Check
www.ceriatone.com :twisted:
"Ok folks, this was a cool project today. Scott A. here on the forum contacted me and we did some recording with my "real" '89 Trainwreck Express (that I've owned since new, and recently featured on my new Instrumental CD) and his new Ceriatone (factory built by them) Express clone. I just emailed the clips to Scott, and he is going to host them and hopefully will post the links here shortly.
The short story is I was very impressed with the Ceriatone clone. The best clone I've heard to date. Yes the amps do sound different, but both sound like Wrecks to me. I can easily tell the two amps apart, however in some ways either amp has it's pros and cons. I find the "real" TW to be smoother and sweeter overall, as it's just plain warmer and more natural sounding to me. Still, there were some things I played that really came across great on the slightly more aggressive sounding clone. That said here are my pros and cons of the clone.
Ceriatone Express
PROS:
The amp cleans up very well. This is the best I've heard a clone do in this department, something that is A #1 with these amps IMHO. By the way if you don't work your guitar knobs, don't even bother with one of these amps.
The amp has a nice wide EQ range, and sounds BIG. For chunky rhythms this amp is punchy.
The knobs on the amp respond very much like the real deal.
The overall tone is very Wreck like, however it feels like it has a bit more "metal panel Marshall" in it to me than the real deal. Maybe more of a metal amp, than a rock amp?
CONS:
Is definitely louder than the real deal. 1-2 db or so, maybe 5-10 watts? Heck, even toned down with 6V6s the Ceriatone is louder than my TW Express w/EL34s. These amps are already loud, so I wouldn't say this is a good thing for most folks.
The high end is a bit harsh and bright when you get up the neck, though it is fine down low. Almost like it needs more compression up top. In contrast the TW stays smooth, sweet and fat on the highest notes. In some ways, the Ceriatone almost makes old speakers sound like new ones if you get what I'm saying. I think in the studio the real deal will still shine, but live maybe this may actually be just fine.
The transition from clean to distorted is a little more jagged than the real deal. Almost like there is more trash in the signal once the breakup starts. On a good note at least it's clear as a bell down low and really rips when cranked. Also, the "woman tone" thing is sweeter for sure on the real deal.
All that said, I was impressed and I've played the "real deal" for a long time.
End of my ramblings, here are the "specs" of the recordings. PLEASE pardon the playing on these, one take and not much thought...
The Les Paul was my original '59 standard, and the Strat my '92 Callaham. I ran two 20' cords (Mogami wire) in series, a "warm up" trick I almost always do with Wrecks. The amps were both set pretty similarly, volumes around 1:00, and the other knobs around 1/2. I tweaked the knobs a little from that point so the amps sounded as close as each other as I could. Both amps had bright switches set in the full bright positions. We used the same tubes swapped from amp to amp, and the bias of the two amps were very close to the same. Old Sylvania 12AX7s, and new GT Mullard repro EL34s. Ran the amps into two '68 Marshall basket weave cabs. Slant is panned full LEFT and has old 25s. A straight cab is panned full RIGHT and has 3x25s, but one original 30 watter. On that cab I miked the lone 30. Both cabs miked with Sennheiser E906 mics, into API mic pres. A little reverb and delay added in post, however no EQ or compression was used. I didn't do any sustained feedback as we were tracking this from a separate room from the cabs. Wrecks really shine in this department, but the focus on these clips were on the tone not the feedback control. My bet is the Ceriatone will do fine for this, though the added high end zing may make it slightly trickier to tame?
I'm pretty excited there is a way to get close to this tone "on the cheap", and you don't even need to build it. I'd like to get one, and tweak it further to see what it can really do.
Ken Fischer's designs really were way ahead of their time, and the clones wouldn't exist if he hadn't paved the way. I still however hope Nick has dropped the logo deal, and in some ways I don't really think Ken ever wanted folks to clone his amps for money though no matter what somebody will do it. However, I bet Ken would still be happy to know his designs are out there making music and not totally left in the vaults as collectibles.
Hope Scott gets the clips up soon. Enjoy!
Glen"
The 'Liverpool' is maybe abit closer than the 'Express'.
