bobmeyrick Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 I've mentioned them before, but this afternoon I had the chance to play through one. Cliff Brown (formerly chief designer for Blackstar and the man who builds 633 amps) brought some of them along to a local guitar shop (the Guitar Spot in Beeston, just to the west of Nottingham). I was particularly drawn to the Road King 50, Cliff's latest amp and his take on the Dumble, but with reverb and a buffered FX loop. It was looking particularly gorgeous in its solid maple cabinet. All point-to-point wiring. I nipped home to get my own guitar (the Paulman Paragon semi) and had a good play through it... I don't think it's possible to get a bad sound out of the amp. Nice features include a "headroom" control to get output tube distortion a sensible volumes, and the footswitch has a 9V output incorporated in it to power your effects pedals. The 633 badge lights up when the amp is on. I want one... Some pics... The Road King is 633's newest amp, so there aren't any videos, but here's some fine blues from Kirk Fletcher, who used a 633 "Groove King" on a recent UK tour... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Its sounds like some really original (and thoughtful) ideas have gone into that amp. I like the idea of putting the 9v output on a footswitch to supply a pedalboard and the headroom control in pretty interesting. Adding a buffered FX loop is nice as well. I would love to hear one. A Dumble style amp is one that I've never gotten to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Beautiful cabinets! And I, as my sight goes with age, really like the eminently readable face plate...great font there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Its sounds like some really original (and thoughtful) ideas have gone into that amp. I like the idea of putting the 9v output on a footswitch to supply a pedalboard and the headroom control in pretty interesting. Adding a buffered FX loop is nice as well. I would love to hear one. A Dumble style amp is one that I've never gotten to try. Cliff is a fine guitarist who gigs regularly, as well as being an amp maker, so his ideas get road-tested. Having seen him play a few times, I was keen to try out his amps for myself - they're not cheap (in the region of £2000+) but since he hand builds every one they can be tailored to suit your individual requirements. A bit like a Heritage guitar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Man, I'm a sucker for beautiful wood, and that head/cab is over the top gorgeous. Dumble-clone with reverb, gobs of headroom and a creative solution to the 9v pedal power dilemma! So, Bob, have you already started saving for one of these gems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Man, I'm a sucker for beautiful wood, and that head/cab is over the top gorgeous. Dumble-clone with reverb, gobs of headroom and a creative solution to the 9v pedal power dilemma! So, Bob, have you already started saving for one of these gems? I'm seriously thinking about it! I have a few amps and the odd guitar I could sell... Cliff made an interesting point about the hardwood cabs. Apparently minor dents can be removed by the gentle application of steam and then a bit of refinishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 NIIIIIIIIIIICE!!! Have yet to see a builder put a cheesy chassis in such a nice headshell. Shows attention to detail. Lose those few amps in favor of this one, if you know the builder personally that is a major plus when it comes time to play through it...Can't go wrong with a D-clone done right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Love those cabinets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOGBOY Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 If those sound as good as they look you must buy one!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holyroller Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 How much again , 4,000 American Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 How much again , 4,000 American When I spoke to Cliff he hadn't sorted out a price (it's a very new amp), but it would be in the region of £2500, which currently is about $3700. Looking at other UK boutique amp makers (Cornell, Lazy J etc.), a couple of grand is a typical price for a high end amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Cliff has emailed me with the price, and with the options we're looking at around £2700. I need to do some serious thinking... In the meantime here's a video of the Drive King in action from the 633 FB page. (for some reason the special BBCode doesn't work) https://www.facebook.com/633eng/videos/1676498272634742/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 The video is now up on Youtube, so I can embed it - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 A couple of weeks ago I visited Cliff and gave the Drive King a more extensive work out. I now have one on order, with the variable headroom, switchable FX loop, reverb and the footswitch with the 9V power supply. I'm going with a black tolex cab (to match my existing speaker cab) rather than hardwood. It should be ready in April/May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOGBOY Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Sure love that hardwood but have no doubt that is one pricey speaker cab! Should be a winner, congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Sounds like fun. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 YaaaaaaaaaaaaaHoooooooooooEEEEEEEYYYYYY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 A couple of weeks ago I visited Cliff and gave the Drive King a more extensive work out. I now have one on order, with the variable headroom, switchable FX loop, reverb and the footswitch with the 9V power supply. I'm going with a black tolex cab (to match my existing speaker cab) rather than hardwood. It should be ready in April/May. Can't wait to see your post delivery post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsp17 Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 +1. This thing looks and sounds like an awesome piece of gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 Can't wait to see your post delivery post! Neither can I... There's not much on the web about the Drive King yet - I've already posted the one video there is - so here's a video of some 633 amps in action. Cliff is on the left with the cap and the Tele... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 The amp nears completion! Cliff has sent me this teaser video... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
212Mavguy Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 What a great looking build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Cool! Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 The amp will be ready this Wednesday. I'll be going to Cliff's place with my speaker cab and a guitar or two for any final adjustments to be made to get it just to my taste. He's already given it a gig test (in a different cabinet) and by all accounts it's sounding great... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Custom guitars, custom amps. You're living the high-life! Congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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