High and Low
Gain inputs
Footswitchable
vibrato channel
Single Tone
knob
3-way tone switch
Americana viewers wanting to know
more about the mighty little Tonemaster,
an amp that was originally made for
accordion. Recognizing an opportunity
to resurrect a great design and meet a
burgeoning demand (and the reality that
Phil’s ancient Tonemaster might not live
forever), Fretted Americana brought in
engineer John Kasha to design and build
an updated version of this classic. Enter
the Evil Robot!
The Evil Robot will put you back
in touch with the nuances of your
instrument—it’s incredibly satisfy-
ing to play through, regardless of
what guitar you plug in.
A Bionic Clone
While Kasha took care to replicate the
Tonemaster’s sound and looks, he made
the Evil Robot more robust with modern
components. The 40-pound amp is packaged in a 20" x 9. 5" x 15" cabinet made
of Baltic birch ply and covered in a cool
brown vinyl that’s complemented by a
gold-mesh grille. Ivory-colored chicken-head knobs and a heavy-duty handle add
an air of mid-century authenticity. The
hilarious “EVIL ROBOT” logo is prominently displayed on a gold panel where the
Tonemaster logo appeared on the original.
And production amps will have a gold
plate on the back of the semi-open back
cab commemorating the amp with signatures by Phil X, Fretted Amrericana owner
David J. Brass, and John Kasha.
Powered by a pair of 6V6s, the cathode-biased amp produces 18 watts. A pair of
12AX7s, one 12AU7, and a 6AV6 complete the all-tube signal path, and the true
point-to-point wiring (no circuit board)
incorporates premium American-made
components. The 8Ω 12" speaker is handmade in the US and rated at 30 watts.
From left to right, the control panel
consists of four inputs (High and Low
inputs for channels A and B), followed
by a 3-way switch for voicing (Mellow,
Normal, and Bright). Loudness A and
B knobs share a single Tone control for
both channels, while the Vibrato circuit
consists of Intensity and Speed knobs
with a footswitch jack located just below.
Finally there is an orange power indicator
light, remote speaker output, a 2A Slo-Blo
fuse, and a power toggle with no standby
switch.
Play that Funky Music
To say the Evil Robot is funky is an under-
statement. Its overdriven, throaty, low-watt
voicing will appeal to anyone who digs
the sound of Valco, Supro, Airline, or
Silvertone amps. But the ER has a lot of
style and versatility too. This is an amp
that begs to be played and explored with
each guitar you plug in. Its clean front end
highlighted the personality of each axe I
employed over the course of the review,
revealing the effects of different pickups,
wood, and even picks on the tones leap-
ing from the speaker. The Evil Robot will
put you back in touch with the nuances of
your instrument—it’s incredibly satisfying
to play through, regardless of what guitar
you plug in.
