Vintone Circuits 84 Express Head

The 84 express is a 20 watt all tube head and matching 210 cabinet built in the form of a tractor trailer rig! (YOU MUST SEE THIS, GO TO VINTONE.COM FOR THE FULL SCOOP AND PHOTOS). The circuit is loosely based on a Vox AC 15 from the 1960's. It has ALL the features I desired as Doug Stalters built it to my EXACT specifications. The power tubes are EL84's and the pre-amp tubes are 12ax7's. Of course it is also tube rectified. It is a simple yet versatile circuit. The front control panel has volume, bass, treble, and a bright switch. Low and high gain inputs complete the front panel. On the back of the head there is a conjunctive filter switch and a normal/gain boost switch. Also on the back are the outputs. It has an 8 ohm output for a single 8 ohm speaker load and two 4 ohm outputs to be used when using two 8 ohm speaker loads. It also has a line output to be used for direct injection into a snake, recording device, or another amp (as a slave). This output is wired after the power tube stage so you get all the cool sound characteristics of the tubes even when using this line out. The speaker cabinet is loaded with a 10" Weber Blue Pup Ceramic and a 10" Tone Tubby Alnico Hempcone. The head and cabinet are both masterfully crafted and complement each other beautifully. And last but not least, we are talking about my dream amplifier-a guitar amplifier built like a tractor trailer truck rig. The head has working head lights and tail lights complete with a dimmer knob to control the level of brightness.

I play in a variety band that plays everything: country, rock, oldies, R and B, and beach music. My main guitar is a custom shop tele with three pickups and a 5 way selector switch like a strat. The 84 express definitely has THAT TONE. It goes from clean to somewhat overdriven when cranked up. I am primarily a clean player so it fits my needs perfectly. However it will stand up and growl when using the high gain input and the gain boost kicked in on the back. I was pleasantly surprised to find out what EL84's were cabable of. It starts out with a more british tone at lower volumes, but when cranked up it sounds more like a blackface fender, and when really opened up moves on into the SRV zone.

I play regularly and I gig without a backup. When Doug Stalters at Vintone builds an amp he leaves NO detail unattended to.I have ABSOLUTELY no doubts as to the 100% reliability of this amp and speaker cabinet. All I will ever have to do to this amp is change the tubes every now and then. It is 100% bulletproof without question!

Doug Stalters IS Vintone Circuits. He is a one man operation; he answers the phone, sends the emails, designs and builds the circuits, and designs and builds the cabinets. With this being the case there is no chance of anything getting messed up or left out. His customer service is absolutely SECOND TO NONE; from the design stage to the build stage to the delivery stage. When "The Rig" came in, the rear bumper of the head/tractor had gotten bent by UPS in shipping. I sent it to Doug and he fabricated me a new one, assembled it, and Next day aired it to me in time for me to show off The Rig in all of its glory at my next gig. Because Doug meticulously handles every detail at Vintone and because the demand for his amps is growing, it will take a while to get your very own Vintone amp, but be patient, I assure you the waiting time and the money spent will be well worth it. You will not be disappointed.

I have been playing for 24 years and currently own several vintage and boutique amplifiers. I have always played Fender Deluxes and boutique Deluxes. My Vintone 84 Express is hands down my coolest and best sounding amp. I love everything about this amp because Doug catered to my every whim, want, and need when he designed it and built it. This amp wasn't cheap, but the old adage applies here like with anything else....YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! For me it was definitely money well spent.