The Fortin Bones amp smokes!!

[thegame]

At this playing field we're talking about personal preference. By that I mean the only amps that have ever made my jaw drop are Wizards, the Larry Dino 939, a special Mesa MKIIC+ with the 105 tranny & ++ mod, and now the Fortin.

no love to Steavens Poundcake?

Oh, I do like that one quite a bit, but I don't love it. Its not as good as the other ones I mentioned IMO.

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

At this playing field we're talking about personal preference. By that I mean the only amps that have ever made my jaw drop are Wizards, the Larry Dino 939, a special Mesa MKIIC+ with the 105 tranny & ++ mod, and now the Fortin.

no love to Steavens Poundcake?

Oh, I do like that one quite a bit, but I don't love it. Its not as good as the other ones I mentioned IMO.

hehehehe.... I did try KT66's and the same Sylvania STR 6L6's that we put in your Wizard and either tightens the amp right up.... especially the Sylvanias!! The 66's tighten the amp up and keep it relatively still the same charactter whereas the Sylvanias tighten and add agression! Wow!
Amazing what a power tube change can do...
The Sylvania's are VERY tight and add just a tad of aggressive to that amp - The bottom end stays there but much tighter - Love those Sylvanias!!!

Do you still like the Sylvania's in the Wizard Gary??
Keith

 

[thegame]

hehehehe.... I did try KT66's and the same Sylvania STR 6L6's that you have in your Wizard and either tightens the amp right up.... especially the Sylvanias!! The 66's tighten the amp up and keep it relatively still the same charactter whereas the Sylvanias tighten and add agression! Wow!
Amazing what a power tube change can do...
The Sylvania's are VERY tight and add just a tad of aggressive to that amp - The bottom end stays there but much tighter - Love those Sylvanias!!!

Do you still like the Sylvania's in the Wizard Gary??
Keith

Ok Keith you got me. Those top 4 amps I mentioned can't be beat for me personally, but if I had to list a 5th, it'd be the Steavens for sure

Yes the Slyvania STRs are still in the Wiz. Have not had a chance to crank her lately. Man, those tubes just can't be beat for 6L6s huh ? Glad I have 6 of them

I am very excited about the thought of combining 2 Sylvania 6L6 + 2 Siemens EL34 RFTs in the Natas amp
Or maybe 1 6550, 2 6L6, 1 EL34. Or 2 EL34, 1 6L6, 1 KT88. It might be tricky making that work bias wise, but yes it is possible !

 

[Greazygeo]

Jim!!

Ive played Mesa boogie Mark series amps for many years and they have a wicked sag to them, so I was paranoid to try this amp because I knew that it was going to be tighter then what I was normally used to playing. Now with that said, My fear was put to ease after getting to play the Bones because Mike was able to make a tight focused amp but with a killer feel that puts you at ease when you play!! That's never happened to me before and I have no idea how the hell he managed to do that!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Mike can add some sag into the amp if someone wanted that!!! he's the man!!

So it feels like playing a Boogie?

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

hehehehe.... I did try KT66's and the same Sylvania STR 6L6's that you have in your Wizard and either tightens the amp right up.... especially the Sylvanias!! The 66's tighten the amp up and keep it relatively still the same charactter whereas the Sylvanias tighten and add agression! Wow!
Amazing what a power tube change can do...
The Sylvania's are VERY tight and add just a tad of aggressive to that amp - The bottom end stays there but much tighter - Love those Sylvanias!!!

Do you still like the Sylvania's in the Wizard Gary??
Keith

Ok Keith you got me. Those top 4 amps I mentioned can't be beat for me personally, but if I had to list a 5th, it'd be the Steavens for sure

Yes the Slyvania STRs are still in the Wiz. Have not had a chance to crank her lately. Man, those tubes just can't be beat for 6L6s huh ? Glad I have 6 of them

I am very excited about the thought of combining 2 Sylvania 6L6 + 2 Siemens EL34 RFTs in the Natas amp
Or maybe 1 6550, 2 6L6, 1 EL34. Or 2 EL34, 1 6L6, 1 KT88. It might be tricky making that work bias wise, but yes it is possible !

I might have a line on two quads for not outrageous money...
I'll let you know if you do want a spare set?


ohhhhhhhhhhh the Siemens EL34 RFTs - My alltime fav 34 !!!!
Keith

 

[Jakem]

Nice review, Ralph! What happens to AxeFX now?

-Jaakko

 

[thegame]

So it feels like playing a Boogie?

NO !!!! thank god

 

[thegame]

I might have a line on two quads for not outrageous money...
I'll let you know if you do want a spare set?

Keith

Yes I do !

 

[JTyson]

Can't wait to hear a meathead, listened to the clips on thier site of the Bones, that thing is TIGHT! It may be too tight for me, seems like any unplanned sounds would show up easily, it may be the guitar he was using. sounded wicked though! Look forward to your later review - Jim

Jim!!

