REVIEW > COMPANY NAME DIGITAL ONLY REVIEW > PHILOSOPHY AMPLIFICATION
PHILOSOPHY AMPLIFICATION
BASS HEAD
BY JORDAN WAGNER
One of my favorite things to do at NAMM is randomly wander the
aisles to look at all the new wares for the
coming year. In doing so, I’ve had the
privilege of seeing what amounts to a giant
art expo, filled with tons of interesting,
innovative, and downright cool pieces that
blur the line between form and function.
And while there are usually some jaw-dropping pieces tailored towards bassists,
the majority of new products are geared
for guitarists. Philosophy Amplification’s
Kit Rairigh and Elliot Polokoff—frustrated
with the seemingly endless offerings of
cheap and outsourced amplification for
bassists—set out to create an amp that
would not only compete on a boutique
level in terms of tone, but also have a stunningly unique look, and a reasonable price
tag. Their flagship bass amp was released
soon thereafter, with a cultured look and
killer tone to match.
The Look and Feel of Tone
Philosophy designed their amp with the
intent of making a bold, visual statement for
bassists. The outer shell is constructed from
gorgeous hardwood and is finished with a
subdued, dark stain that showcases the wood’s
grain. Both the top and front of the housing
sport hourglass-shaped vents, and the front-panel vent features a strip of bright LEDs
that illuminate when the amp is powered on.
Forgoing traditional control labeling in favor
of vintage-Orange-inspired pictographs for
the knobs, the company’s name is the only
lettering that’s prominently visible. The visual
vibe of the amp just screams cosmopolitan,
and it would look just as appropriate serving
as the centerpiece of a Manhattan high-rise
apartment as it does sitting atop your favorite
4x10. But as refined and clean as it looks, the
amount of firepower hidden inside this handbuilt amp is not geared for the stuffy wine
and cheese crowd.
to hear audio clips of the amp at
premierguitar.com/jun2012
CLICKHere…
The Philosophy’s class-AB power amp is
fueled by a quartet of JJ KT88 power tubes,
dishing out a total of 200 watts. Before the
amp has a chance to feed the speaker cab
with its pummeling signal, the input signal
is first processed by a trio of JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes, along with a set of controls for
gain, bass, middle sweep, treble, and master
volume. And while the amp has only one
channel, Philosophy designed the circuit
with highly overdriven capabilities on tap,
making it ideal for generating some serious
grind and saturation with considerable heft
and power.
Features on the amp are as sparse as
the visual look of the Philosophy. There is
no effects loop or direct out on the back
panel—only the amp’s power and standby
Handbuilt, handwired, all-tube design
Mid shift control
DR3 PREMIER GUITAR APRIL 2012
premierguitar.com
