FS: Bartel Sugarland - Price Drop to £2,500

Hattigol

Selling my Bartel Sugarland amplifier. Absolutely amazing amp. Huge variety of fabulous tones from gorgeous cleans to wonderful overdrive. Full album below: https://imgur.com/a/JCT8AMX Brilliantly constructed and handmade by Mark Bartel, an absolute amp genius. All the tech details and specs are below. Great condition as per the pictures. It's rated at 12 watts but it shifts some air - I have gigged this in a decent sized club against a fairly hard-hitting drummer and it had a lot to spare. Yes it has no reverb - but with the grand or more you're saving on the next model up, you can probably cover the cost of a fairly decent reverb pedal.... Collection preferred from Harrogate. I may be able to travel an hour or so to meet but please contact me before buying. Also, absolutely fine if you want to arrange collection by courier - often cheaper than you think. Happy to send videos showing it's working exactly as it should be. Any questions, please ask. Please no 'what's your best price' questions though. The new price is £3,899. Looking for £2,695, now £2,595, now £2,500 firm. No offers, thanks. You won't find one cheaper anywhere else.  Possible trades (with cash adjustment if necessary) - CS Les Paul, Novo Miris, an ES 330 or a CS Jazzmaster. Maybe other things too but unlikely. Manufacturer info below: All three Signature Series amplifiers bring a new level of innovation and refinement to the crafting of vintage tones.  Distinctive design features like instrument-grade cabinetry, a purist multi-voice preamp, and interstage transformer based design set them part from conventional guitar amplifiers.   The result is a strikingly different kind of sound – deep and resonant,  detailed and present, but also smooth and balanced at the same time. They respond like an acoustic instrument and fill the room with a lively, present, and totally unconstricted tone.    The 12W Sugarland is a purist design, all tube 1×12 combo powered by a pair of 6V6 tubes.  Its’ single channel Multi Voice preamp offers an incredibly wide range of voicings ranging from sparkly cleans to thick, woody tweed to driven plexi crunch and grind.   The solid wood cabinet with unified baffle/body construction delivers a lively, deeply resonant, and unconstricted sound.  A unique master volume circuit is extremely transparent, maintaining the same sound and vivid presence all the way down to bedroom volume. Features 12W 1x12 Combo Amplifier All Tube, Handwired Circuitry Single Channel Multi-Voice Preamp Innovative Master Volume Control Line Out Dimensions 20" x 17" x 10.5" Weight 33lbs Construction Highlights Circuitry handwired on custom fabricated turret boards Paper Bobbin Layer Wound Transformers Silver Plated Wire Handmade Leather Handle by Brookwood Leather Custom molded knobs and other appointments Tweed covering material finished with 5 hand-brushed coats of lacquer Cabinet Unified body/baffle construction Cabinet body: solid Eastern White Pine Baffle board: crafted from 12 pieces of solid Eastern White Pine and African Mahogany Special recipe coating compound applied to preserve natural acoustic behavior. Upholstery applied with natural hide glue for superior acoustic response. Celestion Alnico Blue Speaker Design Highlights Tubes: 2x12AX7A, 2x12AU7, 2x6V6GT, 1x5Y3GT Interstage transformer coupled phase inverter Ideal circuit layout for lowest noise floor and purest tone Cathode biased output stage No negative feedback Designer Notes The Sugarland is just a little bigger than a tweed deluxe but it sounds like a much bigger amp.  As you might expect from the specs (cathode biased 6V6s, no negative feedback, paper bobbin layer wound output transformer, etc.) it can certainly deliver vintage tweed tones, but it can do so much more as well.   You can dial in a mid-scooped tone like a Princeton Reverb, a chimey jangle like an AC15, or a crunchy, grinding tone like a little Plexi. The acoustic response of this amp is something special too.  It cuts through amazingly well on stage but never sounds shrill or piercing – it remains thick and full like a saxophone.  In spite of its powerful stage presence, it sounds fantastic in a home environment too – full and rich, with intense clarity but never sounding overly bright, even at very low volume.   I should also mention the master volume circuit.  It’s incredibly transparent and really makes the Sugarland so much more versatile and usable.  It preserves the harmonic balance and the dynamic response a lot better than a conventional master volume circuit, so the tone and feel remain consistent down to bedroom volume.  At the same time, it preserves the presence and immediacy of the sound better than a power attenuator does, so in my opinion it’s the ultimate tool for transparently reducing volume to any level.  On top of all this, the Sugarland is built with bulletproof construction and instrument-grade craftsmanship inside and out.   I build each one myself here at my Baltimore shop, and I’m delighted to offer this model as part of my new product line.   – Mark Bartel

Wazmeister

Great price, stunning amp.

chris78

The best amps in the world bar none and the best price I’ve ever seen one.

