It’s a beautifully built box too. The Buffalo FX Ram’s Head uses the same enclosure as Painter’s last fuzz, the Germanium. It’s taller than most pedals, which may take some getting used to. One reason for the unusual enclosure is a quick-release 9-volt battery drawer, which might remind Muff fanatics of Pete Cornish’s famous clones. No need to fuss with wires or connectors—just slide the battery into place. (You can also power the pedal with a center-negative 9-volt barrel adaptor.)
The straightforward controls mirror the original: sustain, level, and tone. Input and output jacks are at the crown of the box, and there’s a small blue power indicator LED next to the footswitch.
Ratings
Pros:
Excellent Muff-style leads with extra midrange to cut through the mix.
Cons:
Enclosure can be a bit awkward/blocky on a crowded pedalboard.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$205
Buffalo FX Ram's Head
buffalofx.com
Stepping Out of the Shadows Because the original Ram’s Head is so closely associated with David Gilmour’s tones from Animals and The Wall, I hooked up a Stratocaster and an Orange OR50 with EL34s to approximate Gilmour’s classic rig. Running a clean output on the amp, I engaged the Ram’s Head with sustain maxed. This setting was a bit aggressive for most of Gilmour’s leads, but dialing back the gain to 3 o’clock let me nail the sustained bends from “Dogs.” However, the maximum-sustain setting proved excellent for mining Tony Iommi’s Vol. 4 lead tones, especially after adding a slight tone bump and switching to a Les Paul with humbuckers. The extra dirt lends a gritty bite to metal-tinged solos without inducing overwhelming feedback.
In a full-band setting, the Buffalo was a revelation. You sometimes need an extra overdrive or EQ pedal to make a Muff heard within a raging band, but not with the Ram’s Head. Painter’s tweaks provide a hot edge that cuts through dense band arrangements with output to spare. Even paired with a dark, reverb-drenched Fender Twin Reverb, the Ram’s Head easily finds a toehold for lead work or rhythm riffing. I performed an A/B test between the Buffalo and several other Muff-style pedals lurking around my rehearsal space, and the advantages of Painter’s mods shone brightly. The Buffalo usually sounded slightly cleaner, with greater midrange clarity.
The Verdict This is the second Buffalo FX fuzz box I’ve reviewed, and my expectations were high. Steve Painter hand-wires, assembles, tests and screen-prints each box, and his dedication shows. The Buffalo FX Ram’s Head’s added midrange presence increases the circuit’s versatility without sacrificing the power you want from a Muff. It’s equally happy with single-coils and humbuckers, and sounds great through both American- and British-style amps. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a rig this Ram’s Head won’t work with.
Many amp aficionados realize that silverface Fenders retained many blackface characteristics and components well into the ’70s. Yet many regard 1968’s newfangled silverfaces as symbols of CBS’s stranglehold on the company Leo built. Soon players were pining for those glorious blackfaces, even modifying their silverfaces to sound like them. Today’s boutique builders still regard blackfaces as some of the most inspirational amps ever as they seek to match or, dare I say, better those legendary tones.
Ben Fargen’s superb Marshall plexi and Vox AC clones are already minor legends in boutique circles. Meanwhile, his Blackbird VS2, as its name suggests, draws inspiration from Fender’s blackface era. Loaded with 6L6s, pushing 40 watts, and boasting a bright switch between the input and the controls, this amp has much in common with the rare Vibroverb. It’s an amazing platform for pedal-heavy rigs.
Outwardly Elsewhere
The Blackbird’s cosmetics don’t shout “Fender” (apart from the black color). The simple controls offers easy access to volume, reverb, treble, mid, and bass knobs. If you roll any tone control completely to the left, it’s off, and the amp won’t pass any signal. This means there’s a truly additive feel as you move each knob to the right, providing plenty of tonal variation.
A peek inside reveals clean, point-to-point wiring, Mercury Magnetics transformers, and other quality components mounted to a stout chassis. The back panel offers an effects loop and extension cab outs. Ultimately, the signal finds its way to a 12” Warehouse speaker. At 35 pounds, the Blackbird isn’t terribly heavy for a 40-watter.
