No, I don't really work for Tech21, but I really do like this amp. Although I dearly love my Johnson (amp), I don't have much love for the hernia I think I'm getting from lugging it around the house and off to occassional jam sessions. So I've been looking for a small, lightweight, decent sounding amp that I could use around the house. I picked up the Trademark 10 from MF a couple weeks ago, and have been pretty stoked about it.
Before I go into too much detail, keep in mind that this is a 10 watt amp, with an 8 inch speaker. It weighs 14 lbs. Therefore, don't ask questions like "Does it really sound like a Dual Rectifier through a 4x12 cabinet?" My answer will be "For a 10 watt amp with an 8 inch speaker, it sounds as close to a Dual Rectifier as you could reasonably expect".
The amp is essentially a Sansamp GT-2 running through a 10 watt power amp and a custom 8" speaker. It's got 3 channels (tweed/Fender, British/Marshall, and Calif/Mesa), 3 mods (clean, hi gain, and hot), and 3 speaker settings (flat, US, and UK). Controls include gain, active 3-band EQ, reverb, and level. Back panel includes a headphone jack, XLR out, extension cab out, and effect loop.
The 3 channels and mods give a good array of available tones. For the distorted channels, the amp is reasonably loud (not loud enough to drown out a drummer, but certainly loud enough for jamming around by yourself or a few close friends). The gain seems most effective around "6", you don't gain much by turning it up to "10" (or "11" ). The EQ has a drastic effect on the overall sound. The clean channel is nice, but it doesn't have as much power as the distorted channels, so to get a great deal of volume you have to start cranking up the gain, introducing some element of distortion. The spring reverb (Accutronics, I believe) sounds pretty good. The owners manual and website show how to set the controls depending on who/what you're trying to emulate.
So far, I've used it for some recording (using the XLR out), and it records quite well. I use it for rehearsing in a swing band, and it's loud enough for me to hear, so that's all that really matters (because there's nothing like hauling a Johnson out for a rehearsal where I'll only use 1 preset). I keep it in my living room so I can sit there and play guitar while I watch TV--now I get extra practice time in and my sweep-picking has never been smoother!
Overall, if you're looking for a small amp to use around the house, I recommend this one. It's inexpensive (under 2 bills) and it's very versatile. If you look around, it may actually cost you less to get one of these than the Sansamp GT-2 amp emulator.
Any other Trademark 10 owners out there have any comments (good or bad) on the amp?
--Brent
(Edited by bduersch at 9:07 pm on Dec. 25, 2000)
Before I go into too much detail, keep in mind that this is a 10 watt amp, with an 8 inch speaker. It weighs 14 lbs. Therefore, don't ask questions like "Does it really sound like a Dual Rectifier through a 4x12 cabinet?" My answer will be "For a 10 watt amp with an 8 inch speaker, it sounds as close to a Dual Rectifier as you could reasonably expect".
The amp is essentially a Sansamp GT-2 running through a 10 watt power amp and a custom 8" speaker. It's got 3 channels (tweed/Fender, British/Marshall, and Calif/Mesa), 3 mods (clean, hi gain, and hot), and 3 speaker settings (flat, US, and UK). Controls include gain, active 3-band EQ, reverb, and level. Back panel includes a headphone jack, XLR out, extension cab out, and effect loop.
The 3 channels and mods give a good array of available tones. For the distorted channels, the amp is reasonably loud (not loud enough to drown out a drummer, but certainly loud enough for jamming around by yourself or a few close friends). The gain seems most effective around "6", you don't gain much by turning it up to "10" (or "11" ). The EQ has a drastic effect on the overall sound. The clean channel is nice, but it doesn't have as much power as the distorted channels, so to get a great deal of volume you have to start cranking up the gain, introducing some element of distortion. The spring reverb (Accutronics, I believe) sounds pretty good. The owners manual and website show how to set the controls depending on who/what you're trying to emulate.
So far, I've used it for some recording (using the XLR out), and it records quite well. I use it for rehearsing in a swing band, and it's loud enough for me to hear, so that's all that really matters (because there's nothing like hauling a Johnson out for a rehearsal where I'll only use 1 preset). I keep it in my living room so I can sit there and play guitar while I watch TV--now I get extra practice time in and my sweep-picking has never been smoother!
Overall, if you're looking for a small amp to use around the house, I recommend this one. It's inexpensive (under 2 bills) and it's very versatile. If you look around, it may actually cost you less to get one of these than the Sansamp GT-2 amp emulator.
Any other Trademark 10 owners out there have any comments (good or bad) on the amp?
--Brent
(Edited by bduersch at 9:07 pm on Dec. 25, 2000)