I’ve recently had Jim build me one of his new Wonderdawgs, 12 watts of blackface sweetness. It’s set up in the 1×12 combo with a 50 watt Weber 12F150. (update – now using a Tone Tubby 40 watt Alnico)
The last few Friday’s a drummer friend of mine has been coming by and we’ve been jamming and writing in my families music studio. He’s got a very subtle touch, real tasty chops and we’ve been goofin’ with some different styles. One Friday things took a kind of old Fleetwood Mac track, and my LP through the Wonderdawg really hit the Peter Green vibe on the mark. When we were done that day we both were kind of amazed at how great the amp sounded with the LP. The guitar straight into the amp with the amp volume around 4 and I hadn’t noticed that I’d kept my guitar volume around 5 the whole time. One thing I dig allot about Peter Greens old FM work is his subtle style, almost “conversational”, going from calm to excited, highs and lows, like listening to someone tell you a story. I’ve been a Les Paul player since I got my first one in 1973 and as LP players know, it gives a player the ability to be very expressive, but without the right amp, you can only get so far.
This little amp, even with a speaker that’s only got about 10 hours on it, compliments the guitar and the player so well, never a hindrance, it generates what your trying to put out.
Some amps get dark real fast when you roll back the guitar volume, but the WD really gives you the entire volume pot to work with.
The next Friday things took a Jazz turn, we started warming up with “take five”, and the entire session remained in a Jazz groove. Playing sometimes with my fingers and sometimes with a pick, the amp was so touch responsive, beautiful single note tones, full and warm as well as gorgeous chord and rhythm tones.
It’s a great piece of gear, one of those amps that when your done playing you feel great, this little amp really delivers.
I can’t say enough good things about this amp, I think I’ve become a true believer in small amps for most anything I’m going to be doing for a while.
Don Stefani