NAD: Fortin Evil Pumpkin

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FourT6and2

FourT6and2

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I'm up in the Great White North, snowboarding for a while. So I'm not home to play it. But my girl just texted me this photo. I played an EP about a month ago and thought it was interesting enough to track one down. My gut feeling is it's probably very close to the Natas, Satan, Thrasher, etc.

IMG_6986.jpg
 
They do look cool. Why are Fortin only built occasionally? I don’t understand the company.
 
They do look cool. Why are Fortin only built occasionally? I don’t understand the company.
The evil pumpkin had two problems. The recent nonsense with the sigil, and the release at a weird part of covid. It kind of fucked it.
But i will be interested in hearing your thoughts...and clips
 
The evil pumpkin had two problems. The recent nonsense with the sigil, and the release at a weird part of covid. It kind of fucked it.
But i will be interested in hearing your thoughts...and clips

The other problem IMO is that it didn’t sound as visceral as the one off modded Marshall he built for @killertone decades ago.
 
The other problem IMO is that it didn’t sound as visceral as the one off modded Marshall he built for @killertone decades ago.
In my very uninformed opinion, some people are better at modding existing marshalls than ground up amps
 
They do look cool. Why are Fortin only built occasionally? I don’t understand the company.
I could definitely be wrong, I truly have no idea why but I've always believed that he adopted the scarce/mystique business model. Nike does it too along with many others im sure. I've seen other companies say theyre done only to continue to the foreseeable future. Hype sales basically, that's my thought on it anyway.

Make something super limited and rare, add some word of mouth buzz and now everybody wants one and you get to keep the prices high.

Regardless, congrats on the amp. I had some GAS very bad when they were first announced but after the very long covid delay and incredibly large price increase after I lost all interest tbh. Would still love to try one.

Ive only had one Fortin, the Cali. It was definitely cool. Had it sounding great but.....for me it took way too much work to get it where I wanted, must have tested a dozen speakers with it and that "Jose" type clipping would have been much cooler as an option vs. Mandatory. Other amps can do it, others may disagree of course.

For the price tag of the Cali. There are much better amps, for my taste of course.

Would love to hear more clips of the EP.
 
I honestly didn't think this amp actually got released. Gonna need some clips brother.

Also don't understand why Fortin doesn't release more amps. Like at this point surely he can just hire someone to do all the work and he just QAs them.
 
I honestly didn't think this amp actually got released. Gonna need some clips brother.

Also don't understand why Fortin doesn't release more amps. Like at this point surely he can just hire someone to do all the work and he just QAs them.

I doubt he actually builds these himself, so I don't think that's a problem.
 
I honestly didn't think this amp actually got released. Gonna need some clips brother.

Also don't understand why Fortin doesn't release more amps. Like at this point surely he can just hire someone to do all the work and he just QAs them.
He’s waiting for Larry to create new designs.
The Fortin “Thor’s Mallet” is in the works.

Congrats Mike, looking forward to clips!
 
Anybody know who makes these tubes? Fortin states the EP comes loaded with two 6CA7 and two EL34. They look like Chinese tubes but I was unaware of any Chinese 6CA7... And while I'm not there in person to look at them, from the photos, they appear to be the same tube lol. One just says EL34 and the other 6CA7. Weird. The EP manual does state the amp has two 34s and two 6CA7 though. But yeah... they are the same tube.

As far as I know, the only modern production 6CA7s are JJ or Electro Harmonix. EH tubes have welded plates and circular vents. So these are not EH. And JJ are not made in China, and have a single vent in the plate. So these aren't JJ. So what are they?

IMG_6985.jpg


IMG_6984.jpg
 
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I could definitely be wrong, I truly have no idea why but I've always believed that he adopted the scarce/mystique business model. Nike does it too along with many others im sure. I've seen other companies say theyre done only to continue to the foreseeable future. Hype sales basically, that's my thought on it anyway.

Make something super limited and rare, add some word of mouth buzz and now everybody wants one and you get to keep the prices high.

Regardless, congrats on the amp. I had some GAS very bad when they were first announced but after the very long covid delay and incredibly large price increase after I lost all interest tbh. Would still love to try one.

Ive only had one Fortin, the Cali. It was definitely cool. Had it sounding great but.....for me it took way too much work to get it where I wanted, must have tested a dozen speakers with it and that "Jose" type clipping would have been much cooler as an option vs. Mandatory. Other amps can do it, others may disagree of course.

For the price tag of the Cali. There are much better amps, for my taste of course.

Would love to hear more clips of the EP.
"Scarce & Mystic" beats "rippied off & Phuc'd in the ass shit outta luck" model.
 
Anybody know who makes these tubes? Fortin states the EP comes loaded with two 6CA7 and two EL34. They look like Chinese tubes but I was unaware of any Chinese 6CA7... And while I'm not there in person to look at them, from the photos, they appear to be the same tube lol. One just says EL34 and the other 6CA7. Weird. The EP manual does state the amp has two 34s and two 6CA7 though. But yeah... they are the same tube.

As far as I know, the only modern production 6CA7s are JJ or Electro Harmonix. EH tubes have welded plates and circular vents. So these are not EH. And JJ are not made in China, and have a single vent in the plate. So these aren't JJ. So what are they?

View attachment 429164

View attachment 429165
Chinese marketing.
 
Anybody know who makes these tubes?
http://pmcomponentsnos.co.uk/PM-EL34/6CA7 ?

Used Gemini AI and it gave a decent response....

  • The "PM" Logo: The large, bold "PM" branding visible on the glass is the trademark of PM Components, a UK-based company that sources and tests high-quality valves for major amplifier manufacturers like Marshall and Carvin.



  • Country of Origin: These specific tubes are made in China. PM Components often sources their modern production tubes from Chinese factories (like Shuguang or Psvane) and then subjects them to their own rigorous testing and grading process.
  • Tube Types: * The Evil Pumpkin is designed to run a "half-and-half" power section: two EL34s (standard British-voiced pentodes) and two 6CA7s (the American equivalent, often described as having more headroom and "muscle").
    • In your photos, both tubes share the same physical bottle shape and internal construction, which is common for modern Chinese-made versions of these types.

Why this mix?​

Mike Fortin designed this amp to utilize the different tonal characteristics of both tubes simultaneously to create a more complex high-gain sound. The EL34s provide the classic "crunch" and mid-range, while the 6CA7s add low-end punch and clarity.
 
That last part is a bit hilarious given that if they're not just EL34s labeled as 6CA7s they're still drop in replacements for an EL34 in most cases... be interesting to see if there is actually any difference in the circuit for the different tube types.
 

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