Victoria Amplifier Co. 45410

I should start by saying that I walked out of the store with this amp even though it wasn't even on my short list of amps to try out. After playing through various Dr. Z's, Bad Cats, Divided by 13's and others, all of which were great but not really ringing my bell, I thought I should check out the Victorias (a different animal than the aforementioned amps, granted) while I had an opportunity. The store had a wide selection of Victoria models, all of which sounded incredible in their own ways. I initially honed in on the 35310 and Double Deluxe, but once I plugged into the 45410 it was all over.
The 45410 is perfectly versatile enough for me, though it might not be for some. If you want master volume, reverb, channel switching or any other fancy stuff, you're looking in the wrong place. However, the tone controls are surprisingly versatile for what they are. The middle control is the key - it seems to have the most effect on the amp's voice. This amp has the perfect amount of clean volume for my needs, yet it sounds great at "bedroom" volumes too. I am tempted to experiment with different tubes and speakers, as some of the other reviewers have suggested, but I think I'll live with it stock for a while before I start monkeying around. As it is super responsive to changes in the guitar's volume control, I would never consider channel switching to be a necessity. As for the lack of reverb, there are plenty of external units of all types that can do the job - I currently have an EH Holy Grail, which is not spectacular but ok for my needs as I am not generally going hog wild with reverb these days. This amp sounds so great without it, unless you are playing surf music or atmospheric kind of stuff that would require reverb, why bother?

I have had some experience in the past with a friend's modded 80's reissue Bassman, so I kind of knew what to expect, though for some reason I had forgotten how great a good Bassman could be. I believe the 45410 would sound fantastic with just about anything you could plug into it, but for some reason it is very inspiring to play a Strat through it (mine is a '60 Relic). After I got the amp home, I tried using the clean boost on my Fulltone GT 500, which hit the front end of the amp hard enough (with Strat) that I got some nice throaty grind starting with the volume on about 5 (normal channel). Backing off the guitar's volume put it in perfectly acceptable clean territory with plenty of dynamic variation. The amp is surprisingly quiet, even when cranked. It has very nice dispersion - not "beamy" in the slightest. That could partially explain why I don't miss having reverb. Bottom line: For just about anything but metal (and I rarely have to make those kinds of sounds) I would consider this amp to be one of the best amps I have ever played through, and by far the best I have ever owned.

I have no personal experience as I have only owned the amp for a couple of weeks, but one of the guys at TrueTone told me Victorias were the only brand of amp he had never seen come back to them for repair in his five years there. As they do a large volume of business, that is saying a lot. The amp comes with a lifetime warranty, which seems to be rare these days.

No experience as of yet.

I am mainly a bass player, so I actually own a lot more bass gear than guitar stuff. However, in the past few years I have been playing a lot more guitar out of necessity. Since I have been playing professionally for 30 years, I pretty much have an idea of what I like, and I'll tell you right now what I like most is this amp! As there are boutique-y amps out there that command prices in the $3500 - 4000 price range, the Victoria at around two grand is comparably a good value, at least to me! It might not appear that way to someone who once bought a used tweed Bassman for $250 bucks! Anyway, the 45410 makes me sound more like the player I've always thought I could be, and what kind of value do you put on that?

What features? It's a tweed amp!! Less is more.

This is the best sounding amp I have ever played my strat through. The harmonics and tone are amazing. I have been playing for 35 years and have finally found my amp. I wish I would have known this earlier. I would have saved myself a lot of time and a ton of money.
That said, the key to this amp or any amp for that matter, is picking the right tubes for the amp. For this amp, you have to go with Tung-Sol 5881's. I have a large stash of NOS tubes and nothing sounded as good as those. Also, I use a 5V4 rectifier tube to bring the plate voltages down to those of the original Bassman, which is 430-435. For the first preamp tube, I always use a JAN GE5751. The other two, pick your favorites and go with it. I play mostly blues-rock and classic rock. Mine is not noisy at all. If you put your ear right next to it you will hear a very low hum, but that is normal for a tube amp. The overdrive is great, especially with the Tung-Sol's. For lower volumes, I just use a clean boost.

As has been said before, all the Fender tweed amps from the 50's are still working. So this should be the same. These amps are so easy to work on, whatever happens, I can fix it.

This is the amazing part. I called Victoria with a question and who did I talk to on the phone? Mark Baier himself, the owner of Victoria Amps. He was very helpful and talked with me for a 30 minutes. I don't know very many places that you can get that kind of attention.

