Fender Announces Limited Edition George Fullerton 50th Anniversary Stratocaster Guitar/Amp Set

Fender has announced the release of the Limited Edition George Fullerton 50th Anniversary Stratocaster guitar and amp set. The Fullerton set will be produced by the Fender Custom Shop in Limited Edition of only 150 globally and will include Master Built reproduction of a 1957 Stratocaster paired with a Relic Tweed Pro Junior™ amplifier. The project was a creative collaboration between Mr. Fullerton and the Fender Custom Shop Master Builders that evokes the original spirit of devotion and craftsmanship that Fender was founded upon.

The resulting Limited Edition George Fullerton 50th Anniversary Stratocaster is a beautifully Master Built instrument with a two-color sunburst lacquer finish on its three-piece blade-cut alder body. The one-piece '57-style soft V-shaped maple neck has a lacquer finish and 7.25"-radius maple fingerboard. The guitar include '50s-style pickups hand wound by world-renown expert Abigail Ybarra, who was hired to work for Fender by George Fullerton in 1956 and continues to work at the Fender Custom Shop today. The guitar also features a three-position pickup selector switch mounted on a single-ply white pickguard, plus vintage hardware, a commemorative neck plate and a certificate of authenticity signed by George Fullerton himself.

The guitar's partner is the Relic Tweed Pro Junior™ amp, which evokes the revered '50s era of small Fender tube amps such as the Champ®, Princeton® and Harvard. The 15-watt, single-channel Relic Tweed Pro Junior features a single 10" speaker, vintage pointer knobs and period-correct vintage-style tweed covering.

In 1948, George Fullerton went to work for his close friend, Clarence "Leo" Fender at the Fender Electric Instrument Co. in Fullerton, Calif. He became a key collaborator with Leo and played a pivotal role in the design and manufacture of the revolutionary instruments and amplifiers that later went on to change the world.

"Leo and I used to go out and sit in these nightclubs, beer joints and smoky rooms to talk to musicians, to listen to what they had to say," said Fullerton. "We were trying to learn what players really needed for their instruments. We listened to them rather than tell them what we were doing—we used a lot of what we learned in our designs for the market."

In 1954, Fender released what would become the most popular, recognizable and influential electric guitar of all time—the Stratocaster. Featuring a comfortable contoured body, three pickups—which allowed for a multitude of tones never heard before—and a tremolo system that allowed players to mimic popular lap- and pedal-steel tones, all while remaining in tune. After three years of production and design improvement, the 1957 Stratocaster was introduced and is still widely considered to have achieved design perfection.

"George Fullerton's contribution to Fender is immeasurable and to have him come home to be part of the Fender family again, is an incredible honor for every employee here at Fender Musical Instruments," said Mike Eldred, Fender Custom Shop marketing director. "For the Fender Custom Shop team to be able to sit down with him and work on these projects together has been like getting an incredible first-hand glimpse into history."

Retro-Styled Champion 600 Guitar Amp by Fender

Fender introduced its hardest-working five-watt guitar amplifier. The not so expensive new Champion™ 600 guitar amp pays tribute to the cute and ultra-collectible 1949-53-era Champion guitar amps, serving up five blistering watts of all-tube tone, plus the classic cosmetics that make the original amps so desirable.

The Champion 600 is the perfect low-output tube amp for practicing and recording, with a 6" speaker, simple controls, and that classic Fender "two-tone" look—brown and blonde vinyl covering, leather strap handle, and red jewel pilot light. Champion 600The low-gain circuit of the original was developed in conjunction with lap steels; the new Champion 600 has been updated to suit the needs of most guitarists with its 12AX7 and 6V6 tubes offering a bit more of that dynamic, natural overdrive when cranked.

"The Champion 600 is beautiful in its simplicity; a straightforward tribute to some very collectable little amps." observed Shane Nicholas, Fender's Marketing Manager of Amplifiers. "By keeping it simple, it's also very affordable—perfect for tube amp novices and collectors alike. And it's so cute, you can sit it on the kitchen counter next to the toaster!"

Champion 600 features include the aforementioned all-tube circuitry, a 6" Special Design speaker, high gain and low gain inputs, a single volume control, and an external speaker output. But this amp isn't about features; it's about that classic low-wattage tube amp sound.

Yamaha DG 80 210 Guitar Amp

In 1998, Yamaha introduced the DG Series of guitar amps. In just over two years, the brand has made a strong entry into the "digital modeling" amp market with several models. The DG series is comprised of the DG100-212 (100 watts and two 12-inch speakers), DG80-210 (80 watts and 2 10-inch speakers), DG80-112 (80 watts and two 12-inch speakers in individual enclosures), and DG130-H (130 watts and 4 12" speakers).

