Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: JamesHealey on February 19, 2006, 08:30:51 PM
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I've currently got an ENGL Screamer 50 combo and im thinking of upgrading to a Cornford MK50 Head and Cab.
But I've sold this ENGL amp before and regretted it and pleeded with the person i sold it to to, to let me buy it back. has anyone here got any experience with the Cornford stuff and like to share any good and bad points about there experiences?
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I played with a MK50H and a 4x12 VHT cab, and to be honest with you, even though i thought of the MK-50 head as a dream-amp for next year, i wasnt too impressed with it (maybe i had too great expectations). It sounded very good, but not 1500GBP good imho. It didnt cut through as much as i wanted, and the clean channel wasnt anything to write home about.
Maybe you should try a GH50L at some point. I know i want to :)
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Well im a cornford user so no prizes for guessing what im going to say as i obviously use them for a reason.
I have a hellcat and do love the mk50 also but i prefer the hellcat just a touch for its slightly less agressive lead tones.
Obviously the new mk50 II is out soon and should be amazing.
I adore Cornford amps. They have very much there own voice and it is unique to them and some people just dont dig it and for others it takes some getting used to but to me and many many other playes it was stunning right off the bat and i would take cornford over ANY other amp.
Just my 2p.
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I really love my Cornford (Hurricane) but it seems to be an aquired taste. They do have their own characteristic sound and some people don't like them - e.g. Tim and HJM don't rate them - think they are 'too dark' - I'm sure Tim would tell you to keep your Screamer (as he's got one). To be honest I've heard some great and some shitety sounds from Engls - I think it's down to personal taste/style/type of music etc. The Cornford would certainly be very different to your Engl so I wouldn't fork out for £1500 for a MK50 without really trying it. (should be able to get one on Ebay for much less - I got my Hurricane there).
Must admit though - I would go with stu-r on this one.
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Just thought i would add that i know players who dont like the harly and hurricane but love the Cornford heads.
Just something for you to consider when others talk about Cornford amps.
Also i will add that yes the lead sounds in particular are rather dark and brooding in many ways but along with that they are also silk smooth with the dark edge which to me gives so much presence to the sound.
The mk50 is the king of that dark edge imo. Its got a more raw kind of lead tone than the hellcat. Both have the same conford voice but as i mentiond in my other post the mk feels more agressive with its raw edge.
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I tried a MK50 for a short while when I got tired of my other amps. I wasn't a fan of it personally. Well, I did like the tone, just not when it was turned up. Really brittle sounding when I used it live. I had a lot of people comment on the tone too been harsh. Made real well tho, and the switching is a good idea too. Try one. To my ears, there are better amps for the buck out there!
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The only Cornfords I've tried are Harlequin's but I love them. Best sounding amp I've used but it's also the only master volume low wattage amp I've used for any length of time (I'm a JCM 800 Super Lead man).
It interesting to see people don't like the Cornfords. Perhaps I need to get out there and try more amps. The most recent amps I've tried were a Fenber Blues Jnr & and an ENGL combo. I prefered the Cornford.
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I've not tried Cornfords, but Jamie Humphries was playing through one at Music Live (not sure on the model, anyone know?) and it sounded AMAZING (even with DiMarzios in his guitar :wink: ). Then I heard the guy at the Cornford stand playing one and I didnt think that one sounded too great, maybe because it wasnt cranked though
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Any one read the review of the Cornford Carrerra in the most recent Guitar & Bass magazine? I couldn't tell if they liked it or not. They just seemed to say it was expensive.
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Well 1000GBP for 8W 1x12, isnt it a bit too much? (carrera).
Even the rediculusly overpriced Mesa F30 is a bit cheaper.
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I've had an MK50 head and a Cornford 2x12 (Vintage 30s) since 2001 and it's been used for gigs ranging from local pubs to function rooms to big stages at biker rallies and playing off the back of a truck in an open field (without mic'ing up!) to a a thousand people at a firework display and I have to say it's brilliant.
I wrote a review on HarmonyCentral - http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Cornford/MK_50_H-01.html- not long after I got and and I still stand by everything in that 5 years on. Since then I've got a Heritage 535 and put BKP Mules in my Les Paul and they both really sing through it - particularly when pushed in the overdrive.
It's often noted as quite a 'brown' sound (which you either like or not) but it really seems to bring out the identifiable characteristic sounds of instruments and it seems to encourage the sustain. The clean channel's great for twang from my Asat and a bit more crunch from Strats and humbuckers, and the overdrive does everything from Stevie Ray upwards whatever you're playing. It's also very responsive to dynamic attack when you dig in on the strings.
Certainly it's not cheap, but they do crop up on ebay at pretty sensible money and they are built like tanks with top quality components. There's now a Mk2 version that just got a rave review in Guitarist and that has an extra clean channel and some more complex loop switching which I'm interested to try.
Anyway I think they're tops, so there.
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Just thought i would add that i know players who dont like the harly and hurricane but love the Cornford heads.
There are also many players who do like the Harly/Hurricane. Joe Satriani's favourite was the Hurricane.
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Well untill he got the heads he had built. hehe.
The hurricane is a great amp. Its more the harly that i know alot of people dont like much....not sure why.
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Obviously the new mk50 II is out soon and should be amazing.
