So far, I've only spent a few hours with the Reinhardt CB200, but I do have a few initial thoughts to share.
First of all, the company itself is the achetype of customer service. Every email was answered in hours (sometimes minutes) by Bob, himself, or his wife, Sue--and they were always friendly and accomodating. I had a few questions about the bias points on the back, and I recieved detailed instructions within minutes. The build only took a few weeks and was delivered within the quoted range. (I have lost faith in the estimating abilities of some custom builders, so I was delighted when this amp was right on schedule.)
When I first contacted Bob, we exchanged a ton of emails about different options, modifications and alterations, but I decided that his design was perfect the way it was. The finished amp is a bit different than the one on his website. It still has the KT88 power section and delivers about 200 watts, but it has two independant preamp sections. The top hints at a Marshall Super Bass Tone, and has low, mid and high controls---and the bottom hints at an Ampeg B15N and has low and high eq. There is also a shared presence control.
There used to be a clean/dirty switch on the back, that seemed more geared toward guitarists, but it is gone on the new design. As mentioned earlier, there are bias points on the back. It is super super easy to test and read this amp. I wouldn't dig inside, personally, but I feel comfortable testing it.
The two channels really compliment each other well. The bottom 6sl7 channel seems like a great studio channel and the top 'super bass' has a bit more edge and aggression that seemed perfect for live use.
'B15n channel'--- As I mentioned earlier, this channel 'hints' at the Ampeg tone. I don't think that Bob designed the amp to be a clone, but instead opted to take inspiration from the classics and impliment that into his own design. Obviously, the KT88 power tubes and the higher output make a direct a/bing of this head against a B15 a little unfair. And, again, it is Bob's design, so, although I was tempted to bust out my B15N, I just listened to the purely blissful tone from the CB200. Still, since it is a gold standard reference, I can say that the Reinhardt was smoother and mellower than my B15. I wouldn't call it more modern, but my B15 breaks up real easily, especially when it has been going for a few hours. The CB200 definitely has that old school tone going for it, but it seems like it can keep pounding all day. The eq points are voiced perfectly. A little goes a long way and this amp really reacts well to changes in technique.
'The Super Bass Channel'---This would be a killer live channel. It has more edge and attitude than the bottom channel. It has a bit of a detailed grind to it. Not too much. Again, the eq voicing is well placed. I found myself reaching for the eq less on this amp than on others. Every setting sounds great. The two channels are only accesible through their own independant input. They are completely seperate (which means no footswitching. This isn't an issue for me, but thought I'd point it out.) I haven't tried it with a Y cable yet, but that should be fun!! Just like the bottom channel, this one really reacts to technique.
Compared to the Reeves Custom, the Reinhardt is more 'old school' in the tonal range. The Reeves is a great head with a more modern tone.
More to come on the tone. I need to get this out to hear what it can do.......
http://reinhardtamps.com/
First of all, the company itself is the achetype of customer service. Every email was answered in hours (sometimes minutes) by Bob, himself, or his wife, Sue--and they were always friendly and accomodating. I had a few questions about the bias points on the back, and I recieved detailed instructions within minutes. The build only took a few weeks and was delivered within the quoted range. (I have lost faith in the estimating abilities of some custom builders, so I was delighted when this amp was right on schedule.)
When I first contacted Bob, we exchanged a ton of emails about different options, modifications and alterations, but I decided that his design was perfect the way it was. The finished amp is a bit different than the one on his website. It still has the KT88 power section and delivers about 200 watts, but it has two independant preamp sections. The top hints at a Marshall Super Bass Tone, and has low, mid and high controls---and the bottom hints at an Ampeg B15N and has low and high eq. There is also a shared presence control.
There used to be a clean/dirty switch on the back, that seemed more geared toward guitarists, but it is gone on the new design. As mentioned earlier, there are bias points on the back. It is super super easy to test and read this amp. I wouldn't dig inside, personally, but I feel comfortable testing it.
The two channels really compliment each other well. The bottom 6sl7 channel seems like a great studio channel and the top 'super bass' has a bit more edge and aggression that seemed perfect for live use.
'B15n channel'--- As I mentioned earlier, this channel 'hints' at the Ampeg tone. I don't think that Bob designed the amp to be a clone, but instead opted to take inspiration from the classics and impliment that into his own design. Obviously, the KT88 power tubes and the higher output make a direct a/bing of this head against a B15 a little unfair. And, again, it is Bob's design, so, although I was tempted to bust out my B15N, I just listened to the purely blissful tone from the CB200. Still, since it is a gold standard reference, I can say that the Reinhardt was smoother and mellower than my B15. I wouldn't call it more modern, but my B15 breaks up real easily, especially when it has been going for a few hours. The CB200 definitely has that old school tone going for it, but it seems like it can keep pounding all day. The eq points are voiced perfectly. A little goes a long way and this amp really reacts well to changes in technique.
'The Super Bass Channel'---This would be a killer live channel. It has more edge and attitude than the bottom channel. It has a bit of a detailed grind to it. Not too much. Again, the eq voicing is well placed. I found myself reaching for the eq less on this amp than on others. Every setting sounds great. The two channels are only accesible through their own independant input. They are completely seperate (which means no footswitching. This isn't an issue for me, but thought I'd point it out.) I haven't tried it with a Y cable yet, but that should be fun!! Just like the bottom channel, this one really reacts to technique.
Compared to the Reeves Custom, the Reinhardt is more 'old school' in the tonal range. The Reeves is a great head with a more modern tone.
More to come on the tone. I need to get this out to hear what it can do.......
http://reinhardtamps.com/
