Vintone Circuits SimpleX Combo

My SimpleX is a master volume 10 inch combo with a walnut cabinet. It can be seen on Vintone Circuits website. I play primarily blues, rock,and jazz and this amp covers them all nicely. I ordered my amp in November 2002 and received it in June 2003. Doug Stalters is a total perfectionist. He sent me digital pictures of my amp as it was being built and was very easy to work with, even when I made changes during production. I changed from an 8 inch speaker to a 10 inch Weber Blue Pup and I'm very glad I did. I also had him angle the cabinet and that looks great. My combo is a single channel and has four knobs. One is a negative feedback control, master volume, tone control, and drive control. The negative feedback and tone control circuits can both be switched off and taken completely out of the circuit. The amp is self biasing so you can use many different tube combinations to tailor your sound (very cool).I've been playing for 27 years now and this is without a doubt the finest amp I have ever owned. Dougs attention to detail is amazing. The wood cabinet is fine furniture grade, the amp is completely hand wired and sounds amazing with any guitar you play through it. I generally just play at home now but I occasionally play with a band and the amp is suprisingly loud and gets the job done when miked through the PA or slaved through a big amp. I have access to larger amps but I can't bring myself to play through anything else, it sounds that good. If I was playing professionally I would just have Doug build me a Deluxe for more power. (I might do that anyway). This amp sounds awesome clean, and it sounds great with my pedal board. The negative feedback loop works great when using overdrive pedals. You can dial out any unwanted grit and just leave smooth distortion. I wouldn't order an amp without it. Bottom line is if you want an amp that sounds like a holy grail blackface Fender, but is ten times more versitile and dependable, order a Simplex. You won't be dissapointed.

I'm primarily using a PRS Hollowbody with it now (sounds unbelievable!) but I've also used strats and Les Pauls with it. It sounds awesome with all of them. It is the ultimate strat amp. It is completely noise free, even with a strat.

Doug provides a lifetime warranty. The way it's built, I doubt I will have to use it. I don't take a backup amp. I just carry spare tubes and an extra fuse.

Doug is great if you have a problem. One time the amp was making a funny noise. I called Doug up and he listened to it over the phone. He said it sounded like a bad rectifier tube. I replaced it, problem solved. Try that with Fender, Mesa Boogie, etc.

I've done everything I can to prevent it from being stolen. It is kept in a full size firesafe when I'm not using it. When I take it out it never leaves my side. I've got a concealed weapons permit so I feel sorry for anyone who tries to take it from me.

I received this amp in August 2002. It arrived in a custom made 1/2 inch plywood crate that was screwed shut, braced on the inside and very well padded. When I finally got my SimpleX out of the crate....WOW!!!....I was tempted to write a review immediately, but decided to wait until I had plenty of play time with it.

This amp is all about quality rather than quantity. The design is based on a tweed Champ, and as such it is low power (below 10 watts) and elegantly simple (hence, the name). Doug offers several options, including tone and master volume controls, as well as speaker and cabinet material upgrades. I chose the "Standard" model: low and high inputs and one volume knob (that also turns the amp on) on the front panel and on the back is a potentiometer that adjusts the amount of negative feedback fed back into the tone circuit (useful when experimenting with different tubes -- and you can use a wide variety of tubes with out rebiasing), and a line-out jack. I love the simplicity of this amp. I typically put the volume control on about three o?clock and vary volume, gain and tone from the guitar. The amp also works very well with a tube screamer in front of it. The build quality of this amp is simply unparalleled. Everything is top quality, inside and out. Doug's professional woodworking background is readily apparent: the cabinet is gorgeous with flawless dovetail joints and a beautiful finish - just a great looking package. I had mine made with mahogany and a cane grill. My wife never complains when I leave it out - it even looks good in the living room (now, if I can just keep my kids' grubby hands off of it...)! Of the many amps I own, this is not one I would grab for a gig, purely due to the low power level. But, that's not what this amp is designed for. It's a perfect high-end amp for the house and it works great in the studio. That said, when I run this through a 4x10 with Weber AlNiCOs, it is surprisingly present.

I have run a wide variety of guitars through the SimpleX, including a Suhr classic Strat, a PRS McCarty (humbuckers), McInturff Tarus w. P90s, Anderson Drop Top (single coils and bridge humbucker), and a few others. They really all sound good. I love the sound of the P90s (but I think I'm just in a P90 mood lately). It is not noisy at all, even when cranked. It starts to break up at about 9 to 10 o?clock, moves into good grind territory and above 3 o?clock gets a fairly smooth overdrive. For higher gain, I use a tube screamer, and I've, run a little reverb unit in front of it, too. The pedals work well, but you certainly don't need them. The clean sounds are beautiful and true to its tweed heritage, but don't expect too much clean volume out of the amp -- hey, it's only about 8 watts at 2 in the morning when the grid is at its peak! Bottom line: this amp is extremely toneful. It is hard to believe that such a small unit can produce such complex and rich sound. If there is any limitation, that would be the 8" speaker. There is only so much you can expect of an 8" speaker -- even a Weber, and Ted's speakers are as good as they get.

I keep this amp in the house and studio. However, given the obvious build quality and simplicity of the design, I can't imagine ever having a problem with it (tubes aside).

When you buy an amp of this quality (and price), you should expect exceptional customer service. Doug really delivers in this category -- VERY responsive. He assured me that he is committed to being successful in the amp building business. He knows it is an extremely competitive business and his success depends on having happy clients. He sure has one in me. He's also a really nice guy.

