Victoria Amplifier Co. 35310

Already mentioned numerous times, typical fender tweed 6L6

This amp has an excellent sound quality. I have a brown 1962 vibrolux and a 1965 vibrolux reverb which are sensational amps with sweet chimey tones and nice subtle compression, and the 35310 displays those same characteristics but with slightly more woodiness to the tone. I also have an early copper top non top boost vox ac30 which also has a nice chimey tone and compression but less frequency range compared to the fender type amps but gorgeous tone just the same.

I have had a problem with the amp, i think the original valve seats were not of good quality and were very loose.This caused one of the 6L6 valves to arc shorting it and the rectifier. I have since replaced the valve seats with ceramic ones and replaced the groove tube valves with tungsol 6L6GCs and this has made a big improvement to the sound. They give the amp that nice compressed warm vintage sound that new mass produced and some boutique el84 derived amps don't have. Some of those have a lot of gain but their clean notes sound thin overly bright and plinky. That even goes for Matchless and badcat.

I emailed Mark once but as I live in Australia he never got back to me. I am the original owner and the repairs should have been done under warranty but I paid for them myself.I'm not sure if Marc reads these review pages, but I purchased the amp from Jacksons Rare Guitars in Sydney and live 2 hrs flight away in Adelaide.

Overall this is a great amp, its light, loud enough to gig with and simple to use. I play in a 12 piece motown band and a pop covers band, and have used it to play big shows attended by as many as 2000 people and also outdoor concerts attended by as many as 30000 people.Why anybody wants to haul 80 pound amps or half stacks around when you are going to mic them and put them thru front of house is beyond me.

This is a 2005 model, which is the same as the earlier models. It's a straight-forward copy of the Fender tweed Bandmaster with no added curcitry like effects loops or reverb to complicate a perfect simple design. This amp prvides a sound unique to a 3-10 combo that just can't be duplicated. It's got plenty of power, and a great warm break-up as you increase the volume. Tone controlsare exceptionaly responsive and can give you a variety of sounds in combination with the volume settings.

The main reason i bought this amp was that I was alsways intrigued by Pete Townshends guitar tone on "Who's Next" and the albums after that. For instance, the song, "Bargain," Towshend gets this bright distortion without a great deal of sustain. I loved that sound, and I finnally read an interview where Townshend talks about hoe in 1968 Joe Walsh gave him both a Gretsch 6120 and a 59 Bandmaster. Towshend was skeptical at first, but when he plugged the Gretsch into the Bandmaster he said it was the most increadable sound he had evr heard. Townshend used this set-up on all of the Who albums from "Who's Next" onward. Yes, the guitar sound on "Won't Get Fooled Again" is a 6120 going through a Bandmaster. So I baouth mt Gretsch 6120 re-issue and when Victoria introduced their 35310 I finally could afford the whole set-up.

This amp really brings out the sonic characteristics of my other guitars -- a SG Special, Tele, and a LesPaul Deluxe.

I dond't bring back-up amps to gigs, and i have had no problems with the amp

The company seemed very friendly and genuinley interested in making sure that I was getting the amp that would suit me.

I've been playing for about 20 years. I Own a Rivera Fandango, and Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, and a Hiwatt Custom 50 head. I use the Vitoria when I'm playing my own material, and I use it a lot for recording. I've worked as a side man for a number of artists and I generally use the Rivera or Hot Rod when I'm working those gigs just because of their versitility. I never know what sound somebady is going to want.

Endless amounts of sonic mischief can be created by monkey paws with just a bass, treble, and presence knob. Happily, Mark's re-creation of Fender's tweed 3 x 10" Bandmaster is so beautifully voiced it is hard to find a bad sound. Some reviewers feel compelled to rate an amp a "4" because it doesn't have thousands of useless, nasty doo dads. Two channels, bright & normal (low & high imputs for both), two volume knobs, and the three above mentioned tone dials. I love my Victoria. What it does, it does. This amp is for big kids.

My style runs from Nashville to Memphis to Muscle Shoals and this amp covers all that territory. Single coils go into the normal channel and humbuckers go into bright. You set the Vicky where it sings and use your guitar's volume knob, your fingers, and pick attack to go from clean to funky to creamy. Tone is a personal thing, but I play with some of the best pickers on the planet (www.michaelchain.com)and every one of them wants to plug into the Victoria.

I picked mine up on EBAY and UPS did its level best to destroy it in transit. They dented the pine cabinet with crowbars but the amp still sounds like the voice of God and there is nary a rattle when I play at concert volumes. Victorias are built more like Shermans.

If you have a problem, just email or call. Mark stands behind his handiwork. Good man, Mark.

