The Labrador

The Labrador

The Labrador is the amplifier that I have chosen to offer to the world as my first model.  While it may not offer every option for every player, it was designed, from the ground up, to be very versatile and meet the common tonal needs of most players.

Quick overview:

• Very flexible tone
• Light weight design
• Usable power output
• Clean and high gain from the same amplifier
• Simple, intuitive controls
• Hand wired
• High quality
• All Tube Design*

Distortion Overview

Let’s face it, some of the most famous classic amplifiers out there are one trick ponies.  They sound great for a very small range of tones.  On the other hand, many modern amplifiers boast 2, 3, even 4 or more channels, promising to give you the sound of many different amps, but at the cost of pure tone, simplicity and manufacturing cost.  After you spend hours tweaking the 20+ knobs to find your perfect tone, you realize you forgot you’re supposed to be playing guitar, not playing your amplifier!  What the Labrador provides is an amplifier with the simplicity of the classics, but with the range of modern amplifiers.

With the gain switch on low and the volume turned up, the Labrador plays clean with a smooth transition into breakup as you dig into the strings.  Turn up the gain a bit and you enter a good rhythm drive.  Flip the gain switch and the Labrador comes alive with distortion, starting out at the rhythm drive and transitioning into an almost fuzz like lead with sustain for days.

Tone Stack Overview

The tone controls have a much greater range than is typical of guitar amplifiers.  Most amplifiers tone controls don’t go below what is the half-way point on this amplifier, meaning that turning the bass all the way down doesn’t actually cut any bass.  The Labrador controls, however, are capable of boosting and cutting.  Therefore, it has no mid control because one is simply not needed here. A mid boost can be achieved, by turning the bass and treble down.  The Labrador is designed to have a small mid-boost with the controls at half way.

Compression

The rectifier switch changes the character of the amplifier by changing how it converts AC electricity to DC electricity.  When on solid state mode, the amplifier has a firmer tone and tracks dynamics very well.  Many describe this tone as punchy or lively.  When on tube mode, the amplifier has a softer tone.  The dynamics become compressed, increasing sustain.

Sound Clips

Thanks to Patrick of Kindred Coffee Roasters for playing and recording the sound clips.

Features Unique to The Labrador

The Labrador comes in three variations: Black (6V6), Yellow (EL84), and Chocolate, which can use 6V6s, EL84s or a mix of the types.  6V6s give you lower total power (9 watts) with blues like tone, thick bass and shimmering highs.  EL84s give you greater total power (18 watts) with a driving mid-range.  Mixing the types will give you a tone that mixes the strengths of each type while adding sweetness to the tone.  An added benefit of this design is that the Labrador does not require matched power tubes (This is a good, because I don’t know of anywhere to purchase a 6V6 matched with an EL84).

To deal with the inherent mismatch of the 6V6 and the EL84, the Chocolate Labrador has an additional “Balance” control that provides additional tonal options.  When using similar power tube types, setting the control to minimum sends the same signal to both output tubes, resulting in the cleanest sound.  When mixing power tube types, this control boosts the output of the rightmost power tube to restore balance between the tubes.  If the rightmost power tube is a 6V6 and the leftmost power tube is an EL84, balance will be achieved at around half on the control and the output will be about 16 watts.  If the tubes are reversed from this configuration, they will start out imbalanced and will become more imbalanced as the control is increased.  This imbalance results in a sweetening of the tone at the expense of a little bit of clarity and power (about 10 watts).  With the control at max, the control also provides a bit of a gain boost.

The gain control on The Labrador includes a specially designed variable treble boost that boosts the treble of the guitar when the gain knob is above ¾.  This boost is designed to add a sparkle to the distortion to counteract the muddiness that can happen with increased gain.  This boost is built in to both the low and high gain channels and is always enabled.

Tube Compliment

• Pre-amp:  Two 12AX7/ECC83
• Power Amp  Two 6V6 (Black Lab & Chocolate Lab), Two EL84 (Yellow Lab & Chocolate Lab)
• Rectifier:  6CA4/EZ81

Specifications

• Power Output with 6V6 tubes:  9 Watts
• Power Output with EL84 tubes:  18 Watts
• Power Output with mixed tubes:  10 – 16 Watts
• Input Jacks:  Two
• Output Jacks:  2 Jacks in parallel
• Impedance Out:  4 ohm / 8 ohm / 16 ohm selectable
• Controls Front:  Gain Switch, Gain, Bass, Treble, Volume, Power/Standby
• Controls Rear:  Tube/SS Rectifier, Balance (Chocolate Lab only)
• Weight:  Pending
• Size:  Pending

Prices and Ordering Options

The Black Lab and the Yellow Lab are both priced at $1400 + shipping and handling.  The Chocolate Lab is priced at $1600 + shipping and handling.  To place an order, please use the Contact section of the website.  Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivering, as all amplifiers are made to order.

*When operating in SS Rectifier mode, the amplifier uses diodes instead of a tube to power the amplifier.  However, in tube rectified mode, no transistors or diodes are used in any portion of the amplifier.