. No rattles.

This amplifier has the best sound I've ever heard.
The original Fender version is legendary, and on many recordings.

I have played an original Fender tweed Deluxe in decent (technical) shape and THIS Victoria 20112 NAILS the sound exactly. The breakup spot: everything!

Some players will use this amp as a starting point and tailor their sound through tubes and speaker changes to be more tight in the bass, or more clean headroom, etc.

But as-is with the Italian Jenson, it is as true a replica of a real '50's Fender tweed Deluxe narrow panel as you could reasonably hope for: which is to say it sounds just like one (to my ears).

I mostly use a stock '96 (10-1303) Fender AV '52 RI with the original AlNiCo 5 pickups that came on these.
Occasionally a Tele with CS Nocaster pickups, or rarely an archtop Jazz guitar (ES-175) with a Rio Grande Texas humbucker.

For Jazz duties I use the "normal" #1 input, with the tone at about 9.5, and the channel volume at 5 - 6.

For wider ranging styles I use the #1 bright input with the volume about 8 - 10 and turned down on the guitar, and the amp tone at about 5 - 6.

I have tried daisy-chaining the channels at home, but rarely play a job that way. I prefer the breakup and tones more with just single inputs in use, for clarity and complexity.
Too much preamp seems to compromise this amp's marvelous depth and chime a bit, sacrificing it for a nice smooth breakup, but I just love the spot right below that, where you can barely detect the distortion, but it's there if you listen for it on the trebles.

Excellent for keeping the "icepick-in-the-ear" Telecaster highs at bay.
The AlNiCo 5 polepieces in the early '52 RI's are great pickups with this amp.

On other amps I prefer AlNiCo 2's (SD Antiquities) or 3's. Fender CS '51 Nocaster pu's, and the 10-0202 AV '52 RI's have AlNiCo 3 polepieces.

Set as described, I get just the gradual breakover into mild distortion that keeps my trebles fluffy for Jazz, and the basses snappy. Very three dimensional and almost swirly and alive sounding.

Less than a year old at this writing.

Lifetime guaranty (Mark Baier's life).

It has never failed to deliver its sound in any room I've played yet.

I keep a repair kit and fuses, tubes, soldering iron, etc. in the car.

This is my main amp.

If I'm out of town I keep a Blues Jr in the trunk of my car.

The store I bought it at is just down the street from my place. They stock the whole line of Victoria Amplifier Company amps.

Once they leave the store I've never seen a Victoria returned for any reason.

They just gave me the receipt and the little red & white Victoria tag, and said never worry as long as Mark's alive it's guaranteed.

I don't think a hand wired amp of simple proven design requires a rocket scientist to fix.

I'll give it an eight just because I've heard encouraging things about their customer service. No real experience myself however.

I've been playing guitar continuously since 1960.

Also own a Kustom '36 Coupe for outdoors unmic'd, and the aforementioned Fender Blues Jr just as a last resort spare. It's dreadful sounding compared to the others.

I like the sound of the bigger tweeds too, like the tweed Bassman, Tremolux, Trem D'La Trem. But I like the lightness and tonal complexity of the Deluxe just a bit more.

I like a simple amp with a minimum of controls and a good tone that stays good loud or soft.

Mine is a very early model. I had my amp tech make a few changes recommended by Mark to get rid of a scratching sound I got when I changed volume on my guitars. After the update the amp worked with no problems. It has no features to speak of, but it does what it is intended to do... be a simple amp loaded with good old tweed tone. It is not a clean amp so if you want tons of clean volume look elsewhere. Its a 20 watt amp with 2 inputs and 1 tone control. I don't rate the feature department but I think you know what this amp is all about.

I use this mostly with a strat, gibson 335, or Gretch Horton Heat. It is perfect for classic rock and roll, blues, or rockabilly. The amp breaks up starting around 4 on the dial. You can also jump the inputs 2 ways... normal #2 to bright #1 and plug into normal 1. Or jump normal #1 over to bright #2 and plug into bright 2. The later is a cool way to use the amp. I will leave the amps set on 7 with the tone on about 6-7 and do everything else from the guitar. Roll down to 5-6 and play cleaner.... move up to 8-10 for more overdrive. I am currently using the newest alnico tone tubby speaker and I could not be more pleased. It just has the sweetest tone and breakup you can get. This amp is just a real winner. I am currently using a 5751 tube in V1 which gives a little less volume but sweetens the tone and opens the amp up a little.

Built great, should last a very long time.

Very high marks in this area. You can always get what you need from Mark directly or one of his very fine techs. They have answered every question I have had, and gave me detailed instructions on how to bring my amp up to current specs to solve the issue I mentioned above.

I'm kind of a gearhead so a lot of stuff. Old fenders, modern boutique etc. All kinds of guitars from single coil, p90, and humbuckers. If you like a amp that can growl and just plain give up the goods early... get this one.

