FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Why should I consider spending this kind of money to buy an amp from an "unknown" builder?

A: You will get a reliable, well-built amplifier with the exact tone you're looking for.

Q: Why are you still using vacuum tubes in some circuits? Isn't the rest of the world using transistors and op-amps now?

A: Transistors and op-amps are wonderful things indeed. If you use good ones operating in the correct circuits, they have amazingly high slew rates, operate on relatively low voltages, are incredibly reliable when operated within their rated parameters, and produce very low levels of distortion. In hi-fi audio, digital circuits, computers, video circuitry, and just about everything else, transistors are indispensable, doing everything a tube could do and more, and doing it better and more reliably for less money.

The problem is that a guitar amp is not designed to exactly reproduce the output of the guitar. It is just one more step in the production of the tone.

The fact is that the vast majority of the classic recordings that people cite as examples of great guitar tone have been recorded using vacuum-tube amplifiers. There are certain nonlinear characteristics of vacuum tubes that make them sound really good when slightly overdriven, which, believe it or not, happens quite often even on the clean channel of the amplifier. When you pick softly, you may get only ten thousandths of a volt of signal from the guitar. When you attack a chord sharply, you may get a full two volts of signal or more. The tube clips gracefully and recovers, producing the characteristic electric guitar attack at the beginning of the note. Guitarists exploit these dynamic distortion characteristics to create many different colors of tone. A clean Fender Strat sounds just about the same through any absolutely clean amp. Even with equalization, it retains its characteristic sound and attack and decay. When the signal is equalized and run through a couple of overdriven vacuum tube gain stages into a slightly overdriven vacuum tube power amp, it takes on an entirely different sonic signature. Whereas the clean signal was primarily the fundamental, the processed signal is rich in musically related harmonics that give the guitar a richer voice, and the amount of harmonic complexity varies directly with the intensity of the guitarist's attack.

I have no qualms about using transistor and op-amp gain stages in sections of the amplifier where their distortion characteristics do not contribute appreciably to the sound of the amplifier. For example, I have used MOSFETs in a direct-coupled source follower configuration to drive the power tubes in a number of my amplifiers. I have used op-amps and transistors for reverb drive and recovery stages. They work great in effects loops, preamp direct outs, and tremolo oscillator circuits. Why? These stages are not designed to distort. Often, the overall sound of the amp is worsened when these stages do distort.

Q: What's the advantage for having you build me an amplifier when I can get a tube amp with overdrive and reverb from Fender, Traynor, Marshall, or Crate for a whole lot less?

A: When you buy a mass-produced amplifier, you’re buying a product designed to appeal to the widest possible audience.  That means that it will sound fairly good for a wide range of players, styles, and abilities.  They want as many people as possible to try out the amp in the music store, think “this sounds good,” and buy it.  For most people, amps like these are perfectly adequate.

The difference is that I can custom-build you an amp that is designed to sound good with your particular playing style and gear setup. Want a killer blues amp? I can do it. Want the baddest Marshall you've ever heard? I can do it. Want a bass preamp that's thick yet articulate? I can do it. If you find a production amp that's everything that you want it to be, great! If you try everything you can find but you still haven't found what you want (or you've found your tone and it's way out of your price range), come see me.

In addition, there is a difference in construction. My amps are wired point-to-point, so if a part fails, it’s very easy to repair.  If a part fails on a printed circuit board, it can be much more difficult to repair, especially if the board itself has been damaged.  (There are ways of using printed circuit boards that are as reliable as point-to-point wiring, where the tubes and controls are panel-mounted and wired to the board, but the vast majority of inexpensive tube amplifiers don’t do it this way, and this method isn't well suited to the one-off custom amps I build.)

There’s also a difference in the quality of parts.  I pick the part that will work the best, then find the best price for that part.  A mass manufacturer may pick the cheapest way of doing something, even if it’s not necessarily the best, because a small savings in parts on each amp will add up to a large savings for a production run of thousands of units.

Q: I’m looking at comparable "boutique" amps that cost significantly more than what you're selling.  How do you manage to keep your prices down?

A: I charge a fair price for what I sell. I don't pay extra for "buzzword" components with no benefit in tone or reliability. I don't yet have the name recognition that would allow me to sell amplifiers on name alone.

Q: How reliable are your amplifiers?

A: My amplifiers are built to be rugged.  I use a beefy aluminum chassis, 1/8” G10-FR4 garolite circuit boards, and high-quality components.  In addition, my amplifiers are designed so that all components operate within their rated limits, even when running the amplifier “full out.”

Q: If my amplifier breaks, do I have to return it to you to have it serviced?

A: No.  I will gladly send a schematic to your tech.  Shelton Amplifiers are serviceable by any qualified amplifier technician.  No components are hidden or potted in epoxy.

Q: Are your amps direct copies of anything?

A: Building an amp is like cooking. You can follow the recipe and end up with something time-tested and great, you can change a few things and end up with a classic dish with a twist, or you can mix together some ingredients and come up with something else entirely. I can do all three.

Q: I’m in the Durham area, and I would like to have my amp custom-voiced to match my guitar, playing technique, and speaker cabinet.  Can you do this?

A: Probably.  Drop me an email.

Q: Do you use any proprietary parts?

A: No.  All of the parts used in Shelton Amplifiers are standard parts, so if they ever fail, they can be easily replaced.

Q: Can I get one of your amplifiers as a combo?

A: Yes, but the price will be significantly higher. 

In general, I have found that reliability and tone are better with the amp and cabinet separate, because the vibrations from the cabinet are more isolated from the components of the amplifier.

Q: Can you build me an amp with 100 watts instead of 50?

A: Yes, for an additional fee.  In addition, I can install a switch that switches between four tubes (100W) and two tubes (50W).

Keep in mind that one hundred watts is a lot of power. It will be too loud on all but the largest stages, and you won't usually get to open up the amp to where it really sings. Fifty watts is usually more than enough for any situation you will encounter.

Q: What speaker cabinet would you suggest for use with this amp?

A: I like small 1x12 or 2x12 ported cabinets because they are easy to transport, and they have a balanced sound with plenty of bass.  Mesa-Boogie makes 1x12 cabinets like these.

Q: I have questions about your amps that aren’t answered on this page.

A: Send me an email or give me a call.