My AFD100 Arrived Today!

[Hellhound]

I finally gave in to the GAS put the VM on EBay :Embaresed and started searching the web for the AFD. A lot of the UK websites say they are in stock but it took a few phone calls to track one down. This was on Tuesday, it arrived this afternoon :dance Pity I had to sell the VM but I figured that I can always get another one for a few hundred quid but the AFD will soon be out of my price range.

It's cold here at the moment and I had to leave it for 30 mins for the condensation to evaporate. This gave me a chance to check out the goodies. T-shirt size is XL, nice A4 user manual and the COA with the workers signatures is a nice touch. The build quality is excellent, top marks. It looks like it may be possible to change valves without removing the chassis, I will have to check later.

Finally the moment arrived and I powered up. I used the auto bias function and waited a few minutes for the AFD to self bias, SWEET! Plugged in the Gibson and played Nighttrain through the AFD channel with every dial on 6............. Perfect! Rich harmonics and plenty of cunchy gain. I've recently installed the Slash Seymour Duncan Pickups and with a small amount of tone and volume shifting, there it was, the perfect Nightrain tone :party Then I switched to the bridge pick up for Sweet child of mine and, yep, it's got that tone as well.

Then I switched to the #34 mode. Mmmmmmmmm not my favourite tone. Very trebly and sharp with a bassy background. I would imagine that it would be great with pedals. Ive never played a JCM so cannot compare it. This channel runs a little quieter than the AFD channel, it seems to me that this is just because it has less gain. The volume difference is nowhere near as drastic as LDR and HDR and I can see myself using it for bright, cleanish tones and blues crunch, before shifting to AFD for a scorching solo.

I then moved onto the power attenuation and experimented for a while. There is a bit of background hiss when the amp is switched on, more than a VM but less than the JVM's higher gain channels. When the master is pushed beyond six the hiss is a little more prevelant, the bass response increases and you can really hear the power amp being driven. The combination of high master volume and high gain can cause quite a bit of feedback. I found it best to stay around 7ish on both gain and master, over 9 and things can get mushy. Back to the power control and it really does work well. I would say that it needs to be on at least 10 o'clock for decent note articulation. This is still fairly loud but below that sounds a bit compressed compared to above 10 o'clock. Still very usable though.

The AFD channel is excellent. Using the volume and tone controls really make a difference. This amp is just as responsive to the guitar controls as a VM is. The general tone is quite trebly, but I would imagine that once in the mix it will sound great just like the VM does. The gain level seems to be in-between HDR and HDR with midboost engaged. Speaking of boost, the fx loop is stunning as a boost pedal. I had a nice clean going for Metallica's Unforgiven and the boost was just perfect for the clean solo. Then I tried it with night train and it was perfect again. I'd recommend setting the lead tone first at max volume on guitar. Then work backwrdss with the guitar volume to rhythm and clean.
It took a little while to dial in other tones, I found ACDC at about 9 o'clock gain and 2 o'clock Master, bridge pick up on 7. Sabbath - gain on 12 o'clock, master 7, middle position. The tone isn't exactly right because of the valve difference but I'm looking forward to swapping valves and finding out what EL34's will sound like tomorrow. The factory valves are fine but my tone usually lies with EL34's or KT77's.

The two inputs are good to use. Input two has a slightly darker tone and less gain, smoother. I prefer Input one as I play a lot of rock in my band and the extra gain is welcome. I can still get a nice clean tone even with master at 7 and gain at 8 - just by rolling back to 4 or 5 on the guitar. It's not great but will do for the one or two songs that i need it for.

I would have liked a built in reverb but I know a lot of people prefer a pedal. This amp is screaming out for effects pedals and I sold all mine when I got the VM, DOH!

I think I've covered most things. Anything you want to know or if you would like close ups of anything in particular, just ask and I'll do my best. I cannot do recordings or video yet as I don't have the equipment. I will be getting a Zoom Q3HD next week and will post recordings then.

I'm looking forward to next week because I will get to see what it sounds like with the band. I'll let you know how it gets on. Hopefully the Zoom would have arrived by then.

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I'm off to play! :rocker

[surfnorthwest]

Wow what a great looking amp! Congrats on being the first on this forum to get one, that makes you the resident expert. I am sure the more time you spend with the better you will find your mojo with it. Your review may be different after a month. Very happy for you.

I can't help but think that a quad of KT66s in there would really be great.

[fortress]

Damn i.M jealous! we will have to wait until late february here in north america to put our hand on the amp!


The amp is trebly?? slash tone on appetite is trebly!! I hope its not as trebly as the splawn quickrod i had!

