Diamond Amplification ASSASSIN 18 watt 1x12 combo amp - cool

bobbyd

New member
Just a quick review - I had been aware of Diamond over the past few years, but had never seen one in person.

Recently I was in need of a good gigging combo for band gigs, and a local player here in Chicago is a Diamond endorsee. He has several heads and 4x12s, and he decided to let go of this combo, so I snapped it up.

This amp street prices at $799, I think Blues City Music sells them for that. While I would have LOVED to have gotten a Friedman Dirty Shirley combo, I couldn't afford to spring $2800 or so for a 1x12 combo to gig with.

The Assassin is one of the LOUDEST 18 watt combos I have ever heard. It's a single channel fire breather, and clean sounds are not what it is best at. There's no reverb. It comes with a Celestion V series speaker that sounds good, and the cabinet is somewhat larger than most 1x12 combos, which helps contribute to the big sound it gets. There is a switch called "mode" that engages some diodes in the preamp signal path very similar to the JCM800, and that's pretty close to what this amp sounds like to me, a nice JCM800 combo.

Doing gigs, this amp really shines when it is cranked up a little bit. It has plenty of gain on tap, and for the $$$, it's the most Marshally-sounding 1x12 combo I have ever had. I believe that DIamond is having these manufactured in China, but they are doing some serious tweaking and final "fluff n buff" here in the USA.

here's what Diamond says about the amp:

"A Class A fire-breather, the Assassin is an 18watt (although the measured output is 26watts) high gain, single channel, gigable and affordable amp suitable for nearly every situation. And now, a 1x12 combo! Get all the amazing Assassin tones in the portability and convenience of a nicely sized combo.

Covered in black, and featuring a Celestion V-Type 70 watt speaker, the Assassin is a quality, hand-built amplifier producing nothing short of ferocious gain and it is lightweight enough to save your back while still having the power to be gigable even in combination with 2 4x12’s. Each Assassin is hand wired on a hand-built fiberglass eyelet board using components selected for reliability and superior sonic character. With its open back cabinet configuration, you now have an entire new range of tones too! Want some lower gain settings and some more clean head room than the sister head, but still have the ferocious gain on tap? The Assassin Combo is your answer. . .

The Assassin features a full set of tone controls (Volume, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence) along with a Gain Mode switch allowing for traditional or diode-clipping gain style. The Assassin uses three 12AX7, two EL84 power tubes, and a solid state rectifier.

This amp is hand wired, Class A at it’s finest. You simply won't believe it when you hear it."

I have been using it for all my effects pedal demos for the last few months, so if you wanna give it a listen, point your browser to:

youtube.com/roccotanto

and check it out - I have recently been doing demos of the entire One Control Effects pedal line, which are SUPER cool mini size pedals designed by Bjorn Juhl and manufactured in Japan by One Control - these are REALLY killer pedals that are not "boutique priced" - most of them street price around $120!

:rock:

assassin.jpg
 
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