Seems like it sold within an hour of the price drop, from $1485 to $1250. Someday I'll snag one.
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Damn. That hurts. I paid over $1600 for mine on Reverb. Worth every penny though.
Interesting that you had to go to a slightly lower-gain tube. What is your bass that has such a hot output? And what kind of sound are you going for?
With my gain set to 3/4 (tick mark 6, counting from 0-8) and my bass up all the way, I could get a nice crunch on a hard attack, and a warm, resonant sustain - just what I'm usually looking for.
At the time, an 18 volt warwick EMG/OBP3. But I even liked it on my older 9volt Jazz setups. I always liked the edge the Zephyr gave me, with stock ax7s, but after the verellen responded so well I decided to try it. I could still get that grit, but I was more toward max gain. Below 2 or so was generally all clean. There was a few different interations of the zephyr, this particular one was an earlier one. I didn't open up my newer one
I think the changes in the Zephyr had to do with replacing the second tube with a couple of MOSFETs to drive the outputs. The second tube was being used in a way that wouldn't affect the sound (very linear, no saturation). But it's possible there were some other tweaks. My Zephyr is the newer (single tube) version, built in 2017.
I approached Micah about building a smaller, no tone all tube build, a 40 watt EL6 amp based on a home audio tube amp made by Cary, and instead took advantage of this bigger amp with the ability to bypass the tone section for only~15% more. A no brainer. KT88s, 70 watts, available for 10% off in celebration of Micah’s tenth year building these wonderful pieces of gear. Stellar customer care and involvement.
I trust the plexiglass Arkham logo is illuminated? 
I have a Zephyr, which I love. Having that preamp paired with a good tube power amp (KT88s, yeah!) sounds like all-tube bliss. And 70W is IMHO in the Goldilocks zone: powerful enough to hang with a drummer, not so huge that it's too loud when pushed into a little sweet saturation.
Can you share any more details? Is the power amp similar to, say, a Fender? Or more like a classic Sunn (which was based on a Dynaco hifi amp)? Is there a post-power amp DI?
What kind of speaker do you have in mind to use with this?
I have a Zephyr, which I love. Having that preamp paired with a good tube power amp (KT88s, yeah!) sounds like all-tube bliss. And 70W is IMHO in the Goldilocks zone: powerful enough to hang with a drummer, not so huge that it's too loud when pushed into a little sweet saturation.
Can you share any more details? Is the power amp similar to, say, a Fender? Or more like a classic Sunn (which was based on a Dynaco hifi amp)? Is there a post-power amp DI?
What kind of speaker do you have in mind to use with this?
My guess would be this amp rests right in between. Im plugging into a Berg 4 ohm 212. My plan is to initially use it with an Oracle and a LowRider and a Meris Mercury X until i get a feel for what it can do. Initial tube burn in will play a factor, im tryna KISS right out of the box. I’ll be playing a Ken Smith fretless four.I trust the plexiglass Arkham logo is illuminated?
I have a Zephyr, which I love. Having that preamp paired with a good tube power amp (KT88s, yeah!) sounds like all-tube bliss. And 70W is IMHO in the Goldilocks zone: powerful enough to hang with a drummer, not so huge that it's too loud when pushed into a little sweet saturation.
Can you share any more details? Is the power amp similar to, say, a Fender? Or more like a classic Sunn (which was based on a Dynaco hifi amp)? Is there a post-power amp DI?
What kind of speaker do you have in mind to use with this?
The plexiglass is most definitely illuminated when powered on, the bottom runs into the top of the chassis to a bulb
The linear amp is a pipe dream for me... I asked Micah awhile back if it was feasible to put a transformer XLR out like my PF-50T has, he had to think about it a bit, but the price point is a bit high right now. Hopefully in a few years it won't be
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Just bumping this to reiterate how much I love the Arkham preamp design. I'm resolved now to replace my WD800 with a Beast when the cashflow frees up. Then I can have a direct board with my Oracle, plus a head option for when I need an amp.
