Mid-'60s American-made guitar amps set the standard for chimey, clean tone that breaks up smoothly when pushed. There is a reason why some manufacturers are still building reissues of circuits that are almost 60 years old. That same reason is why so many designs from this era are still the standard for stage backline. These amps are known for providing plenty of rich, articulate cleans, but they are more than capable of musical overdrive when pushed. They also offer lush, spring reverb—an effect many players expect to find in any good amp—and even though they were designed when effect pedals were in their infancy, these amps are pedal-friendly. In short, these versatile amps get the job done.
The P-10RT is Chelli's interpretation of the classic mid-'60s 10"-speaker amp design. Way more than a clone of the vintage schematic, the P-10RT includes interesting, usable modifications that add greater flexibility to the circuit. On the front panel, a three-way toggle switch gives you Bright (treble boost), Normal, and Fat (bass boost) to help shape the overall EQ of the amp. Then, the 2-way Negative Feedback switch gives you two different options to manipulate the harmonic content of the overall sound (the difference is especially noticeable in overdrive territory). While comparable amps are sometimes criticized for their scooped mid range, Chelli gives you a switch to adds more mids if desired. All of these subtle modifications don't dramatically change the sound of the amp; they just make a versatile amp that much more usable, no matter the setting.
As we all know, the Reverb and Tremolo effects are treasured in these mid-'60s circuits. Chelli's Reverb is lush and wet. You can dial it all the way up to 10 without getting overly bright or harsh. The Tremolo circuit is widely variable instead of fixed to a particularly intensity and speed (as some amps can be when the bias is set a particular way). Plus, the Swamp switch cuts the Tremolo speed in half—opening you up to slow, swampy tremolo speeds you never knew you needed this much.
- Output: 12w
- Tube Complement: 3x 12ax7 1x 12AT7 2x 6v6 1x GZ34
- Speaker: 10” Celestion Alnico Gold G10
- Front Panel Controls: Bright/Normal/Fat switch, Volume, 2-way Negative Feedback switch, Treble, Mid switch, Bass, Reverb, Tremolo Speed, Swamp switch (cuts Tremolo speed in half), Tremolo Intensity
- Rear Panel Controls: On/Off, Voltage Switch (High/Low)
- Inputs: 1 Instrument
- Cabinet: Solid Pine Tweed w/ Purple Tolex
- Special Features:
- Tube-Driven Reverb
- Tube-Driven Tremolo with “Swamp” switch
- Mids switch
- Bright/Normal/Fat switch
- Negative Feedback switch
- Voltage switch
- Footswitch
- Speaker Out