June 2009 \ Reviews \ Amps \ Cornford Roadhouse 30 Combo Amp Review

Cornford Roadhouse 30 Combo Amp Review

Kenny Rardin

The Cornford Roadhouse 30 is a portable, affordable option for rock
Premier Guitar June 2009
(2 of 2)

I could not resist the urge to grab a 1959 Les Paul Standard that was lurking nearby and plug it in—I could have played that combination all day. Back with my LP Custom, I experimented with the gain settings, and I found that this control was very active. Most of the higher gain started to come on about three quarters to full on. Lower gain settings yielded a nice sparkling tone similar to a Vox AC30 or 50—great for Strat-type tones. The Roadhouse loves single coils as well as humbuckers, and the Boost control really put it over the top. It’s got a very controllable gain that cleaned up when I lowered the guitar’s volume. This also worked even on maximum gain settings.

This amp is extremely touch-sensitive; the tone controls were my fingers. On some amps, a note picked firmly and then softly produces different volumes. On a good touch-sensitive amp such as this one, it produces a different tone. The same thing occurred when using the Strat, which was a simple American Standard model. Sparkling notch-position tones to heavier Robin Trower-type tones came easily. The power section with the EL34s really had just the right amount of sag to it. It remained tight on the low end for percussive faster passages but was still bluesy enough for soulful Billy Gibbons licks.

A single-button footswitch is provided with the amp. I found this to be very useful, because I could put the master volume on full up and treat the boost like an onboard Tube Screamer, which worked out well. The effects loop is the standard series type. It worked well with most of the pedal effects I tried. If you want to use another preamp, the effects loop can be used as an input for that as well.

The Final Mojo
I found the Cornford Roadhouse 30 combo to be a great amp for those looking for a professional-quality tone without the weight. It’s a small package with a big tone, and it would serve the needs of almost any type of guitarist. Whether it’s blues or screaming, harmonic-laden riffs, this amp seems to do it all very well. It is very pedal-friendly—overdrives, rangemasters and other types of boosts work quite well. 
Buy if...
a reasonably priced, lightweight screamer is what you need.
Skip if...
you need high power and a 4x12 cabinet for your style of music.
Rating...
5.0 

MSRP $1499 (combo); $1399 (head) - Cornford Amplification  - cornfordamps.com - cornfordusa.com

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Comments

 (18 comments) display by
UsernameComment
Scooter
on 11/27/2011 		Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. I bought a RH30 from Wally at Solid Body / Cornford USA, when the first batch came in after NAMM and have been WAY pleased with it. But it's the tone "I" was looking for. I'm an old shredder that now does alot of blues and southern driven rock (Crowes, Badlands, Gov't Mule style), I've owned many amps, and this one is PERFECT for that stuff (IMO!!)... I think P.Mason may have gotten a lemon. Or his taste is strictly that of the Fuchs and Dumble type thing. The RH30 is nothing like those. It has a voice of it's own. When I turn my master up to around 2:00 the harmonics just bloom out of it, and natural power tube OD definitely does start to occur. BUT It stays tight and focused, allowing me to add in just the right amount of preamp drive... And even then, it remains super tight and articulate, without getting overly "saggy" and compressed (like some Fender and Fuchs models... That some people adore... Ond that's OK!! LOL!). If I want that type of thing, I add a Les Lius pedal in front... Which brings up other fine facts... It takes pedals incredibly, and the FX loop is clean as a whistle! Cleans up nice with the guitar volume (even when the OD boost is engaged). Reacts perfectly to picking nuances. Plenty of tight bottom end without being "boomy"... What more could you ask for?!?!? It's still my main amp, since the day I picked it up! Everyone who plays through it falls in love, and every soundman I've used has complimented my greatly on my tone. "I.M.O." I dig the heck out of it!THANKS again WALLY!!!!!!

