Ceriatone OTS (Page 1 of 3)

Hi,

the OTS incl. tubes and headshell is 1150$ brandnew.
I rather would go for a new one.

PS: I still wait for the pics of the completed 2550 / 2555

Alex

Spider thats true. There is around 180$ shipping to germany at least.
And then also 23% on top for VAT/tax. For me it doesn't matter either i'd choose.
Anyway, I wouldn't buy a used amp to save 200-300$ in the end.
I'd still rather go for a new one. You know what you'll get...
An argument would be the waiting time.
I'm not certain how long you have to wait for an amp to build.

I have seen an OTS was sold recently for 1500€. They are very popular in germany
and high rated. I wish to try one but I dont know anybody who owns one.
Once I tried a plexi with EL-84 and it was a killer amp. Great really.

Alex

Hey Alex don't fret the try before you buy thing.  With Nik's stuff its all quality and the OTS retains very good resale value due to the longer wait times (I had to wait almost 3 months ) and the fact that it's modeled after a VERY elusive amplifier.  I bought the amp only from Nik and bought a customized head cab from www.gabkits.com to spice it up.  It's white with silver piping, silver handle and corners, and I added some black Vox grillcloth to replicate the old Dumble style...They definately look the coolest with the Vox cloth on them and Nik does not do that stock.  I think I paid about 1500 bucks for the custom cab and amp at my doorstep (in sunny Florida).  As far as sound I am COMPLETELY satisfied with it.  No biding my time for a Two-Rock, Bludotone, or Fuchs.  I am a firm believer that my HRM OTS100 can hang with ANY Dumble circuit being offered and it loves being married to my Marshall DSL100.  Cool thing is with the Dumble circuit you don't have to push the amp hard to get great tone because the preamp is where the magic is happening.  The power section is designed to run like a Fender Twin very clean with tons of headroom.  It's pretty much the opposite to a non master volume Marshall which requires a LOT of power section push to get "the tone".

I have the OTS HRM100 watter.  I really love my OTS and I think the HRM speaks to me more than the non-HRM models.  I'm no Dumble expert (I'll leave that to Tag and the other maniacs on TGP) but here is a breakdown of the differences between the models Nik offers:

Non-HRM OTS:  Based off of the 70's-early 80's Dumble ODS amplifiers.  Tone is very syrupy and smooth, think older Robben Ford/Larry Carlton.  It's a little more compressed sounding and has less articulation than the HRM models.  Probably the most forgiving circuit and easiest to get a satisfying lead sound out of.  Cleans are more Fendery than the standard HRM, slightly brighter.

HRM OTS:  Based off of the late 80's early 90's Dumble ODS and I believe this is what Robben Ford/Larry Carlton currently use.  The HRM amps are more of a true 2 channel amplifier with more tweakability especially in the OD section.  The tone is a little brighter and more aggresive with considerable articulation and a complex midrange.  When you crank the gain you get less Fender more Marshall type overdrive.  The cleans are warmer and full, think more JTM100 less Fender Twin Reverb.

HRM Bluesmaster OTS:  Similar to the Dumble ODS HRM but the cleans are much more Fendery than the standard HRM.  I think they OD is smoother as well, and I also believe that most of the Two-Rocks are based off of the Bluesmaster circuit.  From what I gather, the Bluesmaster is a healthy blend of the non-HRM and HRM models and is probably the most versitile Dumble circuit.  Probably the best all-in-one Dumble amplifier.

Looks like Spider is about to join the OTS family, time to bite the bullet Alex!  BTW how great are the days where you can essentially get a Dumble for under $2000!  Golden-era of Tone.

Thanks for this video! I thnk you had some effect like univibe or so in didnt you?
And the slight distortion of the camera makes tricky to hear the amp.
But I liked your band a lot. You played very well and the bassplayer had the true
Jimi Hendrix spirit with bass flipped to a lefty.

Alex

that wasnt me,  that was a good friend of mine in St. Louis, Missouri that helped me to get started a few years ago.  i can play, but that guy can mop the floor with me.  he's got quite a few video's on you tube that sound better that that.  yea he had a deja vibe on for a little while, and some chorus here and there. i wish the video was better quality,  it shows no justice of what the OTS can do. VERY loud, with excellent tone.

Yes, sound is very hard to describe but it always helps when describing it to another player.  You say syrupy to anyone else and they are going to ask you "who's got some pancakes?" lol It sounds like you are afraid of what I was afraid of when it comes to the Dumble thing.  I did a lot of research online and 98% of the guys using a Dumble or clone were playing Larry Carlton/Robben Ford jazz licks.  No disrespect to that sound or players but I have to have an amp with BALLS. That's why I have a certain love for Marshalls myself.  Well I take my HRM 100 to a local Sam Ash to show a buddy of mine that works there the day that I got it.  I fire it up and start playing on it trying to sound like Joe, EJ, Clapton and all my other influences.  Then he walks over grabs the guitar and starts playing EVH licks.  The sound was spot on without any dial changes!  Moral of the story, if you have "Marshall" fingers/ears you can get that out of anything.  My HRM can do any style if you have the chops.  I also did a blind test with my father and he picked the HRM for the marshall out of my rig...so go figure.  Dumbles CAN ROCK!  GREAT cleans as well, I traded my '65 Twin Reverb RI weeks later.  I hope to be able to post a video/pics of the rig soon...I've been so damn busy.

Mmmm
            OTS sounds interesting, My next project was to buy an amp to build from ceriatone
             but I keep changing MY mind which one to get . it is to pair with my jubilee .
     
            SPIDER  any sound clips of  OTS paired with jubilee I would be interested to hear this
                          sound.

           ALEX  why do you look for 2550 when you have 2555 jubilee I really liked the
                     mix of jubilee and Budda I was considering looking for budda but fancy
                     building an amp!!

"Everybody's entitled to my opinion.