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Review by
a visitor on 4.10.2005
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The amp was made to order by Kendrick in spring of 2001 and cost $1800 with the 100 year old pine cabinet upgrade. It took a few weeks to get built and shipped and Gerald Weber spent a lot of time on the phone with me to find out what I was after and what was the best choice for my needs and tastes before he would take my order.
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Features |
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The Kendrick Black Gold is very unique: itnulls a dual channel Class A combo amp with separate output transformers. The tubes are self-biasing so I can run any combination of power tubes to get a truly personalized sound.Rated at 15 watts (loud, though)with both Clean and Lead channels operating, 3-knob reverb, line out. Features two FANE 10" speakers, really first rate.I run the ext spkr out to a closed back cab with two 12" Celestion Blues. Gerald Weber at Kendrick has perfected combo amp reverb, the reverb surrounds the note and is infinitely adjustable.I can get Jiminulls tone on the solo from nullThe Wind Cries Marynull, it has that shimmery thing to it. |
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Playability |
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It sounds awesome with a good Strat plugged into it. I jumper the Clean and Lead channels. I can get a nice, rich clean tone by rolling back the guitarnulls volume knob and then come out blazing when I turn up to ten.
One thing I did was to get a genuine Klotz cable from Kendrick. The BEST cable available and I wish I had tried it before I blew all that $$ on crummy Monster Cable.The Klotz is very warm and allows the full spectrum to come through with emphasis on mids (perfect for guitar) and even order harmonics. Itnulls like somebody pulled a wet towel off my speakers and I am hearing myself for the first time. Indestructible, too.
Do yourself a favor and get a Klotz. I also use Kendrick strings, exclusively. The absolute best nickel strings: silky feel, fabulous tone, and they last longer than any other nickel strings Inullve tried. |
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Quality |
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I LOVE using a variety of NOS power tubes and I have quite a nice collection. The BG 15 lets me run DISSIMILAR power tubes for a truly personalized voice. I tend to favor a mix of GEC KT66 and Siemens EL34. All the preamp tubes are vintage NOS MUllards.The amp is less noisy than any tube amp Inullve tried and is remarkably consistent from day to day.It sits in the corner of my living room on a stand and itnulls my Tone Shrine.The plexi front panel over gold metal looks really cool, too.
When I want to go nuts, I put my Twin in line and run a closed cab with a 15" in it out the ext spkr out. That gives me two 10", four 12", and one 15" spkr running off two amps. I run the whole mess at low volume and it just drenches the room in FAT tone. |
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Durability |
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I play only at home now, but it looks sturdy enough to gig if I wanted to. I wanted a Class A amp I could overdrive without going deaf or pissing off the neighbors. My gig warhorse is a 73 Twin I had Gerald "blackface" for me and it is a man-killer. |
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Overall |
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I feel very lucky to have a Kendrick Black Gold 15. I bought it largely based on a rave review in Guitar Player Magazine and my own research. I was hesitant to drop $1800 but it was worth it( check boutique amp prices now!).Kendrick customer service is first rate and I email Gerald all the time for advice and to talk tone.He is the acknowledged expert on tube amps and writes a column for Vintage Guitar Magazine, holds seminars, and has his own books and DVDs.
His new masterpiece is the K Spot amp, someday I hope to be able to get one.
Check out http://kendrick-amplifiers.com and email Gerald and tell him Dan from Santa Cruz sent you! |
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