I have been playing since dinosaurs roamed the earth. I have gone through many, many amps, and still own about twenty. Three of my favorites are Victorias (low powered tweed twin, tweed Super, & Bandmaster). Allesandro, Carr, Kendrick, and Matchless also have a place deep in my musical heart of hearts, but my Vickys always seem to find their way up on stage.

Made in 2002. This is the blues amp. Well, one caveat, this is the blues amp if you are a working musician. Bedroom players and wannabe's really should buy something smaller and less powerful. The point-to-point wiring in this amp is a work of art. I find this amp to be lacking nothing. I guess there are some guys that could tweak it to do a bunch of things. As for me, it does one thing extremely well... the blues. The tone is clean and dirty. It never gets nasty. All the controls do exactly what they are supposed to do. Mark has advised me that with an additional preamp tube of a higher or lesser value than the one that comes in it, you can vary the amount of headroom. Also by switching the rectifier tube, you can select between two different power ratings. To me, this is a 10 but according to the criterion list it is probably a one.

I play a John Suhr strat modeled after a 50's strat with V60's. My friend who broke in this amp for me, as I am not currently playing a steady gig. He used a brand new 50's series mexicaster with .012's. This amp was killer right out of the box. (See the reliability section) but after two full gigs the speakers broke and everything jelled together. It's hard to imagine, but it just keeps getting better. This amp is very organic and it is also somewhat unforgiving. You really need to be on top of your game or you will know it.

UPS beat the crap out of this amp. Mark shipped it with the tubes in socket and when I took it out of the box I heard something rattling inside the chasis. It turned out to the center guides for the power tubes. This was courtesy of the very nasty ding on the corner of the amp which cut through the tweed and creased the wood. I super glued the center bungs back on the tubes, plugged them in, and she fired right up and sounded killer to boot. Mark is working with UPS on an insurance claim right now to replace the power tubes and the cabinet. If the amp can survive the beating that it took during shipping and still sound great, and in fact sound even better after breaking it in, then I am very, very confident it has the ability to take all that I can give it throughout the next 20-30 years.

Mark is really a class act. He's real busy, so he doesn't have time for a lot of smalltalk. I really do not know what kind of warranty this amp has. But again, I have every confidence that Mark is the kind of man that will stand behind his product. He is a reasonable man with real genuine passion for what he does.

I have been a serious student of the guitar for twenty years. I read, write, and speak music fluently. I have, on the strength of this amp's performance, ordered a double deluxe so that I have a back up. I would definitely replace it if lost or stolen. I have put this amp through the paces. There are very few products in life that really actually deliver what they say they will. The 35310 so far, has done all that I expected and more. The more time I spend with it, the more I love it. If any thing changes over time I will post a follow-up.

Made in 2001, purchased from Music Gallery Highland Park, IL. Basically a late 50's Bandmaster 35W 2 6L6's.

Great sound, breaks up a little more than a Bassman when turned up really loud. Cabinet seems to aid in the sound / amp "resonates" and has more of an open sound comapred to a blackface Fender amp. I play a Telecaster(s) and normal channel is great; bright channel is a little too bright and seems to rob a bit of bass.....

Beautiful point to point internals. Brnad new, no problems yet. I did have one tiny complaint: a chassis mounting bolt with a phillips head was "boogered up". Victoria supplied a new one and I replaced.

Actually went to see Mark Baier at Victoria to get a new chaasis mounting bolt. No problem. His wife Maureen was very nice on the phone and gave me directions to the shop in Naperville. Mark was very nice and also showed me how to bias the amp when it becomes power tube replacement time

Excellent amplifier and expensive; would buy again if need be. Expect to have this amp for many, many years

New. Basic Fender Bandmaster reproduction. Jensen speakers.

I play Tele's and a Reverend w/P-90's. Rock, Alt-country, Blues. I don't use pedals aside from a tremolo unit and occasional wah. I rely on the tone of the amp and guitar. This is the best sounding amp I've ever heard.

This is my second Victoria, the first being a 20-112. I haven't had any experience with problems with either one. Treat it like a tube amp and it should hold up well.

N/A

I've been at it 26 years. I own a bunch of stuff. I now own two victoria'a and they put the vintage Fenders, Marshalls, etc. to shame. I would definately replace it if stloen. My Victoria 20-112 is great, but loses a little clarity on the low end, which is typical for a tweed deluxe. This 35-310 is perfect. I hear everything I play. My only wish would be for tremolo and reverb, but that's why Victoria makes a Reverbarato. I'll probably get one of those sometime soon. These amps are expensive, but you'll never get a really beautifull sound by buying a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, or something in the $500-$1000 category. I've tried several times and there is always something missing in the sound. Victoria's are worth it.