This is a clone of a late fifties Fender Deluxe. The construction is top notch as are the components except for the tubes and speaker. It has two channels (Normal & Bright) along with a tone control. Very simple yet very complex. You can dial in almost any sound you want. You can also jump channels and get some really great sounds as well. It came with Groove Tubes instead of the advertised NOS tubes. I called them and was told they have run out of NOS tubes and will be putting Groove Tubes in their current production models (too bad).

The amp I demo'd sounded good BUT had a noticable hiss to it. Since it had the Groove Tubes in it I attributed the noise to them. When I bought my amp I immediately replaced ALL the Groove Tubes with NOS. I put two matched Bendix Red Bank 5992's (6v6GT 50's era military) tubes and a military 5Y3WGTA rectifier tube. I also put in a 7025 and a 12AY7. This got rid of the annoying hiss and made the sound of a good amp even better. The next thing I did was order a Weber vst 12A125 speaker and replace the stock Jensen Italian made model that came with the amp. The Weber speaker is a re-creation of the vintage Jensen P12Q's that were standard on the original Deluxes. Once the Weber was installed the quality of sound went up through the roof. I cannot tell you how much better the Weber sounds vs the Stock Italian Jensen. THERE IS NO COMPARISON. After making these changes I can honestly say this is the best amp I have ever owned or heard. It sounds like butter. Creamy smooth overdrive or the classic fender sparkle when you want it. It is truly amazing. The new speaker opened up the sound at least 50% IMHO. I will never part with this amp. I also own a Fender Super Reverb RI, 66 Fender Champ, 70 Fender Vibro Champ and a Mesa F-50. This amp sounds better than all of them.

Victoria does not skimp on the internal components. They are all top shelf. It is also a very simple circuit so I cannot imagine having any troubles with it at all that could not be dealt with quickly and easily. Their warranty is good for the life of the owner/product.

I called them to ask about the tube situation and they were easy to reach and talk to. I do not agree with skimping on the tubes or speaker but I guess in their business model it's what they feel is necessary.

I have played classical piano for over 35 years and took up the guitar about 5 yrs ago as a hobby. I'm not great on the guitar but I have been blessed with perfect pitch and know what sounds good. This amp sounds great!! If you can make the changes I did it will sound even better.

I got mine used so I am unsure of the vintage. Two volume knobs and a master tone. Two inputs each of normal and bright. FOr blues and classic rock this is all you need. IF you need reverb just get a 99 dollar holy grail, the amp takes pedals very well. Mine also has a modern jensen alnico speaker which is wonderfully inefficient.

I use the amp with a CS 56 Stratocaster as my main guitar and also a Gibson 335 and PRS soapbar II. I play blues and classic rock for the most part and dabble in jam band and surf. It is absolutly the best blues amp ever! Full dweedy compressed tone that is thick yet articulate. I got mine used so I spent some of the money I saved on nos tubes and wow did it wake up the amp. I put in an old 50s rca for the 12ay7 position and marconi 6v6 for the power tubes. I also put in a Raytheon tube in the 12aX7 position. If you get one of these amps at least change the 12ay7 to an old RCA as it makes the amp more hi-fi and useable with humbuckers.

THe amp takes pedals very well and I run an xotic effects ac booser and a roger mayer spitfire fuzz. It works great with wahs and other toys like phasers. If you play at club volume you really dont need anything but a good cord.

The normal channel is great for Fender style guitars and p90s and humbuckers shine in the bright channel. You can also jump channels for more tones and the tone control gets brighter until about 8.5 then is acts like an overdrive tone as you move it to 12.

The amp sounds great at low and high volumes which is often hard to find.

My wife has had a victoria 518 for four years and no trouble with that and my amp is probably the same age and works perfectly. Leos original Deluxes are still going strong after 50 years so I am pretty confident these will last longer than that.

I emailed them about my wifes amp, and about building me an extention cabnet. Very quick response.

I have been playing about 25 years and previously used a mesa boogie combo for 22 years. Due to a back injury I can no longer pick it up and am sadly going to have to sell it. I am fortunate to own 4 really nice electric and two acousitics so this amp really makes the guitars sound even better.

I would buy one again in a heartbeat. I LOVE this amp. Huge tone and low weight (about 27 lbs) so I can still move it around.

I havent tried any of the other 5e3 clones so I cant say how it compares, but I have been told that this is the most authentic sounding of the clones. My local dealer is a Victoria dealer and I was checking out guitars and came across this amp and just loved it.

Beware, if you try one you will want one.

You know the features from previous reviews. It is a very versatile amp considering the lack of features.

I play an American Series Strat, mostly Blues some Rock and Jazz jamming with friends. I use a TS-9 for distortion, which works out real good. The amp has all the old blues sounds and with the TS-9 it screams (use #1 brite channel with treble on the amp and pedal if you want to get loud). Don't buy this amp if you want clean head room. If you love mellow distortion and a light amp (27 lbs) to gig with this is it. This is an amp that loves pedals everyone I've tried sounded good. This amp is great for the old guys like myself for the weight and the classic sounds.

A very simple amp means less things to go wrong. Seems well built.