The question is:::::::: now that you have the AFD, which one (tone wise), according to you, is better?? VM or AFD??

[AndyK]

Then I switched to the #34 mode. Mmmmmmmmm not my favourite tone. Very trebly and sharp with a bassy background. I would imagine that it would be great with pedals. Ive never played a JCM so cannot compare it. This channel runs a little quieter than the AFD channel, it seems to me that this is just because it has less gain. The volume difference is nowhere near as drastic as LDR and HDR and I can see myself using it for bright, cleanish tones and blues crunch, before shifting to AFD for a scorching solo.

I then moved onto the power attenuation and experimented for a while. I found it best to stay around 7ish on both gain and master, over 9 and things can get mushy. Back to the power control and it really does work well. I would say that it needs to be on at least 10 o'clock for decent note articulation. This is still fairly loud but below that sounds a bit compressed compared to above 10 o'clock. Still very usable though.

Great overview! But, I find what you said in the above quoted paragraphs dealbreakers for me, and I won't be spending $2k on the AFD. I may buy another VM though, since I couldn't get a bad tone out of that amp, no matter what the settings were!

[Hellhound]

Thanks gents, I do feel very fortunate to have such a great amp.

Surf - You are right, already my opinions are changing. This amp is just so responsive. It responds excellently to how you are playing, and the guitar controls can completely change the tone. I've got some basic settings in now. I've stuck to the same for the AFD channel and changed the settings for the #34 mode. When pushed to very high gain the differences between the channels become less significant. You can really hear the appetite tone in both channels, the treble and bass tones are in both modes, with the AFD mode having more lowdown and midrange oomph. Itll be great once a few more members get one as I can only offer one opinion based on the gear I am using. I've got some questions myself. Like 'if I run reverb and delay pedals in the loop, when these are switched off would I still be able to run the boost loop function? If I leave the delay on would there still be a volume boost available?' etc.

Fortress - It is worth keeping an eye on the websites. There seems to have been a staggered launch here in the UK. Some of the retailers I spoke with will not be getting their AFD's until February and were under the impression that everyone was in the same boat.

The VM and AFD do have a lot in common but they are quite different. It's a bit like asking which do you prefer choc chip or mint choc chip? However, I plugged them both into the 1960 and had them both running on similar settings. 20 mins later the VM was still on eBay. So, for me the AFD wins. I found that the 'trebly tone' was the thing that I was looking for when I had the VM going, go figure. I'd keep the VM as well if I could because I do miss the mid boost but the money is needed to pay for the AFD.

The power control is just Awesome! No, amazing is the best way to describe it. It beats the VM - IMHO - because of this feature. It makes a huge difference to the tone when playing at mid volume levels and for me the VM doesn't get that sort of tone until it's turned up to 7 or 8 on the Master volume.

AndyK - Don't take my word for it! If there is one thing I've discovered on my search for tone is that one mans perfect tone is another mans nightmare. Also, I've changed my mind, lol. I pushed the gain and master up to full and turned the power down. This produced a really crunchy overdriven blues tone, one of the best I've ever heard. I played for an hour without changing a thing. It can't be understated how much the tone pot on the guitar alters things as well. I turned the guitar tone down to six and the treble was tamed with a nice warmth.

Power control - I checked the wattage for my 10 oclock setting. It works out at about 3 watts. Certainly not going to deafen the neighbours with that. 3 watts of power with great, valve note articulation. I think that's good going.

I haven't even scratched the surface with this amp yet and when I think of the dozens of tonal variations on offer from being able to transplant pretty much any valves you want, my mind boggles. :rocker

My respect for this amp is growing by the day.

[slash-ed]

Do you think that the AFD can be used as a 2 channel amp with the 34/AFD modes? Or is essentially a single-channel amp with two "flavours"?

[surfnorthwest]

If you get a chance let us hear how it cleans up and without playing any Slash riffs give us some chucky rythem lines while messing with the volume (power scale) Maybe if I can try one next week I will do this myself assuming they have one at NAMM.

[amon]

When I looked at the photos I thought "Man black tolex looks weird."
Have fun with your new amp.

[Hellhound]

It's a one channel amp with two voicings. I tried using it as a two channel amp and managed it. I plugged into input 2 and switched pick ups when I changed mode. Neck pick up on 6 gave a nice warm clean crunch with #34. Bridge pick up on 9 through the afd mode. Gain 8, master 8. I didn't see the point though as it's easy to roll back the volume and get a very nice clean with either mode.

