Cameron type amps

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GOOP INDUSTRIES LLC ... ask for the "Silicone Mod".
 
did anyone tried surreal amps in person recently?

on most of youtube videos, i think his amps sound phenomenal.
but on the amp fest video (comparing to the other similar amps), no one points out it is the best.
and there is strangely not so much praise on his amp.

so i wonder the opinion on surreal amps.
especially, when comparing the tone and quality with cameron, friedman and the other far expensive amps.
 
If you ever seen the inside of his amps you would not want one. The guy should not be building amps, not a quality product. If you search this forum you would find some if his shit storms.
 
I saw a repair job that Jerry did on one of his amps [pics].

It was a combo amp and he bent the Transformer putting it in and it looked like he smashed the cab with a hammer


Strange dewd.
 
Mesa\Kramer":2dwlvkgk said:
I would get a Ceriatone Yeti or Chupa

Great build and sound quality amps along with being well priced
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100% agree.

I've got Friedmans, Bogner, Diezel, even a Cameron CCV and my Yeti always impresses me. You cannot beat it for the money. It's sort of Cameron-like, with the two gain controls and bright switches.
 
-that company, or builder, or.... doesn't exist, there's a reason that real CAMERON amps don't come up for sale very often, and when they do,... No matter the price,.... its usually gone in hours, not days or weeks, with multiple bumps,
 
idnotbe":lr3cgllr said:
how about bfg amp? (modification)
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Can't say enough good things about Brian at BFG. His mods sound great and he's got great customer service. I don't see him around here much anymore but I think you can get a hold of him on FB.
 
Mesa\Kramer":kzo90ttu said:
I would get a Ceriatone Yeti or Chupa

Great build and sound quality amps along with being well priced
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Except the transformers. They are shit. Order one without transformers and get your own through Classictone, Heyboer, Mercury and you are good.
 
sg guy":sa0ye3jh said:
-that company, or builder, or.... doesn't exist, there's a reason that real CAMERON amps don't come up for sale very often, and when they do,... No matter the price,.... its usually gone in hours, not days or weeks, with multiple bumps,
Click to expand...
Truth.
Want a Cameron? Save up and pay up when they come up. With Cameron's it's not the circuit that's clone-able, like the Ceriatones. It's the time he puts in to TWEAKING the amp till he gets THAT sound he wants out of the amp. So, any number of guys can build a Cameron circuit but unless they have his ears and circuit tweaking ability you'll just have to hope to find a used one.
 
I own both a Surreal Atomica (the 1st prototype amp he built) and an Aldrich 800 Cameron. They are completely different animals. As people said, Jerry isn't around here any longer (though he probably lurks from time to time). The Surreal is more of a plexi build with all the bells and whistles, closer to a Friedman. That isn't to say that Jerry couldn't do something different, it's just what this amp sounds like. On my amp, it has a clean, crunch and gain, plus the push/pull for sag, and dip switches for different circuits. The clean is pristine and sounds really good with a compressor and a bit of delay. It does have a pull switch to get it more into the early Marshall breakup, but I prefer the clean. The crunch channel is great! It's not quite plexi, but pretty close. It can do a great Van Halen with the gain pushed, or slight boost. The Gain channel reminds me of a boosted Marshall, but a tad darker, like the Friedmans. All in all, I think the amp is great and is actually the amp that gets 90% of my attention. Why? I've gone back to the basics. I use the crunch channel with a boost, trying to capture Paul Gilbert's current sound. The last time I emailed Jerry, he was very responsive and at that time was willing to build me a single channel amp. I didn't do it as we started having kids. (three years ago).

As to the Cameron, this is my number one and probably still my favorite sounding amp. So why don't I play it? Well, it does that sound. Period. If you like the live Whitesnake sound from the first DVD with Doug, that is this amp. It is amazing to hear it roar, it is extremely easy to play and is hairy as Persian cat, which oddly, is the reason I play the Surreal more. It's not hairy, unless you want it, and it can be set to stiff or tight (as does the Cameron), but it takes pedals extremely well, whereas the Cameron does not. The loops on both are very similar, good enough for me.

As a Marshall tone chaser, they both have their place and I would love to add more to the collection. A bogner xtc or helios is the next on my list.
 
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