Voodoo Amps Hex 50 Head

There are some new controls on this hex compared to the normal Marshall pots. They are:

Bottom - Tightens bass and adds subbass, good for high gain

Global - This is the 'center' frequency the amp responds in, can go from Mesa low-mid to Marshall High-mid and even Fender High-High and it really works! I am all over the place on this control as it utterly changes tone. Very awesome!

Feel - Like a gain boost of sorts, makes it so the amp can do super ultra saturated grind or pushed mid gain type tones, better for clean/driven tones imo

Mid boost - just what it sounds like, big boost, great for that trademark Marshall cut

Savage/Brutal - Basically puts 'hair' on the gain, Im not entirely sure but I think this turns on an extra gain stage, sounds like it to me anyways. I use both positions all the time. Great Control and very useful for all gain settings and tones.

As far as the rest of the tone controls they do exactly what they are supposed to, entire range of everything is usable. Fairly nice.

So I have had my Marshall 2204 Voodoo Hex mod for a few weeks now. I was a little hesitant to get an Amp unplayed and unseen but the Hex is a dream amp and very happy. In short im the kind of player that likes a one channel amp, I run passive pickups and like to roll the volume down to get my cleans. The hex does this perfectly and better than any other amp I have ever tried.

The cleans are very punchy, and can range from spanky to chimey to warm and round. Perfect for any use. Mid gain is more or less perfect as well, can sound like any Marshall from vintage to modern. I personally run High gain most of the time. Since I use passive pups I like to run the gain at about half on the Hex and use a booster like the SD-1 or my TC Electronic line driver. Both pedals work very well at getting that raw grind happening with little effort.

My Hex is incredibly loud at 50w, more so than any other amp I have heard. This may be partly due to the voicing and partly to Voodooamps awesome circuts and parts quality.

As far as playing high gain, this amp is perfect. Chords chime out, dissonant tones sound great and no matter what volume or gain level the Hex stays massive and tight. Palm mutes are huge but precise and it could easily keep up with death metal at 1000bpm.

The amp is as solid as a goddamn rock. Massive transformers weigh it down a great deal. I glanced at the wiring after I unwrapped it and it seemed rock solid. There was a bit of black goo on some components. As we all know this is Voodooamps keeping their amps secrets, secret, this is fine of course and I was happy to see it in the sense that I knew I had not been 'had'.

I haven't even had problems with the amp and Trace e-mailed me and made sure I was happy and it was working ok. I would say Voodoo Amps goes above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction. Easily some of the best support I have ever had from any company (from numerous reports other people think so too).

I give this amp 9 out of 10 since the perfect amp would get a 10 and this isnt perfect but damn near it and far good enough for me. Its a keeper. Been playing now for 15 years or so. I know a good amp when I hear it and this one captures that one-of-a-kind Marshall tone, like the best ones you hear on recordings. Yup the real deal. The price is for a used modded model is far cheaper than boutique amps and yet they retain their value very well over time.

my Hex is a little light on features. mine is the LAST of the Hex heads built into other heads, built into an old PA amplifier. it was delivered to me from Voodoo in November of 2004 when Trace had discontinued the mod in June of the same year. As a result it is light on features, but what it does have are some very useful and unique features.

-gain, master volume
-standard 3-band EQ, bass, mid, treble
-gain boost on the mid knob (push/pull)
-bottom control. knob controls low frequencies (just like any other EQ control), while on a push/pull is a seperate "tight" control, which changes the feel of the amp slightly. according to Trace, this is the first amp with this control.

nothing out of the ordinary or excessive, but VERY functional.

i'm playing an LP with a Duncan JB in the bridge and an SG with Duncan Distortions in both positions.

i play mostly just hard rock (for lack of a better classification) with as much air, and atmosphere as i can possibly infuse it with, it suits my style pretty well. all the controls are very responsive and, while the amp will always retain its basic sound, can help to shape the tone better than on many amps.

is it noisy? in certain conditions, yes, but what amp isn't under some conditions? with the LP it is noisier, but i suspect it is due to a pickup that could use another wax potting, as it is only in this guitar.

this is an amplifier the way i think they should be built, no stupid bells and whistles, everything is perfectly functional. one channel, pretty straightforward. i live on my guitars' volume knob, and the way the amp cleans up (and goes into break up, conversely) is nothing short of perfection, IMO. the clean is GORGEOUS, and the overdriven sounds are full, alive, and articulate. no mush whatsoever. ALL of the gain in this amp is perfectly usable, never muddies up or loses any of the amps sound.