Features

I reviewed the DG80-210, which has two Celestion Vintage 30 10-inch speakers. The amp has a nice modern look with a red panel, yet still retains a vintage look overall. The control panel includes trim, output, master level, gain, three tone controls, presence and reverb controls. When the presets are recalled, the ten motorized knobs actually move to the settings. Each preset can be recalled via the Recall button or an optional MIDI controller.

The amp section has 8 switches: Lead 1 and 2, Drive 1 and 2, Crunch 1 and 2, and Clean 1 and 2. These individually call up the various amp types. There are three warm-sounding reverbs (spring, hall and plate), and three effects types (tremolo, chorus and tape echo). The mode function allows you to adjust the parameters for whatever amp you are using in the preset. It also lets you adjust the many effect parameters such as tremolo speed, chorus level, and tape echo time.

The memory recall switch will zap you to any of the 128 presets where you can adjust the functions to your liking and then store your new sound. An optional MIDI controller can also be configured to change the presets, volumes and effects. The rear panel speaker simulator outputs a "voiced" sound to the line outputs for playing direct into a mixing board.

For those who simply must collect all four in the DG series, you can swap sounds via MIDI from one amp to another. There are two inputs (high and low impedance) and an effects send/return with balance control. The DG also has an extension speaker output so you can stack 'em high with optional speaker cabinets.

In Use

When I delved into the DG 80-210, I faced a bit of a learning curve-I spent a lot of time going through all of the 128 very useful presets. However, the effort was worth it. The sounds are amazing!

The overdrive, distortion and lead sounds are exceptional. Yamaha steers clear of the dreaded electric shaver distortion that I have heard from other amps. It is warm when needed, and cuts through with just the right amount of distortion for soloing.

The tremolo presets were terrific. The design committee who developed these combinations of tremolo, reverb and distortions should be applauded for sounds that aren't over the top. Also, when I switched between presets, the volumes were relatively equal, unlike other guitar boxes I've used.

This amp gave me such luscious reverbs that I had no fear printing them to tape. I plugged in my Strat, propped up a Shure SM57, patched in a Urei LA-4 and started recording. When it came to mixing, I didn't regret my decision. The recorded guitar and ambience sounded unified and organic-not like a guitar track with board effects added.

Summary

This amp is as close to a warm and full tube amp sound as I have heard from digital modeling processors. The DG80's versatility and sound quality is easily worth the $1,299 list price. And in this cut and paste world, anything that is going to save me from wrestling with stomp boxes, cords and wall warts is a Godsend. I'm starting to think that the days are numbered for my trusty Twin Reverb and Rat distortion pedal.

Talos Basic Guitar Amplifier

Like Guitars, guitar amplifiers have their own flavor and sound. With tube amps, the vintage tone is often associated with Fender while more modern tones are connected to Marshall and Mesa Boogie. Likewise, the high-end boutique amps, such as the Talos Basic, also have their own flavor. In this case, the flavor is wonderfully sweet.

Features

The Talos Basic

Priced at $3,000, the Talos Basic is produced by a team of designers who used to work for the Conrad-Johnson audiophile company. This high-end audio experience and philosophy show up in many ways in the Talos line.

The amp reviewed here is a single 12-inch combo rated at 50 watts in pentode mode, 35 watts in partial triode mode and 20 watts in triode mode; all of which are available from a single switch on the control panel. It utilizes a pair of Svetlana 6L6 or Ruby 6L6MSTR output tubes operated in Class A push pull. A 12AX7 is used as the first two gain stages and a 12AT7 is used as the phase inverter.

The rattle-free cabinet is built from high quality Baltic Birch (Pine is used on the signature Bill Kirchen model). Choice of speakers includes a Jensen C12N high output ceramic magnet 12" (my favorite) or the newer Jensen neodymium magnet 12". A head version with choice of cabinet and drivers also is an option.

Controls include Gain, Drive, a Fat/Bright switch, tube mode switch (pentode, partial triode and triode), a fan switch. Yup, this geetar amp has a fan. The Gain and Drive controls both pull up for additional voicing options. Jacks include high and low gain inputs and an effects loop. The loop is intended for use with an insert cable and is perfect for a '63 Fender Reverb unit. An external speaker jack - the "Smart Jack" circuit - automatically engages the 4-ohm tap on the output transformer jack when an extension speaker is plugged in.