Ive played Mesa boogie Mark series amps for many years and they have a wicked sag to them, so I was paranoid to try this amp because I knew that it was going to be tighter then what I was normally used to playing. Now with that said, My fear was put to ease after getting to play the Bones because Mike was able to make a tight focused amp but with a killer feel that puts you at ease when you play!! That's never happened to me before and I have no idea how the hell he managed to do that!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Mike can add some sag into the amp if someone wanted that!!! he's the man!!

Thats awesome!! Yeah, that sag in the mark series is what I loved about them, and later, its what I hated about them. I can't make up my mind about it. I did love the simul-class tone for leads! I had mark 3's for about 6 years, That Fortin is a whole different animal!!

 

[Digital Jams]

Jim!!

Ive played Mesa boogie Mark series amps for many years and they have a wicked sag to them, so I was paranoid to try this amp because I knew that it was going to be tighter then what I was normally used to playing. Now with that said, My fear was put to ease after getting to play the Bones because Mike was able to make a tight focused amp but with a killer feel that puts you at ease when you play!! That's never happened to me before and I have no idea how the hell he managed to do that!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Mike can add some sag into the amp if someone wanted that!!! he's the man!!

So it feels like playing a Boogie?

Thank god the feel is right huh George??

 

[Greazygeo]

I might have a line on two quads for not outrageous money...
I'll let you know if you do want a spare set?


ohhhhhhhhhhh the Siemens EL34 RFTs - My alltime fav 34 !!!!
Keith

Find me some 6CA7's!!!!!!!!!

 

[Greazygeo]

So it feels like playing a Boogie?

NO !!!! thank god

Yeah that would not be a good thing!

 

[Greazygeo]

Thank god the feel is right huh George??

Ha ha!!

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

Hey Guys....

re: Bones...
Just wanted to say that every function is via relay so every function can be made footswitchable. Mikey's already designed it into the pcb. Extra Gain with its own Voicing L/M/H switch as well as 2nd Master Volume, FX loop on/off, FX loop boost, Voicing L/M/H, Gain Boost, etc. Since it is already designed into the pcb, the upcharges are very reasonable.

Mike did this specifically so each one can be custom tailored to the individual player. For example, he only charges an extra $150 (I think) for the all tube loop and it's a fully featured loop!

The possibilities are virtually endless...

Keith

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

Hey Ralphie,



When you really crank the bones, does the bottom stay tight?
That's the only thing I never got to try!

Keith

 

[Gainfreak]

Hey Ralphie,



When you really crank the bones, does the bottom stay tight?
That's the only thing I never got to try!

Keith

Absolutely yes!. The bottom end stays tight for sure but it depends on what speakers you use!! In other words, if you crank the amp on 10 through greenbacks with the resonance up in 4 gain stage mode , its gonna cause a problem due to the limitation of the speaker..not the amp but through any speaker that can handle the punishment, the amp stays tight as hell at all volumes!

~R~

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

Hey Ralphie,



When you really crank the bones, does the bottom stay tight?
That's the only thing I never got to try!

Keith

Absolutely yes!. The bottom end stays tight for sure but it depends on what speakers you use!! In other words, if you crank the amp on 10 through greenbacks with the resonance up in 4 gain stage mode , its gonna cause a problem due to the limitation of the speaker..not the amp but through any speaker that can handle the punishment, the amp stays tight as hell at all volumes!

~R~

Very cool!

I like TIGHTNESS in the bottom - which is slowly but surely driving me outta the Bogner world....
Mikey know's his stuff!

Keith

 

[thegame]

Hey Ralphie,



When you really crank the bones, does the bottom stay tight?
That's the only thing I never got to try!

Keith

Absolutely yes!. The bottom end stays tight for sure but it depends on what speakers you use!! In other words, if you crank the amp on 10 through greenbacks with the resonance up in 4 gain stage mode , its gonna cause a problem due to the limitation of the speaker..not the amp but through any speaker that can handle the punishment, the amp stays tight as hell at all volumes!




~R~

So true. There's only so much volume, gain and low end Greenbacks can take. Thats why I love the 65s, pretty much the same GB midrange character only they can take alot more abuse ! Thats also what I don't like about any Wizard amp I've had, after 2 (not o'clock) on the volume, they pretty much lose the tightness & definition in a big way.

 

[bunghole]

he definitely wins points from me because of who his fave guitarist is

 

[rocker]

So true. There's only so much volume, gain and low end Greenbacks can take. Thats why I love the 65s, pretty much the same GB midrange character only they can take alot more abuse ! Thats also what I don't like about any Wizard amp I've had, after 2 (not o'clock) on the volume, they pretty much lose the tightness & definition in a big way.[/quote]


I dont think the new Wizards are like that Gary.