What ever happened to the Evil Pumpkin

[Smash]

Did this amp ever get made? I remember last time we were talking it was supposed to start up again. I think it originally got covid fucked. But i never see anything about fortin anymore anyway (not that many would touch his new amps after the sigil debacle)

 

[inyarak74]

Goodquestion

 

[Shreddy Mercury]

It found Jesus. Now it's just the Pumpkin.

 

[rsm]

....now it's being used in the [NS] genre we don't name.

 

[glpg80]

It was cost prohibitive during Covid which was the first nail in the coffin. My understanding is that when Fortin later sold the rights to Randall for many various amp designs, the Bones circuit as well as the Evil Pumpkin went with it. Randall is likely sitting on it for intellectual property and nothing else. My assumption would be that they’ve integrated design ideas from them into current builds.

TLDR; The circuit got caught in the middle of an intellectual property sale to Randall from Fortin never to be seen or heard of again.

 

[thegame]

I remember hearing something about the amp finally getting released a couple years ago, after the Covid delay. I saw a couple NAD posts about it.

 

[rsm]

I didn't think Randall was still producing amps?

 

[Simon Dorn]

Did this amp ever get made? I remember last time we were talking it was supposed to start up again. I think it originally got covid fucked. But i never see anything about fortin anymore anyway (not that many would touch his new amps after the sigil debacle)

They made a few then it flopped.

 

[technomancer]

It was not sold to Randall, it just got delayed and price hiked by COVID. They did a single run of them for mid-high $3k and I think they eventually sold out but they haven't done any more since the initial run.

The designs sold to Randall were the Meathead, Natas, and Satan which became the 667, Thrasher, and Satan respectively.

At the initial announced price I would have probably bought one, but at almost $4k I lost interest.

 

[glpg80]

It was not sold to Randall, it just got delayed and price hiked by COVID. They did a single run of them for mid-high $3k and I think they eventually sold out but they haven't done any more since the initial run.

The designs sold to Randall were the Meathead, Natas, and Satan which became the 667, Thrasher, and Satan respectively.

At the initial announced price I would have probably bought one, but at almost $4k I lost interest.

One of the channels in the Satan circuit sold to Randall is the evil pumpkin circuit to my understanding. The other is well….a drama topic I’d rather not go down the path of. The run you speak of was under the Fortin name, not Randall.

And I know for a fact the Bones circuit was also sold to Randall because I personally asked Mike to build me a one off and he said he no longer was allowed. That tells me that he sold his entire IP line and got out of amp design under his own name and contracts designs for others instead.

 

[Fiesta Red]

It found Jesus. Now it's just the Pumpkin.

Does that mean the born-again model is a reissue?

 

[Smash]

One of the channels in the Satan circuit sold to Randall is the evil pumpkin circuit to my understanding. The other is well….a drama topic I’d rather not go down the path of. The run you speak of was under the Fortin name, not Randall.

And I know for a fact the Bones circuit was also sold to Randall because I personally asked Mike to build me a one off and he said he no longer was allowed. That tells me that he sold his entire IP line and got out of amp design under his own name and contracts designs for others instead.

The bones was his only design i had interest in. I read several honeymoon posts about it. Later, same guys had in classifieds talking how great it was and just had unexpected expenses. Later still, their true feelings came out.

At the end of the day, I feel like fortin was a great marshall mod guy, but not really super creative and so his amp line was poor copies of others' work.

The evil pumpkin was gimmicky, but i think the original was so badass that it would have sold if on track

 

[glpg80]

The bones was his only design i had interest in. I read several honeymoon posts about it. Later, same guys had in classifieds talking how great it was and just had unexpected expenses. Later still, their true feelings came out.

At the end of the day, I feel like fortin was a great marshall mod guy, but not really super creative and so his amp line was poor copies of others' work.

The evil pumpkin was gimmicky, but i think the original was so badass that it would have sold if on track

Dude I played a bones at one of Lugo’s ampfests back in NC. Sonically it sounded very balanced and felt great under the fingers. Not an aggressively voiced amp or harsh but it had headroom for miles and took effects well. Kind of like a mix between a mark IV and a Vox AC30. I’ve only ever seen one for sale here in the classifieds and it had his rare MIDI feature integrated. Still kicking myself in the ass for not buying it at the time.

I haven’t had interest in anything else he’s designed or built. They’re just all too tame and he never fully understood how to aggressively voice anything.

If memory serves me correctly, one of the meathead channels is the bones circuit. If you search the forum you might find which channel it was as I know it was mentioned here back in the day.

 

[FourT6and2]

I had a Bones for a couple of months. It was a solid rock amp. Like late '90s to early 2000s radio rock. Matchbox 20, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, RHCP, Bush, Collective Soul, 3 Doors Down, Live, and Big Wreck (who actually does use a Bones). I never boosted it, but I think with a boost it could get more aggressive.

I wish I had kept it because it did have some really great sounds, just not as angry or pissed off as I wanted it for most of what I play. But yeah... worth holding onto in hindsight. It is certainly the best built Fortin amp I've seen to date.

As for the Evil Pumpkin... it just sounds generic IMO. Same sounds from a Randall Thrasher/Satan or even one of the Laney Iron Heart series of amps. Not worth $3K, let alone whatever they're going for on Reverb these days.

 

[technomancer]

Dude I played a bones at one of Lugo’s ampfests back in NC. Sonically it sounded very balanced and felt great under the fingers. Not an aggressively voiced amp or harsh but it had headroom for miles and took effects well. Kind of like a mix between a mark IV and a Vox AC30. I’ve only ever seen one for sale here in the classifieds and it had his rare MIDI feature integrated. Still kicking myself in the ass for not buying it at the time.

I haven’t had interest in anything else he’s designed or built. They’re just all too tame and he never fully understood how to aggressively voice anything.

If memory serves me correctly, one of the meathead channels is the bones circuit. If you search the forum you might find which channel it was as I know it was mentioned here back in the day.

The Bones is basically channel one of the Meathead so that makes sense.

 

[ZEEGLER]

I heard somewhere that some guy named Larry copied all his designs.

 

[VonBonfire]

....now it's being used in the [NS] genre we don't name.

I'm guessing by "NS" you mean NEO SOUL?

 

[psychodave]

I had a Bones for a couple of months. It was a solid rock amp. Like late '90s to early 2000s radio rock. Matchbox 20, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, RHCP, Bush, Collective Soul, 3 Doors Down, Live, and Big Wreck (who actually does use a Bones). I never boosted it, but I think with a boost it could get more aggressive.

I wish I had kept it because it did have some really great sounds, just not as angry or pissed off as I wanted it for most of what I play. But yeah... worth holding onto in hindsight. It is certainly the best built Fortin amp I've seen to date.

As for the Evil Pumpkin... it just sounds generic IMO. Same sounds from a Randall Thrasher/Satan or even one of the Laney Iron Heart series of amps. Not worth $3K, let alone whatever they're going for on Reverb these days.

This is the first positive thing I heard about the bones. My friend had one and it was terrible. He said he could get better tone by slapping his cock on a cinder block then from the bones.

I have nothing to add about the pumpkin since it was never produced…although someone on FB is selling one for $4,000.

 

[harddriver]

He said he could get better tone by slapping his cock on a cinder block then from the bones.

This has to be one of the most epic amp trolls I've ever read on RT.............Kudos Mr. Dave..........

 

[rsm]

I'm guessing by "NS" you mean NEO SOUL?