Hi guys,
some background on these amps-
I was using a multi amp rig on tour with Chris Cornell for some time. My main dirt tone was a EVH5150III, and I'd switch in a Komet Concorde for solos, and I was using either a /13 RSA 31 or FTR 37 for clean sounds. I should mention, all of these amps are stellar and I'm not getting rid of any of them (well, maybe the EVH, good amp but I definitely have that base covered now)...
I wanted to simplify, and also to go to a W/D/W rig, which meant going to a channel switcher for all my sounds.
The OD series amps have always been known for a killer clean channel, so that base was covered. John heard what I liked about the 5150III channel 2, and also heard what some other players (like Steve Stevens) were wanting in a Marshall-style tone, and thought he could incorporate some changes into the OD100's channel 2. He did up an amp, and I drove out to Suhr... the moment I plugged in it was like BAM, that's awesome! the channel 2 sound was like the 5150III but richer and just better.
Since then, there have been numerous refinements... there's now a 2nd gain and master on channel 2, for basically a 3rd channel, so you can set a solo level. There's been refinements to the boost circuit on ch2, so now it is one of the coolest solo tones you'll ever try- it just sings, tons of overtones, it's a blast to solo with. There's the Whomp II circuit, that allows you to switch in some real fat sub lows, and still stay tight. And there's the feedback control, that varies neg. feedback in the power section- it allows you to take the amp from a real friendly saggy vintage feel right up to a tight, unforgiving modern thing, and anywhere in between.
It's so damn versatile, you'll find your sound in there somewhere, I have no doubt. John created a monster!
The plan now is to flip the chassis (tubes up), make all the switchable stuff (boosts, brights, channel switching) programmable like the new Suhr Hedgehog, and re-do the look so it's more like the Suhr-branded amps (Badger, etc.). But if you order a current version, you're getting what I'm using on tour right now. I've got 2 on the road but my main one has been rock solid, I haven't used the backup!