Paul Mason Hater
on 11/16/2011 		Paul... you're comments are so funny. you defend yourself and you know you're an Ass. so just give up dude. lol. you just say shit to piss people off. Grow Up. We here in the US call people like you Assholes.. as for "Daft" more like "Douche" so.. whatever dude. Listen to Richie Kotzen's Get Up CD and Tell us that Cornford sucks. You ain't Kotzen and you'll Never be.. so close your mouth and Learn to Play. Fuchs???? lol.. to quote you.. "Doesn't seem like they're taking over the world" Those amps blow. Cornford is where it's at son. Nobody cares about your comments. Sure not many people know about Cornford as much as a Mesa or Marshal... but Hey... they're getting out there.. and despite ppl like You.. People want to buy something Different and Good. So just let them. Shut Your Face.
Wally
on 08/02/2011 		It's ok, we can't please everyone. We all have different ears and hands thank goodness, or else we would sound the same. I don't think I would compare a Cornford to a Fender as the RH30 is not meant to compete at all with Fenders of today. Cheers, Wally Cornford USA
bodd66
on 01/03/2011 		I want to ad a bit more to my last comment as I have now gigged the 30W head a few times. It is very 'modern' voiced & has a rather piercing top end. I have had to roll the treble right back. The thing is, there is nothing wrong with using the full sweep of the pot TO THE LEFT. I just needed to get my head around not needing tone pots to go past halfway to get GREAT tone. When I was in the mood to play more rootsy blues or vintage rock I found the modern voicing a bit of a hindrance so I put it up for sale...I then came to my senses! I like to play so many different styles of music that asking this amp to do it all is too much really. BUT it comes close. I love the chunky bottom end at low volumes. It sounds good with all my guitars from Suhr/Strat tones to LP & Wolfgang riffage. For the price I don't think there is anything out there to match it - yet. Mason's view about no power amp drive is interesting. He does have a point but I have a Reinhardt Ampzilla that needs power amp volume to get it to sing which is great, except everyones stands around with their fingers in their ears as it can be really loud. So this head will play a small gig happily as well as full on if you put it through a 4X12 so I love that about it which is why I'm keeping it.
bodd66
on 09/22/2010 		I can't help but throw my 2 cents in. I have recently got a Roadhouse 30W Head & I must admit, Paul Mason's negative reviews (I've seen his other ones)nearly put me off buying it. I finally got some common sense & thought both Premier Guitar & Guitarist Magazine amongst others gave it 5/5 glowing reviews. Surely they can't both have got it so wrong?...Of course they didn't. Maybe Mason got one with bad tubes? Whatever, his opinion just seems out of kilter with what others are saying. When the amp arrived, I put the tubes in, fired it up & without even looking at the control knobs I had a great tone immediately! I love the gain on this thing. You can turn it all the way up & it is still very useable. The boost switch works better than any others I have played. Now I own a Bogner Mojado Head, a Reinhardt Ampzilla Head & a Blackstar so I had high expectations. I got it. For the price, I believe it is a bargain. I got rid of my Bogner Alchemist Head (very dull tone) & my Orange 30W Head (1 dimensional). The controls work really well with each other. It is incredibly simple to dial in a sound you like. How many times have you been in a store & got hot & bothered trying to get a decent sound out of the amp you're trying? Maybe duty/taxes & the exchange rate make the Cornford a little dearer for the USA customers but I can't think of another amp I want over this one for the price I paid for it. It is British EL34ish but with something else thrown in. Anyway, I'm gigging with it & I seem to get a lot of interest from the guitar players out there.
I can't afford a MKII 50W Head at the moment but I'm saving up for one. The Roadhouse hasn't put me off at all. Check one out. You won't be sorry,...unless you're called Mark : )
guitardr
