speaker jacks: one 16-ohm, two 8-ohm and
two 4-ohm loads. I have always preferred this
type of impedance switching, as opposed to
the rotary or switch type. Direct connection
to the transformer taps is more reliable. At
the end of the back panel is the footswitch
jack for the one-button Boost switch, which
is provided with the amp. It overrides the
switch on the front panel.
Rating...
5.0
ONTHEWeb
Click here to watch a video
of Guthrie Govan tearing
through some licks on the
Cornford 50
A single-button footswitch is provided with
the amp. I found this to be very useful,
because I could put the master volume on
full up and treat the boost like an onboard
Tube Screamer, which worked out well. The
effects loop is the standard series type. It
worked well with most of the pedal effects
I tried. If you want to use another preamp,
the effects loop can be used as an input for
that as well.
Knock ‘em Down
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when
I first fired up the amp. I always start with
Tone and Gain controls all on twelve o’clock.
I used my trusty Les Paul Custom with original ‘50s PAF pickups first. The tone was warm
and very bluesy, reminiscent of very early
Clapton tone with a sweet, smooth overdrive
and just the right amount of harmonics. I had
discovered a killer blues amp and I hadn’t
even turned a knob yet. The tone controls
sweep through a wide range, much like other
Cornford amps I’ve played, and it was easy
to dial in the tones I wanted.
The Final Mojo
I found the Cornford Roadhouse 30 combo
to be a great amp for those looking for a
professional-quality tone without the weight.
It’s a small package with a big tone, and it
would serve the needs of almost any type
of guitarist. Whether it’s blues or screaming,
harmonic-laden riffs, this amp seems to do it
all very well. It is very pedal-friendly—
overdrives, rangemasters and other types of
boosts work quite well.
I could not resist the urge to grab a 1959 Les
Paul Standard that was lurking nearby and
plug it in—I could have played that combination all day. Back with my LP Custom, I
experimented with the gain settings, and I
found that this control was very active. Most
of the higher gain started to come on about
three quarters to full on. Lower gain settings
yielded a nice sparkling tone similar to a Vox
AC30 or 50—great for Strat-type tones. The
Roadhouse loves single coils as well as humbuckers, and the Boost control really put it
over the top. It’s got a very controllable gain
that cleaned up when I lowered the guitar’s
volume. This also worked even on maximum
gain settings.
Buy If...
a reasonably priced, lightweight
screamer is what you need.
Skip If...
you need high power and a 4x12
cabinet for your style of music.
This amp is extremely touch-sensitive; the
tone controls were my fingers. On some
amps, a note picked firmly and then softly
produces different volumes. On a good touch-sensitive amp such as this one, it produces a
different tone. The same thing occurred when
using the Strat, which was a simple American
Standard model. Sparkling notch-position
tones to heavier Robin Trower-type tones
came easily. The power section with the EL34s
really had just the right amount of sag to it. It
remained tight on the low end for percussive
faster passages but was still bluesy enough for
soulful Billy Gibbons licks.
Cornford Amplification
Price $1499 (combo);
$1399 (head)
cornfordamps.com
