After a solid few months of trying to find someone to fix my Silver Jubilee and not having any luck, I just gave up on valve amps. Having it sit around for months waiting to be serviced, dealing with the hassle of finding a tech, then waiting another four weeks after finally finding someone, plus driving three hours round trip to drop it off and then another three to pick it up, made me rethink my whole setup. Plus, I hardly ever got to crank it up to really make those valves sing. So, I decided to sell it and switch to a solid state.
I had a good run with my Orange Crush 35RT before the Jubilee, despite a couple of annoyances like the power switch being on the back and the volume knob being useless until it hit two. So, I went for its bigger sibling, the Super Crush 100, expecting it to be the same but better. The Super Crush sorted out the issues I had with the 35RT and then some: The cabinet is well-built and the Celestion is a really nice upgrade.
After a few weeks of looking, I finally found one. I was worried that the lack of these amps in the second-hand market was a bad omen, but I was patient and found one for £310 posted and pulled the trigger, although I wish I found an Orange cab version.
A few hours in, and I'm blown away. Sure, it's no Jubilee, but then again, the Jubilee only really beats it when I'm blasting the lead channel, which doesn't happen frequently and is more about my taste than anything. The clean sounds on the Super Crush are more up my alley, and the lead channel's got such a range. Even dialling down the gain on the lead channel and messing with the EQ produces incredible clean sounds.
The thing sounds massive even at low volumes, which totally took me by surprise. It's like it doesn't even need to be loud to sound big, which is something else. It kinda gets into Marshall territory on the gain side, which I wasn't expecting. It's not a Jubilee or a Plexi, but it's got a crunch that's definitely in the ballpark. I'm thinking with a few of my pedals, I might get it even closer.
Now, for the downsides. This thing is surprisingly heavy for a solid state. We're talking as heavy as the Silver Jubilee, which is nuts. And the reverb for me is unusable, the trail length is just way too much. I have to turn it all the way down and use my pedal instead. But really, those are my only gripes. I'm seriously impressed that a solid-state can pack this much punch. It's a quality piece of kit, no doubt.
Comments
That's surprising, since the reverb on the Crush Pro is very good - but it has three settings, so the new one may not be identical to any of them.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
Weighs a ton though.
Currently my OD is Kingtone Blues Power, Okko Diablo as Distortion/Green Russian alternate on my board.
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco
Thinking of buying two for a stereo rig.
The Super Crush heads go for £250 used.
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202071/nco