There was a review in Guitarist (the Fender anniversary one) and it looks like a really good amp. 2 channels, swithcable OD, and 2 fx loops you can either assign one to each channel or switch them yourself, you can even switch between those to settings via the footswitch. I like the look of it!, although I can't afford it.
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Well untill he got the heads he had built. hehe.
Looks like the Hurricane is his favourite at home. hehe
"Ampwise, I use a MK50H Cornford head, a 100W prototype and the little 20 Watt Hurricane. I also have a prototype Hurricane which is my favourite amp at home as they really seem to go up to 11" - Joe Satriani
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I hadnt read that. Last interview i read that included anything about cornford was just after the release of sbm and when he had his first 100w cornford head.
When was that from?? Im a satch fan and i like to know these things hehe.
Im not suprised he uses that at home alot. I bet a carrera might take its place tho.
Im always so suprised he ended up going with peavy for a live rig when he has talked about useing so many amps in the studio and during the sbm recordings said many times he used cornfords more than anything else.
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When was that from?? Im a satch fan and i like to know these things hehe.
Im always so suprised he ended up going with peavy for a live rig when he has talked about useing so many amps in the studio and during the sbm recordings said many times he used cornfords more than anything else.
The JS quote has been used on Hurricane ads for some time.
http://www.thinkmusic.co.uk/prodtype.asp?PT_ID=309
I suppose he went with Peavey because that's where the big (endorsement) money is. The only way Cornford could gear up to produce large volumes would be to automate a lot of the assembly and drop PTP wiring etc. (a la Marshall ) Thankfully they haven't.
As BKP become more and more popular let's hope they will not have to automate assembly - there must be a limit to the number of coils you can wind by hand - perhaps Tim could train up a few Octopus to scatterwind 8 pickups at a time.
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or i could go and learn to wire pickups there! (and annoy tim and steve all day by constantly asking questions)
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Well yes of course the money must have been the reason. Which is a great pitty.
I duno realy i mean they are ok amps but live they dont seem to sound as good to my ears as the old mashall bassed rig and im no big fan of marshalls as a rule.
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I've owned a Harly for a year now its a stunning amp. I tried the mk50 at shop levels and was impressed but hated the switching system with a passion. I would not buy it for that reason. The new two channel one seems to have sorted that problem, but have recently become enamoured by the Fuchs stuff which is apparently going to be available over hear soon
Cheers Sean
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recently become enamoured by the Fuchs stuff which is apparently going to be available over hear soon
Yes - they sound amazing from the clips I've heard. Have you seen any UK prices yet?
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No idea on the price. I emailed Fuchs and they said they were sorting out a franchise with Charlie Chandler. With US stuff I usually work on a £=$ system, unfortunately i'm rarely disappointed. If I add up what i've spent on cr@p gear that I've sold 6 months later the price doesn't seem as bad.
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If Fuchs are going in with Charlie Chandler, expect to pay big money. I wish Sounds Great or Guitar Guitar would pick up distribution of a brand like Fuchs, simply because they have the power to hold more stock, offer better prices and in my experience give much better service.
Fuchs are great amps though.
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We had a 'studio day' at BIMM today, at which most of us played either a silverface Pro Reverb or a Harlequin which stood next to it. Everybody, including myself, thought the silverface totally blew the Harly away, and we really were tweaking the latter to try and get a useable sound, both clean and overdriven.
The resident sound engineer even stated that the Cornford sounded ''unequivocally sh@t''. So there you go.
I didn't say it btw :P
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Hehe im a huge cornford fan but i dont much like the harly myself.
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Horses for coarses I guess. I tend to look at the Harly from the point of view of how it sits in the mix, live or studio. It was meant to be a recording amp not a stand alone practice amp. I think it depends on the style as well. For me it does clean to medium distorted brilliantly but lacks the articulation to do high gain. I've played in a jazz blues situation with just the harly and my trusty BK strat (Thanks Tim) and had the guy next to me with a Boogie MkIV and a 335 checking my gear (NOT MY PLAYING THOUGH!) His reaction was
'6watts $%&# off, how does that work then'
After owning a reissue twin for 3 years I have to say I would rather stop playing guitar then own a Fender again!!
Sounds Great is my local shop so next time I'm in i'll pester them about it. I agree with you about Charlie Chandler but after years of buying cr@p I've promised myself the ultimate amp Money no object.
The current shortlist
1 Fuchs SO50
2 Carr Slant 6V
3 Cornford Mk50 mk2
Cheers
Sean
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If Fuchs are going in with Charlie Chandler, expect to pay big money. I wish Sounds Great or Guitar Guitar would pick up distribution of a brand like Fuchs, simply because they have the power to hold more stock, offer better prices and in my experience give much better service.
Fuchs are great amps though.
Apparently Gillans Guitars are UK stockists. Here's the link for prices. Sound clips are available there too ('video clips' are better than the sound clips - some of them have amp on jazz settings)
http://www.gillansguitars.co.uk/75445/78318.html
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Holy cow... 3000quid for a head??? i wonder how much is the US price...3000$?
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Holy cow... 3000quid for a head??? i wonder how much is the US price...3000$
Actually spot on about $3000 dollars for a 50watt supreme overdrive (overdraft would be a better name).
I'd buy one if it were 'The Amp'
I don't know about you guys but I just want an amp and a guitar not a collection so paying £3000 for a head doesn't seem so bad if its going to be it
Sean