This is an Spring 2000 era Vicky "bandmaster." It's a dead-on copy of Fender's much-sought after 50s model with bare-bones features: normal and bright channel (two inputs each); a volume for each channel, treble, bass, and presence knobs. That's it. After years of channel-switching amps and stomp boxes, I decided to go simple. At first I thought I would miss reverb, but I find that I don't. As I go after a raunchy Westcoast sound with a hollowbody guitar, I probably won't ever use the "bright" channel.

This is a LOUD 35 watt amp that is perfect for most clubs.

Mine came with Svetlanta 6L6 power tubes and NOS RCAs everywhere else. It also came with new Jensen reissue P-10-Rs. Upon plugging in, the first thing I noticed about this amp was how resonant the cabinet was--almost an instrument unto itself.

This thing is beautiful inside and out. Lovely workmanship. A nice big handle for an amp that is surprisingly light.

I use hollowbody guitars, both humbucker and P90 equipped, with this amp exclusively. This is THE amp for Westcoast jump blues or early Chicago blues. (Take a look at who uses them.) It honks a plenty.

It's quiet as a mouse and nudging the trebel and/or the bass knobs past 7 will give a more overdriven sound. The trick is the amp volume needs to be set at 5 or more to get a good natural tone out of the thing. The ampo stays pretty clean, even with cranked T and B knobs until you pass the halfway mark. At 35 watts this is pretty easy to do in most environments. The overdriven sound does NOT sound like most channel switching amps--it sounds like an old, tweed, low watt Fender cranked. So you get clean and less clean and pretty darn raunchy without much work and superfluous knobs and footswitches, etc.

I have sworn off Fender equipment, so I have NO idea how a Strat or a Tele sound through this thing.

This thing came with no paperwork at all. I e-mailed Victoria about how I would handle warranty, but I never heard back from them. I have used it without backup at both festival and club gigs and have had no problems. This thing is hand built, so it's probably THE most dependable amp I've ever owned. (I've had lots of bad luck with Fender amps over the years.)

Like I mentioned, I e-mailed Victoria about any potential warranty work, but never heard back. Since I live about 50 minutes from Napeville, where it was made, I'd just take it there for any foibles.

I've been playing 27 years. I've had oodles of Fender amps over the years. Finally my playing has dictated losing the pedals and overdrive channel amps. I chose this amp over a great sounding '64 Super. It has a character unto itself and fits my needs (blues)perfectly.

If it were stolen (gee, I'd better add it to my rider) I'd get another one in a minute. I'd love to have a 35115 as well, but for now my '64 Thunderbolt is a worthy backup.

This thing is SO pretty I was tempted to use it a "furniture" but I bought it to gig with and that's what it was made for so that what it does. BTW, Victorias don't come with amp covers, but a cover for a Fender DeVille or Bassman will fit prefectly.

This is a copy of Leo Fender's Model 5E7 Bandmaster (circa 1958). It has only: Bass; Treble; Volume; Presence; and two channels...Bright and Normal.

I play: Stratocaster with Fralins; Telecaster thinline with Andersons; and Melody Maker with a P90.

Well...the originals held up well. So this should do very well.

Haven't dealt with the company.

What a long strange trip...I started in the late 60s with Standel solid state (crap). By the late 80s I was able to afford Mesa Boogie (SOB, Mark I reissue). Then went to Matchless in the mid 90s (HC-30 head with Marchall 4x10 cabinet; Lightning Reverb Combo with 2x10 speakers. Turns out that for the rock, blues, honkey tonk, zydeco kinda stuff I play, an old Fender tweed is the cat's meow. I love the sound, and I think it's worth what it costs. That is it is not "a fantastic value", but a good solid value. Nothing wrong with that.

This amp does on thing VERY well...TONE.It sounds like an old tweed bandmaster.No reverb,no effects loop.It has Two channels,normal and bright.It is 35 watts with 3 X 10" speakers.

I mostly use an American Standard Strat,with texas special pickups.I also sometimes play with a Les Paul.The amp is really great for Blues and Rock,Country,Jazz, and any other style that is not effects intensive.It is not suited for Heavy Metal.(thank god)It has a wonderful clean sound until about 6 on the dial,then a little overdrive.At 9,IT SINGS.(it goes to 12)The overdrive is warm and wonderful,not harsh at all.

So far so good.I have had it about a year.I would gig without a backup.

I have been playing for 18 years.I have played a lot of amps.This on is pure heaven,GREAT TONE AND NOTHING ELSE.I also own a silverface Fender Champ,for home use.If it were lost or stolen I would definately want another one,but I think they are too exopenssive for me now.I believe there at $2000.00 new!