As I stated above, I have been playing for 35 years. As with everybody else, I have been searching all that time for "the tone".
I have finally found it with this amp. If it were lost or stolen, I would replace it in a heartbeat. There is nothing I hate about this amp. It sounds fantastic, it's easy to transport and there's not a lot that can go wrong with it. I used to have a Fender Bassman reissue that I modded and I thought sounded pretty good. But I got rid of it after getting this amp. No comparison. If you play a strat or a tele, try one of these amps.

as I'm sure you've heard, the lack of features are this amps strong point. Pure Tone. This is pretty loud amp, not Marshall 50 watt loud, but pretty loud. I find the 35310 isn't always loud enough, so this works well at bar and club gigs.

I like 10" speakers over 12's, less beamy. I also put clips on one speaker, and dis-connect it for quieter gigs. Hook it back up for louder stuff. Pete from Victoria told me its ok to do this, no probs. This amp likes all pickups. I have a strat that sounds great, humbuckers sound great, P90's are really the tits with these tweed amps. This amp has great thick, warm cleans, deeper than blackface amps. But you can still get cut. Not as tight as blackface amps. But doesn't get ice-pickey, like black face amp can sometimes get. Turning up the middle control on this amp really brings out the highs (mid-highs). I keep it at 9 out of 12. The bottom isn't Marshall or blackface tight, but that goes with the tweed terrotory. The amp starts breaking up around 6 out of 12. I turn it up to 6 or 7 for gigs. The breakup is really amazing on this amp, not over the top, just perfect. As you turn the amp up, you generally turn the bass way down to around 3. You can keep it higher for more breakup. You can also jumper the channels of the amp, for the best of both channels. I plug in to bright input #1, and with a short cable jumper from the normal 1 channel to bright #2. Then you can get the snap and cut of the bright channel, and the thickness and warmth of the normal channel. You also get more breakup this way. If you can, put in Tung Sol 5881's (expensive, but great sound), or JAN Phillips 6L6WGB, or TAD small bottles are great power tubes for this amp. They give you earlier breakup, with the classic tweed vibe. They also bring the volume down a little bit. If you want to keep it cleaner/louder put in regular 6L6's.

I've never had any problems with my Victoria's.

They're not e-mail people, call them. They are alway's very helpful. I call from time to time and pick Pete's brain.

I've been playing for 27 years. This amp is not as loud, not as shrill and not as crystal clean as the Fender re-issue Bassman. Though you can get good loud headroom with it if you wish. It has alot more warmth than the Fender re-issue. I really love this amp, especially when I get to turn it up to 6-8 out of 12. Thats when it really shines. Pick hard and get breakup, pick soft, it stays clean. Thats when you see the magic of these amps. I have the 35310, and that sometimes get swallowed up at louder gigs, or with a 2 guitar or heavy handed drummer. The 45410 also has a fuller, deeper sound than the 35310. I usually turn it up to 6 or so at gigs and it sounds really great. Dont need any pedals for P90's or Buckers (great natural breakup, just enuff, prefect). Strat still stay's mostly clean. When I do get to turn the amp up to 7 or 8 is when its totally over the top amazing. At louder gigs (heavy handed drummer, or two guitars, a full room) I get to nudge it to 7, maybe 8. It is a loud amp though, made for gigging. If your just playing at your house or a friends garage, or play in a quiet band, get something smaller like the 35210.

Don't look for a lot of features. There isn't any. The wasn't any on a vintage bassman and why should there be here?
If you want a bunch of tremelo reverb or whatever this is not the amp for you. It is a straight forward tone machine.
You can't grade this on versitility other than it sounds great with every guitar that I have.

Great tone. tone tone tone. That is what this amp is all about. If you want a true great amp tone then this is it.
Seems as thought some of the previous postings have talked about noise and such. A vintage bassman has a lot of noise. Most tubes amps put out a bit of noise. Straight forward amps of this nature are very sensative to tubes used. Buy good ones!!!!! Stop with the junk. Pay the extra for the RCA NOS blackplates and NOS GE, Mullard, or RCA in the preamp section. Makes a great difference.

Had this amp for 8 years. It performs as well today as it did the first day that i got it.

Mark is a great guy and easy to deal with. He has answered every question that I have every ask him. I have never had any service trouble with the amp but I asked about tube choices and such.

I've been playing 27 years. I run vintage Stratocasters, Les Pauls, and Paul Reed Smith guitars through this amp and they all sound great! If it were lost or stolen I would cry out loud then go buy another. I have stacked it next to Bogner, BadCat and others and it will flat beat them on tone anyday of the week. I have gigged with this amp every weekend since I got it. It is great for small clubs to outdoor festivals.

If you look hard you can find stuff to complain about and some people are too touchy about things. Comments about ($2000.00 and perfect) are ridiculous. Listen to it. If you don't like it sell it. They go quick on eBay.

This amp doesn't have any tremelo or reverb, so I'll give it a 9 rather than a 10. On the other hand, it has a midrange control, and I never use a tremelo/vibrato anyway.