Clear Overhead, Fire Below
It only takes a few minutes of playing to recognize the familiar glassy tones of Fender’s mid-’60s period. With every knob at 12 o’clock, I plugged in an SG Classic loaded with P-90s and banged out some barre chords. At this volume level the amp was tight and responsive with a little natural compression. The output perched on the verge of distortion, even when played hard. Single-note runs generated nice harmonics and sustain. Moving closer to the amp yielded more sustain without rolling over into feedback. Things definitively got distorted when I increased the volume to about 2 o’clock—sustained single notes crossed over into singing, musical feedback. This is arguably the amp’s sweet spot.
It’s also very stompbox-friendly at these settings. For fuzz, I tried a Tone Bender Mk II clone. This circuit can lack clarity with some amps, but that wasn’t the case with the Blackbird. I could even get a great rhythm sound with this high-gain pedal. Next I pushed the envelope with a Death By Audio Interstellar Overdriver at its most over-the-top setting, achieving tones bordering on sludge. But backing off a bit on the Overdriver settings produced heavy rock sounds that would have made Blue Cheer jealous. You might initially look to the Blackbird for clean tones, but the amp excels with a good fuzz or aggressive overdrive.
The Fargen also sounds great with subtler overdrive. Thanks to the amp’s pedal-friendly headroom, boosters tend to push the tubes and add grit more than they increase volume. My favorite setup was a stock DOD 250 Overdrive and a Telecaster loaded with single-coils. As I moved the guitar’s volume knob, the amp transitioned smoothly from clean to gritty, never sounding harsh.
The Blackbird’s bright switch is very subtle when using just a guitar and amp, but it makes a massive difference with distortion pedals. With the bright switch on, the Tone Bender added more of a fizzy, acid rock sound. Meanwhile, the DOD 250 became an even better lead boost, and a Boss Blues Driver went from serviceable to special-sounding. The bright switch can definitely expand your pedalboard’s palette.
Effective low-mids can be a challenge with many amps, but the Blackbird’s mid control let me dial in thick, defined tones with no woolliness. As with the vintage Fenders that inspired it, it’s easy to call up great tones with the Blackbird.
However, the reverb was almost too mellow for my tastes. Oh, it sounds fabulous— warm, rich and spacious. But when dimed it adds about as much depth as a vintage unit in the lower half of its range. No matter how hard I played, I couldn’t excite the springs, or introduce any snap. It’s excellent for light ambience, but surf rockers may need to dust off their old Fender outboard tanks.
Ratings
Pros: Simple to use. Almost impossible to get a bad sound. Fully captures the blackface spirit.
Cons: Could use a wetter reverb.
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$2,250 (head) / $2,650 (combo)
fargenamps.com
No surprise that the Fargen sounds great in the studio. It’s also a stunner for small club shows. I sometimes play with the quirky Durham, N.C., pop group Organos, whose guitar parts range from delicate lines to slashing, Pixies-style leads. Paired with my trusty Jazzmaster, the Fargen sat beautifully in the mix, but was willing and able to stand out when it needed to. As with many open-back amps, the sound spread was excellent, filling the room.
The next night I sat in with psych-rock warriors Prisms for a set heavy with fuzz, delay, reverb, phase, flange, and just about everything in the time-based-effect playbook.
Through it all, the Blackbird remained focused and clear. I was most impressed by how well the Blackbird took repeat-percussion-style tremolo, which can lose its aggressive chop when used with a cranked, but less responsive, amp. Such issues don’t plague the Fargen.
The Verdict
In both studio and live settings the Blackbird delivered the goods. Amps of this quality have many admirers, but they can be expensive. But it’s worth noting that a ’67 Deluxe retailed for almost $300 in its day—almost $2,000 in today’s dollars. Meanwhile, a vintage Vibroverb in decent shape will set you back at least $4,000. I’d venture to say that considerably more care went into building the Fargen. This amp should sound and look great 50 years from now, just as many of our beloved blackfaces do today.