This baby is plenty versatile for what I play, but I'm definitely a "better one great sound than a whole bunch of mediocre sounds" type of guy. It's a two channel amp with none of that annoying channel switching or line out B.S. I don't look for anything else from the amp since it's really got what I want. Since I've got a buddy with a vintage 1958 tweed Bandmaster, I know what these things should sound like, and this does. I gig/jam at small clubs and it's plenty, All tube,etc.

This thing suits my musical styles perfectly. I play a Strat with Fralins, a Tele and an E-S 5 style rig (hollowbody with P-90's). No humbuckers in this menage - the Les Pauls, the better! The Victoria absolutely nails the sound, and really makes the Fenders sound like Fenders - the old time Fender sound. Ultra twang ala Buck Owens/Don Rich with the Tele, old Buddy Guy or Otis Rush with the Strat. I don't use effects, boxes or pedals - ever. Well, O.K., I confess, I tried a wah-wah for five minutes or so, about twenty years ago. Again, I'm a one sound guy - it had just better be a darned good one, that's all. Over the years, I've owned a number of amps: tweed supers, deluxe and champ, blonde amps and blackface super, pro reverb, vibrolux reverb, twin reverb, bassman. New Vibro King. No Boogies, Riveras, Soldanos for me. Not to slight anybody - they're great sounds, just not my sound. Nothing I've played recently - certainly no new amp - makes the Fenders sound as much like Fenders as this one does, not even the Vibro King, which is a fine amp, too. More ring, more chime from the Vicky. Plenty of distortion on tap - for me anyway - to go from clean to gritty, just dig in a little harder. It's that simple. It's been in the studio - "What kind of amp did you say that was?" 'Nuff said. Down side - not really, except the amp is 35 or so watts - so it's not a Twin, but it's plenty loud for the small clubs. If "blues" to you means Chess records, call Mark. He gets it.

So far - two years or irregular use, no problems. I'm not going to give it a number rating because I don't gig enough anymore to really say it's bulletproof. I will say in my experience, no problems.

Again, no problem so I really can't give a rating number. It's essentially an old Fender. Find some old guy who has a tube tester and a soldering iron who smokes Camels - he can fix it.

Absolutely would buy it again.

This amp is a very straight forward, 35 watt, 2-6L6, 3-10" speaker unit. I've had the amp for less than 2 months and use it on gigs with a R&B band (with a 3 piece horn section). I need to have a clean rhythm tone and also need to move to a fatter, bluesy/overdrive sound for some solos. By setting the volume about 3/4 of the way up, you can do this by adjusting the volume on the guitar. It sounds alot better than any channel switching arrangement that I have ever used. The clean sound is very clear without being thin. The overdrive is very smooth and has a lot of body. The amp is very sensitive to touch and exemplifies the adage of the amp becoming the instrument. It has enough power for my gigs as I almost always mic the amp. They have a 45 watt amp, however, I chose the lower wattage as I wanted overdrive at lower volume levels.
It has two channels, normal and bright. The normal channel appeals more to me. There is also a bass, treble and presence control for both channels. I ordered the amp with an effects loop which is tube driven and switchable. It works very well and also gives you an extra gain stage if you want it. There is no reverb. I personally don't miss it. Like the tweed Fender's that it is modeled after, reverb somehow is not missed.

Sounds great for blues/R&B. have also used on a jazz gig with equally good results. It is quiet with the effects loop switched out. The effects loop is transparent and is a real plus to those (such as me) who need to use effects occasionally and want to get them out of the chain when not needed. The amp basicly has a clean and overdriven sound. Both are to die for. The bright channel thins out the sound a bit which may be to the liking of some. The tone controls are highly interactive. It is very easy to get sounds without tweaking a bunch of controls. The ease of getting what I want out of the amp is a real stress reducer for me on gigs.

I won't do any gig without a backup. In 2 months it has been totally reliable. I would expect that, with proper maintenance, the reliability will be high.

I ordered the amp directly through the builder, Mark Baier. Communication was great and it was a super experience to explain what I wanted to someone who actually understood and was interested. Obviously, Mark takes great pride in his amps. In terms of service, I would assume that, if necessary, Mark will be there for me.

I am extremely pleased with this amp. It is perfect for my needs and doesn't have a lot of stuff on it that I dont want or need. I really tired of the "stacked channel" overdrive and this amp gives me exactly what I want at volume levels that do not shave my ears.
I did check out the Matchless Clubman 35 and Cheiftan. I lean more toward a Fender sound which skewed me to the Victoria. The Matchless weighs a ton while the Victoria, with it's pine cabinet weighs about 30-35 pounds.
If you lean toward the tweed Fender sound and want something that will give you that vibe in a package that you can gig comfortably with, this amp is well worth checking out.