• From: Frederick County, MD
  • Registered: 2006-04-21
  • Posts: 857

Topic: Ceriatone Creme Brulee' - any experiences?

Hey all...I play guitar in a blues & classic rock band and have been looking for a low-wattage amp that will play clean rhythm at a decent volume but be able to roll up into a decent blues lead tone using only the volume control, and without dropping 2-3K on a name-brand boutique maker.

A local ad on Craigslist has a Ceriatone Creme Brulee available, built by Nik and with a rough-looking but functional head cab, at a reasonable price-point.  There aren't a lot of quality YouTube vids and very few reviews.   I know quite a few of y'all have Ceriatone products and love 'em, but I'd appreciate any feedback anyone has about this particular model.

Thanks in advance.

CarljMD

Takers get the honey, givers sing the blues
  • Nairbr
  • Nairbr
  • Silver Member
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  • From: Perth, Western Australia
  • Registered: 2009-10-25
  • Posts: 53

Re: Ceriatone Creme Brulee' - any experiences?

CarljMD wrote:

Hey all...I play guitar in a blues & classic rock band and have been looking for a low-wattage amp that will play clean rhythm at a decent volume but be able to roll up into a decent blues lead tone using only the volume control, and without dropping 2-3K on a name-brand boutique maker.

A local ad on Craigslist has a Ceriatone Creme Brulee available, built by Nik and with a rough-looking but functional head cab, at a reasonable price-point.  There aren't a lot of quality YouTube vids and very few reviews.   I know quite a few of y'all have Ceriatone products and love 'em, but I'd appreciate any feedback anyone has about this particular model.

Thanks in advance.

CarljMD

I dont have any experience with the Creme Brulee but I have 2 Ceriatone Amps  (50watt HRM built by Nik and a 30watt Stray Cat built by myself) but speaking from my experience with Ceriatone Amps, they are well made and use good quaility parts and Nik's service is second to none.

As long as that particular amp has been looked after and not faulty and hasn't had any dodgy mods done to it, I would say go for it.

GUITARS - Les Paul R9 VOS Cherryburst, Les Paul Traditional, Fender Rory Gallagher Tribute Strat, Fender CS 40th Anniversary Strat.
AMPS - Ceriatone 50w ODS HRM, Ceriatone 30w Stray Cat
EFFECTS - TC Electronics GMajor, T Rex Spin Doctor, Univibe
  • Registered: 2010-02-01
  • Posts: 175

Re: Ceriatone Creme Brulee' - any experiences?

Creme Brulee is Nik's Vox AC clone ..it sounds like a hand wired Vox AC and if that's your thing you'll love it.

I've got one of Nik's Trainwreck clones and I cannot speak highly enough about the quality of the build, the sound and service !!

  • From: York, PA
  • Registered: 2010-08-27
  • Posts: 1,749

Re: Ceriatone Creme Brulee' - any experiences?

Or you could go for the Marshall Plexi Reissue 50w head on Balt CL.  I looked up the ad you're posting about, and you're right: it's not too easy on the eyes!  -S

  • Nairbr
  • Nairbr
  • Silver Member
  • Offline
  • From: Perth, Western Australia
  • Registered: 2009-10-25
  • Posts: 53

Re: Ceriatone Creme Brulee' - any experiences?

I had a look too, asking a bit much for it.

They are US$600 new fully assembled with a Ceriatone head cab.
Shipping costs with Ceriatone to the U.S. have nearly halved recentlly.

The only downside to buying new is the 6 week wait for Nik to build you one.

GUITARS - Les Paul R9 VOS Cherryburst, Les Paul Traditional, Fender Rory Gallagher Tribute Strat, Fender CS 40th Anniversary Strat.
AMPS - Ceriatone 50w ODS HRM, Ceriatone 30w Stray Cat
EFFECTS - TC Electronics GMajor, T Rex Spin Doctor, Univibe

6 Reply by CarljMD (edited by CarljMD 2011-02-14 00:11:12)

  • From: Frederick County, MD
  • Registered: 2006-04-21
  • Posts: 857

Re: Ceriatone Creme Brulee' - any experiences?

Nairbr wrote:

I had a look too, asking a bit much for it.

They are US$600 new fully assembled with a Ceriatone head cab.
Shipping costs with Ceriatone to the U.S. have nearly halved recentlly.

The only downside to buying new is the 6 week wait for Nik to build you one.

Thanks to all for your input -

Nairbr - I thought it might be a little high, too, considering that the 2-3 grand amps are going for roughly half of new prices.  Do you know if they've updated the shipping cost matrix recently, because it looks like it'd cost around $125 to ship it fully assembled in the head cab.

As it turns out, a particularly expensive trip to the auto mechanic has likely put this purchase out of reach for the moment.  Again, thanks to all for the input.

CarljMD

Takers get the honey, givers sing the blues