White Amplification 100 Watt Head

Just to clarify the range of White Amplification Valve Heads (Later Little Rock Heads and Combos)were designed and built by Mr.Mervin Forse who still lives in Sunderland and not designed by Alan Cockerill (ACE) was a repair engineer within the White Sound / Rock City Music chain of retail shops to which White Amplification was affiliated.

This is a 100 watt all valve head made by The White Amplification Company of Sunderland. It's part of the Tour Series and is bloody loud enough for it. Controls are a Volume, Normal/Bright switch, a seven switch bass boost, Bass, Treble, Presence and Master Volume. There are also switches for voltage and ohm selection on the back as well as a slave out. I believe it to be fitted with EL34's but I'm not sure about the pre-amp valves, haven't opened it up yet.
For an amp of this age, I think it's 70's it has as much or more features then most of the amps around at the time. Only thing missing is a Middle EQ.

I use this amp for both Bass and Guitar. I use a Burns Marquee guitar fitted with Burns Rez-o -matic Single coils which sounds awesome with this amp. With the gain wacked up it gives as much sustain as a modern amp on distortion though with a much sweeter sound. Similar to the sound of a Hiwatt it has the raw power and purity of sound to destroy any modern Marshall though if the Bass Boost is turned up too high the sound can become grainy.
For the Bass I use the Gain at about 1/4 so as not to distort and with all the EQ turned right up the amount of Bass boominess can be controlled with the Bass Boost. This feature is awesome. Each turn adds more depth and substance to the sound without ever taking away any clarity. The Marquee bass is also fitted with single coils and with other amps I've had a problem getting volume off the E string, not with this amp.
I wouldn't say the amp is very versatile for guitar as it just gives a brutal vintage sound though for bass it can be used to make any number of different sounds together with the warmth valves give the sound. It is very very loud but sounds beautiful with it.

Haven't had any problems as yet. Seems as solid as a rock. When our guitarists Marshall broke down at a gig I plugged his guitar into the other input of my amp and unlike most amps it allowed for the two inputs to be used at once.

They're long gone.

I use it with a handmade Ashdown 2x12 cab built to John Entwistles spec which can just about handle the power. It is a king among cabs though. I used the head with a hired Peavey 8x10 which sounded tinny and horrible and a Trace Elliott 4x10 which just blew because the speakers couldn't handle the power.
If it was stolen I would hunt them down cause the only other things to sound this good are Oranges and Matamps.
The only other thing I'd like to have with this amp is another one, just for the sake of it.

This was made by what was the White amplification co up in Sunderland Tyne & Wear but I haven't seen it for many years. I left it with a friend when the transformer went and he still has it in his cupboard, 15 years later!
The engineer at White was I believe, Alan Cockerill, who has since bult up his own business (ACE Alan Cockerill Electronics) though I am not sure if it is still going.
The White 100 Head was cosmetically based on the Orange Matamp and was very Marshall like inside. El84's and EEc83's as I recall. There was a nice little pre-amp which crunched the sound with having to damage your ear drums. I also recall a bright switch.

It sounded very bluesy in the Chicago style, was nice with single coils or HB's but as I recall it was a little temperamental at times! I used it with a H/H 100 Watt 4X12" cab and it seemed to be Ok but nothing brilliant.

It had all manner of difficulties. For some reason it kept tripping the Earth trip switch at one venue, much to the annoyance of the proprietor.

They were good. If you took it back they would look at it and put it right...'til the next time.

I've been playing for 30 years and this was one of my earlier amps. I haven't missed it to be perfectly truthful.