Cornford amps: A provocative question?

[SimpleMind]

Expect one should suppose some Bias when asking the following on a Boogie forum, but nevertheless i`ll try you. Read a lot about Cornford amps which mostly get extremely good critics.
Heard also that they produce a fater sound than the Boogies. The only cons with those amps are: The not so extremley pricey versions as the MK50 Head has just one channel, the Hellcat has 2 channels but only one EQ. I heard Cornford amps have a tendency to be a little noisy. But otherwise, aside from Hard core metal do the Cornford amps seem to score better than the Boogies. Does that mean they produce better sounding amps for the most purposes?

 

[Restless Rocks]

Hmmmmm, Let's look around here and see ahhhh One mesa boogie, Two mesa boogie, Three mesa boogie, Fender, Fender, Ummmm
Nope no cornfords here! :roll:

 

[RR]

... Cornford amps seem to score better than the Boogies. Does that mean they produce better sounding amps for the most purposes?

I think these amps are hand built in England.
Now do you want a answer black and white answer are they better than Boogies or for that matter any other amps.

All you are doing is creating a debate which is better.

ITS A MATTER OF PREFERENCE WHAT YOU PREFER!

My friend loves his rackmount solid state ****, er I mean gear. I guess he sounds o-kay, I don't know, because I'm not into his type of speed metal so it doesn't relate too well with me.

Now I'm playing my Boogies (I have three). He saids I sound awesome. I have over 20 years of guitar playing over him. He starts playing my set up and he sounds like .... (what a polite word other than ****?) He even admits it, he sounds like **** with my gear.

Why is that? Because my set up he can't disguise his sloppy playing, yet with his rack mount gear he can!

So what does he tell me? => "I like my rackmount set up better!"

His rackmount preamp and power amp cost something like $500.


Moral to the story => its a matter of preference regardless of price. :wink:

 

[Guitarzan]

But I bet Jimi Hendrix could make a solid state sh!t amp sound alright...

George Lynch did on Tooth and Nail. Randall's I believe.

 

[mesanomad100]

when I went to buy my new amps I could afford really anything in the shop,I live in Britain where guess what................there are a larger number of Cornfords here than say in the states for example,really stunning amps,I think completly different to mesa boogies,one channel for example on most models,really a no frills amp,just plug in and play sorta stuff,now thats the kinnda player Iam in my band,a guitar,cable and a good amps,but the amps has to be very versitile in the sense that I need alot of power and control of channel switching,one channel was not goin to cut it at the end of the day!!!


The tone from these amps are really amazing,just listen to some greg howe/ritchie kotzen stuff for example,real neat amps but I couldnt live with the one channel nonsense

The result,I stayed faithful to the mesa boogie family and bought a dual rec 3 channel

ohh and rob balducci uses them as well

great gear and by far thebest british made guitar product in my opinion(well of the current times)

Euan

 

[RR]

I know Satriani endorse Peavey but he has recorded with Conford.

I post above ranting because the question should be restated something like "You Conford amp owners, what makes you buy this amps?"

When someone post something like "Do you think 'this amp' is better than 'that amp'?" to me that sounds immature trying to list equipment by an order which is "better".

I must be getting old. I could play boutique amp brand x and compliment what I like about it yet I can't find myself trying to rate it against brand y and say which is better. I could say which one I prefer but I could understand why another guitarist prefer 'that' amp over the on I prefer because his ears and application is different. I guess I'm getting more impartial as I get old. :?

I guess I'm not chasing that myth "Tone Quest" when I could find the good in say brand amp -z.

But what bothers me most is when someone buy some obscure brand amp or forks up the money for some expensive boutique amp and post to everyone how great sounding this amp is when all he /she is saying "I'm the privilege one owning this amp and you don't, ha, ha!" :x

But I bet Jimi Hendrix could make a solid state sh!t amp sound alright...

Hendrix, aw he's an o-kay guitarist [sarcasm intended]:wink:

 

[SimpleMind]

I know Satriani endorse Peavey but he has recorded with Conford.

I post above ranting because the question should be restated something like "You Conford amp owners, what makes you buy this amps?"

When someone post something like "Do you think 'this amp' is better than 'that amp'?" to me that sounds immature trying to list equipment by an order which is "better".

