Hello Charles!

These last days i had a lot of fortune!

I always thought that it would be impossible, but yes! I found a RETRO-KING "Forty five" Combo for sale in France!

I asked some informations to Sylvain who was ex RETRO-KING dealer in France, and he told me your amps are awesome (sound and construction quality), much better than Marshall reissue.

This amp looked as new, so i purchased it.

I wanted to send you this message to tell you some words about this amp.

I think you are a great builder! This amp is the best one i ever played with.  All the external construction is perfect, inside is very good, and the sound is really INCREDIBLE!
My guitars never sound like this. The clean sound is awesome, really like old Marshall amps.

I played a1969 100W Plexi two years ago which was great, and impressed me.  But your "Forty five" Combo much impress me.  Last night, i was playing with my band and the second guitar player plugged his Telecaster. He is a good guitar player. He was without voice hearing the sound!!!  We didn't can't stop playing...

I dreamed about having a good JTM45 that would be built as the old ones, without PCB, etc and overall with the authentic tone.  Now i think my search is over. This one will play with me forever!

I'm telling at all my friends that if they want a really good amp, they must contact you. ;)

I know that i don't purchase directly to you, but i think it is important to tell you this few words because you are a King of amps builder!  The americans are fortunates having RETRO-KING in their country, and you can be proud of your work.

Thank you very much for this fantastic amp.

All the best Charles

Christophe
 

Hi Chuck,

Just wanted to send you a note on how much I am enjoying gigging with the 18watt 2x12 you made for me. I am getting so many compliments on my tone. The amp is great for all the different size venues we have been playing and even on the larger festival stages the stage volume is perfect, just mic it and go, I also used the line out circuit you installed and blended with the mic for stage and recording, Sounded great! The amp takes all my pedals so well and that gives me so many great textures for live playing. I cannot thank you enough….I am thinking I am going to have to order a 50 watt combo in the future, not that I need it with the 18 but I know it will sound Sooooo Good.

All the best, Mike “Mitch” Mitchell

 Hi Chuck. After buying many amps, including an original '59 tweed Deluxe
(from David @ ToneQuest), I am finally hearing the sound that's been in my head
all these years with your 18 Watt Combo. It's much more versatile than I imagined
as well. I put a NOS RCA 12AY7 in the cleaner channel, and the tone is ideal for
the R&B band I'm in, and no surprise, the hot channel is perfect for my classic rock
project.

Now my question. A friend of mine has a Marshall 4x12 16 ohm cabinet. If I
wanted to plug my 18 Watt Combo into it, should I unplug the speaker in the combo,
as well as switching to 16 ohms on the selector?

Thank you for your time, and thank your for your tone.

Roy Atkinson

18 watt combo 2 x 12 arrived 10 days ago. I am amazed!! It overwhelmed me. I have heard a lot and tested a lot of different amps -with much higher price than the Retro King.

The setup includes the rec swithc and the celestion alnico blue upgrade. Dean also gave me the post pi master volum for free! He promised to deliver in about 6 week - and right on time I´ve got it. He has been so friendly and have answered all my mails and calls - I guess I was a pain in the ass - excited and waiting for it...
If you are from outside US and are afraid of ordering - do not hesitate. It was delivered 2 days before time with Fedex. And very well packed and protected.

I actually had my first gig in a church at a funeral. Just me , my sister on the piano and of cource the Telecaster and The Retroking. This was an old church with noe PA for my singing. So I was really happy that the amp had pi master volum. It was working fantastic at a low volum. So many responses from the audiences. I just used the Tc electronic reverb - an analog eco from Wampler pedals. Together with the tremolo - sweet, sweet.

The day after we had a gig at a local pub. Here had a lot of different pedals - and it takes pedals very well. I only needed the pi master at 10 o clock. It has a lot of headroom and breaks up nice and warm when cranked. The guitar used is a telecaster 50´s and a Les Paul traditional 50´goldtop. This amp is really getting the best out of my guitars.

I am really looking forward to all the gigs this summer - and thank you so much Dean for the amp and the service!!

Frode Martinsen - Norway
 

Love my Retro-King!!!! It's all over my new record and the tracks I did for Duck Dynasty!!!! Check me out at: www.tonypasko.com

I Used my Retro-King in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI52FDfdPkE"

Tony Pasko

Retro-King 18-watt 2x12 Combo with Lance presented by DAG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pgh6r6ZgB8
 

Chuck, great amp. I bought #15 off Ebay and was kind of giving up on boutique 18 watt amps when this puppy arrived. I played my first gig with it this Sunday afternoon (see pics) and was laughing remembering your slogan saying this is the amp "every sound man will thank you for". This sound guy kept telling me to turn down and couldn't believe I was just playing 18 watts. The amp sounded too good cranked at 8, so luckily I had a few Clear Sonic pads in my car to put in front of it. Just endless beautiful tone, works perfectly with my pedalboard, and I didn't even need the extra 212 cab I was rehearsing with at home. This has to be one of the most efficient amps on the planet.

Thanks again for the great tone.
Billy Miller

Features: 9
I'll preface my review with the claim that, I've never been a huge Marshall amplifier fan. I favor Vox, both ancient and  re-issue, (UK made only) and an AC30 is my constant companion.

I was immediately intrigued when an associate tipped me off on Chuck Deans' Retro-King amp designs.
I decided to take a shot ! There was no way at this price I could go wrong ?

I ordered the 18 watt Class AB combo for January delivery.