i usually play with the gain a little more than halfway and it gives me what i need, but i suspect this amp could probably do some pretty convincing metal tones without any real assistance. it sounds and feels so juicy and alive anywhere on the gain knob (and the master volume, for that matter!!!) and is so harmonically rich, i can't get over it sometimes.

it seems to love all the pedals i run into the front (mine has no loop), keeping them as clear as if i were to run them direct.

my one problem (and this is as much a problem with the features section as it is here) is the lack of a presence knob. i would love to be able to dial it out, as i sometimes am looking for a darker tone and even setting the treble to zero won't do it. while this is a problem sometimes if i'm standing in front of a speaker cabinet, it is frequently a blessing in a mix, as you can hear this thing ridiculously well in that setting.

not 100% perfection, but just about everything i could reasonably expect an amplifier to be, and better than anything else i've ever laid my hands on.

only had it for four months but in this time the problems i've had with it are none. the build quality is outstanding, and really the only things i've seen that are clearly better (amps from a few builders are about even) are old Hiwatts, built to military specifications. even if something were to go out, the fuse is in an easy to access spot, and everything is laid out very simply, and very accessibly.

haven't had it long enough to give it a number, but it's been flawless in the time i have had it.

Okay... anyone who tells you that they can get better service from someone other than Voodoo Amps is just not telling you the truth.

i had been looking into Voodoo for quite awhile, and then a family member gave me a laptop computer i had really no use for at all. i put up a post on the HCAF (Harmony Central Amp Forum) about it, and got a PM from Trace. strange, considering any money i would've gotten from it would've gone right to him anyways. when that was all done, my order was finalized near the end of March of 2004.

now between February and November of 2004, i probably sent Trace as many e-mails, and made as many phone calls as i've made to anybody. out of all of those, how many times did it seem like Trace was annoyed with me, or didn't want to answer my questions? zero. in fact, i talked with him about things other than just my order, how his staff is doing, his opinion on a bunch of other things, etc. i have friends who call him literally to ask his advice about things completely not related to his business, and he's always happy to answer.

when my amp was finished, UPS came and picked it up, and there was an error on UPS' part and my amp was shipped to Georgia and i got a TSL-100 instead. called Trace who was about as apologetic as someone could be (with no reason really, as it couldn't have been his fault), and within half an hour he had convinced the UPS Store near him to call the location near me so they'd expect me showing up, and the UPS Store paid for the TSL to be shipped to it's rightful owner, and my amp to be re-routed back to me. Trace called me several times, even to give me the new tracking # after mine had been re-routed.

after all that UPS crap. a week later my shipping costs had been completely refunded. i cant' say for sure whether or not Trace had anything to do with this, but you can imagine what that says about the service if he did...

if you are reading this and are even THINKING about giving your business to Voodoo Amps, you should at least call them. Trace will give you his honest opinion, and be as helpful as anyone you'll ever talk to, even if that means sending your business elsewhere.

it may have taken awhile (7 1/2 months from order to completion), but i never felt ill-at-ease with the process as Trace was constantly informing me as to what was going on. to try to compensate, Trace added the aforementioned gain boost and push/pull on the bottom control free of charge, AND took half the cost of a cable order i had purchased off.

the service at Voodoo Amps is the very definition of the "perfect 10".

if this amp were stolen or lost, i literally have no idea what i would do. the circumstances under which i acquired it are unique, the amp is just as unique, and i doubt it can ever be replaced. even if i had the money to blow, i wouldn't get a production model Hex, simply because i love mine to death.

i'm really going to stop myself there, because anything else i have to say would just turn into me sounding like an employee for the company.

if you have any questions about anything written here, please feel free to e-mail me at bullhead242@yahoo.com. i'd love to answer any questions about the amp, review, or the company from what i know about them.

i could not have done any better.

My amp is a pre-production Hex 50 head. It really has every feature you could need in a single-channel amp.

Gain: Very sensitive, a little movement really chanes the tone and feel of the amp.

Gain boost: adds a subtle amount of gain, most noticeable to me in the brutal mode.

Savage/Brutal: Brutal mode is 4 gain stages, reminds me of vintage ZZ Top (brown sugar/going down to mexico) through live Randy Rhoads, up to Alice in Chains/George Lynch, etc. Savage mode is 5 gain stages, and really nails old Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Slayer, etc. Brutal mode is more my style.

