Victoria Amps 5112

mburekenge

Hi guys. Does anyone have any experience with this tweed style amp that they'd like to share?

My primary use would be studio work, but may take it out on the road occasionally.

I'm kind of torn. The idea of no tone control is appealing, but also a bit scary.

I have amps which are very flexible (Carr rambler/Carr Mercury) so perhaps it might be liberating to have nothing to mess around with.

Other options are getting on the list for a Lazy J, or a Swart.

ThorpyFX

mburekenge said:

Hi guys. Does anyone have any experience with this tweed style amp that they'd like to share?

My primary use would be studio work, but may take it out on the road occasionally.

I'm kind of torn. The idea of no tone control is appealing, but also a bit scary.

I have amps which are very flexible (Carr rambler/Carr Mercury) so perhaps it might be liberating to have nothing to mess around with.

Other options are getting on the list for a Lazy J, or a Swart.

I have had the Victoria 5118, 5112 and now a swart 6v6se. As amps go they are one trick ponies, the trick is amazing though.... I love all three but, the 5112 is probably the best due to the 12" speaker making it much less boxy sounding. The swart is more flexible due to the tone knob and when I connect it to a 2x12" its small charm grows even more. I can recommend all three but I'd probably grade them in order 5112,swart,5118.

mburekenge

Thanks ThorpyFX

ICBM

The guitarist in my band had the 5112 for a while. It is a one-trick pony up to a point - or more accurately a two-trick pony, since the clean sound is great too. The lack of a tone control is not a problem unless you don't have any tone controls on your guitars or whatever pedals you want to use with it, and even then not much - the tone is astoundingly natural and well-balanced, and doesn't seem to need 'correcting'.

It's also unbelievably loud for 5W - enough to play at a band practice with a fairly loud drummer and my 500W bass combo, with the 5112 up on a chair. BUT only with the full-on overdriven sound - that was its one limitation, and why he didn't keep it. But it was incredibly close to being enough - hard to work out how or why. In the back the label said it's a 20W amp - it isn't. But it does sound like one.

mburekenge

Thanks for the info. Sounds very promising.

ThorpyFX

mburekenge;1075221" said:

Thanks for the info. Sounds very promising.

Btw the amp sounds so stripped down and there is something about it that means it has a natural reverb that sounds so sweet, might be the pine cab....

mattacjones

Just my tuppence worth, but +1 for the swart. I have the AST Junior, which comes with a full on reverb (and tone), but yes very simple one-ish trick pony and don't be put off by the 8" speaker.

ICBM

ThorpyFX said:

Btw the amp sounds so stripped down and there is something about it that means it has a natural reverb that sounds so sweet, might be the pine cab....

I agree with that too. I had a go with it a couple of times - it's an amazing-sounding thing, almost like a great acoustic guitar in terms of responding to your playing, just much MUCH louder and more aggressive…

I wish I'd bought it when he sold it, the only reason I didn't is because I thought I could build myself one, but I've never got round to it.

I should mention that I had an original 1959 5F1 Champ many years ago too. That was also incredibly loud through a 4x12" , but if anything the Victoria actually sounded better - fuller and more responsive in the just-breaking-up range, the Champ was either clean or snarly, not a lot in the middle.

I absolutely hated the Swart AST (not Jr) I tried. I don't know if there was something different (or wrong) with that one but it had no top-end at all, just an overpowering clangy midrange. Hopefully their other amps aren't like that.

mburekenge

Thanks for the input guys. I decided to put my money where my mouth is and buy the Victoria.

Buying this and a Carr Mercury in the same week is a bit irresponsible, but hey! Why not?

2 weeks to wait until I get my grubby mitts in them!

breadfan

I want one now.

mburekenge

breadfan;1075574" said:

I want one now.

GAS strikes again!

mburekenge

I cannot wait to run this in stereo with the Mercury.

57Deluxe

Vickies used to be the Lazy J of their day...

MattFGBI

I usually don't like to blatantly push Fender products but I'd recommend having a go on the Edge Deluxe if your in the market for some Tweed tonal joy.  

mburekenge

I've heard great things about that model. Too late though, the Victoria is mine, all mine mwahahaha!