I've been playing for 35 years (Yikes!), and like alot of guys who've been at it as long as me, I've accumulated a considerable pile of gear. I own about a dozen high end amps and I am very happy to count the Vintone SimpleX among them. You are simply not going to find a higher quality practice/recording amp in the Tweed Fender vein anywhere at any cost. Beautiful amp, great tone and a committed guy behind it all.

The Simple X Master was made in 2002.The amp has a master volume,so you can dial in a fat sound.The amp is only 7 watts,but it does have line out and a ext. speaker jack.This amp comes with a Weber 8" alnico mag. speaker.I played this amp live with a drive pedal into Fender reverb unit.I used a 2x10 extension cabinet.When I was playing some leads,and the other guitar player backed off some,it had some singing sustain.I would have loved to try the line out into my D/R.A very cool sounding amp,I just wish it was a little louder for small gigs.

I was playing a 1965 Fender Strat,2 stockand 1 seymour duncan vintage single coil.I play blues and classic rock.The amp was very quiet when not playing through it.I had all three knobs on 10.The distortion was kind of like on Steely Dan's Reel'in in the Years,very musical.

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This amp was just developed.

I started playing in 1963.I have another strat,deluxe reverb.gibson ga20,30, 30rvt ,50t,bassman head,pro jr..The Simple X has some really good sag,tube compression, I just wish it was more powerful, 14 watts or so.

The SimpleX Master was inspired by the classic 5F1 'tweed' circuit of the Fender Champ. The champ was made famous by being used on such tunes as Layla, Funk 49 and a host of other famous recordings. Doug Stalters has taken that concept to new levels with the SimpleX Master. After visiting Doug's website at www.vintone.com I noticed there were no sound bites of any of his amps. I could tell by what I was seeing at the site that Doug knew his stuff so I offered to create some sound bites for him. To my surprise, having never even met or spoken to me Doug sent me a SimpleX Master combo. Once it arrived I took it out and immediately noticed the attention to detail this amp exhibited. BTW, the sound samples can be downloaded at www.vintone.com. Dovetail joints and a beautiful cherry wood that was gorgeous. Doug has a furniture making background and the craftsmanship showed in the beautiful woodwork. For some close up and personal pics you can visit my website at www.monteallums.com/SimpleX.html. I think you'll agree this amp screams quality. Some much for how it looks let's get to how she sounds. Built in 2002 it sports a Weber P8Q, 11 oz. AlNiCo speaker. It also features a line out and a negative feedback control. It features a tone bypass also which I especially liked. The SimpleX can use the following power tubes: 6K6, 6V6, 6L6, EL34, 5881, KT66, KT77 and KT88. That's eight different ones! With Cathode self biasing there's no adjustments to be made! Just plug in and play! I plugged a 6L6GC into it and it exhibited that brilliance that are so reminiscent of Fender PTP amps. Also, you have the freedom of switching the preamp tubes. The choices here are:12AT7, 12AU7, 12AX7, 12AY7, 12AZ7 or 5751. Then, there's the subject of rectifiers. Use a 5Y3GT or 5V4G. This makes this a very versatile amp in deed. I loved the fat tubiness of this amp. Smooth silky tones that will inspire you to play. This amp screams in a studio setting. Just down load the sound bites and listen to them for yourself. I just can't say enough good things about this amp. It sounds huge when recording. The low wattage and the 8" Weber work in concert to give you tone that has to be heard to be believed. I very picky about my tone and I've been recording and playing since I was 11 and I'm 46, you do the math. I'm already talking to Doug about a 12" version. I've got to have one of these babies. It doesn't have channel switching and you won't care. Just stick a Tubescreamer in front or even better just dime it and use your volume to control the drive. Depending on the tube it's 8 to 13 watts. I plugged it into the 4 10s of my Super Reverb and it was surprisingly loud and sounded great.

I recorded the SimpleX with a variety of guitars. A Strat, Tele, Les Paul with P-94 and a Tele with humbuckers. The amp responded to all of them in a very positive way. If I had to pick a favorite I would have to say the P-94 and Les Paul combo was my favorite. Silky smooth vibe that was very inspiring. This amp is perfect for Blues, Rock, Jazz and R&B. Probably wouldn't want to use it for Heavy Metal but with the right pedal who knows. The amp is extremely quiet especially with the tone controls bypassed. I just can't emphasize it enough, THIS AMP ROCKS! Do yourself a favor and buy one. These will be a collector's items one day. Sure, they aren't cheap but what you get in this little package is PURE Tone that has to be heard to be believed. It was a sad day, the day I had to ship it back to Doug. Very few amps I've ever played affected me the way this amp did. I have a mid seventies Super Reverb that I adore and would never sell and the SimpleX Master is right up there with it. With all the crap being put out in the market today it's refreshing to see an amp of this caliber available.

Doug offers a lifetime warranty on all his amps. The SimpleX is built like a tank. The attention to detail is just awesome. Plus the circuit is simple enough that if anything did ever happen it would be a breeze to find a tech to work on it.

Doug is very accessable. Just an e-mail or phone call away. Just talking with Doug you can feel the emotion and passion he has for his craft. Doug builds all his amps one at a time by hand from parts he mostly makes himself. PTP wiring and built the way amps should be, with quality and tone in mind. If you're looking for great tone look no further, enough said.

I'd give this amp 20 on a scale from 1 to 10, ;-) Seriously, this amp has to be played and heard, first hand, to be appreciated. The thing drips tone to die for. Sure it's not cheap, but what price are you willing to pay for great tone. I will say without reservation that this is the best small combo amp I've ever heard or played and I've been playing 35 years. I look forward to the day my SimpleX 12" Combo arrives. Now THAT will be a happy day for this tonemiester.

Monte Allums
Superior Sound Designs
901-360-0927
www.monteallums.com