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| Leo Fender |
In 2004, I set out to improve upon the classic amplifiers that Leo Fender made in the 60's. My goal was to develop a true professional-grade amplifier with the best possible tone, tremendous versatility and the highest quality construction. Although those blackface amps defined the sound of rock, blues and country for over a generation, in my opinion, when pushed hard their tone left much to be desired. The harsh flabby breakup they exhibited was in part a fundamental limitation of the single volume knob design philosophy.
Through extensive experimentation with guitar amplifier circuitry and endless critical listening I drew two conclusions. First there are two types of distortion: euphonic and dissonant or good and bad. Second when pushed gently into overdrive a tube gives up very euphonic distortion quite easily. Push it harder and it creates more and more dissonant distortion. I discovered that the secret to getting great tone is to control the gain at every stage and let each tube contribute just a little bit of euphonic distortion.
Cascading this concept over five tube stages results in an amplifier with smoother overdrive, greater dynamics, and clearer more vibrant tone. Applying this design philosophy to an old classic resulted in the Blueverb: the world’s first amp that gives you total control over the drive at EVERY gain stage. This unprecedented amount of control allows you to dial in your individual sound throughout the amplifier rather than at just one point. By running each gain stage at relatively the same level of overdrive, you can tailor the overall amount of overdrive the amp delivers and still have fantastic dynamic range and sonically-rich clear tone. What this means is that when the amp is being pushed hard it will still have great definition and touch sensitivity, and the ability to achieve a cleaner tone by rolling off the volume knob on the guitar or simply picking lighter.
I've also made the Blueverb's power supply circuitry stunningly fast. Fast from an engineering standpoint, dv/dt kind of stuff. No marketing fluff here. The Blueverb's speed is the result of the most sophisticated power supply in the industry. So what? When pushed into overdrive, the amp is very musical and euphonic, yet maintains its clarity. The pick attack, note separation and harmonic content of the note decay are all enhanced by this design. Several accomplished artists have also told me that they can feel the difference in their fingers. I call this tactile response. Simply put, the amp does exactly what you want it to do when you play a note. I believe that the tone, clarity and response of the Blueverb is unsurpassed by any other amp, boutique or otherwise.
I build the Blueverb to the same standards to which Leo built his amps. Many consider his efforts to be the zenith of amp construction. I've made a few improvements. The cabinetry is all 13-ply Baltic Birch construction, because it's stronger and sounds better. The electrical components are the finest available and selected solely for their ability to deliver great tone. I use paper-in-oil signal capacitors for greater clarity and smoother tone. I use metal film resistors for quieter operation. Except for improvements to the circuitry, everything else is the same as Leo made them: 16-gauge, cold-rolled, three-piece, welded-steel, zinc-plated chassis; hand-wired Vulcanex eyelet board; and old-fashioned precision cabinet joinery. The result is a handcrafted, artisan-quality product that is built to last. I believe that the Blueverb is the toughest amp on the market. Because of that, I offer a limited lifetime warranty to the original owner.
Each Blueverb is hand made and custom built one at a time to each customer's specifications. I work directly with each customer very closely. Custom configuring allows me to satisfy your individual preferences. We start with a Blueverb amplifer chassis and then add an output transformer, cabinetry and speaker(s). There are several configuration options for you to choose from. Bluetron can build you a Blueverb as small as a 2x6V6 25 watt 1x12 combo amp all the way up to a separate 2x6L6 50 watt head with a ducted port 2x12 cab. With five standard output transformers and over thirty Eminence speakers to choose from, you’re assured of finding the right tone. You can also choose between five voicings: Super Clean; Clean; Standard; Overdrive and Super Overdrive. Please go to our Configuration page for more details.
Because this is a new concept, you may have a few questions. I invite you to contact me directly to find out more about Bluetron and the Blueverb.