Headfirst Alta -best amp ever! Video review

cragginshrd

cragginshrd

Active member
Well the eagle landed from Aus to Calif last Fri. Out of the box, was blown away at having a 100w head in a smallbox chassis. Well done Mr Jason Tong!! The features and TONE are all Marshall vintage to hotrod, midi controllable AND No OD into front needed like every other boutique amp I have ever owned . The brit cap variation's are so useable. They are like having to perfect OF into the front with varying levels of boost that are perfectly suited for the amps tone.

Ch 3 is a perfect layer of added gain stage allowing ,e to have the same core tone just more of it to cut with solos.



This one was tougher to capture the Kerrang in the room but it was there. With every other high end amp i have owned this particular tone is so elusive feeling so close but never there. Not with the Alta. The voicing is pure Marshall with all od what we love about them and none of what we don't. for example I can only take so much of my JMP concluding it is meant tot play live not so much on it's own. The Alta has that DNA 100% without the ear fatigue. Add the various boosts and it's a trip back in time with the best mods you could ever want all included!



******No IR's fancy backing tracks or perfect playing (Ha)! This is in room tone recorded with an iPhone
 
Sounds awesome! Nice clips and playing. Jason really nailed it out of the box with the Alta. You can make it sound like a "kerrang-y" old Marshall or a super-modern smooth and compressed hot-rodded Marshall, and to top it all off, it's super responsive to your volume and tone controls and all controllable via MIDI. The feature set is perfect and I love how you can do unusual combinations like two bright switches or the diodes in vintage mode. My only regret is that I wish I could have gotten one of the newer ones with the Response knob on the front. I'm glad you're loving it!
 
SQUAREHEAD said:
I wish the Marshall guys on here could all demo this amp.
It really is an Incredible unit.
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Ya, last night I plugged in the JMP then went back to the Alta and it was no comparison. The Alta is spot on but with the resonance and depth there is no comparison. Alta for the win! :m17: Thanks again for the pre purchase info and good stoke Keith!
 
Bump. I got an Alta recently. It sounds good but I’ve found it has a softer attack vs my Suhr SL68 with a 4k7 bright cap, which just really punches. I prefer the Suhr honestly. I guess it runs a higher voltage on the plates?
 
pipboy90 said:
Bump. I got an Alta recently. It sounds good but I’ve found it has a softer attack vs my Suhr SL68 with a 4k7 bright cap, which just really punches. I prefer the Suhr honestly. I guess it runs a higher voltage on the plates?
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Sounds like you need to turn it up a bit !!!
 
Panhead5 said:
Sounds like you need to turn it up a bit !!!
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I’ve had them at equivalent volume and it’s the same. The SL68 in 50W mode and the Alta in 100W mode. The SL68 felt like it had more headroom, was firmer. Alta is more squishy, not as defined.
 
pipboy90 said:
Bump. I got an Alta recently. It sounds good but I’ve found it has a softer attack vs my Suhr SL68 with a 4k7 bright cap, which just really punches. I prefer the Suhr honestly. I guess it runs a higher voltage on the plates?
Click to expand...
Do you have both bright switches engaged? Didn’t know if you knew you can turn both at the same time.
 
pipboy90 said:
I’ve had them at equivalent volume and it’s the same. The SL68 in 50W mode and the Alta in 100W mode. The SL68 felt like it had more headroom, was firmer. Alta is more squishy, not as defined.
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They seem like way different Amos to compare
 
hellzington said:
Do you have both bright switches engaged? Didn’t know if you knew you can turn both at the same time.
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Yeah, I’ve tried every permutation. I’ll experiment more when I’m home.

Techdeth said:
They seem like way different Amos to compare
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They are different, but I was hoping the Alta would have the same raw punch as a good plexi. I dunno, maybe I had misplaced expectations.
 
pipboy90 said:
Yeah, I’ve tried every permutation. I’ll experiment more when I’m home.


They are different, but I was hoping the Alta would have the same raw punch as a good plexi. I dunno, maybe I had misplaced expectations.
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Ya it happens . Is the atla used like that ? I think of it as super modern . I also don’t know
 
pipboy90 said:
Bump. I got an Alta recently. It sounds good but I’ve found it has a softer attack vs my Suhr SL68 with a 4k7 bright cap, which just really punches. I prefer the Suhr honestly. I guess it runs a higher voltage on the plates?
Click to expand...
The Suhr punches out the speakers like a SOB.
I got the SL67 MK II. In Low-Power mode, Volume I on 8, MV on 9:00, it punches hard.
 
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