on 09/16/2010 		Everybody is entitled to their own opinion: 'nuff said. With Bogner/Fuchs/Mesa amps in the "toolshed", I had the chance to get a mint RH30 combo this past week. I had a concern about the EL34's in it and got lightning response from Wally @ Cornford USA. Bottom line: knowing it's a single channel amp, no onboard reverb, no loop adjustment - it held it's own & then some. I'll support Brian's side of the issues & say that it straddles Brit/US tones. But I've already found out that it sings/screams at any level, and gets more harmonic/demonic with increased levels. It loves all PU's/pedals and IS touch sensitive & reads a player's touch/volume control quite well. Use of a PCB is NOT an issue with it: my tech took a look and said it was intelligently laid out, E-Z to maintain & service, and that it's tone controls did a nice job. And for those Y-Tube demos, a few were right on the money & helped me make a good choice. It's all in the "ear" of the beholder. Nobody was holding a gun to my head when I got it. Built like a tank & simple to get tasty tones from - quest forth.
Brian
on 08/20/2010 		The harmonic content of this amp is unbelievable. Maybe cornfords just aren't your thing -- I know a few who just can't dig the tone. Cornfords, in a sense, are weird -- they don't sound like anything else. They're not a purely british or american tone. They're a mix, and somehow it results in representing something really unique and different. To me it's unreal, it's the best. To someone else, it's cool, but it's not his thing -- he'd rather just have a Fender Vibrolux and kick on an drive pedal. For you, it's terrible -- you don't like it. That's all it is. You're being incredibly stupid and driving away all the hype this amp deserves. Which I'm sure it still wouldn't get -- $1500 isn't "dirt cheap." You're not gonna be 14 years old and even attempt to ask your mom to drop money like that. Sure, 2.5k-4k is a big difference in price, but that doesn't change that the amp is not some dirt cheap steal. No, it's a real investment in a piece I will keep with me for as long as I live. Which is my opinion -- "Opinions are like assholes. We all have them, and they all stink"
Brian
on 08/20/2010 		Paul Mason, you're an idiot. You must've just listened to those worse then awful demos on youtube, or just have a dud on your hands. That, or you're listening with the price tag, not with your ears. I have this amp. It's the most organic sound i've ever heard on any amp ever. I have not played any of there handwireds, but I listen to guys like greg howe, guthrie govan, richie kotzen, etc. That "cornford" tone is still in this amp, but this amp is much brighter, and in my opinion sounds fatter overall then those amps. Which was the last thing I would expect. (And don't get me wrong, I would kill to have an MK50. or a hellcat. I would just add those two to my arsonel, and not throw out my roadhouse 30 head.) As for "lack of output tube overdrive," my amp definitely sounds better when I put it past from 12 oclock. You must have some crappy old tubes in that thing. This thing's lows are very defining, mids are really the source of that very definable "cornford" quack, and the highs are almost "brittle," in that you smack harder and it breaks up and screams, but holds back when you play smoother. Which brings me to the dynamics and response of this amp -- unbelievable. I can hit any note 4 1/2 million different ways. I could play on a clean setting, and just smack the strings harder to break up. I could play on a drive setting, pick and play very lightly, and it would sound clean. It's above and beyond of any other tube amp I've ever played. This is also why you probably suck -- you probably go balls-out gain and expect this amp to compress and lose that dynamic response that kills your playing, and therefore your tone. But you can't, so you end up sounding like shit. You could play through a roadhouse, a plexi, or even a fender blues jr. -- if you can't play good, you can't sound good. Also, lack of harmonics? That's just stupid. This thing is oozing.
Paul Mason
on 02/07/2010 		Sorry, one more small thing I had to add after going back to some of the other review sites around the net, to see how much interest there has been in this amp all these months after my postings. What I have found consists mainly of: cricket... cricket...cricket... It seems as though this amp is not exactly taking the world by storm.
Paul Mason
on 02/07/2010 		Mr. Mudbone, I submitted an informative review, full of facts and information that I assembled after long, careful research and testing, advising potential fellow musicians out there of the very logical conclusion that there are many amps out there that sound as good or better, for far less money. You submitted a comment full of nothing but personal insults and utterly subjective personal opinions with nothing factual to back up any of it. It's like the old Shakespeare - Methinks the man doth protest too much! I must have touched a nerve. Responses like yours remind me of road rage - Chill out, man! Do some real comparison tests like I did, and you will see what I mean.



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