Can you have EL84 sparkle and bounteous bottom?
But despite its classic status, the nearly 60-year-old design is ripe for modifications that make it more suitable for modern players, styles, and gigs. That thinking has spawned many modern AC15 spinoffs, and Two-Rock’s Cardiff combo is one of the most inspiring offspring to date.
Retro Be Damned
Cardiff is available in a $1,595 head-only version, but we reviewed the newer $1,895 1x12 combo. Most previous Two-Rock models are descended from the Fender family tree, so the Cardiffs represent Two-Rock’s first foray into EL84 territory. The EL84 was the ubiquitous Vox power tube until the company lost the thread in the late 1960s with their widely reviled solid-state amps.
Cardiff makes no nods to vintage cosmetics. The single-channel amp is a utilitarian gray box with a front panel consisting of one input, four knobs, and a power switch. It’s minimal around back, too, with only speaker outs and a simple passive effects loop. A passive loop works fine for patching in a delay or reverb pedal, but it’s probably not a good idea to run an entire pedal chain through one.
Flashy, Cardiff ain’t. But the hardware and construction are superb. The cabinet is stout, solid wood. The control panel is slightly recessed, shielding the chicken-head knobs from damage. The compact chassis is tucked in tightly above the Two-Rock-branded 12" speaker. The cabinet is open-backed, but a rear panel with a circular cutout protects the tubes without blocking access to them. No gear is indestructible, but this is probably about as close as tube combos get.
Pretty on the Inside
Cardiff’s circuitry is a thing of beauty. It’s true point-to-point wiring with no circuit board or turret board—just a few bits of terminal strip. The wire routing is immaculate, with perfectly braided cables and a clean, almost geometric layout. Wires are secured in places with glue. If you’re accustomed to poking around inside amps, your first thoughts are likely to be, “Wow, they knew what they were doing” and “I bet this sounds great!”
And guess what? You’d be right.
Sizzle, Meet Thump
At risk of oversimplifying, the Cardiff sound combines the qualities players tend to love about AC15s, minus other traits sometimes viewed as drawbacks. You get the crackling high-end excitement of a vintage Vox, but with loftier headroom. And while old AC15s can be anemic on the low end, Cardiff is a bottom-end beast.
Ratings
Pros:
Electrifying Vox-style treble. Remarkably solid lows. Versatile contour control. Superb construction. Point-to-point wiring. Passive effects loop.
Cons:
No reverb, tremolo, or master volume.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$1,895
Two-Rock Cardiff Combo
two-rock.com
Cardiff blasts an uncommonly loud 15 watts. There might not be quite enough power for un-mic'd club gigs with a heavy drummer, but chances are you’ll be surprised by this small amp’s sheer muscle. And, of course, the ultra-present highs also help Cardiff cut through a mix.
Contoured Colors
The ranges of the bass and treble controls are carefully manicured, and perfect for reigning in reckless highs, pumping up the thump, or dialing back lows to remove mud. There’s also a second layer of tone control: Cardiff’s clever contour knob, which is a wide-frequency sweep control.
The contour control provides flat response at its 12 o’clock setting. Right of noon, it emphasizes highs while dialing back lows. Left of noon, it does the opposite. You can almost think of it as a far subtler version of the single-knob tone control on a Big Muff fuzz. Two-Rock suggests using contour to adapt to varying instruments and rooms without adjusting the preamp-stage treble and bass controls, but it works the other way around too. Between these interactive tone stages, it’s easy to dial in the desired sweet spot. Contour is far more versatile than the single-knob low-pass filters on, say, small Fender tweed combos.
The Verdict
Cardiff is simple but deadly. It nails the joyous high-end anarchy of a classic EL84 amp, but with the sort of low-end response you associate with large Fender combos. Granted, $1,895may seem steep for a small single-channel combo devoid of flashy features. But between its redoubtable cabinetry and immaculate point-to-point wiring, Cardiff promises to perform well for a long, long time. The simple controls are far more versatile then they might first appear. I’ve you’ve ever wished for an amp with the finger-in-socket energy of a classic British combo, but with tighter and tougher lows, you should definitely audition this “Welsh” wonder.
Watch the Review Demo:
This reader solicited the help of his friend, luthier Dale Nielsen, to design the perfect guitar as a 40th-birthday gift to himself.
This is really about a guy in northern Minnesota named Dale Nielsen, who I met when I moved up there in 2008 and needed somebody to reglue the bridge on my beloved first guitar (a 1992 Charvel 625c, plywood special). Dale is a luthier in his spare time—a Fender certified, maker of jazz boxes.
Anyway, we became friends and I started working on him pretty early—my 40th birthday was approaching, and that meant it was time for us to start designing his first solidbody build. If you stopped on this page, it’s because the photo of the finished product caught your eye. Beautiful, right? The 2018 CCL Deco Custom: Never shall there be another.
Old National Glenwood guitars were my design inspiration, but I wanted a slim waist like a PRS and the like. We used a solid block of korina to start, routed like MacGyver to get the knobs and switches where I wanted them. Dale builds all his own lathes and machines (usually out of lumber, y’all), as the task requires. This beast took some creativity—it’s tight wiring under that custom-steel pickguard. Many were the preliminary sketches. Four coats of Pelham blue, 11 coats of nitro. Honduran mahogany neck, Madagascar ebony fretboard with Dale’s signature not-quite-Super-400 inlays. He designed the logo; I just said, “Make it art deco.”
