Utah Blues

I’m so excited about my new Hadfield custom electric guitar amplifier that I want to share it with you. Share the love, not the amp itself. If you want one, Hadfield will build one for you too.
I will try to explain the sound characteristics. Hope it makes sense and/or you get a chuckle. Envision this:

-AC30 based circuit with
-El84’s 12ax7’s and GZ34
-Mercury Magnetics Tone Clone MMP V30W power tranny
-Mercury Magnetics Tone Clone JMI 30C choke.
-Mercury Magnetics Tone Clone 045 RS L Radio Spares output tranny.
- Normal input, top boost input, volume, bass, treble, cut.
-Solid Pine cabinet built by Larry Rodgers of Naples Fl. similar to deluxe reverb
covered in green Levant.
-Pine plywood baffle with dark gray grille cloth.
-1 Weber 12? 8k 30w Blue Dog (Alnico) speaker
-Tube Amp Doctor and Weber caps.
-Teflon solid core wire.

The Hadfield amp has a full list of good attributes, but all we really care about is the sound, right?

The first thing that grabbed my attention was the pre or post-otm (output tranny move). I thought the pre-otm sounded great. James was playing a Strat through it as I neared his home, and I was getting more excited with every step. It sounded like he was getting ready to audition for U2. I was surprised at the lower headroom of this 30 watt class A amplifier. Also it was quite a bit darker than I’d expected. James told me that he felt the same, and that the normal channel was actually very dark, so he used a 500pf bright cap. I was thinking about changing the speaker to a higher power ceramic magnet model, because I wanted more headroom with this amp.
James took the amp for a post build checkup after a month or so. He called me later that week and told me all about how he had moved the output tranny from its original location on the chassis. It turned out that having the output transformer directly underneath the preamp section was causing problems for him.
“It caused parasitic oscillations and even stranger, a lower plate voltage on the power tubes,” he said.
Moving the OT inward a few inches created impressive changes, including increased headroom, highs and harmonics. Now instead of breaking up around three, it’s breaking up around five, and it’s putting out around a third more volume. I’m so glad James is smart–I would never have known.
This is a classic AC-30 sound. The post-otm has a sweet, clear, mildly compressed sound. When pushed, it will bark, but maintains smoothness and clarity. It’s like a cross between Chris Cornell and Frankie. It has a bit of a glassy air about it too that is soft on the ears. The speaker plays a huge role in all this. I love the Weber Blue Dog speaker in this amp. Now that the amp is crisper, brighter, and louder, the Alnico magnet seems to keep it a little softer and rounder than a ceramic would. I’m really loving it.

We tried a Tele, a Strat, and a 333 powerful long. We hung the Strat. Obviously there were countless differences, but all three of these guitars sounded like they’d moved into big boy pants. No more pull-ups.
The Tele was strong but maintained a fine quality. It seemed to have some meat in the mids that made the notes sound large and natural. In the bridge position it was tight, cutty, spanky–all those things you’d expect from a Fralin Tele bridge pup, but a bit sweeter, smoother, and glassier than my Fender amps. The middle position is super funky, but not too thin. If James Brown recorded a Texas Swing album, this would be the amp on the record. “Touch my Texan” anybody? The neck position is plucky, and tuby. You can go anywhere from “I’m Bad” to “All of Me.” I swear I’m hearing the pine cabinet. It seems to lend a slightly warm and dark, gas lamp feel, as opposed to the strong, bright, punchy sounds of birch.
The Strat was tuby, chimey, thumpy (in a controlled way), clear and with some squish and sweetness. I love the way that you can strum chords or tremolo pick single notes and they just chime out of the box. If you strum a small chord on sixteenths, most amps will sound rigid and harsh. If you do this on the Hadfield, with any guitar, the natural compression produces a nice chimey sound that holds together without separating. It will also proudly spank out those Hendrix or Morello things. Arpeggio chords are a thing of beauty too. This amp is very responsive and dynamic.
333 sounded like stroking the finest carpet in Georgia. You know that I’m the best chord strummer in the land and my hair is too cool. The way I can strum chords will make you swear I was Sheryl Crowe’s boyfriend. It seems like even though the sound is a little gritty, it still maintains smoothness. Oh yeah, son. It’s a Rock n’ Roll sound that could flip your nanny’s switch.
The mission of this design was to create a great sounding basic platform gig and/or studio amplifier that could be packed in one hand. I had been playing with various projects; mostly through a 1965 Princeton Reverb with a circuit modification and a 12 inch Pine (Is Pine a brand name or the type of wood used in the amp? Only capitalize it if it’s the brand name) plywood baffle with a Fane speaker. It’s very loud for its size. Despite my certain love for this Princeton Reverb, the feedback that I was getting from the other guitarist in my band was that it sounded too small. Sounded like a good excuse to get a new amp. I started taking a Matchless Clubman to gigs, and it did the job with class and authority. I say “it.” Alas, I still wanted to take a combo so I could show up to the gig with my guitar on my back, gadgets in one hand and amp in the other. Done. During the same time, I had swapped amps with a good friend and ended up with his 90’s Vox AC30 for a couple of weeks. I had an outdoor gig and asked if I could take this amp. Not exactly a “one-hander,” but it was there that I decided that an AC30 needed to be my next amplifier. I loved everything except for the size and weight.
I had met James Hadfield at the first annual Utah blues dot com amp show in 2006. I was very impressed with all his builds, and found him a swell chap, even though he is a Canadian, eh. Anyway, I had been thinking a lot about the ideal amp for me. I finally got some cash and called James. By this time I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. James agreed to build the amp. I’m very glad that I went to Hadfield because he is meticulous, neat, knowledgeable, patient, talented and un-compromising when it comes to the final product. I am fully satisfied with this amplifier.
This amp is very basic. The circuit isn’t all dorked out with stuff that takes away from the overall platform. Time will tell how reliable it will be. So far the only issues are a hissy EL84, and the heat. The flames are part of the show. Heat is inherent with AC30’s and James included a cute little Lakewood fan to accompany the amp. That sucker gets so hot I stick a skillet on ‘er and throw in some taters and bits for the boys, and we grub down at the end of the gig. Seriously though, I have used it on standard four hour bar gigs with no issues. Hadfield knocked ‘er out on this one. Everything is solid and neat, and it sounds just ducky. It’s exactly what I wanted! Thanks James Hadfield!
If you’d like to give this amp a try or if you have any questions, contact curt@utahblues.com