Winfield Thomas Amps Elizabeth Head

Bought used, but it was in beautiful shape. OF course, the way Winnie builds amps, this baby could have gone through a tornado and still fire up to sting the blues. Limited features by todays kitchen sink examples, but everything ( cept that damn reverb ) I need. 2 6L6's, 1 12AX7 and one 12AT&, tube recifier...hi/lo inputs, vol, treble, mid, bass controls. The mid works more as a treble or bass expander depending on where it's set. No reverb, ( which I dearly miss ) but I'm sure the less in the tone stack, the better the tone. And this thing has tone in spades. I won't give a rating here cause compared to Line 6, it's featurless. But for pure, pristine, blues, rock, county, jazz tones, it has all the features a good player will ever need.

Suffice to say, it get's the obligitory selection of single coil, humbucker, lipstick and P-90 equipped guitars plugged into it. I use teles, strats, LP jr, several semi-hollow's, lap steel, supro, dano, whatever I can find...I plug it in. This amp has beautiful clean tone to spare. I was concerned about clean headroom with only 2 6L6's. Hah! Silly me. Even with a single 12" speaker it will put many a 4x10 super reverb to shame. It does start to break up (in that beautiful, tube amp way) around 2:00PM on the dial, but in all honesty, I have rarely turned it up that high. Usually about noon or a bit above is sufficiant for small club gigging. Judicious use of said guitars volume control unleashes a virtual plethora of lovely tonal shadings. A very responsive amp (as others have said) to your finger touch and volume and tone control twiddelings. It loves pedals. Some more than others, but I've yet to try a fuzz, overdrive, distortion or time based modulation devices that the Lizzy didn't love. Belive it or not, a cheap Ibanez TS-7 ($20 at the local pawn shop) with the drive off and the level up put's one right into Albert, BB, Freddie territory...and that's a nice area to live when you're a blues player. The more I play this amp, the more I love it. I've had it for well over a year now and still using the same stock Sovtek tubes it came with. I have several NOS GE tubes that I kept from the 70's to try. I can't quite remember (another bitch of getting old) where I put them, but when I do, I'll give em a shout and see what happens. Either that, or I'll order some JJ's or Svetlana winged C's from Bob at Eurotubes. Although I'd be hard pressed to believe it, I'm sure with a new shot of tubes and a bias, this baby will sound even better than it does now. As long as one keeps the bass control either all the way off or close to off, the tone is exquisite. I can litereally plug in at home and play for hours. This is the kind of tone one dreams about when thinking of ideal blues tone....well, for me anyway! It get's that elusive clean/kinda dirty tone that is so hard to get with many of todays amps. The way it responds to your playing and the touch sensitivty of the Liz is beyond compare. I've been blessed to have played ( and owned in the past ) some fine, fine amplifiers. This gem ranks right up there at the top. I've considered selling it a few times when money was tight...justifying it with...."well, you don't really play out that much anymore and a less expensive modleing amp would be fun"......but thank the Lord, I've hung on to it. Just last friday night when the wife had gone away for the evening, I plugged it in and proceeded to get lost in it's beautiful tone for 5 stinking hours! I lost track of time and was still wailing away with the doors and window open at midnight. I was sure the local police were bound to show up. You really can not stop playing this amp once you plug in. The tone is that good. I marvled at the tone with P-90's. Sweet, articulate, rude, beautiful. Then I plugged the strat in. WOW! I had forgotten what an incredible guitar it is. Every position on the 5 way (and with the 6 way deaf-eddie chromocaster engaged) was a joy to behold. A stock 71 tele had more spank than a redneck gym teacher in Arkansas. Using the neck pickup on this tele was blues heaven. Plugging in my bucker equipped tele quickly reminded me of why it's my #1. Lovely, lush tones abound. As you can tell...and from others reviews....this is a fine, fine amplifier. If your looking for bells and whistles and fourple recifire overkill distorion tones, look elsewhere. You won't find it with a Winfield Thomas amp. But, if your the type of player that appreciates an amp that responds to your touch ....like a fine sports car....you'll dig it. Winnie makes several models of amps. From heads to combos. From a simple low wattage vol and tone circut to a Marshall/Vox to a Fender type tone. His amps are not only beautifully made, they a

This thing ain't breaking! If, for some strange reason it did, I know Winnie (even thoguh I'm not the original owner) would take care of me. Hand built, habd wired amps like these are built to last a lifetime. I'm easy on my gear, but even if I wasn't, I would not forsee much going wrong with this amp. Much like the American made cars in the 60's, not much under the hood to go wrong. A qualified tech would be able to service it with ease.