I use this for harmonica (though my guitarist frieds have enjoyed plugging in occasionally as well). It has nice tone, especially when used with an attenuator and an outboard reverb, but it's not the best amp I've heard by any stretch. The reissue Jensens that it came with are mediocre quality (regardless of what Mark B. and others say about a "break in" period of "100 hours" (I kid you not). I've used the amp with a quartet of matched '59 p10r's (re-coned by Neil's of CA) and that helped, but the Webers have made the real difference (p10q's on top, c10n's on the bottom--all straight cones). Also, experimenting with different vintage tubes has helped.

The normal channel pre-amp tube has hummed just slightly and intermittently since the amp arrived (packed in a single box), and the tubes in that channel become microphonic too quickly. After trying different tubes, the problem persists. I've had it "glanced" at by 2 superb technicians who are vintage Fender guys. . . they haven't found the source of the problem yet (I usually mention it in passing when I have them swap speakers or power tubes). The techs haven't replaced any components yet, as the hum is pretty subtle and the tubes last reasonably long (I gig with this amp occasionally). When I mentioned it to Mar B. he suggested that I switch to a 5751 tube (is this why he suggests that tube substitution so often?). Again, it's a pretty subtle problem, but for this kind of money, the amp should be perfect. As for craftsmanship: the power tube sockets were lacking in tension when the amp arrived (tubes would need a "tap" or two after they'd cut out); the lacquer was applied in a less that meticulous manner (on the inside of the amp there were some sloppy areas--"so what, it's on the inside" you say, but for $2000 this amp should be perfect); the preamp tube retainers fit so poorly and were so tight that I after barely getting them off I've never bothered putting them back on. Also, the amp arrived with it's leather handle unravelling. When I called Mark B., he quickly responded by sending me a new handle (of course, he wanted me to send him the original handle first), but, again, for $2000 you'd think that the amp would arrive flawless. . .

Although I ordered this amp through one of Victoria's dealers, it arrived at my house in a factory sealed carton. When I called the factory with my concerns, I was met with a defensive, slightly hostile response--essentially, Mark B. told me that nothing that I was concerned about was his problem (other than the crappy handle). He said that I should direct my concerns to the dealer who sold it to me. Fair enough, technically, I suppose, but needless to say I won't be buying a Victoria amp again.

Pretty good amp despite some minor problems and lousy customer support, but not worth the money

This is an update from my previous review below.

I wanted to share how I have set my Victoria 45410 up so you can try it and see if you like it. First I had a set of the new 6L6GE tubes from Groove Tubes installed since the 5881's that came with went bad fairly quickly ( no fault of Victoria's it just goes with the teritory when using NOS tubes). After the Bias was set properly I set the volume controls between 6-7 and all the tone controls between 6-7. I run my Les Paul or strat to a full drive 2 that is on all the time. I set the overdrive control to 9:00 and the boost to 9:00. Now I use the volume control on my guitar and at 5-6 I get a great warm clean sound, as I turn the vol pot up the sound begins to breakup in a wonderful bluesy way. When I step on the Boost switch the distortion is very Santana like, and allows fluid lead lines and power chords with great definition. This set-up has really charged up my playing and the simplicity of the system seems to let a person concentrate on their tone and touch.

Mark makes the best amps (for tweed styles) in the country.

Excellent

The more I work with this amp the more I like it.

This is a Victoria 45410 amp that is a remake of a Fender Tweed Bassman. One channel with bright and normal imputs, Vol, Treble, Middle, Bass, Pres. No effects loops, channel switching Or Master volume. After going through multiple Boogies and assorted other high tech amps I have come full circle to the realization that less is more and the simpler the amp design the better the tone in my opinion. This amp has more than enough power to gig with and is very touch sensitive to your playing.

Doesn't matter if I use a strat, tele, Les Paul a or ES 335 this amp sounds great! I recently had a tweed Fender Bassman RI and thought it sounded good but when I had a chance to try the Victoria I immediately sold the Fender and bought the Victoria. Trying to compare the two amps is hard because the Victoria is in a whole different class. The amp is warm and sweet sounding, has incredible overdrive sounds and responds to your playing in a way that I have only found in original Fender tweed amps! The amp is very quiet, light weight due to the pine cab. If you like to turn an amp up and ride the volume knob for clean to distorted sounds than the Victoria may be the best amp out there.

Built like a tank!

The best in the business.

I've been playing for almost 35 years and this is the one amp I've found that I wish I had back when I started. I love the sound and pure tone this amp gives and immediately order another one if anything happended to this one. I plan to save up and buy the 80212 (tweed twin) model in the near future.

