New Head: Valkyrie from Baer Amps... Thoughts?

[eeyorebass]

Originally Posted by R Baer

So, no delivery dates, but I wanted to let everyone know where we stand. I know we have taken some flack for not getting this out sooner, but this is really a very complicated endeavor that requires a lot of time and effort to pull off.

I think it's your constant presence, honesty, and obvious character that keep the flack at bay.

I've been watching this thread and the other Baer Amps megathreads since day one. There is an undeniable passion for what you do in your posts and products. I love my ML112 with my Streamliner, and can't wait to see the Valkyrie on the market.

I say keep up the great work.

jeremy

[LeonD]

Is there a reason the tube circuit is not foot switchable? It seems like that would be a natural.

[MSUsousaphone]

That thought occured to me, at first......but then I started really thinking on it and I can't think of any song where I would want to change from tube to SS or the other way around. Lots of stuff where I would chamge other effects on or off but not the SS to tube thing. So I'm good with it.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by tombowlus

First off, the Valkyrie head is definitely coming to market.

Regarding this question, the Valkyrie is way more flat/accurate/balanced than Monique, and Monique is much more colored and gloriously tube-like (at least with the tube drive section disengaged on the Valkyrie). Monique's colorations don't stop it from being solid from top to bottom, and nicely balanced, but it has a lot more personality and voice of its own. The Valkyrie will brutally spit out whatever you feed into it, and it seems very accurate. You can definitely dial in some nice tube drive with that circuit engaged, but Monique is more about a full, lush, clean (or grindy, if you want), vintage tube tone.

They are both outstanding units, but with very different design goals.

This is pretty close to what I was hearing/feeling. One might say Monique is a "one trick pony" - but, a) that isn't true and, b) if it is true, that trick is so good one is enough.

Monique is certainly tube but more towards the old hi-fi stereo tube amp end rather than what many associate with tubes (eg grind). Monique can get that edge but the preamp is more about incredibly round-yet-articulate tone and feel.

Valkyrie is more Swiss Army Knife. You can get a fairly "flat/clean" sound out of it, or you can switch the tube circuit in and get a different character. Plus the eq options are way more flexible than Monique.

As Tom said, two different beasts. I tend to be a guy who doesn't really like to fiddle with knobs. I only eq the amp to deal with different rooms and eq the basses to get a particular tone that I'm looking for. For someone who likes to twist knobs, Valkyrie will be a good fit. It also would work for guys like me as well - I was running the eq dead flat with tube circuit engaged and that was a tone that I liked.

[KJung]

Found this pic. Looks VERY good:

[R Baer]

Originally Posted by vin*tone

Is that a voltrage switch on the back?.... multitapped or fixed model "export" transformer?

The amp has a voltage selector on the rear panel.

Originally Posted by LeonD

Is there a reason the tube circuit is not foot switchable? It seems like that would be a natural.

Unlike a typical 12AX7 in the front of the preamp, our design is a completely self contained tube amp (12AX7, 12AU7 and output transformer) located between the preamp and the power amp section. With this design, switching in the tube sections results in a gain change to the power section, which can be either a fairly matched volume when the tube drive is at minimum, or a dramatic increase in volume if the tube drive is cranked up. So, it meant adding a bunch more circuitry in the path to make the tube circuit foot switchable while keeping the volume constant at various levels of tube gain.

Also, for me, having a foot switchable tube section implies that the player intends to switch the tube section in and out like an effect, during certain parts of the song and the tube section wasn't really meant to be an "effect". The tube circuit was really designed to change the character of the amp and increase its flexibility. If you have a jazz gig on Saturday and need a really clean, accurate amp you just leave the amp all solid state. Have a rock gig on Saturday night and you can dial in the tube growl and have that sound too. IMO, there are a ton of great distortion pedals on the market and they are really better suited for switching on and off during a performance. If you want to change things up a bit during the gig, once your'e used to the amp's operation, switching the tube in and out and adjusting the master volume takes about 3 seconds max so it's easy to do in between songs, if needed. My guess is that most users will end up using the amp with the tube engaged most of the time. It really adds a lot to the tone of the amp.

[willsellout]

Originally Posted by KJung

Found this pic. Looks VERY good:

Sexy looking amp. I guarantee it's out of my price range

[R Baer]

Originally Posted by eeyorebass

I think it's your constant presence, honesty, and obvious character that keep the flack at bay.

