input that has a pad for handling high-output
instruments, and an accordion input that
gives you a little low-end roll off and a little
more presence in the highs and midrange.
In Excelsis Play-O
If you have experience with playing little
Fenders, Silvertones, Gibsons, Magnatones,
and other small amps from the period that
inspired this amp, you’ll be struck by how
well the Excelsior nails the compressed
and explosive-to-mellow character of those
amplifiers. With the single-coil output of a
Danelectro 3021 reissue and a Stratocaster
driving the Excelsior, I could run through
a range of tones from sparkling to filthy,
though the amp naturally gravitates toward
dirty tones at any substantial volume.
Clean tones really are only available in
the lower third of the amp’s volume range,
and they’re best accessed with the help of
single-coils—or humbuckers whose volume
controls are rolled back a touch. This limitation makes the Excelsior a tough proposi-
Tremolo
Bright/dark switch
At around noon, tones
from the bridge pickup
take on a cool, tweed
Deluxe-like combination
of compression and bite.
tion for players who need clean tones at
performance levels, though it records beautifully at these settings. The 15" speaker
lends a little extra low-end color and
headroom that give the amp a unique clean
voice, and that definitely complements the
amp’s somewhat bright voicing.
With the volume up past a third of full,
things get gritty fast. At around noon, tones
from the bridge pickup take on a cool,
tweed Deluxe-like combination of compres-
sion and bite, though it lacks the balance
and airiness of a Deluxe—or a Champ
for that matter. What it does share with
the Deluxe is a penchant for cool, honk-
ing midrange that rules for rhythm parts
and slurry, percussive, Chuck Berry/Keith
Richards-style leads. When the Excelsior is
wide open, it’s all attitude. It growls with
an authority worthy of early James Gang or
ZZ Top—especially with the bright switch
on. A hanging, first-position A chord sus-
tains as if it were coming from an amp
twice its size—thanks, again, in no small
part to the larger speaker—and leads are all
fangs and beautiful high-mid wail. Throw
a primitive fuzz, like a Tone Bender or a
Fuzz Rite, in front of the cranked Excelsior,
and you’ll be awash in glorious, fried,
busted, and screaming lead tones that teeter
between gloriously singing and chaotic.
clean to filthy, or a little amp that can get
bellicose enough to hang with a small, rockin’
combo without pedal assistance, the Exclesior
has the goods to deliver.
The Verdict
If you’re used to contemporary clean or high-gain flavors, the Excelsior will take some getting used to—or it might just prove entirely
outside your vocabulary. But if you need an
amp that can record with personality, from
RATINGS
Pros: ’50s-cool looks. Well-built. Interesting range of tones.
Great overdrive.
Fender Pawn Shop Series Excelsior, $299 street, fender.com
Cons: Not much clean headroom.
Tones
Ease of Use
Value
Greta
Dressed up more like a mid-century Japanese
radio than a guitar amplifier, the 2-watt
Greta looks like it was designed to live in
disguise. And indeed, the primary mission
of Greta is to be the amplifier you can tuck
away next to the reading lamp or on your
work desk without offending the sensibilities
of those who don’t see beauty in a tattered
Champ quite like you do. Life as a double
agent isn’t all that Greta does, however.
With a 12AT7 power tube and a
12AX7-driven preamp, Greta can be a little
more responsive than your average desktop
practice amp. And with line and speaker
outputs, you can actually use it to drive an
external cabinet or run it out to a larger
amplifier. It also has a 1/8" auxiliary input
for plugging in your mp3 player.
In many ways, Greta is a pretty cool
piece of retro design and an imaginative
way to package an unobtrusive practice
amp. Its radio-like lines are attractive and
will likely prompt a double take among
those who aren’t in on the visual subterfuge. The coolest visual element is the
backlit, test-instrument-like needle readout,
which provides a visual indication of where
you are in the clean-to-overdriven range of
the amp. However, a few design touches
may strike some as less than appealing,
even given the pawnshop inspiration: The
sum total of the garish, lipstick-red wooden
front panel, the unsubstantial-feeling, gold-colored plastic knobs, and the stamped-plastic name badge is a look you might
expect from a novelty item more than a
pawnshop prize. That said, overall build
quality is sturdy enough.
