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tjon901 « A Plethora of vintage tones »
Published on 05/31/11 at 11:42Rivera has been around since the mid 70s making great all tube amplifiers. These amps are hand built in California and the company is privately owned. They are only in business to satisfy the players and no expenses are spared. The Venus 6 is Riveras first Class A amp. Rivera solves all of the problems Class A amps have with some good old fashion engineering know how. The amp is insanely versatile and with it you can get the whole classic Class A tonal range. The Venus 6 features 6V6GT power tubes by Electro-Harmonix putting out 35 Watt's of Class A power. Five 12AX7 tubes are used in the preamp. Rivera can use these tubes in the preamp because of the overbuilt nature of the amp. I tested the 2x12 and it comes with dual Celestion G12H 70th anniversary special edition 30 watt speakers. These speakers are the creme of the crop when it comes to Class A tone.
UTILIZATION
Old class A amps had complex power supplies which did not allow them to work efficiently. This caused them to get really hot and damage other internal parts and wear the tubes out way too fast. This would cause a drop in output and a weakening in tone. Rivera has found a way to prevent this by using the 6V6 power tubes with mega sized transformers and a huge heat sink. Internal parts that are sensitive to heat are mounted away from the hot items and everything is overbuilt and looks like it could survive a war. Because everything is so overbuilt and this is a 2x12 combo this amp is quite heavy. The amp is nearly 80 pounds so you could really hurt your back carrying this guy into the club.
SOUNDS
Many vintage tones are to be had with the Venus 6. The first channel gets you all your classic British Marshall tones. With the boost the first channel sounds like classic rock incarnate. You get all the classic boosted Marshall tones. The second channel gets you your classic Fender tones.The clean on the second channel is nice and chimey and with the boost you can still hear the chime it just has a little more kick to it. Both channels have their own eq's so you can set it and forget it and gig like you have two amps. Both channels come with a foot switchable boost which just takes the amp over the top. Both channels can do clean and dirty with ease and have their own unique voicing.
OVERALL OPINION
If you are looking for a high end Class A amp this is the last one you need to look at. You can so so many classic tones it should be illegal. And all of them are all tube and authentic. This amp is made in America by hand by a little private company. It does not get any better than this.
UTILIZATION
Old class A amps had complex power supplies which did not allow them to work efficiently. This caused them to get really hot and damage other internal parts and wear the tubes out way too fast. This would cause a drop in output and a weakening in tone. Rivera has found a way to prevent this by using the 6V6 power tubes with mega sized transformers and a huge heat sink. Internal parts that are sensitive to heat are mounted away from the hot items and everything is overbuilt and looks like it could survive a war. Because everything is so overbuilt and this is a 2x12 combo this amp is quite heavy. The amp is nearly 80 pounds so you could really hurt your back carrying this guy into the club.
SOUNDS
Many vintage tones are to be had with the Venus 6. The first channel gets you all your classic British Marshall tones. With the boost the first channel sounds like classic rock incarnate. You get all the classic boosted Marshall tones. The second channel gets you your classic Fender tones.The clean on the second channel is nice and chimey and with the boost you can still hear the chime it just has a little more kick to it. Both channels have their own eq's so you can set it and forget it and gig like you have two amps. Both channels come with a foot switchable boost which just takes the amp over the top. Both channels can do clean and dirty with ease and have their own unique voicing.
OVERALL OPINION
If you are looking for a high end Class A amp this is the last one you need to look at. You can so so many classic tones it should be illegal. And all of them are all tube and authentic. This amp is made in America by hand by a little private company. It does not get any better than this.