See aboe. A jewel of a man. Winnie graciously responded to my questions even though I did not purchase the amp from him.

Just buy one!

This is a "high-power" version of Winnies Elizabeth with 2 6L6s & a tubre rectifier. Simple, basic design with a beautiful job of hand-wired circutry. This one has a bright switch, but other than that, just a nice, simple tone machine. All the features I need for making beautiful music.

I use this mainly with a USACG chambered, mahogany tele with a Seth Lover in the neck and an SK T-90 in the bridge, but also with a 79-80 Tokai strat loaded with Jason Lollar pickups, a stock 71 Tele and a stock 67 335. It's incredibly toneful with all the guitars, but the chambered tele just sings with this amp. A match made in heaven. I have the head and matching cab ( beautiful wood cab's with cane grill made by Rob DeStefano ) with a 12" JBL. I've also hooked it into a an old Silvertone cab with two C12 Jensens. Both sound great. This is a very clean amp ( just what I wanted ) that reminds me of a blackface super reverb.....but with a sweeter tone and more headroom before breakup. It's a fine blues amp, letting the emotions of your playing come through with it's incredible touch sensitivity. It also responds well to pedals. I've used it with a Barber Direct Drive, Vox Valve Tone, Fulltone Fulldrive, Boss Blues Driver and an old Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal. While sounding good with all of the above, the Bluesbreaker, Blues Driver ( which suprised me )and Valve tone seemed to be the best match with the chambered tele. This is no shred machine, but for pristine, 3 D, buttery tones, it's incredible.

I think this amp will be making music with my grandson long after I've left this world. I bought this amp used, but Winnie has responded to each and every email with gracious professionalism. If I did have any problems with this amp, ( which I do not forsee ) I know Winnie would take care of it. The beautiful, hand wired circutry could also be seviced by a competent, local tech.

See above

Pretty straight foward single channel all tube amp. Twin 6V6 power tubes 12ax7 and 12at7 preamp with 5AR4 rectifier. Ohm output.
The front panel has 2 input, Vol, Treble, middle , Bass , Power and standby Switch.
Nice and simple like the original tweed fenders. Nothing to get in the way of sound coming off your guitar

This started out as a head, but I found the perfect cabinet to drop it in with a Jensen C12N.
This is the quietest tube amp I have ever owned or played. Zero background noise. I can only imagine this is what a brand new tweed deluxe must have sounded like fresh from the factory.
The tone is rich and clean with lots of harmonics.
I tried a set of 6L6s in the amp just for fun and it nearly tore my head off.
What's really nice about the amp though is that is doesn't color your sound. It sounds like you playing and not the amp. It's partial to single coils, but sound real nice with P-90s as well.
I think it's possible it sounds better than my blackface deluxe reverb, but maybe because it's so quiet or maybe because there's no reverb circuit to get in the way.
I can't say that this amp can or will do everything, but I don't have another amp that will do what this one does. It's a keeper for sure.

I've only had the amp for a short time, but if the build quality is any indication it should be very reliable or extremely easy to service. Excellent dress, all the connections are solid and neat.
Besides Winnie has been very accessible and helpful with any of my emails or questions.

Can't say enough nice things about Winnie. When I got the amp it was a head had a tubes up. When I decided to mount it in a 1x12 combo cabinet with tubes down I realized the faceplate legend would be upside down. I contact Winnie to see what I could do. He had a new faceplate custom made for me within a week.
He has also been helpful with Bias advise when I toyed with leaving the 6L6s in permanently.

I've been playing more years than I care to admit(saw Cream at the fillmore in 67) and have had a chance to try alot of gear. Even some of the vintage stuff when it was new. The amps quality and sound stand up to anything build then or now. If anything happened to the amp I would contact Winnie the next day and have him build me a new.
Another thing. I don't think you find a better value in a had build amp today.

This amp started out life as a 50's Knight mono amp. The transformers and chassis were used, and the amp was wired with a Fender 5E3 circuit, the "Tweed" Deluxe. It has a 5Y3 rectifier, two 6V6s, a 12ax7 phase inverter and a 12ax7 preamp tube. The two channels are jumpered internally. Volume 1 is the "Dark" volume and volume 2 is the "Bright". A 5AR4 and 6L6's can be substituted for the 5Y3 and 6V6's.

