orangekick
Member
Features: After years of searching and buying multi-channel amp after multi-channel amp, I arrived somewhere that I wasn't sure that I would dig until I really gave it a shot. The Roccaforte Custom 80 is a single channel amp. It runs 4 EL34's and 3 12ax7's. It has a solid state rectifier. There is no effects loop, in fact, there's nothing here but rock 'n roll. // 9
Sound: The Custom 80 is firmly in the Marshall tone family, but more. To my ears, the Custom 80 sounds like the perfect Marshall recorded tone, only it's right there in the room with you. The gain is completely usable all the way up and gives a great singing lead tone when cranked. The tone knobs shape the tone in a very musical manner. There are no extremely bad sounds that come from really cranking one knob or another. The only knob that I have turned down is the presence, but that's just me. This amp is loud. I know that every Roccaforte review mentions that, but it's true. I do want to clarify though, that this is not a bad thing at all. I happen to play in a loud band and this amp easily sits in with our other guitarist and his Oranges as well as our drummer's Bonham-esque playing. I have been playing the Custom 80 through my Mojo 4x12 which has 2 Hellatone 60L's and 2 Warehouse Veteran 30's. This setup really moves some air! // 10
Reliability & Durability: Well, the amp arrived in Pennsylvania from California and looked like it had taken a few hits on the way here. The transformers were all crooked and everything was a little askew inside. I pulled the chassis out and made sure that everything was attached and okay before I plugged it in. When I fired it up, it roared to life like nothing had happened. I contacted Doug to make sure that it was okay and he responded in hours with a thumbs up. // 10
Impression: My impression of this amp is that this is my amp. Other amps will come and go, but I can see myself playing the Custom 80 for a long time. // 10
Sound: The Custom 80 is firmly in the Marshall tone family, but more. To my ears, the Custom 80 sounds like the perfect Marshall recorded tone, only it's right there in the room with you. The gain is completely usable all the way up and gives a great singing lead tone when cranked. The tone knobs shape the tone in a very musical manner. There are no extremely bad sounds that come from really cranking one knob or another. The only knob that I have turned down is the presence, but that's just me. This amp is loud. I know that every Roccaforte review mentions that, but it's true. I do want to clarify though, that this is not a bad thing at all. I happen to play in a loud band and this amp easily sits in with our other guitarist and his Oranges as well as our drummer's Bonham-esque playing. I have been playing the Custom 80 through my Mojo 4x12 which has 2 Hellatone 60L's and 2 Warehouse Veteran 30's. This setup really moves some air! // 10
Reliability & Durability: Well, the amp arrived in Pennsylvania from California and looked like it had taken a few hits on the way here. The transformers were all crooked and everything was a little askew inside. I pulled the chassis out and made sure that everything was attached and okay before I plugged it in. When I fired it up, it roared to life like nothing had happened. I contacted Doug to make sure that it was okay and he responded in hours with a thumbs up. // 10
Impression: My impression of this amp is that this is my amp. Other amps will come and go, but I can see myself playing the Custom 80 for a long time. // 10