CATEGORY 5
Plugging In
The first test guitar I grabbed was my
Duesenberg Mike Campbell Signature with
a custom P- 90 at the neck and a Grand
Vintage humbucker at the bridge—a
great guitar for blues, roots rock and
hard-edged country. The tone it produced
through this amp knocked me out. The
P- 90, with the knobs rolled off slightly,
came through with gorgeous clarity and
presence, while the humbucker procured
a thick, gnarly treble. The 1900 picked
up the nuances of both pickups together
beautifully, and that’s been lost in a lot
of amps I’ve plugged it into. In fact, with
every guitar I played through it—single
coil and humbucker equipped, new and
old, inexpensive and pricey—the amp preserved the character of that guitar.
The secret of the 1900 seems to be its
wide sweet spot: wonderfully complex
with a shimmering top, very forward mids,
and deep, full bass. Push it hard and churn
out harmonics in buckets, and sustain that
lingers until it morphs into the most musical feedback you’ve heard your guitar produce. Rolling off the guitar’s volume, the
cleans exhibited a soft breakup with very
little force, and produced long, warm sustain, and an attack without compression
or sag. At higher volumes, cleans retained
ringing clarity and note separation, with a
very smooth transition into overdrive.
Since there’s precious little clean headroom, getting it just to the verge of break-
up takes a little work, but the 1900 served
up an open, layered tone with a glassy
bite and beautiful sustain. It’s very sensitive and responsive. Heavier gain yields
startling complexity, the mids get solid
and punchy but the top remains crisp and
smooth. If I were in an Americana band,
playing hard-driving roots rock and blues,
this would be my amp.
The Final Mojo
Both of these amps offer classic tones
rather than replicas of the legendary models used to make them. Both amps are
ideal for crafting your signature tone, and
either one of them will make you happy
to leave your pedalboard at home. It isn’t
difficult to see why Category 5 amps are
gaining a reputation among pro players
seeking a specific vintage character and
tone with modern dependability and custom-built quality, but it is hard to see how
you could go far wrong with one of them.
Buy If...
you’re looking for a rocker with
its own sound and posture.
Skip If...
you’re aiming for something
more conventional.
Rating...
5.0
ONTHEWeb
Head online to premierguitar.com
to hear sound clips of both amps
in action.
premierguitar.com
Category 5
1900 - List: $2850
Tempest - As Tested: $2995
category5amps.com
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