Tone controls: bass, mids, treble. very usable, actually change the tone, versus some of the old Marhsall and Fender amps I'm used to. This amp has more than enough usable bass (thump) and high end, so finding your perfect tone setting is relatively easy. My amp has a mid boost feature, which I keep engaged. Ads a nice, well how would you say it.... mid boost :D

Master: This amp is pretty loud, but the master is nice and smooth, rather gradual when compared to some of the older Marshall, Soldano, and other amps I have owned.

Sweep (Global): This is a VERY useful control, and acts very similar to the midrange frequency control on a recording/PA console. it sets the operating range for the mids, where 80% of you guitar signal resides. This affects the whole tone characteristics of the amp.

Bottom: This pot adds considerable bottom (low mids) and girth to the amp. Perfect for 3-peice bands where the guitar has lots of room to sound big.

Tight: When engaged, this tightens up the bass response of the amp.

Vibe: This is a new feature at Voodoo Amps. A little hard to describe, but when engaged it sounds like you just stepped 2 feet closer to the amp. Adds a subtle gain boost, but also gives the amp more of a cranked feel.

I'm playing a Les Paul Elegant through this head, into a Bogner 4x12 with V30's. I play mostly blues-based hard rock (Zep, Cream, ZZ Top, Sabbath, fusion, etc.) This was Trace's amp he built for himself, and since we have very similar playing styles and "tone in our heads" I really like this amp WHOLE lot!! Here's a couple things I really like about the amp:

1. Very responsive. I like to vary my picking technique, and also have a bastardized finger-picking style with electric. I even stole some bass player techniques (ha!!). What's nice, is even at higher gain settings, the sound differences these techniques make really shines through. This also means that lighter picking significantly cleans up the guitar signal, and vice-versa. Rolling back the guitar volume pot gets awesome LZ Presence and early ZZ Top clean sounds.

2. Very low noise. Not much I can say here, other than Trace did a great job with component layout and clean construction. Very low noise, even at the highest gain settings.

3. Looks. yes, I think the amp looks good. used to be a Fender Bassman, but recovered with black suede tolex, black velvet front with Voodoo Amps embroidered in silver. Red/yellow anodized faceplate and black chicken head knobs. Looks like it came out of the mid 1970's, which I like :)

4. Thick, this amp is very thick sounding. Even at lower volumes (not quite bedroom) it still gets great harmonic feedback and that "feel" of a cranked amp. You know, when your guitar and speaker cabinet almost become one instrument and kind of resonate together.

Distortion sounds range from classic Zep, ZZ Top, Budgie, all the way through really thick mid-range metal, like Alice in Chains, STP, Corrosion of Conformity, and Testament.

OK, to be objective, I will state a couple things that I think people may find objectionable.

1. Savage mode will sound thin if you turn the gain down. I know this is easily changed to meet each style (it's just a capacitor). I asked Trace about this, and I have to agree here. People who use the savage mode probably aren't going to turn the gain down far enough for it to sound thin. But, just letting you know.

2. Mid-scooping. I DO NOT mid scoop, however for kicks I tried setting it up for that, and IMHO it does not get the kind of scooped mids that you would from a Mesa Recto or Bogner Uber. I could care less about that sound, but just letting you know.

Trace has been building and modifying amps for quite some time now, and the amount of satisfied customers really says something about his attention to detail. This amp is point-to-point wired, etc. I have had no reliabilty issues. It even survived the Big Brown Truck Test!!

Anything will break given enough time and abuse, however I do not plan on abusing this amp, so I do not think reliability will be a problem.

HC does not give a high enough rating here. Trace is by far the most down to earth and supportive amp tech/building I have ever done business with. Simply awesome, no other words for it.

I give it a "9" overall. I had a college professor once who would never give an A. According to his logic, an A represents perfection, and underclassmen are incabaple of perfection. I guess guitar amps are like that as well. You'll never find a "perfect" one, but this comes pretty damned close.

I have been playing for about 15 years. I owned lots of amps. I still own a Bogner Shiva head, extra cabinets, an old Traynor I modded myself, and a homebrew "Univalve".

If I lost it, my wife would give me a swift kick in the nuts. If it were stolen, I would find the address of whoever stole it, and give $500 plus a couple short lengths of chain to some crack addicts to persuade the person that theft is a poor choice of professions.

The distortion sounds this thing can produce is on par with, and IMHO may even exceed the Bogner Shiva. Which has been up until now my favorite amp of all time. The Voodoo aint cheap, but no good things ever are.