A replica of the holy grail Bassman, except that speaker inputs different. The original has each speaker plugged into the output transformer, the Victoria has a common 1/4 inch jack connected to the 4 speakers. This may be part of the reason my original sounds better

The amp sounds superb with hummbucker pick-ups, but lacks the loudness and full tone with single coils. A real bassman is loud and full at a volume of 3. The victoria is barely on at a volume of 3. As you turn the victoria up it gets louder, but lacks a depth in its tone. The victoria does sound excellent when cranked up to 7 or more. Again, if you play with Hummbuckers, it is wonderful. With single coils it cannot keep up with my original 58 Bassman.

Superb construction, mine does not rattle

Mark is accessible and seems like a nice reliable guy, however I bought the amp direct from him since there are no dealers in my area and he charged me the higher price, which in the long run has kind of ticked me off, especially since I had bought two other peices of gear from him!!

This is an excellent amp! However it does not sound nearly as good as the original. I'd blame the speakers,Jenson P-10 re-issues, but I have these same speakers in my Fender Vibro-King, and the sound loud and full as can be!! This amp will not age into anything like my original Bassman. He missed something with this. My matchless DC-30 and Kingsley Deluxe-30 sound much closer to my 65 Vox Ac-30 than the victoria 45410 sounds to the original 59 4 input Bassman

You already know from everyone else. No Reverb gives it a 9. You can buy a reverb, tremelo outboard, but that does not matter.

This Thing Blew My Mind. I went to just pick up a bruno I had custom made, and I heard this. I would not leave without it. It is Keith Richards when he is not using a Vox. It is amazing. Sounds better the original Bassmans I have. It is amazing. One of the greatest sounding amps ever made. I say that with confedience. Buy one! You will be very happy you did!

I have not had it long.

Smae as above.

The look is beautiful. Sound is amazing. A must have. Go listen and bring a check book. It will grab you. A true gem. This amp+ a Bruno+ a diezel= lifetime needs. Woth its weight in gold!

It's already been covered by others. I am going to rate it a little lower on the features just because it doesn't have all the little gadgets on it, but they are not needed 99% of the time so why worry.

This is the amplifier that started it all. I would say that this particular amp is better than any of the other vitoria bassmans I've played. I bought it used and it has Sovtek 5881's in it. I tried some Electro Harmonix 6L6's; do not use these tubes for this amp. Older fenders have a loose low end that farts out, and with the EH tubes you only add to the problem. The sovteks are more mid based and do not have a real strong bass response which compliments this amp perfectly. When this amp is turned up it caves in so nicely, better than a Dr Z route 66 amp I had. I find that is very versatile and that by having all the tone controls rather than bass and treble you can really dial in excellent tones. The only settings I don't care for are extreme ones, say controls past 9 or 10. This can be a little over the top. I like the four inputs and since I bought mine used it came with fender tilt back legs, not exactly stock stuff but a good idea just the same. To me this is the best amp I've ever owned and that's saying a lot.

If it's anything like an old fender I don't think I'll have any problems. It should be a 10.

I will call Mark at victoria just to find out how old it is and ask how to bias it, but other than that there shouldn't be much to deal with.

This amp really does it for me. Does the low end stay ultra tight like my Tone King or my route 66? No it probably doesn't. But do those amps have the tonal versatility that the victoria has? No they don't. This amp is where it all started and though there are few warts here and there that have been looked at by the boutique companies, but I still love this amp and special tones I'm able to get.

It's a '59 Bassman clone, nothing added. Changed the tubes to NOS tubes. Speakers are the new Jensen's P10R reissues.

I use pre-CBS Strat's and a Gibson ES-5 with P-90s. I bought this Victoria Bassman to retire my original one. I don't miss a thing, the Victoria sounds tighter and well, newer. I actually like it better. The tube change helped and as someone here already stated you have to break-in the Jensen's. It's a 10, because it sounds like a Tweed Bassman should sound like.

So far so good, should be as reliable as my old Fender.

Don't know.

The Tweed Bassman is my choice since many years and I will not change. This Victoria is a Bassman and I'm very happy with it,I don't miss my old one. To me it's a great bargain, new amp for an ok price and it includes warranty.

Well, I dont think this amp is a do it all type of amp. It is, however an amp that does what it does better than any past or present. This is the amp that defines rock and roll.

I know the secret to Victoria amps......change the Jensen Reissue speakers to Webers. I change the two bottom speakers in my Bassman, and the two speakers in my Vickie Super to Weber P10Q's from the Jensen P10R RI's, and it has changed my life. The Webers sound better than the ORIGINAL Jensens...I never thought I'd say that.....but they are that good. Additionally, it took some tinkering.

I thought that a GZ34 was the way to go in this amp........it isn't. It makes the Vickies tight and consitpated. If your Bassman sounds tight and a little hard, put a 5U4GB rectifier, along with Tung Sol 5881's and Mullard 12AX7, CV4004 and an RCA Command series 5751 and you will know why this is considered the best amp for guitar ever made. I have the tubes biased hot.....at 34to 36 and this amp just sings.....The 5U4GB creates the perfect sag envelope around the notes...and they sustain for days....My Strat quacks with the best of them and the Les Paul sounds like magic, coaxing bratty, snarling Jimmy Page tones or buttery Allmanesque tone out of the Webers which only sound more incredible the more they are dimed.

