After over a year with no updates, I am pleased to release to you, sound clips of my latest model!
But first, I must reveal the name and sound clips of my first model…
The Labrador
This is the amp that started it all. It’s a compact 12-18 watt (depending on configuration) head. It’s designed to have a simple, yet flexible, control scheme, and a wide range of tones. The clean tone is vintage inspired with very low headroom. It won’t stay clean all the way up to 10. Quite the opposite, it will begin to compress and break up fairly low on the volume control. It’s designed for a thick tone that gives excellent touch sensitivity. As the gain is increased, the tone starts to break up, but it retains a vintage sound. Flip the gain switch to high and the character changes considerably. The tone takes on a fuzz characteristic that sustains for days. This is all done using 2 12AX7s and absolutely no distorting diodes in the pre-amp. The amplifier is available with three different output configurations. A classic American 6V6 output stage for 12 watts of power, a strong and powerful bass and shiny highs, a classic British EL84 output stage for 18 watts of power with a midrange that melts like butter, or combined output stage that allows pairing 1 EL84 with 1 6V6. To my knowledge, JDP Amplifiers is the only company to market this option. In addition to a gain switch, the controls include a gain knob, bass, treble, and master volume. The amplifier has a 6CA4/EZ81 rectifier tube with a switchable solid state option.
Thanks to Patrick of Kindred Coffee Roasters for playing and recording the sound clips.
Now onto the reason for my post. Introducing…
The Pitbull
I am keeping with my 4 knob layout, high gain/low gain switch and 12-18 watt power level. But this time, I pushed the sound into a different direction. I wanted something that had more clean headroom so I could enjoy a bit more volume before breakup began. I cleaned up the clean and gave it some sparkle. It still retains a smooth transition into distortion as you dig into the strings. The high gain, I went back to the drawing board with this one. I wanted to get even more gain than before, without the fuzz characteristic. I added another 12AX7 to the pre-amp to push the gain into metal territory. Overall, I modified the tone controls to give a bit of a midrange scoop, imparting a meatier tone to both the clean and the high gain settings. The tone controls still retain a very wide range of adjustment found in the Labrador. This amplifier is also available with the three different output configurations. The amplifier has a 5Y3 rectifier tube with a switchable solid state option.
Guitar is run directly into amplifier, with exception of “Rock”, where an Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb is used between the guitar and amplifier.
Amplifier is running Tung-Sol Re-issue 12AX7s and JJ EL84s.
All recordings are through a 2×12 cab with a pair of mid 1960s Jensen C12-R speakers.
Clean – Tube Rectified, Telecaster Bridge PU
Blues – Tube Rectified, Stratocaster Neck PU
Mild Crunch – Tube Rectified, Telecaster Neck PU,
Mild Crunch – Solid State Rectified, Telecaster Neck PU
Mild Crunch Solo – Tube Rectified, Telecaster Neck PU
Rock – riff 1 – Tube Rectified, Stratocaster Neck PU
Rock – riff 2 – Tube Rectified, Stratocaster Neck PU
High Gain – SS Rectified, Jaguar Bridge PU
ALL MAX – riff – SS Rectified, Jaguar Bridge PU
ALL MAX – solo – SS Rectified, Jaguar Bridge PU
Again, thanks to Patrick of Kindred Coffee Roasters for playing and recording the sound clips.
–The art of simplicity, the science of versatility, and the magic of music
JDP
JDP Amplifiers 
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