I play a 1999 USA Strat with Lindy Fralin's and a 1973 SG with BurstBuckers. Using a 1995 2x12 Bassman cabinet, this amp sounds very much like a late 50's Deluxe (but with a 'bigger' sound with the 2x12).
The overall sound is smooth and mellow, with typical soft and round bass of 6V6's, and smooth highs. Low volume can give creamy jazz tones, and cranked is smooth tube overdrive. The amp is noisey when tone control is pushed towards treble. Fortunately for me my favorite settings for this amp are less treble. This amp works very well for jazz. I haven't tried it with 6L6's yet - I'm guessing classic rock tones are there.

Have played the amp for only 2 weeks - No issues yet - just good sound.

Purchasing the amp from the builder (Winnie Thomas) was a pleasant experience - I'm guessing he stands by his amps.

I also own a '65 Bassman, a Top Hat Royale, a Blues Jr., a Rivera R-30, a RI Deluxe Reverb and a Gibson Goldtone GA-15 RVT. This amp sounds most like the Gibson, but not nearly as loud, breaks up much faster (a good thing for me), and with more of a vintage vibe. I wanted a Fender Tweed Deluxe sound - the real ones are expensive and always have something to fix. Victoria's, etc. are very good amps, but pricey. This amp gave me the 'Tweed Deluxe' sound I wanted at a relatively bargain price.

A very straight forward layout, exactly what I was looking for. I purchased the chassis only, which explains the price I paid for it. Amp is based on a blackface Super Reverb, but just the single channel, and minus reverb. V1 is 12AX7 (I subbed with a NOS Philips - a bit warmer in the mids), V2 is a 12AT7. 2x Svetlana 6L6 and 5AR4 rectifier. Also comes with a SS rectifier. 50w output transformer for clean headroom and punch. Front panel has 4 knobs for volume, bass, middle and treble. Hi and low gain inputs, power and standy switches. Rear panel has 2 speaker out and impedance selector for 4,8 and 16 ohms. I'll give this a 9 as it has everything I need, except for perhaps a bright switch.

I play alot of early blues (Texas, Chicago) and soul/funk/RnB styles. Too many amp manufactures pile on (what is to me) unnecessary extras -master volumes, channel switching, effects loop, headphone jacks etc etc. I don't need anything fancy for my style of music. This is a pure tone machine. Simple. I'm playing with a MIM 50s Classic Tele (Duncan Antiquity bridge) and a MIJ 60s RI Strat (Kinman, Fralin and Rio PUs!) and an Epiphone LP Goldtop (P90s). Used it outdoors for a few gigs and it was hum-free. Currently running it thru a Marshall 2x12 (Celestion G12M-70). Most recently I ran it in stereo with a 70s silverface Twin (master volume). For a 40w amp, it really held its own volumewise, I had the Twin's master on 10 and preamp on 6. Thats was as much clean I could get from it before raspy breakup. The Elizabeth was halfway up to match the Twin's volume (crunchier tho, as intended). Tonewise, however, the 'Beth totally outshone the Twin. Much smoother breakup while retaining punch and girth, tighter bottom end. Sweeter all around, plus MUCH more usable tone knobs. With the LP it needed a tad more high treble. The amp came with a bright cap that I (after consutling Winfield Thomas himself) removed, as it was a bit toppy with my Strat and Tele. Since I use these more I disconnected the cap. I'll probably get a bright switch installed for a bit more versatility with different guitars.

Winfield Thomas amps are hand made with PTP wiring, so they should last. I've only had mine for about a month, so I can't say. I am however, quitely confident that this amp will prove reliable.

At first I thought my amp had a nasty buzz, but that turned out to be the wiring at my house. Nevertheless Mr. Thomas personally answered all my frequent questions promptly, and offered to ship over a replacement transformer (for 50Hz, I'm in Singapore) if the buzz prevailed (thankfully it didn't). A pleasure do deal with.

I've been playing for 13+ years, have a Fender Pro Jr and previously owened a Rivera 5512. This is the most toneful by far. The Rivera is also a great gigging amp, compact and versatile. But for tone the WT is the deal. Highly recommended, if you're looking for a no frills amp with great tone, drop Winnie a line.

I am not sure what year the amp was made.
It is a single channel with 3 simple controls on the front: Vol.1, Vol.2, and Tone.
Thats all i need. The on/off/standby switch is on the back pannel, along with the speaker out(with a choice of 4/8/16 ohms).
It houses 2 6V6 in the power section( @20W) and I have 2 12AX7's in the preamp, along with a rectifier tube, not sure what type.
Very simple, easy to dial in tone.

I use this amp with a Brian Moore i-series guitar. i also have a fender tele and a strat. I use a 2x12 cab loaded with Weber VST Bluedogs. this amp suits the style of play I Got if for, and then some.
The amp is not noisy at all. It makes the most full and vintage TONE I have listened to, comparing to Fender Blackface all day long. As i turn up the vol.2 control the amp gets a nice bluesy tone, while still staying very defined and crisp.
There is nothing brutal about this amp, just vintage tone, tone, tone.