I must be getting old. I could play boutique amp brand x and compliment what I like about it yet I can't find myself trying to rate it against brand y and say which is better. I could say which one I prefer but I could understand why another guitarist prefer 'that' amp over the on I prefer because his ears and application is different. I guess I'm getting more impartial as I get old. :?

I guess I'm not chasing that myth "Tone Quest" when I could find the good in say brand amp -z.

But what bothers me most is when someone buy some obscure brand amp or forks up the money for some expensive boutique amp and post to everyone how great sounding this amp is when all he /she is saying "I'm the privilege one owning this amp and you don't, ha, ha!" :x

But I bet Jimi Hendrix could make a solid state sh!t amp sound alright...

Hendrix, aw he's an o-kay guitarist [sarcasm intended]:wink:

First of all thank you for the comments. With regard to the question if the Cornfords er better sounding for the addressed kind of music i wouldn`t say that its an immature question. These two ampbrands are the ones i am considering to buy. Quite a big investment to me. Since i can`t A/B them in the stores i try to do some research this way. Now i read a lot on this really fantastic forum and on some other sites about these amps. I still can`t make up my mind. I have seen a lot of videoclips, but still can`t make up my mind. I read a lot of comments about the Cornfords where people praise them like "Heureka". I both like the sound of the Mesas and Cornfords a lot and are quite impressed of the soundsamples as presented on the Cornford site. In a way i don`t want to like the Cornfords. I love a lot about the Roadster sound and versatility and its much cheaper than the Cornford MK50MKII. I talked to three employes at several musicstores and each and everyone said the same- for Vai, Satriani, SRV, Malmsteen,Hendrix.... buy the Cornford its amazing!!!!! So thats basically not the thing i want to hear (regarding the price). So i thought i could squeeze out some comments of you - meaning of people who A/Bed the stuff and found out that the Cornfords are really not that good as everyone i talked to stated.

 

[Guitarzan]

I'm a 6L6 fan. By default (and after playing many amps equipped with EL-34's) I claim Mesa as the right tool for my job.

 

[ursinus]

I have tried most of the Cornford amps and even worked on some, so I have had the ability to look at the guts. First, all the Cornford's don't use the same tubes. On the Ritchie Kotzen and the Mk50, they use 5881's in the power amp section. They sound like a cross between a Marshall and a Fender and have very little compression. The tone is great, but if you are a imprecise player, these two models will show it. The Hellcat and the Hurricane, and the Harlequin use El84's in their power sections and have more compression. the Carrera can use a variety of tubes in the power section. It's more about apples and oranges. Are they quality amps? Yes. Are they better than Mesa's ? That is the wrong question. They are different than Mesa's but in some respects are better in other, worse. My dream set-up would be: MKIV, Stilletto, MK50 with an A/B/C switcher.

 

[SimpleMind]

Hei Ursinus, you wrote: The tone is great, but if you are a imprecise player, these two models will show it.

Thats accurately the thing i am aiming at. Malmsteen has a very distinct and defined sound. You can hear every note. Thats surely due to his palying abilities but also due to his amps. So the Cornfords punish you for playing imprecisely but reward you for playing precisely. My question regarding the Boogie is when shreeding ala Malmsteen does that result in a fuzzy tone with relatively low definition ala petrucci?

 

[ursinus]

Not with the MKIV. The MKIV is interesting in that as you raise your master volume, it becomes less forgiving. The MKIV is almost as unforgiving as the Cornford MK50. The difference is that the Cornfords have more of a SAW-tooth grind that really isn't that compressed. The MKIV can get that grind with 5881 tubes in the power section, but is more creamy sounding. The Dual rectifiers definitely are more fizzy sounding to my ears. I personally don't like them. I did a recording session in early Feb. with my Roadster (now sold BTW) and even though the producer was happy with the results, I wasn't. I re-recorded all the leads with my MKIV instead. That is when I decided to sell my Roadster. As far as Petrucci is concerned, The Mark sound is heard best on the "Images and words" album. Octavarium sounds like recto's to my ears, like the music, but not the tone on most of that album. One last note, the Corford's are much more noisy than the Mesa's. The Cornford's hiss considerably at stage volume. You would definitely need a noisegate to record with them. The MarkIV is pretty quiet. Sometimes it seems it is not on, but once you hit a note, you KNOW ITS ON! Anyway, try them all if you can...My two schillings...