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Thread: The People's Amp

  1. #1
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    Default The People's Amp

    A review of a handmade 18W style amp from Premier Guitar Magazine. Looks interesting

    Website link.


    tung
    I was just a regular guy. My only super power was being invisible to girls.
    - Dave Lizewski, Kick-A$$

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    Looks does look really cool. I don't find the guy's "anti-boutique" statements on his site too strident, as does the author. But for a good sounding little amph, it seems to me the Blackheart series might be a better bang for the buck. I know it is not 18 watts, but Tung, what do you think? The 15W Handsome Devil seems pretty close if you want that many watts. http://www.zzounds.com/item--BLABH15H I am betting I would go smaller though if I bought a second one.

    I know nothing of the technical differences and would just approach it from sound.
    Steve Thompson
    Sun Valley, Idaho


    Guitars: Fender 60th Anniversary Std. Strat, Squier CVC Tele Hagstrom Viking Semi-hollow, Joshua beach guitar, Martin SPD-16TR Dreadnought
    Amphs: Peavey Classic 30, '61 Fender Concert
    Effects and such: Boss: DS-1, CE-5, NS-2 and RC20XL looper, Digitech Bad Monkey, Korg AX1G Multi-effects, Berhinger: TU100 tuner, PB100 Clean Boost, Line 6 Toneport UX2, Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi, DuhVoodooMan's Rabid Rodent Rat Clone, Zonkin Yellow Screamer Mk. II, MXR Carbon Copy Delay


    love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart. . .
    - j. johnson

  3. #3
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    I'd probably go for the Handsome Devil head. It is $300 less, and it is built just as well as the People's Amp. Even though the HD is PCB-based. The HD does look better. I haven't played a HD, but from the clips I've heard, it is much like its 5W little brother, not much grind until cranked all the way up. And then not as much as you'd expect from an 18W style amp.

    I don't know: this photo doesn't look much better than the work I do, and I'm strictly an amateur.

    tung

    Quote Originally Posted by sunvalleylaw
    Looks does look really cool. I don't find the guy's "anti-boutique" statements on his site too strident, as does the author. But for a good sounding little amph, it seems to me the Blackheart series might be a better bang for the buck. I know it is not 18 watts, but Tung, what do you think? The 15W Handsome Devil seems pretty close if you want that many watts. http://www.zzounds.com/item--BLABH15H I am betting I would go smaller though if I bought a second one.

    I know nothing of the technical differences and would just approach it from sound.
    I was just a regular guy. My only super power was being invisible to girls.
    - Dave Lizewski, Kick-A$$

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    That confirms what I thought. This is cool, but not my next amph. If I were to get one, it would be either something very much like the Little Giant head, or a modeling amph like the Vypyr or Vox. (But my son has one of those so I can use his. )

    The "People's Amp" is cool though, and I like the concept. Just not for me. I have a great 30 watt tube amph already.
    Steve Thompson
    Sun Valley, Idaho


    Guitars: Fender 60th Anniversary Std. Strat, Squier CVC Tele Hagstrom Viking Semi-hollow, Joshua beach guitar, Martin SPD-16TR Dreadnought
    Amphs: Peavey Classic 30, '61 Fender Concert
    Effects and such: Boss: DS-1, CE-5, NS-2 and RC20XL looper, Digitech Bad Monkey, Korg AX1G Multi-effects, Berhinger: TU100 tuner, PB100 Clean Boost, Line 6 Toneport UX2, Electro Harmonix Little Big Muff Pi, DuhVoodooMan's Rabid Rodent Rat Clone, Zonkin Yellow Screamer Mk. II, MXR Carbon Copy Delay


    love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart. . .
    - j. johnson

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    I like the concept, but do it sound better than a Crate 18 watter?

    It is cool that the guy is trying to make "handmade" affordable.
    Guitars:
    Fender 2006 MIM Fender Stratocaster HSS in 3TS
    Ibanez RG 570 with a bridge Invader
    ESP M II Deluxe with a Tune-o-Matic bridge
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    Quote Originally Posted by Katastrophe
    I like the concept, but do it sound better than a Crate 18 watter?
    That's the $100,000 question, innit?

    Quote Originally Posted by Katastrophe
    It is cool that the guy is trying to make "handmade" affordable.
    I think so too, but his amps look homemade, and not in a good way. It is also interesting to note that the picture of the guts that I linked to above is no longer on his site.

    For six bills, I'd look at the Egnater Rebel 20. I played one of those in person, and it sounded much better than the clips on the People's Amp site.

    If I were more budget minded, I'd get a Handsome Devil, rip out the PCB and install an eyelet board.

    And not to run the guy down, but amps wired with tag/eyelet/turret boards are not point to point. They may be hand wired, but they ain't point to point. But to be fair, even Marshall makes this mistake when advertising their 1974 combo reissue.

    tung
    I was just a regular guy. My only super power was being invisible to girls.
    - Dave Lizewski, Kick-A$$

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    I'm with you, tung... I think that the Egnater sounded better, too. Except, the Egnater sounded better in person, and the "people's amp (Volksamph?) farfrumplucken?" is a clip played over the internet through (at least my) crappy computer speakers.

