2023 Amwatts Grande Expresso 20
Amwatts has been on the quest for tone perfection for over 20 years and throughout those years we have restored/replicated/modified/owned and fine tuned many amplifiers that have provided the vintage tones that have shaped the course of rock n roll.
Introducing the Grande Expresso 20 Combo Amplifier:
An original design circuit that puts many vintage tones at your fingertips. From full rounded bell like cleans to high gain madness and all points in between , The Grande Expresso covers it all, loud enough to compete with a drummer, quiet enough to practise at home the Grande Expresso is the perfect tool for modern day situations, those days of big stack ear splitting volumes are gone but not forgotten. The Grande Expresso 20 has been designed to give you those vintage tones and more without the hearing damage.
A single channel 3 knob 12-14 watts 1 x 12 combo design that packs a punch and can hold its own cutting through the mix, and with the turn of your guitars volume will clean up without loss of top end sparkle.
What’s it based on ?
This is one of the first questions an amp builder will be asked – is it British/American based ? The answer here is “ yes to all” , a bit of everything , Valve technology hasn’t changed much since last century. There’s always been limited parameters to work within , and that’s exactly what we’ve done. We’ve chosen the basic tried and true classic public domain designs (Western Electric) and morphed them into our own custom recipe.So what’s it based on ? I’d say Marshall, Fender, Supro, Trainwreck, Dumble, Boogie and all points in between.
Keep it Simple
Input section is standard minimalism, simply taking the guitar signal and amplifying every nuance – then feeding it into a passive responsive tone stack, just one knob, with great tonal variations across the sweep.
Next A Universal gain stage opens all the harmonic possibilities a guitar can produce. We’ve added a gain knob, this controls the bias/clipping of this stage – counter clockwise gives you organic 50’s tweed style tones without the flub and ugly distortion , As you wind it up you add fat punchy natural overdrive reminiscent of those 60’s /70’s super groups, keep winding and it gets into high gain, long sustain face melting overdrive that goes way past 11.
And simply turn down your guitars volume and it’s cleans the signal, maintains clarity and the full range of your guitars tone.
Output is a Cathodyne Phase Inverter feeding 2 individually Cathode Biased 6V6GT output tubes into a 1 x 12 speaker – the individual biasing means you can use mismatched 6V6’s as the bias themselves separately. Think 5E3 with a twist.
Summary
Amwatts has designed the Grande Expresso 20 for simplicity at your fingertips . Simply turn you guitar up to full, set the amp to your favourite crunchy overdriven volume and control everything from you guitar ….. the guitar and amp become one instrument.
Loud enough to gig , quiet enough to practise
I’ve been designing and modifying amp circuits for over 20 years officially and for much longer before starting the business. Each amp is handmade using the highest quality components available today. No expense is spared in producing the highest quality custom designed amp – vintage technology meets modern requirements
‘The Amwatts Team’
Contact www.CVGuitars.com.au and order yours today
