NAD. Fender Vaporizer

Actually it's not mine, it's my wife's.

She needed a better amp situation for her new Ace Tone combo organ. I knew I wanted a tube amp with spring reverb. Also, we had to stick to a certain budget.

I was always curious about these things when they were out. I loved the concept (Tweed Deluxe meets Vibrolux meets AC15) and the aesthetics. But I could never justify spending the money for one as a guitar amp.

When my wife talked about getting an amp for her organ, this immediately sprang to mind. I found a used on online for a good price, 36 months interest-free made it a no-brianer, and here it is.

It's actually better than I had hoped. I know from gut shots people have posted online that the tubes are not hard-wired to the circuit board. That's a dealbreaker for me. I have first-hand experience with the Fender Excelsior. While that was a cool amp, they were very chintzy. The handles were cheap plastic, the badges were plastic, and the cabinet was as thin as cardboard. I was expecting similar quality here, but I'm pleasantly surprised. This amp has none of those flaws. The handle is solid, thick rubbery plastic with massive four-screw anchors. The cabinet feels much more significant than the Excelsior did. I always felt like those were going to fall apart. Even the badge is actually made of metal. And the tolex has a cool cratered effect.

The tone is pretty decent too. Nice sweet cleans, and it starts to get pretty crunchy as you turn it up. People hated on the "Vaporizer" (bypass the volume and tone stacks) effect, but I actually like it. Especially on organ. I might throw some upgraded speakers in it at some point and see if that doesn't help it open up a bit. But it doesn't need it.

The one thing I'll say is that, they're right, the reverb can be noisy. But even with the reverb cranked, it has less of a noise floor than other amps I've played.

Overall, I'm pleasantly surprised. I can't wait to hear it at band practice on Sunday!