DrCornelius

I always thought these things were unobtanium price wise but thats a mere mortals price that Hatti (well a mortal than has £2700 in their GAS fund anyway !)

AlexO

Best amp I’ve ever played this 

fretfinder

I had one of these and for me the Sugarland is the pick of the Bartel bunch - more compact and lighter than the other two models with the same great range of tones. I used a Catalinbread Topanga reverb pedal with mine and they sounded superb together.

paulmapp8306

deleted

Lebarque

paulmapp8306 said:

fretfinder said:

I had one of these and for me the Sugarland is the pick of the Bartel bunch - more compact and lighter than the other two models with the same great range of tones. I used a Catalinbread Topanga reverb pedal with mine and they sounded superb together.

see - Im kind of tempted (Bartel are on my list of possibles along with Two Rock, Matchless, Carr, Divided by 13 and a couple of others), but no reverb.... I could live without the tremo but reverb?  No loop to put a reverb in - which is fine for clean sounds but not with any drive.

There are ways round this for me  - using a fryette power station to add a loop, and add volume if needed, but its a compromise solution - hence why  Im KIND if tempted.  

Not something to buy without trying though.   Great price.... 

Coming on someone's sale thread and pointing out perceived downsides of the item is a bit of a break of rule 1 IMO.

GLWTS I'd love to try one of these but, alas, I'm down south.

mattacjones

Such a beautiful looking thing too

digitalkettle

I think Paul was just dreaming out loud...it's a bit like denigrating a Ferrari because it doesn't have a roof rack

Edit: quoting removed

paulmapp8306

Lebarque said:

Coming on someone's sale thread and pointing out perceived downsides of the item is a bit of a break of rule 1 IMO.

GLWTS I'd love to try one of these but, alas, I'm down south.

wasnt trying to point out a downside..... many would consider it an UP side as anything in the signal chain has an effect on tone.   Im simply putting down my thoughts as a potential buyer.    

However, Ive deleted the comment.   Can i suggest you edit yours so the quote doent show.

thinline72

It's the best amp for home playing that I've owned and I've tried quite a few as well as attenuators like UA OX and Swart Night Light Junior etc. Bartel's Master Volume is fantastic and second to none. 

He's also done a great job explaining in the manual how to dial a desired sound, how to get nice fat cleans or specific overdrive tones, and how to set the amp in the room. So make sure to read the manual! 

GLWTS! I love mine and I'm sure the new owner of yours will be very very pleased with it!

Hattigol

Just to add that I know an excellent courier who I've used several times. He travels down to the south coast every week and could deliver this for around £50. Top guy, really looks after stuff in transit. 

Hattigol

Boutique Bartel bump.

ditchboy

An absolute stunner this. @Hattigol is a top bloke to deal with also. I wish I had the space and the cash. 

bgmartinsbridge

Now that's nice. Very tempted. 

Hattigol

Thanks folks. Got several people wanting it but needing to sell first.

I am open to other trades on this but if it's something I am going to end up selling on, the trade price would need to reflect that.

Benm39

Don't imagine this will hang around long.  Absolutely love mine. 

marlinman

Top amp, would be heading for Harrogate now if I hadn't just bought my Carr Skylark. 

Have a top amp bump on me, must resist, must resist....

Zoolooter

Hattigol said:

Just to add that I know an excellent courier who I've used several times. He travels down to the south coast every week and could deliver this for around £50. Top guy, really looks after stuff in transit. 

Just for future reference, could you pm me details for your courier please. Always good to have a few numbers for trusted couriers for guitar stuff and anything else. Cheers 

Hattigol

Price drop from £2,695 to £2,595.