One respected company that’s diving into this sort of bass gear is North Carolina-based Port City Amplification. Builder Daniel Klein’s Wave guitar cabinets are on the road with the likes of Keith Urban, Greg Howe, and David Ryan Harris (John Mayer band), and his boutique amps are gaining ground, too. Klein also makes Wave cabinets for bass, and he has just added the Orleans preamp to his growing line of bass products.
Straight, No Chaser
The handwired Orleans is a no-nonsense preamp without the compressors, DIs, flashing lights, effects, and other bells and whistles we’re accustomed to seeing in a lot of bass gear these days. This fact—along with the Orleans’ minimalist aesthetics—will initially be seen as a shortcoming to some bassists, but a breath of fresh air to others.
The Port City’s solid-aluminum chassis helps keep the preamp light—4 pounds—which is a good thing, since you’ll also be using an external power amp. The front panel has a vintage feel with its pie-piece knobs for controlling the volume, 3-band EQ, and master volume. The Orleans’ back panel is about as simple as it gets: The aluminum plate anchors a hardwired power cable, a fuse receptacle, and a single, unlabeled output jack.
Dance with Me
To test the Orleans, I paired it with a QSC QX3 power amp and an Eden 115XLT cabinet. My test basses were a Sandberg California TM with active electronics, and a passive ’75 Fender P. The Port City’s simple layout and clear-cut controls make it very easy to navigate, so dialing in the Orleans was not difficult at all. I set the EQ at 12 o’clock across the board and was immediately enveloped in warm low end with a bit of midrange bark—a great ’70s punk tone. When I backed off the mids and ever so slightly decreased the treble and bass, the Orleans gave me a vintage fliptop-type tone that made my P bass sound very much at home—it was a sound I would really dig for studio work.
When I initially flipped the thick toggle, I wasn’t very happy with result—my bass suddenly sounded muddy. The thick switch doesn’t behave like a typical exciter, where you set your tone and then thicken it with the exciter circuit afterwards. With the Orleans, I found that you have to think of the thick switch as another part of the EQ and carefully adjust the knobs to complement it. Once I rolled off the bass a little and a dialed in a slight mid boost, the Orleans took a new liking to my P, making it sound even more like they were made for each other. I preferred playing the P without thick engaged, however, because it allowed the bass’ nuances to shine brighter.
Ratings
Pros: Variety of studio-quality tones—from vintage to modern.
Cons: Pricey. Lacks features many players are accustomed to finding in other similar gear.
Tones:
Playability/Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street: $1,299
portcityamps.com
One of the things I liked most about how the Orleans sounded with my ’75 Precision was how it seemed to add 10 years to its lifespan, giving it a truly vintage sound. I wouldn’t necessarily call the Orleans a miracle worker, but if you have a bass that needs a little help, this preamp will color it up very well.
Next I tried the Orleans with my active-pickup Sandberg—again starting with the Orleans’ controls at noon—and the amp handled everything I threw at it. The tone was mostly accurate, although slightly pointed. With the active bass, the amp seemed to react better with the thick switch engaged, enhancing the active tone enough to delight any slap player. The preamp stayed even and true, even when I dug in hard at high volumes, and only broke up when I dimed the volume and lowered the master.
The Verdict
With their first entry into the realm of bass preamps, Port City has produced a well-constructed unit with a straightforward approach. It sounded equally impressive with both passive and active basses, too, yielding everything from warm, vintage-flavors with my Fender P bass to taut, powerful slap tones with my Sandberg. With its spartan features, the Orleans isn’t for everyone—but Port City isn’t building it for the masses, either. This boutique, handwired preamp is sonically rich and will fit in with just about any genre of music, so it is going to appeal to some serious tone hounds out there. The price is certainly boutique, but if you’re passionate about your sound and prefer separate amp-and-preamp rigs, there’s a solid case to be made for reaching past the ordinary and making a visit to Port City.