Headstrong amps

[Pogue Mahone]

Thinking about selling my Mesa Lonestar and buying one of these Fender clones. The Lonestar is a great amp, but a little" over the top" for the jams Im into these days. I always suspected I might not be able to get into the whole channel switching, modern high gain type of rig but thought I would give it a try. When I bought it I was looking for a super versatile amp and thats kinda the problem, its got so many bells and whistles I feel like I spend more time tweaking it than playing it, if that makes any sense. Anyway, came across these handwired, Fender clones and they really got the juices flowing, so does anybody own one? I'm I crazy to sell a Swiss-Army amp and buy a low wattage single channel tone monster?! Any input would be appreciated!

[panoramic]

I dig these more really, I don't know why you'd want a boutique version of an amp you can get a real one of for cheaper.

Makes no sense to me at all.

[Pogue Mahone]

Very nice amps, I'll have to check those out. As for the why I'd want a boutique version of an amp I can get for cheaper, I didn't know I could get Princeton reverb cheaper, certainly not a vintage one, which is what I would have to buy to get similar specs. I more interested in the Lil' King S which is like a Princeton but 25 watts instead of 12. I hope my explanation makes sense, thanks for your input!

[panoramic]

no that makes sense, I can get that. I read the review on it, seems like a good idea, however, seems like it might blow tubes

[Pogue Mahone]

Heres a vid of the amp im interested in, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4nrwze6dyU

[Jay]

If a updated Princeton Reverb is what you're after, I'd take a look at the Allen Sweet Spot.  The 1x12 is $350 less expensive then the Headstrong and has an added mid control.  He also builds it to take either 6L6s or 6V6s with only a bias adjustment.

Personally, if it's just a modern Fender handwired type amp you're interested in, I'd take a closer look at the Accomplice which has the RAW control (bypasses the tone stack progressively for more gain) along with a reverb tone control added.  It also has a master volume which can be handy when gigging.  No trem on the accomplice I think. It's $100 more then the sweet spot but still a lot less the the Headstrong.

http://www.allenamps.com/

[OffYourFace]

Heres a vid of the amp im interested in, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4nrwze6dyU

looks like a cool amp but there's soooo much compression on those recordings.

[Pogue Mahone]

Thanks for the response everybody, Ive seen the Allen stuff and thought it was pretty sweet, seems every body is  building some kind of cool amp these days! Makes it kinda tough to choose some times, I agree about the compression on the videos, so much of what we hear now days comes through the computer its hard to get a true idea of what an amps tonal character is, how loud, etc., etc.

[fjwIV]

I"ve been in the same boat, looking for a p2p wired 20-30ish watt combo amp.  I want reverb and tremolo and a single 12 or two 10s.  There are just too many cool boutique amp builders out there today and no way to really play them.  I suppose I'll just keep hitting craigslist and buy something at a deal.

[Pogue Mahone]

You hit it on the head! Im wanting, basically, a Princeton Reverb on steroids,  a 12" spreaker, 25-30 watts, reverb, tremolo. Deluxe Reverbs are cool but I never use the normal channel, and I need a touch more clean headroom. The ultimate grab and go amp! The Headstrong I thought was the way to go, but that price tag is steep,compared to some of the other builders out there. Maybe I 'll find a deal, in the spring, at the Dallas guitar show.I also looked at the Carr Rambler, but at 2500 bucks, a bit more than I want to spend.

[Jay]

Im wanting, basically, a Princeton Reverb on steroids,  a 12" spreaker, 25-30 watts, reverb, tremolo.

That describes the Allen Sweet Spot to a t.

[Pogue Mahone]

I think I'll have to place an order!