stratotone
Active member
Got this on a trade. Heard good stuff about Fortin's amps, heard Gainfreak's clips, etc. So I went for it.
Understand - I do NOT like modern Marshalls. The JVM410 or whatever it's called left me cold - I thought they sounded like shit. (sorry Scott). The feature list was interesting, but if you don't like how it sounds, who cares? The latest Marshall I owned before this was a Silver Jubilee and a plexi from 2003 that was Splawn modded. (It's for sale, btw).
Anyways, this amp is midi controllable, has a ton of versatility, and is voiced to crack the sky open.
High gain with balls and clarity, Fortin is thy name.
I waited awhile before I posted this - and profiled the amp with my Kemper. Profiles sound awesome, but the real deal is always going to be a hair better. What impresses me about this amp is that it marries a hot rod from hell Marshall tone with mucho flexibility. Amp has two masters, so you can assign one for a lead boost, then use the other master for regular rhythms. lead channel has green, yellow and red - each gets progressively gainier, but yellow at half gain is more than most people will need for effortless shredding. Amp has a clean channel, that is ok - honestly, an amp like this isn't looking for Fender twin cleans - it's passable. Put some chorus on it and you're fine. The overdrive yellow and red channels are pretty gainy but have some sag to them - think of a cranked stock marshall, maybe with a pedal in front.
Bottom line - if you are into high gain tones that are clear yet thick, call Ralph (Gainfreak) at modsquad and get one of these if they are still available. I'm lucky enough to have owned a veritable shit ton of gainy amps - Uberschall, Ecstasy, Splawn modded Marshall, Voodoo 'witchdoctor' modded Marshall, Soldano SLO, Mesa Mark series, Rectifiers, Ractifiers, VHT 50/CL, VHT UL, VHT CLX, etc - and this amp stands tall among them. My band is playing Rocklahoma in a few weeks - it's an outdoor thing, I don't want to take my Kemper because it's likely going to have generator power (bad for computer gear). I was going to take my bogner Ecstasy 1/2 stack, which is my favorite amp.
I'm taking the Fortin. The bogner has a nicer clean, but the Fortin high gain kills the bogner red channel. Best I can describe it - take an SLO lead channel, mix in a little VHT midrange clarity and a dash of Ecstasy's sponginess - just a bit - and you have the Fortin tone.
All of this is IMHO, my amp is NOT for sale, and your mileage may vary. But the amp fucking rocks.
Pete
Understand - I do NOT like modern Marshalls. The JVM410 or whatever it's called left me cold - I thought they sounded like shit. (sorry Scott). The feature list was interesting, but if you don't like how it sounds, who cares? The latest Marshall I owned before this was a Silver Jubilee and a plexi from 2003 that was Splawn modded. (It's for sale, btw).
Anyways, this amp is midi controllable, has a ton of versatility, and is voiced to crack the sky open.
High gain with balls and clarity, Fortin is thy name.I waited awhile before I posted this - and profiled the amp with my Kemper. Profiles sound awesome, but the real deal is always going to be a hair better. What impresses me about this amp is that it marries a hot rod from hell Marshall tone with mucho flexibility. Amp has two masters, so you can assign one for a lead boost, then use the other master for regular rhythms. lead channel has green, yellow and red - each gets progressively gainier, but yellow at half gain is more than most people will need for effortless shredding. Amp has a clean channel, that is ok - honestly, an amp like this isn't looking for Fender twin cleans - it's passable. Put some chorus on it and you're fine. The overdrive yellow and red channels are pretty gainy but have some sag to them - think of a cranked stock marshall, maybe with a pedal in front.
Bottom line - if you are into high gain tones that are clear yet thick, call Ralph (Gainfreak) at modsquad and get one of these if they are still available. I'm lucky enough to have owned a veritable shit ton of gainy amps - Uberschall, Ecstasy, Splawn modded Marshall, Voodoo 'witchdoctor' modded Marshall, Soldano SLO, Mesa Mark series, Rectifiers, Ractifiers, VHT 50/CL, VHT UL, VHT CLX, etc - and this amp stands tall among them. My band is playing Rocklahoma in a few weeks - it's an outdoor thing, I don't want to take my Kemper because it's likely going to have generator power (bad for computer gear). I was going to take my bogner Ecstasy 1/2 stack, which is my favorite amp.
I'm taking the Fortin. The bogner has a nicer clean, but the Fortin high gain kills the bogner red channel. Best I can describe it - take an SLO lead channel, mix in a little VHT midrange clarity and a dash of Ecstasy's sponginess - just a bit - and you have the Fortin tone.
All of this is IMHO, my amp is NOT for sale, and your mileage may vary. But the amp fucking rocks.
Pete
the profile is crushing, can't imagine the thing in person. By far my favorite profile. 
BAck in 2007 though there were not as many modded marshall options so that was the main reason for me getting the JVM. 