This amp is perfect for what I do. Blues and blues rock. Zeppelin, to Allman Brothers, Stevie Ray to BB......this amp is tone. Pure unadulterated tone. Great singing distortion. Finally figured it out with the help of Ted Weber and a little trial and error.

I have had a lot different amps: Bruno, Matchless, Dr. Z, Budda, Marshall, Fender. Built better than any of them.

Mark has answered some of my mail. I think they could sell a lot more amps if they got a little more involved on the customer end..especially the website.......and put Weber speakers in stock.

Fantastic amp....dont give up on them. Get Weber P10Q speakers.....definitely use a 5U4GB, bias hot. Have fun.

I think everyone knows the Tweed Bassman's "features". I bought this amp new in '99 and the only things I changed are the tubes. I use NOS tubes.

I play blues since >25 years and do this with Fender Stratocaster's and mainly tweed amps. I played and owned my first Victoria in '96, pretty much when they became available. The only effect I use is an out-board Fender Reverb Tank.
It takes a while to break-in these Jensen Reissue speakers, but after about two month they sound great. This Victoria sounds as a Bassman should sound like, this amp is my number one. I fell in love with it the first time I played it and it hasn't changed. I own several other Victoria's and Fender amps, but whenever I play a gig I take the Victoria Bassman.

I own and play Victoria's since 6 years now and never had a problem with any of them. I read here about the rattles,which I get from time to time from the pre-amp tube covers. I stretch the spring inside the cover and the rattle is gone. No need for a backup, when I gig all I take are replacement tubes.

I spoke to Mark Baier whenever I bought another amp from him to get information regarding speakers and tubes. He was always fast with the response, either via e-mail or on the phone. So, no complaint here either.

What you would expect from 59 style amp. Available reverb would make it more versatile than an original.

For fun, I a/b'd this amp with Fender's reissue 59 bassman, and while the reissue has terrible build quality, cheap tubes and parts, the difference in the clean sounds was not as night and day as you would expect, even the store manager commented that the difference was not terribly noticeable. If the Fender had the same tubes and speakers, the difference would be less. The Victoria's distortion was smoother at higher volumes though. Both the Fender and the Victoria rattled at higher volumes.

Point to point, should last.

Didn't purchase the amp, just wanted to see if it was worth so many times more the Fender reissue, which I don't think it was. Build quality was obviously much better than the Fender, other than the rattles that both amps hade when dimed.

Price Paid $1595 (Used) 1999 Model with Jensen P10R Speakers

I play all styles of music and the amp is very versital.

The amp has standard baseman features. It does not have reverb but does have a natural reverb sound. The amp is rated at 40-45 watts and has plenty of power on its own, although I mike all of my amps to get good clean headroom.

I use a jazz guitar or a strat mostly although I have used other guitars with this amp. I have even run my Martin 000-28 through it as a pre-amp before going to our mixer. The amp sounds fabulous with any guitar I have used. I set voulume levels on the amp at 4-6 to get good clean sound but you can crank the amp up to get great overdriven sound although the cabinit does rattle a bit at higher volumes. This is not a problem for me at 4-6 level and I use a Maxon OD808 for overdrive if I need it and it sounds great!!

I have not had the amp long but it seems very well bulit and I would and have taken it to a job without a back up.

I asked a question by "E" mail when I got the amp and got a quick reply even though I told them I bought the amp used! I never had that happen before with any other company.

I have been playing over 30 years and have owned just about every kind of amp. This is by far the best sounding amp I have ever played!
If the amp were lost ar stolen I would buy another in fact I am thinking of buying a small Victoria Deluxe to use for lead work and A/B the 45410 for rythum.

These amps are expensive but well worth the money if you can afford it. They can be had at even a more reasonable price on the used market than I paid for mine although they are hard to find. If you see one at a good price I would highly recommend it.

Features? Well, the features that I think make this amp special is the simplicity of the circuit. No effects loops, gain stages, ect.. to clog up that signal and dim the pure tone. Real nice tweed covered cabinet. Hmmm....what else? ... This amp gets right to the point. Speaking of point, it is point to point wired. I gave it a "2" in features, but that is good. If your looking for bells & whistles and gimmicks, then this is not it.

