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Incredibly versatile 12 watt wonder! Tiny package...HUGE sound!
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Condition: Used, Excellent
What happens when you take the incredible overdrive channel from Nolatone's Wicked Garden, mash it with the output section of the Rotten Johnny, and throw some beefy transformers on it for good measure? Well, you get the incredibly versatile Wicked Johnny!
The Wicked Johnny can go from country pickin' cleans to roaring distorted leads and everywhere in between at volumes that won't remodel your house but still allow you to be heard in the band.
At a mere 30 lbs, this is a 1x12 that fits in on a stage, in the studio, or just in your living room. Call Soundpure today to grab yours!
The Wicked Johnny takes the amazing overdrive channel from the Wicked Garden and mates it with the output section of the award-winning Rotten Johnny. But we've kicked it up a notch using the beefier transformer set from the Road Hogg Lite. The result ranges from Chet Atkins to Ozzy Ozborne all in a very portable 30lb package that packs a surprising wallop!
The Wicked Johnny forced me to discover the wonder of the Wicked Garden OD channel in an entirely new way. The overdrive tones are a no brainer. Silver Jubilee-esque goodness that cleans up with a roll off the volume knob of the guitar. I never tried to get clean sounds from the OD channel in the Wicked Garden because it has such an amazing clean channel. It never occurred to me to try, and once I started working with the Wicked Johnny prototype and taking it out to open mic jams and small gigs, I started trying to get clean sounds from that channel, and I quickly realized this channel that was designed to scream and grind was chock full of beautiful clean tones as well. Who'd-a-thunkit?!
Wicked Johnny is an excellent choice for small solo or duo gigs as I have experienced first hand. It allows a very nice clean tone at a very reasonable volume but also allows you to get singing lead tones at very low volume thanks to the excellent master volume. Add the optional half power switch for even more control over distorted tones at low volume.
Wicked Johnny: He Cleans Up Nice!
By turning the gain controls down below noon, turning the master up I was able to get a wide range of beautiful clean tones from this preamp that was designed to rock the house! By varying the gain levels, mid, top, and pull bright controls you can dial up Fender-y tones, Vox-y tones, classic Texas fried blues tones, all the way to full-blown headbanger, and all points in between. This is truly a great preamp which will be very rewarding whether at the jam, in the studio or on the sofa.
Tone Controls
The Rotten Johnny and Wicked Johnny use the same three tone controls and you'll sense there's something very different about them.
The bass control (WJ calls it "bottom") is a 6 position clicker that sets the bass roll off.
The mid control is completely stand alone and not part of a typical "tone stack", which tends to also limit their functionality. This mid control, when dialed down, allows the bottom and top to seem extended and really transforms the sound into something much more "Fendery". Add a serial effects loop standard so you can plug in your favorite reverb pedal. Also, we have a "mid lift" switch that provides a nice boost for solos or just over the top crunch. This is also footswitchable!
The top control is a Vox style cut control wired backwards so when you turn it down, it gets less bright.
We use this approach to tone shaping on this amp because it delivers more harmonically rich and complex tones, while at the same time offering much better flexibility for dialing up different tones.
Plug in and use your imagination. In spite of the relative simplicity the tonal flexibility is truly amazing.
At Nolatone Ampworks we hand build our amplifiers one at a time using ultimate care and attention to detail to create an instrument that will last a lifetime and deliver tone and feel that will allow you to express yourself in ways you may never have thought possible!
We do this by using only the highest quality parts, well thought out circuit layouts, and impeccable build quality.
Some highlights of the quality you receive with a Nolatone Amplifier:
Custom wound Mercury Magnetics transformers
Custom layouts using point-to-point or turret board depending on design.
Circuit construction performed by U.S. Military trained soldering tech.
1 Watt Carbon Film resistors in the audio path
Circuit components chose for best tone and reliability
High Quality German made F&T or Sprague Atom Filter Caps in the power supply
Critical tube positions cushion mounted to for minimized vibration, reducing microphonics and tube reliability issues over time (applies to models 15 watts and above)
10 amp Carling switches. Can you say "Ka-CHUNK"?! (applies to our higher power models)
Switchcraft Jacks
All these things make a difference, and together make a HUGE difference!
Rather than regurgitating the traditional chassis/circuit layouts from popular amps of yesteryear, we put a lot of though into how these layouts can be improved:
We locate our transformers on opposite ends of the chassis for more direct access to lead connections, in addition creating better balance when carrying the amp. Signal leads and high voltage leads are very well isolated from each other. This minimizes noise and maximizes stability.
We design our chassis using CAD software to optimize circuit layout.
Some Notes on Soldering
This one is often overlooked, but we believe very important for long term reliability. Looking inside many an amp, vintage to the absolute top ranked boutique offerings of today all too often "blobby" solder joints can be seen.
Using too much solder can conceal potential problems with the joint. It's possible that years down the road, a contamination in a solder joint, or a cold solder joint will cause a problem, and this type of problem is notoriously difficult to track down, and that translates to EXPENSIVE to fix!
The US Navy Aviation community, where Paul was trained to solder, has strict requirements for soldering as the equipment is subjected to extreme conditions including vibration, high g-forces, salt water, etc. These requirements dictate that a proper solder joint should have enough but not too much solder. A lead should be visible on the turret with a concave flow of solder bonding it to the surface of the turret/pin/etc. This type of solder joint is far less likely to cause problems after leaving the builders bench.
Serial Number: WJ-0005
Power Output: 12 watts
Output Tubes: 2 - EL84 or 6V6 Cathode Bias
Preamp Tubes: 1 - 12dw7/ecc832, 2 - 12AX7
Rectifier: Solid State Plugin.
Controls: Pre and Post Gain, Bright, 3-way Boost, Bass, Mid, Top, Master Volume
Series (Unbuffered) Effects Loop