Kelemen Over-Drive
Many modern amp makers pay homage to the legendary Alexander Dumble by building interpretations of his classic—and virtually unobtainable—combos and heads.
One of Joe Kelemen’s new Prototype Series, the Over-Drive is a single-channel head with a power section that clips at 30 watts. With a footswitchable overdrive boost that kicks in two additional gain stages, the Over-Drive can generate up to 60 watts when fully cranked. Its preamp includes a “D”-style feedback circuit, a full tone stack, a bright switch, and a 3-way mid boost.
Other features include Drive and Level controls, as well as a rear-panel Trim knob that allows you to dial in how hard the clean preamp pushes the overdrive section.
“I use meticulous, old-school, point-to-point internal wiring,” says Kelemen, “and encase the leads in Teflon tubing. With this style of building, the parts themselves connect the circuit. I’ve designed this low-wattage amp to allow guitarists to really push the power tubes on a club stage.”
The amp accepts 6V6s, EL34s, and 6L6s, and to accommodate these different power tubes, users can easily adjust the bias on the rear panel with a 20-turn trimmer and current test points. This Over-Drive sports an optional Triode/Full Power switch.
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