Guitarist Guild: A Musical Community Beyond Strings
Gear Discussion => Amplifiers => Topic started by: shawnb on March 24, 2023, 04:08:47 AM
RC Davis is a small amp builder & shop in San Francisco.
Many years ago, the owner repaired vintage amps. Many customers didn't want their vintage amps on the road due to jostling about & potential damage. So... RC Davis decided to make deliberately over-engineered, very sturdy, amps with vintage (i.e., simple, hand-built) architecture & sound for guitarists on the road. To get the sound of the vintage amp, but not worry about damage. And that's how the product line was born.
I have a 4x8 50W RC Davis, and it was louder than a friend's 100W Mesa Boogie Mark II, and MUCH MUCH louder than a 100W Marshall in our studio. (The Mesa Boogie guy later upgraded to a Mark V and, uh... It ain't louder than THAT...)
I play a lot of Roland COSM gear, with amp modeling, and wanted as flat a response as I could get, so RC Davis actually handed me a box of rectifiers & tubes & told me to experiment until I found a set that worked. So I did...
Normal best practice with amp modeling, is to use a FRFR amp, and NOT a guitar amp, to avoid doubling of overdrive & coloring. I have one of those, too...
But when jamming in the studio with friends, with the right config, my tweaked RC Davis adds punch you I don't get with FRFR. IMO anyway... I am trying for the best of both worlds.
Website:
https://www.rcdavisamps.com/
Some pix:
MyAmps_14889-crop.jpgMyAmps_14880.jpgMyAmps_14889.jpg
Thanks for posting this Shawn, very interesting. I bet they also have a bit of weight to them.
I'll add that link to my links page at some point. ;)
I have an old SWR Workingmans 10 bass combo kicking around here, that weighs an absolute ton, not something I like to move about too often.
By the way, you're welcome to add a link to your site in your signature.