KENDRICK AMPLIFIERS
V-FRONT 212
BY STEVE OUIMETTE
Kendrick’s Gerald Weber has been building amps since before boutique
amps were big business. Further, since
1989 he’s also been building guitars, writing books (including 1996’s A Desktop
Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps),
and tweaking the gear of the elite. He
also offers amp kits and seminars where
students build their own tube amplifiers
at his shop in Kempner, Texas. To say
Weber is a gearhead’s gearhead would be an
understatement.
But just because Kendrick is a walk-
ing encyclopedia of vintage amplifier
knowledge, doesn’t mean he’s stopped seek-
ing better ways to make guitars loud. The
latest addition to the Kendrick amp line is
the V-Front series. And in either 2x10 or
the 2x12 configuration reviewed here, it
bristles with Tweed-style tones, Kendrick’s
renowned 3-knob reverb, and a speaker
array designed to disperse signal more
effectively.
Angled Action
It’s hard not to be struck by the beauty and
personality of the V-Front’s cabinetry when
you first behold it. The V design is a nod to
the ’40s and ’50s, when various manufactur-
ers embraced split-front cabs and angled
speakers to improve sound dispersion.
Kendrick’s V-Front employs the principle
to achieve 340-degree sound dispersion via
two Kendrick Greenframe 12" speakers. The
cabinet is built of 150-year-old pine covered
in Nico-Tweed and adorned with a pair of
white racing stripes and a large K built right
into the wood of the cabinet. The V-Front
feels solid as a rock, and with a triple
chrome-plated steel chassis and heavy-duty
20' power cord, it’s clear this amp was built
to last a lifetime and then some.