We sourced all the bits and bobs from StewMac and Allparts and Reverb and the like, mostly to get that chrome look I so adore. Graph Tech Ratio tuners, Duesenberg Radiator trem (had to order that one from Germany), TonePros TP6R-C roller bridge. The pickups were a genius suggestion from the builder, Guitarfetish plug ’n’ play 1/8" solderless swappable, which means I have about 10 pickups in the case to choose from: rockabilly to metal. And both slots are tapped, with the tone knobs serving as single- to double-coil switches. I put the selector on the lower horn to accommodate my tendency to accidentally flip the thing on Les Pauls—definite lifesaver.
Reader and guitar enthusiast, Cody Lindsey.
Dale offered to chamber this monster, but I said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It weighs in at 11 pounds, if it’s an ounce. We carved the neck to match a ’60s SG, so it’s like the mini bat you get at the ballpark on little kids’ day. Easy peasy. 1 11/16" nut, 25" scale, jumbo frets, just 2 1/8" at the 12th fret.
Delivery in its lovely, hygrometer-equipped Cedar Creek case actually happened a month or two shy of my 41st, but hey, you can’t rush these things. We ended up with a studio Swiss Army knife; it does a bit of everything and does it effortlessly. A looker, too. Dale didn’t spend his career doing this kind of thing—he was in IT or some such—and I imagine he’s winding this “hobby” of his down these days, enjoying retirement with a bottle of Killian’s and a lawn chair at Duluth Blues Fest. But this guitar will live on as a marker of his skill and otherworldly patience. It sits at the head of the class in my practice room, welcoming any visitors and bringing a smile to my face every day. And Dale, my friend, I’ll be 50 before you know it....
Cody requested that Dale design an art deco logo for the guitar’s headstock.
Tailored for Yngwie Malmsteen's signature sound, the MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive is designd to offer simple controls for maximum impact.
Working closely alongside Yngwie, the MXR design team created a circuit that delivers clarity, expressive dynamics, and rich harmonics—all perfectly tailored for his light-speed arpeggios, expressive vibrato, and big, bold riffs. The control setup is simple, with just Level and Gain knobs.
"Want to sound like Yngwie? Crank both knobs to the max."
“This pedal is the culmination of 45+ years developing a sound that’s perfect in every possible way,” Yngwie says. “I present to you: the MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive. Prepare to be amazed.”
MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive highlights:
- Perfectly tailored for Yngwie Malmsteen's signature sound and style
- Simple control setup tuned for maximum impact
- Boost every nuance with superior clarity, expressive dynamics, and rich harmonics
- Dig into light-speed arpeggios, expressive vibrato, and big, bold riffs
The MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive is available now at $129.99 street/$185.70 MSRP from your favorite retailer.
For more information, please visit jimdunlop.com.
Voltage Cable Company's new Voltage Vintage Coil 30-foot guitar cable is now protected with ISO-COAT technology to provide unsurpassed reliability.
The new coiled cables are available in four eye-grabbing retro colors – Surf Green, Electric Blue, Orange and Caramel – as well as three standard colors: Black, White and Red. There is also a CME exclusive “Chicago Cream” color on the way.
Guitarists can choose between three different connector configurations: straight/straight plugs, right angle/straight and right angle/right angle options.
The Voltage Vintage Coil offers superior sound quality and durability thanks to ISO-COAT treatment, a patent-pending hermetic seal applied to solder terminations. This first-of-its-kind airtight seal prevents corrosion and oxidization, a known factor in cable failure and degradation. ISO-COAT protected cables are for guitarists who value genuine lifetime durability and consistent tone throughout their career on stage and in the studio.
Voltage cables are hand made by qualified technical engineers using the finest components available and come with a lifetime warranty.
Voltage Vintage Coil features include:
- Lifetime guarantee, 1000+ gig durability
- ISO-COAT treatment - corrosion & oxidization resistant cable internals
- Strengthened structural integrity of solder terminations
Voltage Vintage Coils carry $89.00 USD pricing each and are available online at voltagecableco.com, as well as in select guitar stores in North America, Australia, Thailand, UK, Belgium and China.
About Voltage Cable: Established in 2021, Voltage Cable Co. is a family owned and operated guitar cable company based in Sydney, Australia. All their cables are designed to be played, and built for a lifetime. The company’s ISO-COAT is a patent pending hermetic seal applied to solder terminations.
Featuring dual-engine processing, dynamic room modeling, and classic mic/speaker pairings, this pedal delivers complete album-ready tones for rock and metal players.
Built on powerful dual‑engine processing and world‑class UAD modeling, ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp gives guitarists the unmistakable sound of an original "block letter" Peavey 5150 amplifier* – the notorious 120‑watt tube amp monster that fueled more than three decades of modern metal music, from Thrash and Death Metal, to Grunge, Black Metal, and more.
"With UAFX Dream, Ruby, Woodrow, and Lion amp emulators, we recreated four of the most famous guitar amps ever made," says UA Sr. Product Manager Tore Mogensen. "Now with ANTI, we're giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of this punishing high gain amp – with the exact mic/speaker pairings and boost/noise gate effects that were responsible for some of the most groundbreaking modern metal tones ever captured."
Key Features:
- A complete emulation of the early '90s 120‑watt tone monster that defined new genres of modern metal
- Powerful UAFX dual-engine delivers the most authentic emulation of the amp ever placed in a stompbox
- Complete album‑ready sounds with built‑in noise gate, TS‑style overdrive, and TC‑style preamp boost
- Groundbreaking Dynamic Room Modeling derived from UA's award-winning OX Amp Top Box
- Six classic mic/speaker pairings used on decades of iconic metal and hard rock records
- Professional presets designed by the guitarists of Tetrarch, Jeff Loomis, and The Black Dahlia Murder
- UAFX mobile app lets you access hidden amp tweaks and mods, choose overdrive/boost, tweak noise gate, recall and archive your presets, download artist presets, and more
- Timeless UA design and craftsmanship, built to last decades
For more information, please visit uaudio.com.