I believe this was a Bogen PA at one point, that Trace gutted out and installed one of his Hex amps inside of. This amp differs from most others as the plate voltage runs a tad lower so it sounds a bit creamier (as stated by Trace Allen himself). It has controls for gain, mids, treble, bass, master volume, bottom (loosens or tightens bass frequencies), and a switch on back for brutal (4 gain stages) or savage (5 gain stages) mode. It can cover a variety of styles, but my main thing is getting good rock and metal tones. The cool thing is this amps ability to clean up accordingly with your guitars volume control. Trace attributes most of this to the Hex circuits design and the OEI output transformer. Whatever it is, it makes this one chanel amp very versatile. This particular amp is very bare bones on features, but big on tone, which in the end is what its all about. This hand wired all tube 50 watt monster is loud, and has plenty of power to cut through any mix. If it had a seperate clean channel, it would definately get a 10 for features, but I am holding out for the Voodoo Hex 2 channel production amps.

I use a vareity of guitars through this amp (McInturff, Jackson, Charvel, Yamaha) and it defiantely makes your guitars tonal qualites shine through. It is very sensitive to different pickups, picking techniques, and dynamics. Very cool in my opinion. I have had the pleasure of playing many high gain amps that sounded good, but none that have retained clarity, and been so articulate at high gain settings. With the gain cranked it still sounds open and huge, not compressed by any means. The noise is very minimal given the amount of gain this thing has. A real treat after hearing some amps out there just hiss away. It also records like a gem. This is probably to be attributed to Traces experiences as a recording engineer. I myself am a recording engineer, so I cant say how pleased I am that I have an amp that sounds awesome, without having to coax any studio magic. It sounds so big sometimes alone that you'd swear it was double tracked. Awesome! This amp can cover many different styles of music, and although I primarily play rock/ metal tunes, it can easily do bluesy, and jazzy stuff. The EQ is voiced quited differently than most amps out there, but once you get the hang of it, you'll start to realize its full potential.

I have not had this amp for years so I can not comment on the reliability factor, but I did have a tiny problem with the treble control when it first came. I thought it was me, but after sending it back to Trace, he found the same and confirmed my findings and fixed it very quickly. He appologized and having dealt with him before, I know he was sincere. This guy is a class act for sure. I am sure if any problems were to arise, Trace would always jump to make a custoomer satisfied. A++++ from me

Again, Trace's customer support is second to none. He's not about getting rich and screwing the little guy. He could not be more supportive, and willing to walk on glass to make a customer happy. The big guys should learn top take a page out of his book. Nothing but the best dealing with Voodoo.

I really dont want to come off like many of the reviews here, but I really can not say a bad thing about this amp, and the Voodoo Amps company. They have been nothing but helpful in helping me fulfill my tonal bliss, and the work they have done for me has been great. I have owned amps from Laney, Lee Jackson, Ampeg, Ymaha/Soldano, Peavey, and Marshall (now more Voodoo than Marshall), and this one takes the prize by stock comparison, although the Voodoo modded Marshall is now in the same league tonally. I do wish this amp was a 2 channel (Trace was not doing 2 channels yet, and still has yet to release them), but as mentioned above, Voodoo is releasing a 2 channel very soon, and I am dying to hop on it. If anyone stle this amp, I'd defiantely seek another one out. BTW, dont take my word for it on the customer support/ service, drop Trace an email or a phone call and you too will see what I am talking about.

This amp started it's life as a Traynor YBA3 bass head. Trace essentially used the outer shell just as a housing for his own design. It's a single channel amp, 2 gain knobs, 2 gain boost switches, bass, mids, treble, global (I'll talk about this later), master volume, bottom end knob (for tightening up the bass), and a direct out for recording. No effects loop (none needed). It's got one of those OEI output transformers that Trace seems to love (I can understand why!), and he shipped it with Svetlana EL-34 power tubes, and some manner of Phillips 12AX7 preamp tubes. It's a basic all-tube 50 watt head, but with the Hex circuit that Trace developed, there's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much more to it than that...

