bubbastain
Well-known member
Just picked this up last night. I have been curious about the Ceriatone Chubacabra and Yeti for a while now. Never played an Atomica either, so this should satisfy my curiosity. First off it's in new condition. It's only a month old. I tested it out last night at the guys house and it sounded killer so I handed over my cash and went home.
So after playing it for about an hour at medium to loud volumes here is what I think. It is pretty damn sweet. Sounds pretty killer going through my two 4x12s. As cool as the diode clipping is to the left, I actually prefer the amp without the diodes engaged. Plus, to the left it drops the volume a significant amount. To the right, a tremendous amount. To the left you'd have a hard time keeping up with a loud drummer even with two 4x12's. To the right....... forget about it. Without the diodes engaged it's no problem and plenty loud and sweet sounding. If your playing with yourself in your room then the volume drop won't really matter. Same if your recording without a cab and using an OX Box or Torpedo live.
I do like the bright switch to the left very much. To the right it sounds like ass with my setup. I will say that I think it sounds best with a higher gain pickup than I have(low output 8.5k PAF types). I think it sounds better with V30's too. But really, I really like the amp with the diodes off and the bright switch to the left. Plenty of gain for me and it sounds killer with either my Bion Boost or if I want more saturation, my VFE Dragon in front. If you want that nice gooey saturated sounds straight in, the diode to the left, the bright to the left and a medium output HB is a killer combo.
On to the video. Didn't mess with all the controls, but a decent amount. Drop B tuning. Same SM57 on my Sheffield 1200 speaker going into iRig Pre HD and straight into my iPhone. No eq, filters or stuff like that. Oh, it's a lot longer than I had planned. At the 6:10 mark I turn on the VFE Dragon.
Update. Deleted that first video. This one is a Sheffield 1290. Biased the amp with JJ pre’s and =C= EL34’s.
Update:
I put all new JJ 12ax7's and lowered the bias on the power tubes. Nick recommended 35 to the previous owner, but they were at 40. I lowered them to 30. Not sure what the plate voltage is, but I think it sounds a bit better than what they were at. I recorded a new clip with a guitar tuned to Eb with a Sheptone Tribute humbucker. I also recorded a Sheffield 1290 speaker. Loop is off and with the diodes engaged, bringing the master up past 1 o'clock made a huge difference in volume. Also, with the gain knob up past 2'oclock the Edge switch to the right is now usable. For a bonus I noticed that my low E string is just enough out of tune to be annoying when listening back, but not enough for me to have noticed while recording.
I totally dig the diodes engaged, but I still really like the amp without the diodes engaged and the bright switch to the left. That's just kinda my tone. Cool thing is that even with gain knob all the way up it didn't get all farty.
So after playing it for about an hour at medium to loud volumes here is what I think. It is pretty damn sweet. Sounds pretty killer going through my two 4x12s. As cool as the diode clipping is to the left, I actually prefer the amp without the diodes engaged. Plus, to the left it drops the volume a significant amount. To the right, a tremendous amount. To the left you'd have a hard time keeping up with a loud drummer even with two 4x12's. To the right....... forget about it. Without the diodes engaged it's no problem and plenty loud and sweet sounding. If your playing with yourself in your room then the volume drop won't really matter. Same if your recording without a cab and using an OX Box or Torpedo live.
I do like the bright switch to the left very much. To the right it sounds like ass with my setup. I will say that I think it sounds best with a higher gain pickup than I have(low output 8.5k PAF types). I think it sounds better with V30's too. But really, I really like the amp with the diodes off and the bright switch to the left. Plenty of gain for me and it sounds killer with either my Bion Boost or if I want more saturation, my VFE Dragon in front. If you want that nice gooey saturated sounds straight in, the diode to the left, the bright to the left and a medium output HB is a killer combo.
On to the video. Didn't mess with all the controls, but a decent amount. Drop B tuning. Same SM57 on my Sheffield 1200 speaker going into iRig Pre HD and straight into my iPhone. No eq, filters or stuff like that. Oh, it's a lot longer than I had planned. At the 6:10 mark I turn on the VFE Dragon.
Update. Deleted that first video. This one is a Sheffield 1290. Biased the amp with JJ pre’s and =C= EL34’s.
Update:
I put all new JJ 12ax7's and lowered the bias on the power tubes. Nick recommended 35 to the previous owner, but they were at 40. I lowered them to 30. Not sure what the plate voltage is, but I think it sounds a bit better than what they were at. I recorded a new clip with a guitar tuned to Eb with a Sheptone Tribute humbucker. I also recorded a Sheffield 1290 speaker. Loop is off and with the diodes engaged, bringing the master up past 1 o'clock made a huge difference in volume. Also, with the gain knob up past 2'oclock the Edge switch to the right is now usable. For a bonus I noticed that my low E string is just enough out of tune to be annoying when listening back, but not enough for me to have noticed while recording.
I totally dig the diodes engaged, but I still really like the amp without the diodes engaged and the bright switch to the left. That's just kinda my tone. Cool thing is that even with gain knob all the way up it didn't get all farty.