Inside, the boys at Talos use premium parts liberally, including carbon composition and metal film resistors, film and metal film capacitors and nickel alloy transformers. Key to the design is the short signal path (no tone controls to muddy things) and the Class A push-pull tube design.
The Audition

I played through the Talos Basic with several guitars including a Fender American Series Telecaster (single coil pickups), an American Series Fender Fat Strat custom humbuckers with split coils), a Gibson Les Paul Standard (humbuckers) and a Gibson Custom Gibson L5CES hollowbody with dual humbuckers. I used a 12 ft. Mogami instrument cable and threw in a couple of pedals including an Electro-harmonix Holier Grail to get some reverb and a DOD FX 100 EHO distortion pedal.

With all the guitars, I was very impressed with the output from the amp. The short signal path and high-end design netted a very dynamic, warm, yet natural sound. The dynamics of single note bends on the Tele' were simply amazing! Like a great hi-fi amp, there is an accuracy to the Talos that is lacking in many amps. Yet it still has a warmness that makes it easy to listen to. Maybe this is the new vintage tone players are searching for.

Humbucker dynamics show up way better on the Talos than most any amp out there. None of that typical compressed, ultra-dark sound that I always blamed on the Les Paul humbuckers. With the Talos there was just way more dimension and nuance. The Talos sounded just as good with my L5. Those warm jazz tones were there, but with more richness and dimension than my '65 Twin Reverb reissue.

By the way. I tried the amp in all tube modes, and preferred the partial triode for the Tele's single coils and the Pentode mode for the humbucker guitars.

I had a couple of quibbles with the amp. The fan is too noisy for studio; thank goodness Talos added an on/off switch for it. I know increased cooling will increase component life (especially when operating the tubes in Class A), but with my audiophile ears, I have not yet met a fan that wasn't at least a bit noisy. My other complaint was the lack of spring reverb as an option. I know that spring reverb is considered passé in this age of digital, but I still believe it is the best for guitar if done correctly.
Conclusion

At $3,000, the Talos Basic is a made-in-U.S.A., premium guitar amp combo with a high-end, audiophile pedigree. To hear your guitar dynamics via the Talos' much more open soundscape should make this amp desirable for studio and live as well. If you can afford the $3,000 and you want to hear all the nuance out of your electric guitar, the Talos Basic probably is the guitar amp for you.

Sunn T50C Guitar Amplifier Combo

Priced at $1,699, the 6L6-powered T50C combo sports a host of features and a great vintage sound. Equipped with a Celestion G12-75, 12-inch speaker, the amp is beefy, weighing in at 75 pounds - even heavier than a 2 x 12" Fender Twin Reverb reissue. A big part of the reason for the weight is the massive power transformer, which also contributes to the sound.

The amp is equipped with two channels: clean and overdrive with separate bass, middle and treble controls for each. The overdrive channel has gain and volume, while the clean channel operates via a single volume control. A master reverb and presence functions on both channels. The power switch/standby set up is a little unusual; the standby is on the front, but the power switch is on the back.

On the back panel, the T50C sports several features that increase the amp's utility. One feature that I really like is the low-power switch that reduces the output power to 12 watts. This feature allows you to get the high-gain saturation sound at lower volume (and save your ears).

A handy effects loop with separate Channel 1 and Channel 2 sends/returns allows use with pedals and rack effects. The main amp- out and the external amp-in jacks allow the amp to be used in "daisy chaining" with other amps.

The tube complement includes two Svetlana Russian 6L6GC output tubes, and six 12AX7s and a 12AT7 in the preamp section. For those of technical proficiency, the amp contains a built-in, tube bias/balance adjustment circuit. With just a simple volt meter, you can adjust the balance of new power tubes - if they are not matched - and adjust the bias once they are matched. The tube circuit also contains an output "trouble" LED that glows red if a tube fails. All in all, the tube biasing/balance section is a nice touch.

If you want more speaker volume, an external speaker jack is available for separate speaker cabinets - with an adjustable impedance switch for precise matching to 4, 8 or 16 ohm speaker loads.

Inside, the internal components are laid out on PC boards. I do not believe that PC board- mounted guitar amps are inferior to hand-wired amps. Like other quality PC-board amps, the Sunn sounded good and should be reliable.

The audition

An amp that costs $1,700 ought to sound good, right? Well, the Sunn T50C sounds great. Playing an American standard Fender Telecaster through the clean channel, the amp puts out a very full vintage bass and midrange with just a tinge of crispness in the treble, courtesy of the Celestion. Reverb is clean and "Fendery" without spring "boinginess." Clean country pickers, jazzers and rhythm aces will like the palette of sounds available from the clean channel.

The overdrive channel is killer with the ability to create Marshall-like compressed crunch power cords and vintage overdrive of older Fender amps. This is one of the better overdrives I have heard in a modern tube amp. And the low-power mode makes the distortion that much better when playing at home or for recording. Sunn also offers a head/speaker cabinet version as well for a few bucks more.