Saturday, December 31, 2011

New from Mission Amps

Bruce Collins at Mission Amps is now shipping some notable new harp amps. They follow the same design philosophy used in my Mission Chicago 32-20 amp (pictured above), but with a few mods.

First of all, the chassis is bigger which allows for beefier 50-watt transformers. The new amps run with slightly higher plate voltages and produce an honest 50 watts of power at clipping.

The amp shipping now is a 3x10 configuration with a Weber 10A125-O speaker on top, an Eminence Lil’ Buddy hemp cone ceramic on the bottom along with a Quam ceramic speaker. I’m told the tone is stunning.

I have not had the chance to play this amp, but I have heard from new owners after they take delivery and gig it. They use superlatives to describe its tone and performance. Here’s a quote:

“The amp is the best and coolest sounding amp I have ever played and I currently have and have had sonny jr's, Harpgear, Clark, Magnatone, Premier's, Hurricane, and some others. They're just not in the same category as this amp!!”

Bruce is shipping the 3x10 and is taking orders on 1x15, 4x10, and 10+12. One well-known pro harp player has ordered a 4x8.

I’ll road-test the amp as soon as I can and review it here. You can contact Bruce at Mission Amps.