Sounds really nice now. I've put some NOS 5881's, replaced the 5751 preamp tube with a 12AY7 (original Fender Bassman configuration) and replaced the reissue Jensen P10R's with real old Jensen P10Q's. The 5751 made the amp break up too soon. Also put a "Fender Bassman" logo on it. It sounded very stiff at first. Most likely attributable to the Jensen reissue speakers not being broken in yet. I really have to give the design credit for this amp to Leo Fender and his team. Victoria has done a superb job in rebuilding the original design by going to great lengths to acquire the correct components to truely re-create such a masterpiece. No matter what people think, these will not sound like a '59 Bassman but I'd bet that in about 10 more years or so they'll start getting closer. Without getting into a physics discussion here I'll say that certain things are going to change over time that will alter the tone of the amp. Maybe in '59 this is what a Bassman sounded like?

Extremely well built with care in U.S.A.

Emailed Victoria but never got a response. Please, no big deal here. I'm sure if I resubmitted the email that it would get answered. Could be network problems or trouble with one of our ISP's too.

Excellent reproduction of Fender's tweed Bassman amp. Very expensive. Is it worth it? That is subjective to each individual. If you've never played an amp like this, you should try one. These amps have a sweet, round, punchy clean sound and a smooth, organic, natural overdriven, dynamic sound when turned up. The inspiration for the original Marshall JTM45 came from this amp. This amp is a tool for getting a certain type of sound that may not be suitable for everyone. That is why you should try it first. I really love it!

since this is a "copy" of the old tweed bassman, it comes with all the appropriate features, nothing more.

I own a 59 bassman and the victoria does NOT come anywhere near it, no matter what anybody will tell you. It gets as close to it as a matchless gets to a good old AC 30 so if you expect to get something identical to a good original, forget it. Having said that, the victoria is a very good sounding amp, much closer in character to the original than the fender RI, which is also a good amp.Actually , the fender RI is a great amp,thats why you see them being used so much. In my opinion most of these boutique amps are voiced with an affluent client playing in his livingroom in mind, and it is onstage, in a side by side comparison, where they fail to satisfy.How many of those glowing endorsements come from players, who rarely play outside their home or practice-space? I also would like to point out that the jensen speakers( (upgrade???) sound worse than the mojo speakers.

yeah, it's fine.

I bought this amp for a friend and have used it on and off for about a year now. If you own a good original you won't use this thing much. If you don't have an old one you might try the victoria, but don't buy a new one for listprice, they are defenitly not worth that much.

Date of manufacture unknown. Bright and normal channels, controls for bass, middle, treble and presence. So far seems sufficiently versatile for my 5-7 monthly small to medium sized club gigs in blues/R&B quintets. Considering picking-up reverb but can't say I miss it that much. As described below, amp as presently equipped is under-powered for use in bands with keyboard and second guitar competing with my guitar. If I were only guitarist, power would be sufficient.

Amp seeks to replicate the sound of the late '50s Fender tweeds: crunchy and complex. I did not expect to find this, but the tone is very appealing and cool even when the amp is running clean (below about 6 out of 1 - 12 volume). The Strat "out-of-phase" sound from this amp is unique and wonderful. My amp (presently running Kendricks and Sovteks -- both about to change) breaks up too soon, and has a very creamy, heavily overdriven sound in the upper levels. This is nice if you like that, but it doesn't cut through a busy and loud stage mix as well as I'd like. My amp is also too dark now; I run Texas Specials in the bright channel with the treble and presence high and bass and mid low. My ES-350 (with P90s) cannot get adequate highs out of this amp as presently equipped; it's too muddy. This is not such a loud or clean amp, as some reviewers contend. Specifically, it is not as loud as a Fender Bassman Reissue (but has much better tone); is not as loud as a '65 Pro Reverb (which may gain its superior ability to cut through aggregate band clume from higher tones); and not nearly as loud as a Fender Vibro-king (no surprise there -- 45w vs. 60w). This may change with the Jenson reissues and improved tubes.

Have only had the amp for a month but it appears to be exceptionally well-built and hence reliable.

My e-mail to company head Mark Baier was not answered until a week later by someone else who was somewhat unresponsive. One question was where to get a cover; during the week it took Victoria to tell me that they sell them for a decent price, I ordered one from Tuki.

I am a blues and R&B roots guy -- most of the music I love was recorded between 1954 and 1966. This amp is great for that retro stuff. It sqawks and sings at moderate volumes, and has very creamy, rich (non-metallic sounding, like a Reissue) overdrive.

Bought this baby new 1 year ago today. It has the typical features of a 4 hole Fender Bassman,ie..2 Normal channels and 2 Bright channels,treble,mid and bass tones controls and a noiseless Presence control. The ground switch was even hooked up!! Mine came with Jensen P10r's and NOS pre-amp and power tubes. Even though this amp has no Reverb in an open area it sounds as if it does.

