Fwd: [Harp-L] Harpgear champ clone

["John K." <jkuzloski@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Paul Routledge <kingley@...> wrote:
Does anybody have any experience of the Harpgear champ clone (The  
Brian Purdy one)?
www.harpgear.com
Paul

Hi, Paul.
I have one of Brian's champs.  I think it sounds great. Based on the endorsements on his 
site, he doesn't need mine!   I find it hard to put words to sound, but maybe I'd say it 
sparkles.   It's really alive.  Thew breakup is very natural sounding.  The lineout feature is 
convenient, and its lined out sound is great (he told me the lineout is after the power 
stage).  Of course it's not as FAT as a 4x10 -- it doesn't rumble the chakras!  -- just a 
different personality.  BTW, the one I have is not his standard model.  I described my 
typical playing situations (blues and r&b based rock -- so not looking for a totally 
traditional Chicago sound and wanting to be sure to cut through the mix) and he 
suggested a somewhat different configuration that would provide a cleaner sound with the 
volume knob down a bit and slightly more treble than his standard.  I wish I could 
compare it to a vintage Champ for you, but I've never played through one.   So far I've only 
played out with it once, and the stage volume was fine.  However it was not a full drum kit 
and amped guitars situation, so in my case the jury is still out on how well it might work in 
that kind of situation.  I guess you could put some of the lined out signal into the 
monitors if necessary -- but I don't know if it would be necessary or not.  BTW, Brian was a 
pleasure to deal with and he has been good about answering follow-up questions and 
indulging my curiosity.  The amp looks very well put together.  I've got a Pro Jr. that I like a 
lot, but I like the sound of the champ better (tube rectifier perhaps?).    I like it WAY better 
than the Crate VC508.  If you have any specific questions, I can try to answer them. 
--John k.