    Who knows? I didn't get to see the wiring pic you posted.

    It seems that everyone wants to be a boutique amph builder these days, and is scrambling for their own sales angle.

    http://www.geocities.com/james.d.bar...pg=1&cnt=5&t=a

    Whaddaya think of these?
    Guitars:
    Fender 2006 MIM Fender Stratocaster HSS in 3TS
    Ibanez RG 570 with a bridge Invader
    ESP M II Deluxe with a Tune-o-Matic bridge
    Eleanor, the magical, mystical Road Worn wonder Tele
    Blackstar HT Club 40

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Katastrophe
    I'm with you, tung... I think that the Egnater sounded better, too. Except, the Egnater sounded better in person, and the "people's amp (Volksamph?) farfrumplucken?" is a clip played over the internet through (at least my) crappy computer speakers.
    Good point. To make a fair comparison, I would have to play them side by side.

    Quote Originally Posted by Katastrophe
    It seems that everyone wants to be a boutique amph builder these days, and is scrambling for their own sales angle.
    People have gotten hip to the secret: it is actually very easy to build a good guitar amp. With all the kits, parts sources, and 'net information, it is dead easy. Anyone who wants to and has a few bucks to spare can make a decent sounding, good looking amp. There is even one guy who buys Weber kits, builds them and sells them on Ebay.

    I've been building my own amps for over 10 years now. I started right about the time the WWW started up. There wasn't a whole lot of info back then, just a few BBS. One thing that I noticed as time went on is that a new guy would start posting to the board, asking a lot of newbie questions. After about 2 or 3 months, the newbie would disappear. A few months later, he had hung out a shingle and was selling amps. I'm all for capitalism, but what happens when the amp breaks down? A lot of these guys do not have the theory or diagnostic skills to figure out why that was. I was at a friends amp shop and remember seeing a spendy boutique amp where one of the connections on the tube socket wasn't soldered. The amp had gone intermittent and the owner had to take it to my buddy to get it fixed. Unacceptable. The real trick to building amps is to figure out how to fix it when it stops working, that is the hard part.

    Another guy posted pix of his work that looked downright dangerous. His amps are an accident waiting to happen. This particular fellow started out modding Valve Juniors and 2 months later was selling his modded creations as "boutique."

    To be fair to the People's Amp guy, he does offer a limited lifetime warranty.

    Quote Originally Posted by Katastrophe
    Kind of quirky. They seemed to be aimed at the bedroom players. I wouldn't want to haul them on a gig. Also calling modded Valve Juniors and converted SS practice amps "boutique" is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? Still if the guy can find a niche and make money from it, more power to him. I would like to see pictures of the innards of the amps. You can tell a lot about the build quality from them.

    tung
    I was just a regular guy. My only super power was being invisible to girls.
    - Dave Lizewski, Kick-A$$

  9. #9
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    Last week I was able to play the People's Amp, and I was sold the minute I plugged in.

    Listen, its not how the amp looks. You can buy the cassis and make your own fancy flashing lights and shit for under $50. The thing I liked the most about the amp, is the response. I have never played an amp that gave me the kind of response that the People's Amp gave me.

    I play mostly metal, and progressive rock (like Rush, and Dream Theater, and Metallica) and the people's amp alone did not give me the sound I quite wanted (well, maybe for Rush, but not Metallica thats for sure.) However a Boss Distortion pedal fixed that problem right away.

    The People's amp has a beautiful clean sound; very responsive. I listened to clips from different Pro Tools sessions that used the People's Amp and there was a pretty up beat rock session that had the people's amp hooked up to multiple effects pedals and it sounded amazing.

    Also, one thing I would like to mention... the internet clips of the amp's recordings do not give the amp justice. You need to be in the room, right next to it, volume all the way up, rocking away to get the people's amp's full experience. I have never heard my harmonics as rich as I did with any other amp. The feedback was present and easy to control.

    Its the feel people. You literally feel this amp.

    Overall I would say that the People's Amp is a winner. Karl Wohlwend, the maker, is the nicest guy you will ever meet, and will work with you as best as he can.

  10. #10
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    Welcome to TheFret, Feikert! Glad you joined us here to chime in on these amphs..........
    Tell us a little more about yourself when you have time..........

    That being said, I read the article and saw the pics also.
    I like the concept, perhaps not so much the execution. The amphs look fine to me, with the exception of the wiring. Not bad, as good as anything I could do, but I'm definitely amateur.
    Glad you love yours, a touch-sensitive amph does come alive under your fingers, huh?
    Guitars
    Wilburn Versatare, '52 FrankenTele(Fender licensed parts), Fender USA Roadhouse Strat, Fender USA Standard B-bender Telecaster, Agile AL 3000 w/ WCR pickups, Ibanez MIJ V300 Acoustic, Squier Precision Bass,
    Amps
    Ceriatone Overtone Special, Musicman 212 Sixty-Five, Fender Blues Jr., Peavey Classic 30, Fender Super Reverb, Traynor YCV-40 WR Anniversary w/ matching 1x12 ext. cab, Epiphone SoCal 50w head w/ matching 4x12 cab (Lady Luck speakers), Avatar 2x12 semi-open back cab w/ Celestion speakers
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