TONEFEST'03 Results!

Report from a Plexi Palace thread (now gone). Out of 33 amps, the JMI Defiant came 4th overall, pipped only by two early AC30s, and a Matchless 45.

See further below for a recent sound clip of a JMI Defiant on youtube.

THE REPORT

"Read em here! It was a fun time for all, and it's great to see some new faces every year. We managed to review almost 35 amps, but we didn't make it to the 100 watt amps! We ran out of time. That's okay though, we all know those 100 watt Marshalls of Patrick's are the shizzit! Also, we didn't have any boutique 100 watters."

"I'll let other participants post thier own comments, but I'll mention some of my favorites and surprises."

"Kenny Bay's (tube) Vox Berkeley amp, really sweet! It does a really great clean, has a nice trem, and I really liked the reverb. It's more of a hall reverb sound. It was nice to meet Kenny and his son."

"Moxon knows Distortion! Shea Moxon's 18watt inspired amps bring the RAWK! Crunchy and clear, full of harmonics and no mud. The new belle of the ball, the Moxon BGC, a 1x12 combo that looks like an antique radio, and sports the appropriate wooden control knobs. Turn the volume up and hear it roar!"

"The D-C amps are an audio treat. No surprise that the new 45/50 scored so well, they sound like a Marshall should, and have a good deal of flexibility with ss/tube rect switch, differently voice inputs, and a half power switch."

"The %13 amp offers one of the nicest, sweetest clean tones I ever heard."

"My own '67 JMI Vox Defiant head. Surprised a lot of people. Vox knew how to do ss in the Conqueror/Defiant/Supreme series!"

"The Adam Stark Fireamp is supernice amp. It has one of the nicest OD 6L6 sounds I've ever heard."

"But no surprise was it that once again AC30s rule. Nick takes the no-prize with the top two amps."

"Biggest disappointment? The Komet Constellations. we had two, one white and one red. I found them brash and heard lots of crossover distortion."

"So without further ado, from the firm of Dewey Cheat'em & Howe, here are the numbers. Rankings by CLEAN, OVERDRIVEN, and OVERALL."

CLEAN SCORES

OVERDRIVEN
  • 1) Nick's Fawn '62 AC30 8.86
  • 2) Kenny Bay's Vox Berkeley 8.73
  • 3) Nick's Fawn recover '63 AC30 8.51
  • 4) Darren's '67 JMI Vox Defiant 8.44
  • 5) %13 8.31
  • 6) Adam Stark Fireamp 8.06
  • 7) Scott's '59 Bassman 8.05
  • 8) D-C 45/50 8.01
  • 9) Shea Moxon Tweed Twin 7.98
  • 10 )Wallace JTM45 clone 7.97
  • 11) Darren's Bluesbreaker Head 7.95
  • 12) Carr Slant 6V 7.93
  • 13 )Nick's AC30 head 7.85
  • 14) Matt Tucker 50W clone 7.83
  • 15) Scott's '60 Deluxe 7.8
  • 16) D-C 20 7.6
  • 17) Nick's '69 Plexi JMP50 7.54
  • 18) Terry Young's '69 JMP Trem 7.5
  • 19) Scott's Angry AC30 7.46
  • 20 )Shea's SF Twin Reverb 7.45
  • 21) Moxon Darren Mod 7.43
  • 22) Nick's Selmer T/B 7.42
  • 23) Shea Moxon BGC (combo) 7.33
  • 24) Komet Constellation/White 7.29
  • 25) Mad Music '68 Bassman 7.25
  • 26) Alessandro Redbone 7.21
  • 27) Moxon model 3 6.89
  • 28) Dr Z Rx 6.81
  • 29) Germino Masonette 6.43
  • 30) Blankenship 18watt 5.98
  • 31) 2 Rock Custom 5.78
  • 32) Komet Constellation/Purple 5.56
  • 33) GDS Combo 5.39
  • 1) Scott's Angry AC30 9.39
  • 2) D-C 45/50 9.14
  • 3) Moxon BGC (combo) 9.04
  • 4) Nick's Fawn recover '63 AC30 9.00
  • 5) Nick's Fawn '62 AC30 8.88
  • 6) Adam Stark Fireamp 8.83
  • 7) Nick's '69 Plexi JMP50 8.79
  • 8) Wallace JTM45 clone 8.72
  • 9) Shea Moxon Tweed Twin 8.65
  • 10) D-C 20 8.62
  • 11) Scott's '59 Bassman 8.61
  • 12) Nicks' AC30 head 8.6
  • 13) Darren's '67 JMI Vox Defiant 8.6
  • 14) Matt Tucker 50W clone 8.57
  • 15) Moxon Darren Mod 8.54
  • 16) Darren's Bluesbreaker Head 8.5
  • 17) Moxon model 3 8.36
  • 18) Mad Music '68 Bassman 8.35
  • 19) Germino Masonette 8.26
  • 20) Nick's Selmer T/B 8.17
  • 21) Scott's '60 Deluxe 8.04
  • 22) Alessandro Redbone 7.91
  • 23) Kenny Bay's Vox Berkeley 7.89
  • 24) Terry Young's '69 JMP Trem 7.78
  • 25) Shea's SF Twin Reverb 7.75
  • 26) 2 Rock Custom 7.57
  • 27) Komet Constellation/White 7.38
  • 28) Carr Slant 6V 7.34
  • 29) Dr Z Rx 7.19
  • 30) Blankenship 18watt 7.14
  • 31) %13 7.06
  • 32) Komet Constellation/Purple 6.29
  • 33) GDS Combo 5.79

OVERALL SCORE
  • 1) Nick's Fawn '62 AC30 8.90
  • 2) Nick's Fawn recover '63 AC30 8.77
  • 3) D-C 45/50 8.69
  • 4) Darren's '67 JMI Vox Defiant 8.56
  • 5) Adam Stark Fireamp 8.47
  • 6) Scott's "Angry" AC30 8.41
  • 7) Moxon BGC (combo) 8.40
  • 8) Shea Moxon Tweed Twin 8.38
  • 9) Wallace JTM45 clone 8.37
  • 10)Scott's '59 Bassman 8.32
  • 11) Darren's Bluesbreaker Head 8.31
  • 12) AC30 head Nick 8.26
  • 13) Matt Tucker 50W clone 8.24
  • 14 )Kenny Bay's Vox Berkeley 8.24
  • 15) Nick's '69 Plexi JMP50 8.19
  • 16) D-C 20 8.14
  • 17) Moxon 18W (Darren Mod) 8.12
  • 18) Scott's '60 Deluxe 7.95
  • 19) Nick's Selmer T/B 7.88
  • 20 )Mad Music '68 Bassman 7.87
  • 21) Moxon 18W Model 3 7.74
  • 22) %13 7.70
  • 23) Shea's SF Twin Reverb 7.67
  • 24) Terry Young's '69 JMP Trem 7.64
  • 25) F King's Alessandro Redbone 7.62
  • 26) Carr Slant 6V 7.61
  • 27) Germino Masonette 7.42
  • 28) Komet Constellation/White 7.33
  • 29 )Dr Z Rx 7.00
  • 30) 2 Rock Custom 6.69
  • 31) Blankenship 18watt 6.55
  • 32) Komet Constellation/Purple 6.00
  • 33) GDS Combo 5.59

Youtube sound clip of a JMI Defiant