Cornford MK50

peterc52

peterc52

Well-known member
Any experience with these?

Remember years ago some wrote that this is Mark Cameron’s favorite amp if didn’t make his own? Is this a modded Marshall like a Cameron?
 
I remember them sounding in the Marshall-y ballpark but smoother. Good sounding amps, but when AB’ed with top tier stuff, just not on the same level tonally IME, but especially for the price good amps
 
I’ve had a mk 1 and a mk 2. Wish I’d kept one. They’re unique. I found them to be a more punchy and open SLO type amp. like an slo with more of a jcm800 attitude. The mk 2 had a lot of very useful features for gigging. It was like having the clean/crunch switch of an slo on a footswitch but with dedicated gain controls for the clean and crunch, and with 2 masters you could switch between, having a switchable boost on clean, crunch and dirty. Then the OD channel was just awesome. It was very clear and tight. Nowhere to hide, though. They’re also built like a piece of indestructible art.

1709481065595.jpeg


Wonderful amps.
 
I've been looking for a Cornford on and off for several years. I can't ever find one when I have spending money, but when I don't, I run across 1 or 2.
 
Had them both . I sold one MK50 to Braciola years ago and the MK50ii here a few months ago. The MK50 is the most awesome nasty amp I ever owned. 2 master volumes and I ran it through a G12-65 cabinet. I’m still in counseling over it because they are hard to find and people ask stupid money for them.
 
Panhead5 said:
Had them both . I sold one MK50 to Braciola years ago and the MK50ii here a few months ago. The MK50 is the most awesome nasty amp I ever owned. 2 master volumes and I ran it through a G12-65 cabinet. I’m still in counseling over it because they are hard to find and people ask stupid money for them.
Click to expand...
Can you talk a little about the I vs MkII differences? I've heard differing reports and never had the two in the same room.
 
99% certain there is no "Mark I" or "Mark II" - "MK" is literally just the initials of Martin Kidd who designed them.

There's the MK50H which is a single channel, and the MK50HII which is a 2 channel. Like what the Soldano Avenger is to the SLO.

I own a MK50HII clone that was branded by Jet City - bought from LP Freak about a decade ago. Same circuit built in the same Straight Edge factory. Aside from lacking a secondary effects loop it's the same amp as the MK50H II - confirmed from my conversation with Martin Kidd himself a few years ago.

Yes, mine is on the dark side tonally speaking. Kind of like a Bogner XTC that is very raw and uncompressed. Kind of. Definitely one of my favorite sounding amps.
 
Last edited:
ZEN Amps said:
Can you talk a little about the I vs MkII differences? I've heard differing reports and never had the two in the same room.
Click to expand...
The MK50 H was very Raw and a 1 channel setup. The cleans weren't good but the gain setup and the second master was a serious rock and roll amp with a lot of bite to it and it was a 6l6 . The MK50 H II was an 2 channel EL34 amp the Cleans were good and you could use that channel with an overdrive as your gain channel or use the gain channel on its own. It has dual masters but also has a foot switch where you could use 2 effects loop setups. I never really used the footswitch as intended considering I owned that amp a long time.

I never noticed the darkness to the these amps that people point out and I can hardly believe Martin Kidd doesn't have something similar with Victory . He might have but I haven't really looked into it.
 
peterc52 said:
Any experience with these?

Remember years ago some wrote that this is Mark Cameron’s favorite amp if didn’t make his own? Is this a modded Marshall like a Cameron?
Click to expand...
Mark told me this years ago. I had one and loved it. And yes, it reminded me of his mods. Been way too long to go into deep comparison though.
 
If any of you guys saw Greg Howe on tour last summer, he was running a Cornford behind his cab. Couldn't see it much, but I heard it and asked him about it.
 
Martin Kidd just made a new mk50 mk2 type amp but improved for victory. He said he started at the mk50 mk2 and improved it and added a little also: he released it at NAMM.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top