Howson Gig-O'Mite - Ultimate Gigging Amp?

Now this is interesting. I may have the opportunity of being the Internet's very first source of information on what I believe to be a new and likely up and coming amp builder. I'm taking the time to write this because my first few hours with the amp have been so incredibly enjoyable.

I went into my favorite local music store this past weekend in search of a small, low wattage, grab and go combo that loves pedals. I have the fortune of owning a couple of outstanding amps from another local builder who is making some truly top notch stuff in the boutique amplifier world, but as much as I love those amps, they are both an incredibly loud 40 watts, and simply too much juice for most of the venues I play. Being so picky about tone, you simply have to crank a tube amp to get thouse power tubes working and that speaker moving. Even with a plexi glass shield, a cranked 40 watt tube amp in a small club is just too much. So I grabbed two of my staple guitars, my 'foundation pedal' a Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret and off I go.

The lineup consisted of a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue, a Dr. Z MAz 18 Junior and this Howson Gig-O'Mite. I had played a gig this past weekend through a Fender Blues Jr. III so that is fresh in my memory. If the little Blues Junior had some more headroom and just a little more umph, I wouldn't have been out shopping. Great little amp in its own rite, but I digress.

Cutting to the chase, I had owned a Deluxe previously and knew it would be a contender, and if I had heard nothing else next to it, I would have been satisfied to take it home. Curious about the Maz, I plugged in, and, while it had a nice clean tone and could get some good overdriven tones on its own, it sounded terribly flat and thin with the DLS in the front end. Plugging into the Howson on the other hand yielded a tone so much different (and better) then either the Deluxe or the Maz that I couldn't believe I was using the same pedal. The Howson on its own yielded a very good blackface tone with some good chime, depth and push. When I engaged the DLS however, there was a midrange presence and complexity that I didn't expect and immediately fell in love with. The Catalinbread is supposed to be a Marshall in a box, but this little Howson amp completed the circle. What an unbelievable tone coming out of that pedal into this amp.

To talk some specifics on the Howson Gig-O'mite, it is a 2x6V6 amp, so I'm guessing its running at about 20 watts. Its a single channel non master volume amp with the expected Treble and Bass controls and a very good reverb and tremolo circuit. There's also a special contour control pot underneath the chassis that I have not played with yet. It has 4 preamp tubes and a tube rectifier. Tremolo and Reverb appear to be foot switchable, though no footswitch is included, and oddly enough the connectors for a footswitch are RCA jacks and not the usual 1/4" jacks. The amp utilizes Hammond and Mercury transformers, is 100% hand wired point to point using 100% discrete components which the builder describes as 50 year components. The speaker is a 12" Weber Blue Dog ceramic and the cabinet is a solid finger joined pine with blonde covering. A simple yet robust unit to be sure. Oh, and here's the kicker. It sells for $849!

I purchased this little wonder just this past Saturday and spent several hours with it earlier today. I am told the amp is based on a Princeton Reverb circuit, but I never played a Princeton and can't comment on similarities or differences. I am more familiar with the Deluxe Reverb, and, by comparison, the Howson is in that ballpark, but just sounds more "there" than the

Deluxe. The Deluxe has that chimey Fender top end but to my ears sounds perpetually scooped. This is plainly evident when playng the Howson next to it and hearing all that it has going on in the mids, which is somehow more noticable when you engage a drive pedal. There is no question this amp will cut through the mix, but in the right way; with tonal complexity and not brute volume or harsh high end typical of so many other rigs. There are very few amps I have encountered that sound like the pedal is 'inside of'' or 'one with' the amp and this is one of them.

I'll cut this piece off here for now and offer a couple of pics. I intend to record some clips in the next few weeks and will post them when complete. If the builder of this amp happens to come across this post, then please feel free to reach out to me. I'd love to connect and personally offer my congratulations on a job very well done. You're onto something!

UPDATE: In order to get more information on these amps, please contact Parkway Music in Clifton Park, NY (http://www.parkwaymusic.com/). Their phone number is 518-383-0300. Don't exepct to get any information about this amp online. Just give the shop a call and they'll take care of you. Parkway is currently the exclusive reseller of these amps and have a good relationship with the builder, who is local (and who I believe at this time does not have any web presence himself). I have been a fan of Parkway Music for many years. They know their stuff and will always do right by you. They are terrific guys. No, I don't work for them and I do not get any kickbacks or anything. Just trying to give them a good word as well as connect people with this up and coming amplifier builder.