I tried to e-mail the mfg. it didn't work. I'll call someday with my questions.

I've been playing guitar since 1966. I have a Fender Champ 1970. I guess I love the 6V6 tube sound. When shopping for this amp I compared it to the Peavy classic 30 (too heavy and a little harsh sounding), Fender deluxe reverb RE (too heavy and only one sound) and a Carr Rambler (too much money and my playing is not worthy of such and amp). If this amp were stolen I would probibly replace it with a Peavy Classic 30 because of the cost and versitlity of the Peavy.

Made in 2000. Not a lot of features, but that's what you want if you are looking for pure tone. One interesting feature is that this particular Deluxe has more headroom than any other I've played. I have to put it up to 5 or 6 before it starts to overdrive. The less features and bells and whistles the better. I did install an Area 51 BMT-60 add on tremolo unit which sounds fantastic with this amp.

I use strats with vintage style pickups. The sounds coming out of this amp are nothing short of amazing. It makes me smile every time I play through it. Just a guitar and cord and nothing else. Turn it up to get that great overdrive then turn down the guitar volume to clean up. There's something about Class A cathode-biased amps. The natural compression and jangliness are outstanding. As I stated above, I did add on onboard tremolo unit as I did not want to use a pedal. I also replaced the speaker with a Celestion Blue Alnico, which I think is the best speaker for a tweed Deluxe. It came with a Naylor Special 50, which is a great sounding speaker, but I really wanted the alnico for this particular amp. All in all, the best sounding tweed Deluxe clone I have played. I used to have a Clark Beaufort and this blows that away as far as sound.

Since there are Fender Deluxes still out there working 45-50 years later, I have no doubt it will outlast me.

I have had to e-mail Mark Baier before and he has always gotten back to me very quickly. Try that with Fender.

I have always prefered the sound of Fender tweed amps. I think it's the simplicity of the circuits which, to me, gives a more pure tone. Plus they're a lot easier to work on. I have been playing for 33 years and have gone back and forth with blackface and tweed amps. But this one's a keeper. The only thing I didn't like about the amp is that Mark uses a ground switch in the interest of authenticity. But since his amps have a three-prong cord, it's really of no use. So I took it out and put in a standby switch. If it was stolen, I would definately look for another one.

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.

I play Blues/Rock/pop/Jazz and bought it via Station Music in Germany as new for 3400 DM without any speaker. TYPE : 15-18Watt 1x12" Combo. INPUTS : Bright hi/lo + Normal hi/lo. CONTROLS : vol + vol + tone (For bright channel). TUBES : 5Y3 + 2x6V6 + 12AX7 + 5751. SPEAKER : bought it without any, but installed a Celestion Blue Alnico RI afterwards. For what I play, the features are just what I need and no more. Of cause a lot of further "tuning" could be done simply by changing the types of the preamp-tubes OR brand of any of the tubes.

I play Blues/Rock/pop/Jazz and play both humbucking and single coils. When I recieved the amp I was very pleased with the clean sound that were HUGE sounding! 30Watt? Big bottom, vocal-like midrange and detailed top. The optimum (for me) amount of compression. What was a bit harder to get, was the lead overdrive/distortion sounds right. It turned out that it was mostly a matter of getting to know the amp - or especially the speaker - better. The "Blue Alnico" speaker are VERY dynamic and detailed. Now (after 2 months of playing) I have found the right settings for the rhythm AND lead-tones. Actually I ended up with an A/B/A+B box that applies my guitar signal to the Normal or Bright-inputs OR both! A VERY GREAT SETUP FOR THIS AMP! - Now it?s VERY versatile.

The amp I have by now is very dependable I think. I do not intend to bring another amp with me on the road. BUT this is after some problems I must say. If you really want to be bored, read the story under "Customer Support"

Well now, the amp described above is actually the SECOND amp that I have received! On the first one some of the front panel labels were missing and others were scratched? The German distributor told that the amp were factory-new, so they (Station Music, Germany) were not to blame. Then I Emailed Mark Baier and he admitted, that there were some finish-problems with that specific amp, so he would send a new one. That was okay with me. When I received the second amp I noticed THREE missing soldering on the second pre-amp tube, a different kind of resistor were used in one place (NOT a carbon-type) and two diodes were located on the rectifier socket! I was told by Mark Baier that the resistor and the diodes were upgrades that I should not worry about and that he couldn't believe the missing soldering. So I have sent him several pictures of these and have not heard from him yet.
Since I'm an educated electronic engineer, I can't help feeling a little bit disappointed about the inconsistency of the two amps I have seen by now. BUT now I have the amp I wanted after all! HAPPY ENDING! And Mark has sent me some preamp-tubes that I can "tune" the amp with - for free, so by now I barely recall the problems.
The German distributor have been very professional all the way and Mark Baier (President for the factory in the states) have been very responsive (Emails) and have VERY good intensions but I think that he should hire some kind of Quality Control personnel. Maybe some "gear queer" like me?