Before firing up the combo, I noticed the ease of operating the controls, a well designed and simple control layout
for quick adjustments, and the great plexi panel cosmetics. Popping the back panel off, the super immaculate wiring, soldering and cabinet construction give you an indication of what's to come... *18 watt combo (A class AB cathode biased amp)

Sound Quality: 10
The amp nails the signature Marshall gritty overdrive distortion that you've heard on so many recordings... I immediately found musical and quite useable sustained feedback at moderate volumes... Those EL-84's in combination with the circuit design give a great chiming Brit tone I love. At 18 watts, it's no mousey amp. I rarely had to play as loud as 5 (out of a possible 10 volume detent), and found my comfort at 3 1/2, using my volume controls on the guitars as a master. The amp at an A weighted response of 95 decibels sounded fabulous. Want meltdown Marshall tones ? Play 7-9 if you dare ! Those automatic Clapton riffs I've played for years sounded as authentic as one can hear with this amp !

The Retro-King is quite at home in a recording environment, from low volume clean jazzy blues tones, to tidal wave rock volumes. The Weber G12H30 produces crystal clear and crunchy sonics. I recorded samples with a stand alone Tascam High Resolution recorder, API preamp, and Electro-Voice N Dyne series mics (front) and Sennheiser 421 (rear)... I ran the amp at about +/-80 db for the sampling... It's a great recording amp that pushes cleanly has many useful sounds in break-up mode. (this of course, will be defined with your playing attack.) From 44.1 kHz red book CD recording, to 192kHz, the Retro-King sounded pristine and both complex when that lovely distortion was produced to my analog tape machines and digital recorder and drives. I especially like this amp for older 20 bit recording...

To test the basic cabinet construction, I provided dummy s-trig loaded signal, tuned to concert pitch with Moog bass, set on triangular sawtooth waveform pattern at 16? and 32?, with volume controls ramped to about 50%. It handled the entire octave solidly. The amp did not pitch a fit, a testament to its solid construction. It remained tight and focused, with no rattles or problems. This is a great way to test the limit of any guitar amp, as guitar frequencies never go to the depths of hell...

The Telesonic with Keeley compressor and with it's dual 2K DeArmonds sounded best... Even without my Keeley, it's highly recommended to plug in and play this amp. It's a killer combination with your favorite mahogany guitar, guaranteed ! The ES-335 with its larger body, gave me the Creamy tone that surely sounded rich and textured, yet authentic.

Reliability: 10
Had the amp since January, and all the auditions have been flawless... The combo is a solid performer. No worries...
Call me in a couple years ! This amp feels like it can easily handle the rigors of club touring. I do recommend a decent padded cover at minimum, to keep it from getting dinged.

Customer Support: 10
Charles Dean, is the craftsman and owner of Retro-King. He's an agreeable businessman who obviously loves and knows his craft. Add to the mix, Dean is an accomplished guitarist who understands how amps should perform. Charles has even met me half-way for delivery of my combo. (we're about an hour and half driving distance from his laboratory) He'll promptly return phone calls and emails. The promised completion date
was right on time.  As an ace amp tech, Charles Dean even managed to get one of my beloved ancient amps back to being musical with some much needed maintenance, at a favorable repair price ! It's also nice to do business with a quality builder in my home state. (note: Fender and Marshall tube design amps are his repair specialty.)
The amp covers a 5 year bumper-to-bumper warranty with 90 days on valves and 1 year on loudspeakers.

Overall Rating: 10
Want the tried and true Marshall tone ? No matter your skill level, you'll find this amp a pleasure. Easy to dial in the gold... this amp will be a friend for years to come. Studio owners, this is a really great sounding combo to add to the arsenal. It won't break your budget either. $1645 as tested. Try getting a custom amp at this price today... (The Marshall Handwired re-issue 1974X 18 watt combo is $2300 bucks, by the way.) If you really know the market, there's no contest here. It's a fun amp to own, and it looks great. Mine has the cocoa brown levant tolex covering, with the Marshall cane grill cloth. It's also an amp you can lift without killing your back... No gamble here, you will be satisfied. I'd replace it in aheartbeat with an identical model !

Instruments that I play and tested for this review were: a Robert Keeley Compressor, Monster Guitar Cables, Gibson ES-335 dot Custom Shop model, Fender Telesonic and Mini Moog Synthesizer.- Supercat, Upstate, NY.

Submitted by supercatamps  03/22/2006
 

Customer Support: 10
Charles Dean, maker of Retro-King amps is responsive, understanding easy to work with and easily accessible. Try getting this kind of service from Marshall in England or makers of other similar amps.  Amp was built in the exact time specified, delivered as expected and works perfectly.

Reliability: 7
I have only had the amp for 1 month, but its tight construction and simple design lead me to believe that it will last as long as many Marshalls built 40 years back.

Overall Rating: 10
I am a guitarist of some 20+ years experience and currently play in a classic/modern rock cover band (as a hobby) that also does some originals. We cover anything from ZZ Top, Cheap Trick etc. to Nine Inch Nails, Nickelback, even Pat Benatar. Other amps are a Guytron GT-100 head, 74 Silverface Vibrolux reverb, 20th anniversary Hughes and Kettner Combo and a Polytone Mini Brute IV for Jazz work.

One essential to remember for guitarists looking for that famed Marshall sound. The Plexi 50 are priced at half of the new hand-wired Marshall equivalents and half of the Blockhead and Mojave amps. I have auditioned the latter two and like the Retro-King better.

by Miron Leshem  02/05/2006

Posted 10/23/05
Thomas Dean Eubanks
ThomasDean@midsouth.rr.com
http://www.progressiveworld.net/rockcity.html
 

Posted 10/18/05
Robert P. Dwyer, Attorney
rdwyer@sugarmanlaw.com
 

Posted 10/18/05
Al Martinez
alberto4949@aol.com