considerably lower volume—a testament to
the amp’s intrinsic balance.
I switched over to the Telecaster and
increased the Master, Treble, and Gain to
roughly 75 percent of full. At these settings, the Express continued to exhibit a
knack for very plush crunch, but with a bit
more of that characteristic British sizzle.
And flipping to the bridge pickup gave a
quick-strike lead tone, like Jeff Beck’s early
Yardbirds jams. While picking out “Heart
Full of Soul,” I needed a rhythm tone
with less bite for the verses. Rolling off
the guitar’s volume did the trick, and left
me with a powerful, full-house strumming
tone. The early Beck comparisons are apt
given that the Express more often than not
evokes a classic Vox without all the spiked
high-end. But even those more aggressive
and biting tones are available if you want
them. Just kick up the Treble.
The Stratocaster is a fine match for the
Express too, and a great blank canvas for
conveying a Strat’s inherent bell-like har-
monic qualities. Both the Stratocaster and
the Telecaster benefited from the Hi-Cut
switch, which gives both guitars greater
reach across the tone spectrum at high-gain
settings where they can become pierc-
ing and unwieldy. It’s a great tool for any
treble-prone guitars.
The Verdict
Craig Wildenradt’s CEC Toll-Free Express
is an exceptional and thoughtful piece of
amplifier design. It’s built to readily handle
pickups of any kind and output level with
its highly dialable EQ—all while kicking
with a classic rock authority that makes it
sound bigger than it really is. While the
clean tones are quite good for an amplifier of its size, its true strength lies in the
mid- to high-gain crunch. If you’re looking
to power a massive stack or work in really
big rooms, you may want to skip this one
unless you’ve got stellar monitors. However,
the Express will feel right at home at smaller clubs and studios, and you’ll be surprised
how much 10 watts working full time can
sound stadium-huge.
Buy If...
if you need wholesome, hearty
gain and stinging Brit tones
at bedroom levels.
Skip If...
you’re looking for lots
of clean headroom.
CEC Amplification
Street $1395
cecamps.com
or use a mobile device to hear
audio clips of the amp at
CLICKHere…
premierguitar.com/jan2012