I use a Gibson Les Paul with a set of duncan pickups (JB and Jazz), and it LOVES this guitar. I recently tried it out with a telecaster as well, and I got an equally surprising sound. The telecaster jangled and sang like I'd never heard before. My style is sort of progressive rock, but I take a minimalist approach to writing. I guess you could say I sound a bit like Adam Jones from Tool. Very simple on the outside, but once you delve into that type of playing, there's MUCH more than you originally heard... Odd time meters and strange effects with feedback loops. That sorta thing. This amp does the sounds I need to a TEE. I couldn't ask for better. The 2nd order harmonics that it produces yeild such a musical feedback, and REALLY make notes sing when I need them to, or bark and scream when I need them to. It's not a noisy amp at all, as a matter of fact, it's pretty much dead quiet.

I know this will probably sound cliche, but this amp will do sounds from SRV to AC/DC to Radiohead to Tool to Fear Factory. This has to be the only amp I've heard which actually LIVES UP to its hype.

It's basically a high gain circuit, but when you back off the gain, the clean sounds it gets are just crystalline. Very 3-dimensional. When pushed to the max, the amp can scream and sing at the same time. Hard to explain without hearing it in person though. It's very harmonically rich, yet at the same time extremely clear. I'd easily give the sounds category an 11 or above, but it won't let me give higher than a 10.

Since it's essentially a new hand-built amp in an old amp head, I think it'd be VERY reliable. I took off the top and had a look at the insides - at all the wiring and construction. Don't worry Trace, I'm not here to give away trade secrets, but let's just say it's VERY well built indeed. There doesn't seem to be any weak points in the workmanship at all. The wiring is done by hand with a Point-To-Point layout. Very clean soldering joints, well thought-out wiring layout. The tube sockets are mounted onto the chassis with flying leads, instead of directly mounted on some cheesy PCB. The thing runs smooth as a jet, and has never given me any problems. It's really rugged. I take good care of my amps, and don't neglect them, but I'd imagine even if this amp was neglected, it'd still function perfectly.

Customer Support is where Trace Allen shines. Trace is THE MAN when it comes to taking care of customers. I've never dealt with a more helpful person. Ever.

He ALWAYS got back to my e-mails in great detail within a day or two, and my phone calls were either met with him personally, or he'd get back to me promptly. Very rapid response, and THOROUGH responses at that. I know he's a very busy guy, but somehow he's able to take good care of ALL his customers. He must have a knack for being everywhere at once. I've never heard anything bad about him or his shop, and after dealing with him, I can understand why.

I get e-mail updates frequently from him about what's new around his shop, and just the general goings on in the world of Voodoo Amps.

Hell, he even took the time out of one of his weekends to give me a LONG and THOROUGH phone demo of a few of his amps. We talked amps for about 2 hours, and he answered EVERY one of my questions in a very honest fashion without seeming "salesman-like" (you know the type). Trace ain't one of 'em. Again, another category I'd easily rate at WELL over 10, but the scale only goes up to 10.

I've been playing for around 6-7 years now, and I own a few of those high-brow, obnoxiously elite effects pedals. You know, boo-teek snobby stuff. Yet I play a Gibson Les Paul Studio (the working man's LP). I know, I'm a wierdo. LOL!

I run the Hex head into a mesa 4x12 with the vintage 30 speakers. Although I'm thinking of getting a marshall TV cab with greenbacks...

I used to own this huge monstrosity of a rack and had a 4x12 cab. Then I moved onto a few various heads (marshall DSL and a Mesa drool rectumfryer) before I stumbled upon Trace in 'netland. On the Harmony Central discussion boards no less. He scouts out what's happening on the message boards (I guess to see what people are diggin' on these days) on TOP of all the customer support he normally does. Trace, I don't know how you find the time to do it.

After talking to Trace for a while, I was CONVINCED he knew how to make the amp that I've been looking for, and at an INSANELY low price (comperable to most amps today) to boot. And he delivered. None of the other amp rigs I owned/tried out/used/gigged with compare. They don't even come close. They'd always do one thing real well, but lacked in every other area. Trace's Hex amp does everything REALLY well. Better than I'd hoped.

I guess the main thing I dig about this amp is how it's such a simple design (50 watter, one channel, no effects loop), yet it's capable of making a GAZILLION different sounds, and doing them all WELL.

Maybe the only thing more I could want from the amp is stereo outs. But that's not really a big deal since I don't use stereo effects. Actually, I don't think I'd ever use stereo outs, but it'd kinda be a nifty thing to have to blend sounds together. I'm just starting to get used to using the direct out in tandem with the speaker outs, so maybe I could do the blending thing with that. Hmmm... Score!

Shoot him an e-mail at voodoodr@twcny.rr.com or hit up his webpage at www.voodooamps.com to read more about his custom-made amps.