I've been watching this thread and the other Baer Amps megathreads since day one. There is an undeniable passion for what you do in your posts and products. I love my ML112 with my Streamliner, and can't wait to see the Valkyrie on the market.

I say keep up the great work.

jeremy

Thanks Jeremy, I really do appreciate the positive vibe everyone seems to always be sending our way. It's definitely our goal to make sure we only deliver gear worthy of the amazing support we've received from everyone here!

[vin*tone]

Originally Posted by tombowlus

...The Valkyrie will brutally spit out whatever you feed into it, and it seems very accurate. You can definitely dial in some nice tube drive with that circuit engaged....

That sounds very M-Pulse-ish to my (possibly wishful) thinking.

Can I mail you my wallet?

[jasonbraatz]

Originally Posted by R Baer

Unlike a typical 12AX7 in the front of the preamp, our design is a completely self contained tube amp (12AX7, 12AU7 and output transformer) located between the preamp and the power amp section.

oooooooo

I was using an SWR Interstellar Overdrive as a preamp for a while, and it did the same kind of thing with a pair of EL84's. Always wondered why this kind of thing was rare as it makes a ton of sense.

[Hobobob]

Just wanted to say that it was really cool stopping by Roger's booth and putting the Valkyrie through its paces. Roger really gave me the star treatment, even though I was obviously just some dumb kid wandering around NAMM! I honestly can't imagine a better rock rig than a Valkyrie and an ML212, but I had the distinct impression that a Valkyrie on top of a more hi-fi cab could deliver some sweet jazz and R&B tones too. Oh, how I covet this amp. Roger, please let us know the minute you start shipping!

[Darren Low]

All the positive stuff said about the amp just makes me gas even harder

[nostatic]

It reminds me somewhat of my old AMB-500 (original UK-built) but is capable of a way cleaner preamp tone as well as more tube grit if you want it. I gigged one of those for about 10 years and I think Roger did as well.

[thetaxmiser]

For all of you who have had a chance to test drive the Valkyrie, could you compare it to a shuttlemax? I currently use the Shuttlemax12 and like it quite a bit but I am intrigued by the Valkyrie.

[monsterthompson]

Originally Posted by vin*tone

That sounds very M-Pulse-ish to my (possibly wishful) thinking.

Can I mail you my wallet?

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by thetaxmiser

For all of you who have had a chance to test drive the Valkyrie, could you compare it to a shuttlemax? I currently use the Shuttlemax12 and like it quite a bit but I am intrigued by the Valkyrie.

It's hard to tell from a brief audition at NAMM, and without a direct A/B, using the same instrument(s), and the same cab(s), in the same room, it's really a sketchy thing, at best. But, with those caveats, my initial thoughts are that with both amps set with the tone controls at noon, I felt like the Valkyrie was more full and solid, and the ShuttleMAX is perhaps a bit more airy. But take this with a major grain of salt, and as always, YMMV. Heck, my mileage may vary, with different basses, cabs, rooms, etc.

Both units have very flexible EQs, and I'm sure that you could dial both of them in to cover a fairly similar range of tones.

FWIW, I did own a ShuttleMAX 12.0 and gigged it several times. I have not heard the Valkyrie outside of the various NAMM Shows (but I have ordered one from the first batch ).

Tom.

[nordyboy]

Originally Posted by tombowlus

It's hard to tell from a brief audition at NAMM, and without a direct A/B, using the same instrument(s), and the same cab(s), in the same room, it's really a sketchy thing, at best. But, with those caveats, my initial thoughts are that with both amps set with the tone controls at noon, I felt like the Valkyrie was more full and solid, and the ShuttleMAX is perhaps a bit more airy. But take this with a major grain of salt, and as always, YMMV. Heck, my mileage may vary, with different basses, cabs, rooms, etc.

Both units have very flexible EQs, and I'm sure that you could dial both of them in to cover a fairly similar range of tones.

FWIW, I did own a ShuttleMAX 12.0 and gigged it several times. I have not heard the Valkyrie outside of the various NAMM Shows (but I have ordered one from the first batch ).

Tom.

Yeah cause you need another amp don't you Tom.....

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by nordyboy

Yeah cause you need another amp don't you Tom.....

LOL!