Tophat Club Royale 2x12 - guitar amp

This is an 18 watt handmade el84 type, cathode biased, with a cathode follower type preamp. Comes with a greenback and a Weber c12th, which is designed by and made for Brian - the top guy at Tophat. It’s a killer speaker, as good as the Celestions, but not as dark as a greenback, nor as foreward as a vin30. A cross between the two - by design. Ted Weber will make one for you is you ask him. It sounds way better (less fizzy) than the alnico p12N, has a lot of guts and low end, and the high end won't hurt anybody standing at ear level with the amp - not too beamy.

I had occasion to lend one to an extremely famous rock star/guitar god. He went out and bought one for himself the next week.

For some reason the 1x12 version does not sound as good - either that or the one at the recent guitar show was a dog. In any case - be aware they all sound a bit different. I suspect a good amp tech can make any of them sound good - but I heard a bad report from a guy who has heard mine - so just make sure you hear it before you buy it.

The pre is the vox type, very sweet. Tone controls interact. This is my favorite go-to studio amp. It warms up a tely, and swings with humbuckings too. Anywhere on the dial, its got a beautiful sound. Its very organic sounding. Mid control is great - you can go from Marshall-esque to Fender-ish. No, it will not get the big shimmer like a twin etc., but this baby can handle a huge variety of stuff with style.

This is not the raving of a guy who just bought one. I've used it on 100 gigs, and it just sits there and works. It did blow up once, probably because I left it on for several days inside a closet - and Brian fixed it free. Blew a transformer. Apparently they got a few bad ones that year, so I don't fault the amp.

I like it more than/same as any matchless I've heard, but they are in the same league, and have similar construction.

Not too heavy. The 'cut' control is bomb. Tame a tele (recorded with a 63 reissue on You can’t catch me). Slay a strat. This is a life saver when you run it distorted with a high-endy guitar. Good amp and you can get 'em for a reasonable price. Their other amps are good on the records I've heard them on (Steely Dan!). Good enough for Don Fagin, and Los Lobos, good enough for me. Tedrank *****. Tastes differ, but you can't buy a better amp for the money.