NAD: Naylor SuperDrive 60

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braintheory

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Just got this ‘90’s Naylor and am very impressed. Probably somewhere in my 4th to 6th favorite spot of all the amps I currently have. It’s on the darker side, but still very cutting, raw, aggressive and has the growl. Not at all polished or smooth like Friedman or Bogner nor muffled. Don’t let the descriptions of it being dark scare you like it did to me. I tend to like brighter amps myself. It’s dark in the right way and can get more bite if needed. It’s kinda like the amp the Friedman’s and Bogner’s want to be. Also one of my more articulate amps, great feel and sounds really big. It’s not actually too far behind my Wizard in sounding big and punchy and I think has as much clarity. Maybe the 100 version would be even closer. The Wizard though is brighter and more gain on tap. It’s a really great take imo on a darker Marshall kinda sound. The master volume on it also great. It does get darker though as you turn it up. Would be nice if there was a bit more treble on tap, but still sounds great. Low input sounds ok on its own, but is an amazing fuzz pedal platform (I’m VERY picky about amps for fuzz). The Hi Input has a little more gain on tap than my stock ‘79 JMP2203 on the hi input, but sounds beefier, more robust than the JMP and is great with my Klon boosting it

I’m really surprised guys on hear don’t really talk about Naylor, especially given all the love that Friedman and Bogner gets on here. I think it smokes those and with a good boost has all the gain I need. I’ve owned over 100 amps over the years (tried many more) and to me this is among the best I’ve tried, at least top 10 material and probably top 5 of just higher gain amps. It is from the ‘90’s and made in Michigan. Not sure how the newer Texas made ones compare, but I bet they’re great too. In some ways this amp is sorta like a middle ground of Friedman and Wizard, but more JCM800 levels of gain. If it just had a switch to get even more bite/sizzle and a little more gain on tap it would be perfect and maybe even send some amps packing. It does say on their website they have a higher gain option and also a density knob option. Would be very interesting to try
 
I've heard a Super Drive 60 for the first time a few months ago and was really impressed with the amp.
Smooth without being muffled, and aggressive without being harsh.
It sounded great!
 
Doesn't Billy Howerdell of APC use a custom amp from Dave that uses the superdrives pre-amp? The naked head if i'm correct.
 
SBlue said:
I've heard a Super Drive 60 for the first time a few months ago and was really impressed with the amp.
Smooth without being muffled, and aggressive without being harsh.
It sounded great!
Click to expand...
Do you know if the version you tried was the newer Texas made ones or older ones from Michigan? I'm curious how they compare
 
DragonCrestPC said:
Doesn't Billy Howerdell of APC use a custom amp from Dave that uses the superdrives pre-amp? The naked head if i'm correct.
Click to expand...
I have heard some say the Naked is somewhat Naylor based. I've tried a Naked and didn't think it sounded anywhere near as good as this Naylor
 
braintheory said:
Do you know if the version you tried was the newer Texas made ones or older ones from Michigan? I'm curious how they compare
Click to expand...
I don't know... I should ask Chris, the owner, when was the amp made.
The thing sounded really good!
It's this amp here on this video:
 
braintheory said:
Just got this ‘90’s Naylor and am very impressed. Probably somewhere in my 4th to 6th favorite spot of all the amps I currently have. It’s on the darker side, but still very cutting, raw, aggressive and has the growl. Not at all polished or smooth like Friedman or Bogner nor muffled. Don’t let the descriptions of it being dark scare you like it did to me. I tend to like brighter amps myself. It’s dark in the right way and can get more bite if needed. It’s kinda like the amp the Friedman’s and Bogner’s want to be. Also one of my more articulate amps, great feel and sounds really big. It’s not actually too far behind my Wizard in sounding big and punchy and I think has as much clarity. Maybe the 100 version would be even closer. The Wizard though is brighter and more gain on tap. It’s a really great take imo on a darker Marshall kinda sound. The master volume on it also great. It does get darker though as you turn it up. Would be nice if there was a bit more treble on tap, but still sounds great. Low input sounds ok on its own, but is an amazing fuzz pedal platform (I’m VERY picky about amps for fuzz). The Hi Input has a little more gain on tap than my stock ‘79 JMP2203 on the hi input, but sounds beefier, more robust than the JMP and is great with my Klon boosting it

I’m really surprised guys on hear don’t really talk about Naylor, especially given all the love that Friedman and Bogner gets on here. I think it smokes those and with a good boost has all the gain I need. I’ve owned over 100 amps over the years (tried many more) and to me this is among the best I’ve tried, at least top 10 material and probably top 5 of just higher gain amps. It is from the ‘90’s and made in Michigan. Not sure how the newer Texas made ones compare, but I bet they’re great too. In some ways this amp is sorta like a middle ground of Friedman and Wizard, but more JCM800 levels of gain. If it just had a switch to get even more bite/sizzle and a little more gain on tap it would be perfect and maybe even send some amps packing. It does say on their website they have a higher gain option and also a density knob option. Would be very interesting to try
Click to expand...
You have tried and have a lot of cool amps. What style of music do you play, though?
 
Smashedguitarist said:
You have tried and have a lot of cool amps. What style of music do you play, though?
Click to expand...
I like to have a bit of everything, gear that’s top notch for any style, which is why I have all those amps, 29 guitars, over 60 speakers, etc. Any piece of gear I have that’s a keeper is something that I feel is unmatched in at least one area, even if it’s a very specific, narrow area. I play mostly metal and hard rock, but a little bit of everything. I’m mostly a classical guitarist, but for electric I play metal and hard rock most often
 
I have had a 60 for 25 years awesome amp but If you want Naylor tone with say a Marshall try the Naylor speakers. I was amazed after I bought the Naylor half stack when I plugged a JMP into the cab for grins one day.
 
This certainly piques my interest.

How hard are they to get ahold of?
 
They sound the same Ive been in the room with both. Joe sold the whole the works to that guy in Texas.
 
Congrats, I had a feeling you’d like it! I will miss it, but the Cam Marshall is pretty amazing.
 
Naylor SD60 and Friedman Naked are basically same preamp. I think maybe two component value changes. I have reversed a Friedman Naked circuit and have it documented.
 
bwgintegra said:
Naylor SD60 and Friedman Naked are basically same preamp. I think maybe two component value changes. I have reversed a Friedman Naked circuit and have it documented.
Click to expand...
This may be true, but the 2 amps didn’t sound or feel the same to me. There’s been many times now where I’ve tried 2 different pieces of gear that were virtually identical on paper yet sounded quite different somehow. Best to just judge with the ears imo
 
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