I have not had it terribly long, but i see that the construction is very sound. I do not "gig", and the amp will probably never leave my house. i expect it to last forever.

I have never had a problem, but the person, not company that makes these gems only lives the next state over. So, if I do need service of some kind I can just bring it to him. He also keeps in touch with his customers. Which is very comforting and reassuring.

I have been playing the guitar now for a little over ten years. I have a Laney VH100R, which is my main amp. I have owned an Egnater TOL 100, Mesa Boogie Nomad, Rivera Knucklehead 100, Hughes and Kettner Vortex, and Crate Vitage50. Other than the Knucklehead, I think the Elizabeth has the best clean tone I have heard without actually having a Fender Blackface. Also would like to add that you ocan not put a price on tone, but the price for the tone is too good to pass up. These are great little amps that are simple to operate and dial in. I really like reverb, and if it had some reverb, it would be the best amp(clean) that I could possibly own.
I would recommend this amp to anyone who love that vintage clean and bluesy tone. This amp sings. If it were stolen I would definatley buy another one.
Hell, I may buy another one regardless. I really want to try his other amp, November.

Single channel all tube amp with simple controls. Twin 6V6 power tubes, twin preamp tubes (12AX7, 12AT7), 5AR4 rectifier tube, into an 8 ohm output. About 20-22 watts with 6V6 tubes - can accept 6L6 tubes for about 30 watts output. About 15 watts output if the rectifier tube is a 5Y3.

Front panel - power on/off, standby on/off, pilot light, bass, middle, treble, volume, hi/lo inputs. Rear panel - twin parallel 8 ohm speaker jacks, pop in fuse, removable 3 prong power cord. Inside chassis - power tube bias pot.

Some folks would like other added features such as preamp gain ("master" volume), reverb, tremolo, an FX loop, yadda, yadda, yadda - those are all not for me. This is a guitar tube amp that does what it's supposed to do superbly well - provide excellent amplified guitar tube tone. In my estimation, since I have no use for other added "features", and since this amp delivers the goods that I want and need, it deserves a top rating. This is MY review and YMMV.

Note: this is a head amp and so far I've been using a 1x12 cab with a 12" Weber C12B Blue Dog ceramic speaker. I haven't tried other speakers ... yet. I've used the Blue Dog in other vintage and modern tube amps and it's one of my favorites.

Okay, here's the best part. This amp DRIPS with SUPER QUIET vintage blackface Fender Deluxe tube tone. When fed with single coil pickups, you're immediately transported back to the early 60's as this amp NAILS blackface Fender tone, but with way more definition and sparkle ... and SO much quieter. But wait, it gets better. Winnie added a mid tone pot that further tweaks the tone to blanket boost the bass or mid or treble - it doesn't change the bass or treble settings, it *enhances* them to your taste. Fabulous.

When plugged in with a Strat or Tele, you'll get super clean headroom to at least 1/2 volume (noon) from that point on, as you proceed to dime the volume pot, the sustain and creamy overdrive kicks right on in. Notes in chords are overdriven, but well defined. If at this point you're not in olde tyme tube amp blues heaven, well, you're just too clueless to own such a fantastic guitar amp ... sorry.

All point-to-point hand wired - this amp will literally live forever. Totally dependable, totally gig-worthy. Never had a problem, never expect a problem. Winnie is real craftsman.

Winnie stands by what he creates. I have absolutely no concerns or worries. If something went wrong with my Elizabeth I know it'll get Winnie's prompt attention and fast fix. He's just a great fellow to deal with - the best. I've had other custom amps, and one in particular from a very well known amp builder that took over a year to construct and 7 more months to debug all the problems it had - I sold that amp pronto. I'm sticking with Winnie.

Been playing guitars since '55 - played out for about 11 years - use only Strats 'n' Teles thru old tube amps - rarely use FX - play mostly blues, jazz, some modern surf and ragtime. I've had MANY guitar amplifiers over the decades. My first real guitar amp was a Fender Deluxe that I bought brand new in 1963. With any decent speaker(s), the Elizabeth amp is by far the BEST guitar tube amplifier I've ever owned. I can't imagine being without an Elizabeth, she's my number one guitar amp. Period. If you dig *real* guitar tube tones, do yerself a big favor and contact Winnie to build you an Elizabeth. Oh, BTW, his prices are VERY reasonable - much more so than too many of the other boutique amp builders.