Victoria Amplifier Co. 80212 T

It does one thing very well.

Every type of guitar sounds beautiful through this thing....warm, woody and fat. Woody....If wood made a sound, this would (wood?) be it. I have an unmolested original 58 bassman and I swear this Victoria sounds just as good, if not better.

Appears to be BUILT!

Just this and maybe a good overdrive and you're in business. After trying off and on for years to find a new amp that sounds like my Bassman, I'd given up....and along comes this beautiful tweed box. If you want fat, warm, clean and dynamic, this is it.

My 80212-T is a 2003 model. This amp is basic in that it has volume, three tone controls and presence. It is 80 watts but mine has a an optional switch that drops out the outside power tubes and the amp is running 40 watts. The amp is actually lighter than expected. Four 6L6's and three pre-amp tubes, mine came with a 12AY7 in V1 and I have to say that I like the way the amp sound just as Mark Baier set it up at the factory with the NOS tubes. There are no effects loops, master volumes, channel switching or reverb, but Lord does it sound good!

I use an american std strat, 52 tele and a Les Paul std and they all sound incredible through this amp. I go from the guitar to a Korg DT-10 tuner (great tuner pedal) to fulldrive 2 to holy grail to the amp. Actually I only use the holy grail on the Hall Mode for a surf sound because the amp has a natural reverb to it!! I know this sounds a little strange but Mark Baier talked me out of adding reverb to the amp when I orderded it and when I got the amp and played it, Mark was right!! The amp has a wonderful full sound that surrounds the room your playing in and makes your chords sound huge. It has the perfect amount of headroom so you can ride the volume control on your guitar to vary the amount of distortion versus clean sounds. The amp responds to my playing in a dynamic way that I have not felt before, you hear each note and can sutain the notes by how you use your fingers. I can hoestly say this is the finest amp I have ever played in the last 20+ years. I have owned boogies, fenders, vox, Tech 21, and many others and none of them are remotely close to musical way this amp responds to my guitars. This is simply the best!

These amp designs are very simple and can be repaired almost amywhere in the country, It is built like a tank and the workmanship is truly breathtaking. This amp is new so I will have to update the review in a year to tell you how it's doing. Mark Baier has answered my phone calls and has endured all my questions and helped me obtain the amp of my dreams.

See above

I've been playing since the 70"s and my other amp is a new 64 Vibroverb custom, which is totally different but also very good. If this amp where stolen I would but another immediately.

I have the 80212 with Jensens, and for my needs, this is the best amp I've ever played through. I'll give this amp a seven in this category solely because it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles; but I hate bells and whistles -- tone is king here. I play rock mainly, strongly influenced by the blues & funk with touches of jazz for variety. 4 channels, 2 bright, 2 normal, volume control for each; bass, treble, middle and presence knobs (all dials go to 12, far past 11).

My main use is a '91 PRS Custom 24 with humbuckers and a sweet switch. It is a match made in heaven -- it carries the PRS clarity and warms it up, making it really sing. It is much better than my last amp ('59 Bassman Reissue) with the darker tones of the sweet switch. I usually crank the presence to the top and run the middle around 2/3, treble around 1/2, and bass around 1/2. If anything, this amp has two much power; with my 5-piece band, I never turn it past three in practice. Tested to 5, a little less than halfway, there was little amp distortion and it threatened permanent deafness. I run a Boss Blues Driver and Digital Delay, a Marshall Compressor, and a Vox Wah through it for other flavors, and they all enhance the pure tone that this guy offers.

Very dependable so far. I had one small problem that is very commonplace with this type of amp (see below). I would certainly take it to a gig without a back-up, although I wouldn't take it to a small venue EVER without providing earplugs for the audience (and myself!). The workmanship is top-quality and flawless.

I sent Mark Baier an email after business hours about a soft but consistent clicking in the amp. He called me first thing the next morning with an explanation and two fixes. It was a result of humidity in the board that is a copy of the original Fender board from the 50's Twin, probably because it had sat unplayed in our practice space for 3 weeks. It actually fixed itself due to the heat generated when I played it, and the noise was gone as predicted the next time I used it. There's also a permanent fix -- moving the 68K resistors to the input jack, but for now it's not necessary.

I've been playing for 9 years total, the last 3 of which were the most intense. If stolen of lost, I would signal the GPS device that I have buried in the chassis and get a gun license. I played a couple of amps while shopping before playing this one and around 10 afterwards, all top-line name-brand stuff (old Fenders, Marshall, Mesa, etc.). All of them sounded like a high school band next to the Vic. In fact, I was in love with my old Bassman before this one. I got very lucky: used in mint condition at an incredible price. Look around; they're hard to find.

The 80212 is a copy of the '59 Fender Twin, with 80 watts (4 6L6WGB's) into 2 12's. Mine has vintage 30's. I have found that I do better with an amp that has a great loud, clean, tone. This has as good as I've heard. I play a lot of different kinds of music, and use a pedal board to get the sounds I need (mine has 4 overdrive pedals). I have never found a channel switching amp that delivers the tone i want, and I've tried them all. I play everywhere from small clubs to unmiked outdoor gigs, and the Victoria handles them all. The only thing I don't like is the tweed styling, with the controls on top. I like to see my knobs.

I play classic rock, country, jazz, just about anything but metal or alternative. Like I said, using good pedals, anything you want is there. You can't turn this amp enough to distort much without losing a significant part of your hearing. I use a variety of guitars, all Fender. The older style Fender amps and guitars go well together.

I used the amp hard for acouple of years, always carry it in a road case, and have had no problems. If you take the back off a Victoria and see the workmanship and hand wiring, you'll understand why Victorias don't break.

No repairs necessary. After you talk to Mark Baier at Victoria a couple of times, you'll know that he will take care of you.

I was using a Fender Custom Shop Dual Professional before buying. I had to buy Victoria's Reverberato to get reverb and vibrato, but the extra money was worth it. Although both are handwired, etc., the Victoria has the sound I want. High power amps have a punch that low power can't provide. I have and use an old princeton, vibrolux, super, and they're good, but I always go back to the Victoria.