I have a copule guitars that I plug this bad boy into, Gibson 335, PRS Custom 22 and various Fender Strats and Tele's. When I first got this amp the cabinet rattled and I got this ticking noise. I called Mark and he had me bring the amp in and showed me why and how the ticking noise was being generated. The cabinet rattle I took care of my self by placing masking tape on the outside of the chassis and made sure all the mounting screws were tight. The amps has plenty of head room to get my favorite tones ala Ronnie Earl and Dave Specter. Of course I have my Fender stand alone reverb ( I love reverb) Mark make some amps with Reverb in them!! If you are looking for that Marshall bite at low volumes you won't find it here. This amp don't get rude until you turn it up past 7 then you are only getting saturation no distortion. I like amps that I can just plug in and play.

As I stated this is the Vicky's 1 year birthday and outside of the previous maladies I have had no trouble with this amp.

I don't know about the rest of you but I have never bought any type of gear that did'nt some type of adjustment. Mark is very helpful and knows his s---!!! I have bugged him alot with questions on tube types,biasing ect. He is very approachable. He does tends to get a little busy though keep trying...

I have only been playing for 8 yeasr now and have owned various Fender amps. My current amps are Fender 65 Twin, Fender Blues Deluxe,Blues Deville, Holland Gibb Reverb 4x10. This amp sounds great and looks good. Sitting next to the Holland and other amps it got the looks and the tone. All hand made point to point wiring. If you can afford a custom amp I suggest plugging into a Victoria. Sometimes I do wish it had a drive channel. I've been at Marks shop and he is always putting something together, so I know in the near future you will see a Victoria with again channel. If I had to sell all my gear this ones staying with me.

everything you well need on this amp

im using relic strat and tele.blues rockinroll old stuff this amp has such a great fat complex clean sound turned up to 4to6 on the normal and say 7to 9on the volume every thing else on 9 this amp just sings youll just have to here it. ive played thru matchless amps there realy cool i love them and this 45410 sounds even better. the amp has a great sounding break up its fat and meaty has a real womp.

no problems my cabnit does NOT rattle either.

mark is very easy to talk with.thou i havent had a problem just trying to figure out what amp of his im going to but next. probably double deluxe any questions he has always very helpful.

been playing 28yrs if this amp was taken from me i would replace it. i play on matchless amps too and there great but since i got this 45410 its become my favorite. and ive played on every thing victoria's are IT.

Basically a Tweed 5F6-A Bassman. 45 watts, 4 inputs, Bass, Treble, Mid, Presence, Bright Vol, Normal Vol, 4 Mojotone MP10R speakers, solid pine cabinet, laquered tweed, what can I say. Tone to the bone! I believe that this one was put together in '95.

I play mostly strats with Texas Specials and this is the nicest sounding amp I have ever played through. Very complex and full sounding, 3D texture, yada yada yada. This amp sounds awesome and it suits the blues style of music that I play, mostly Texas, Chicago, and West Coast Swing. Can get a little noisy at higher volumes but I guess so would an original. Sweet spot for me is with volumes at 8-10. This amp is very touch sensitive and can go into a nice smooth breakup or clean, depending on how hard yer spanking the plank or how you have your guitar vol set. Distortion is very subtle, definetly not high gain or heavy metalish. Slap a TS or a FD2 in front of the amp and it will just scream.

I'm gigging with it without a backup, although I do carry an extra set of tubes and fuses just in case. Haven't had a problem with it so far. If it needs fixing I could probably do it myself or have just about any tech fix it. It is afterall a 5F6-A circuit and schematics are everywhere.

Have E-mailed Mark Baier with a few questions and he got back to me in a timely manner. Very Professional. We'll see what happens if something breaks and I really need to get a hold of him.

Been playing for about 20 years and have owned a variety of new and vintage gear including Marshalls, Fenders, Peavey, etc.. This is, bar none, the finest sounding amp I have ever played through and I've played through plenty of 'em. I know that there is a lot of discussion on the merits of PTP wiring, solid wood cabinets, vintage Fender vibe, etc, etc.. Whatever it is about this amp it nails the vintage amp tone in such a way that I have a hard time discerning between it and an original. The only ingredient missing might be the speakers which are not 40 year old broken in Jensen P10R's. Having owned a Fender Bassman Reissue, I can safely say that this amp blows away the RI. Not by all that much and not neccessarily in just in the way it sounds. The biggest difference for me was the "feel" that this amp has when playing through it. The RI feels constipated compared to the Victoria. The other difference is when you crank it up to stage volumes. The Victoria sounds sweet, the RI...well? The RI can get much louder than the Victoria and has more headroom. Not something that I'm into since I like the amp to breakup fairly early and not make your ears bleed when it does.

I bought this amp new in 1996 and immediately installed it in an anvil case. The features are covered in other reviews- it basically has the choice of normal or bright. Not much in the way of options. No channel switching, no reverb, it just is what it is: a hand-made 59 Fender Bassman.