Robcollins

I had 5112 for a couple of weeks a few years back. Its a fantastic sounding amp but the one i had emitted a rattle from its cabinet when a certain low note was played so i sent it back in the end and chose another amp. It paired really well with the Carr Mercury (which i still own) ...and yes, it was bloody loud for a 5watt amp

mburekenge

Fingers crossed for no loose panels.

mburekenge

Well, it was double NAD yesterday... The Victoria and the Carr both arrived after some drama courtesy of my shipping agent!

I've used those shippers to move plenty of gear before without incident, including £10k ATC studio monitors, so when my amps disappeared, I experienced a few sleepless nights!
None the less, they made it right, thank goodness.

I thought I'd share some poorly written, only half an hour in, thoughts with you guys (lucky you)!

obviously, the Mercury is an amazingly flexible amp. It will require some serious time to get the best from as its so deep! Very impressed with it so far. Intriguingly, the mercury is voiced completely differently to my Rambler, and the reverb sounds completely different also.

Not sure whether it is my age, but So far I prefer the breaking up sounds, over all out molten lava settings. With the attenuator on it was a very odd feeling to be able to get howling feedback and Santana style violin sustain so quietly. Intriguing!

The real revelation for me was the Victoria. I popped my tweed/tele cherry last night.

It was one of those 'what have I been doing with my life?' moments. It just sounded unbelievable.

I think it was @ICBM who said it sounds like there is some sort of effect on the amp, very hard to put into words, but I totally understand where he was coming from. No need for verb/trem just straight into the amp.

Next up was the gold top, and found myself in Crazy Horse territory easily,

The white falcon also sounded unbelievably great, really enjoyed going after those Chicago semi hollow/tweed tones.

The bad news is that thanks to being bumped around in transit, I also have the lose panel rattle! Bugger it. Fingers crossed I can get it sorted. Also pilot light not working.

I'm lucky that at my studio and home, thanks to an understanding wife, volume isn't an issue for me. I was surprised how quiet the Vic appeared to be, compared to my higher wattage amps.

It's always good to get a second persons opinion so I marched the Vic/tele round to my non guitar playing neighbours house and played a bit for him. He was blown away by the tone (not the playing) which is a good sign!

When I got back home, my wife asked me whether I had been playing in the studio. Guess it's not so quiet after all lol

Anyhow, I have been fully converted to the ways of tweed.

ICBM

That's funny about the volume - yes, it's only 5W and it doesn't seem *that* loud compared to a 50-watter - until you try it with a band. It's amazing how well it holds up, even against quite a loud drummer, provided you don't want clean.

Wasn't me that said it sounded like it had an effect on though... just that it doesn't need EQ because the sound is so natural.

CloudNine

Lord knows why I sold my 5112.... A great Tele straight into that amp is a one of THE best tones. Every time you plug in, there is the urge to sell all your other gear and just explore that sound for the rest of your life. They are not just about cranking the volume and getting those ragged tweed o/d tones either, the real joy is actually the low volume cleans, just beautiful.

The cab definitely plays a big part in the tone of that amp. It weighs virtually nothing, to the extent that it almost feels cheap. Except the fact that it is built with such incredible care and attention to detail.

Stick some vintage glass in it as well, and prepare to be wowed all over again. Oh, and get a Swart Night Light as it is a dream with the 5112.

I will definitely get another.

mburekenge

Apologies @ICBM, it was @thorpyFX , who mentioned the natural verb. The volume thing is madness. I should add my neighbour lives at least 300m away so it was carrying far!

You are both absolutely correct, it does seem to add some sort of verb... And the circuit is voiced perfectly, no need for Eq. It's crazy really.

@CloudNine I'm in total agreement with you! As soon as I plugged my tele in it was a real wtf! Moment. Just unbelievable.

The amp is crazily light isn't it? I'm used to lumping my Rambler around. It's no 4x12, but it's enough to feel it. The Victoria is freakishly light. Definitely going to be using it for practices and small gigs.

I haven't had enough time with it yet to appreciate the clean sounds, just plugged her in and cranked her up! I'm sure that I'll be spending more time soaking in different tones. Thanks for the heads up about the swart attenuator. I'll give it a go!

For my next experiment in going to use my Moog Clusterflux to play it and the Rambler or Mercury in stereo. Sweet.