This amp sounds like the amp god would buy if she had money, but it has two problems. 1: it rattles at high volumes. 2. it only sounds good at high volumes. I'm a professional and I play venues of all sizes, and I've never been able to turn it up past 5 without having a soundman explain that my stage volume was drowning out the vocals. If you're playing football stadiums, this may be the amp for you. If you're playing clubs, even big ones, you're going to need some kind of pedal in front of the amp unless you want a crystal-clear clean tone, which rather defeats the purpose of paying two kilobucks for a tube amp. I don't like pedals- I like the sound of my PRS played through hot tubes.
I can't emphasize this enough- before you buy this thing, take it to a gig.

I've sold mine, but I believe it would have lasted forever. The quality of construction is breath-taking. My tech almost burst into tears when he took the back cover off- it was just too beautiful. Just one question: what was rattling?

N/A

I've been playing guitar since Hitler was a sargeant, and I've owned vintage Fenders, Mesa-boogies, ampegs, Marshalls, you name it. If the Victoria had been stolen I would have hunted down the person who stole it and extracted $2K from his/her hide, but just because it's a real expensive piece of gear.
If this amp had any way of getting a good tone at a reasonable volume, it would be the amp for a lifetime. I know they make smaller ones, but I've picked up one of the newer Fenders and it's real close to the right sound at 25% of the price. The good news is it held its value- I was able to sell it for almost what I paid for it. Bought the Fender, put the rest of the money in the bank, and haven't had a sound man bitch at me since.

Simple. 4 inputs. 2 volumes, Bass, Mid, Treble, Prescence. Had Mark do the optional varnished tweed for an extra hundred bucks, makes the tweed look darker. Maybe this isn't a big deal but the finish was not applied to the bottom of the amp and made me feel like they were cutting corners. I mean it's a $1900 amp!

A beautiful hollow clean sound. Thick distortion when turned up. The amp is very quiet, even with single coils. The only reason for the score of 8 is that the cabinet rattles when turned up to six, even with the bass at 2.

Amp has been used 10-15 hours per week for over six months with no problems.

I bought a Reverberato, and after not liking it returned it. Mark didn't want to give me my money back and was actually insulting on the phone. (This is to a customer who had spent over $2600 buying his amps over the years) When I finally got a check in the mail 2 months later, it was for $400 less than what I had paid. Mark said this was because I had ordered a custom cabinet (which he charged me $50 for, if his incremental cost was $50 for the cabinet when I ordered it, why did he charge me $400?) After arguing back and forth over the phone, Mark finally sent me another $125. Suffice to say my next tweed purchase went to Clark Amps.

Besides the rattles at higher volumes, and the poor customer treatment, this is a decent amp.

This is as close as you can get to buying a new '59 Bassman. 2 channels, no effects loops. Actually I plug my guitar into the #1 input of the normal channel and go from the #2 input into my reverb tank and then from the reverb tank into the bright channel. Doing this allows you to mix the dry sound of one channel with the effects sound of the other. This amp sounds great with its 50W and 4 x 10 Mojo Tone speakers. It's all handwired, point-to-point using period correct components. The controls are very straighforward with no pull-pots or pushbuttons. There is an external speaker jack. Biasing the amp can be accomplished in 5 minutes with a DVM. It uses 2 5881's and a GZ34 but you can also use 2 6V6's and a 5Y3 or a few other combination of tubes. This amp has all the features that I want in an amp, a great sound that's easy to dial in.

I play Strat's and a Les Paul Special with P-100's and they sound they way they're supposed to. I've also played 335's and a few jazz boxes through it and it always sounds like the real deal. It has a very organic sound with lots of complexity that I don't hear in most of the newer amps. It breaks in a very linear way as you crank up the volume. Not crunchy or grungy, but very bluesy. Head bangers look elsewhere. I've had harp players blow through my rig and they all want one like it.

The amp is built like a tank and can take a beating. I don't worry about it crapping out on a gig. I've got spare tubes but haven't ever needed to work on my Victoria at a gig. If I ever need to get it serviced, all I need to do is take the Aspen Pittman Tube Book in with it to any tech because it is virtually a Fender 5F6-A circuit that any tech can service.

I've talked to Mark Baier on a few occasions to ask him about different tube combinations and generally to pick his brain and he's always been very helpful and willing to share his wealth of knowledge. I think the amp had a one year warranty on it but I'm sure it'll be around in 30 years and will probably sound even better then.

I've had my Victoria 45410 for 2 years and it is still rock solid. I've had Mesa/Boogies, Marshalls, HIWATTs, Fender Twins, Super Reverbs, DeVilles, ToneMasters and about everything in between and I've never been as content with an amp as I am with my Vic. I probably will buy another Victoria amp, probably a smaller one to use as a practise amp. This is a genuine, made in America product that will last for years.