I was playing along with red house off the Valleys of Neptune album. With input 2, 34 mode, bridge pickup and the volume wound back, I couldn't tell the difference. Well, except for my playing that is :Embaresed I couldn't do that with the afd mode, so maybe that counts as two channel? The input 2 and #34 mode had me hooked today. Can't believe that I was not impressed by this mode earlier. It cuts through like ice. I think it's going to fit well in the band mix for blues and cleans. No good for rock though unless you pedal it.

This amp loves the blues Rock, obviously. I don't think it will struggle to find metal with the right pedal.

Surf - Now I'm jealous! Have a great time at NAMM. I think you are going to love this amp. I'm hoping to have something done by Wednesday, maybe Tuesday. I'll try to demo the power control with no Slash stuff. lol. I say try because I've never posted on Youtube before or used the equipment. When do you leave?

Amon - Thanks Man I love it!

[Slashwannabe1]

The input 2 and #34 mode had me hooked today. Can't believe that I was not impressed by this mode earlier. It cuts through like ice. I think it's going to fit well in the band mix for blues and cleans. No good for rock though unless you pedal it.

lol doesn't Slash record with #34 for Rock & Metal tones? The Metal song he did with M Shadows was with #34. Or do you mean not good with input #2?

[Hellhound]

I like Slash's music but I'm not that into slash as to know what gear he uses for what. I know the song you mean, I will have a go at dialling it in using the #34 mode tomorrow. I doubt it will get to that level of gain and distortion, but I'll plug into input one and give it a go.

The AFD mode is very similar to the # 34 mode, it's like putting a boost pedal into the #34 mode. I did try plugging into input one, #34 mode and had the master and volume on full. This is a heavy blues tone that could be used as a 70's rock type tone with careful use of the pickups. But I don't see why I would want to as the AFD mode has more warmth and gain on tap. So even with input one it doesnt have loads of gain. I can get a nice 'Slither' tone from the AFD channel but no way from #34. This is all at room levels with the power control at about ten o'clock. I'm sure things will change when I get to band practice and can turn it up. But not enough to make # 34 mode a metal monster. With a decent pedal, that's a whole different ball game.

I bought a copy of Guitarist magazine today. It has a review of the AFD and the reviewer seems to agree with most of the comments I've made about the different channels. So I would imagine that slash used an overdrive or boost if he used this amp in the #34 mode for that song. The review should be duplicated on musicradar at some point.

The reviewer gave the AFD 5/5 on all sections with a 5/5 overall rating and their highest accolade - Guitarist Gold Award :party

I will be doing some videos later in the week. I'll crank everything on #34 and make a post.

[thunderkyss]

The input 2 and #34 mode had me hooked today. Can't believe that I was not impressed by this mode earlier. It cuts through like ice. I think it's going to fit well in the band mix for blues and cleans. No good for rock though unless you pedal it.

lol doesn't Slash record with #34 for Rock & Metal tones? The Metal song he did with M Shadows was with #34. Or do you mean not good with input #2?

Was there an AFD100 when he did his last CD?

I thought he just used some ole JCM, the Jubilee, & the VM.

[Slashwannabe1]

Was there an AFD100 when he did his last CD?

I thought he just used some ole JCM, the Jubilee, & the VM.

The only "confirmed" recorded track that he used the VM on in the studio was "Can't Get It Out Of My Head" off VR's 2007 Album Libertad. Of course he's used it countless times live. As for the Jubilee the only confirmed studio track that he's used that on was VR's "You Got No Right". The rest of his albums were done with the #34 JCM 800 and its 50 watt brother modded in a similar fashion.

As far as the AFD100, the first prototype wasn't even done until June or July of this last year.

-- Sun Jan 09, 2011 8:59 pm --

I like Slash's music but I'm not that into slash as to know what gear he uses for what. I know the song you mean, I will have a go at dialling it in using the #34 mode tomorrow. I doubt it will get to that level of gain and distortion, but I'll plug into input one and give it a go.

I will be doing some videos later in the week. I'll crank everything on #34 and make a post.

Here this should help you get in the ball park for tone...the actual production notes for that song from Slashs producer. Settings were noted as well as cabs. Production notes look like it was direct Guitar to amplifier for the main track, the lead fills are a different matter.

Settings for the basic track are Presence: 7 Bass: 7 Middle: 7 Treble: 7 Master Volume: 6, Pre Amp Gain: 10



And to give you an idea of what the settings mean and order of what does what...heres what Slash would be looking at on his actual #34



For the record those are Zakk Wyldes settings lol but the same amp knob layout as Slashs #34.

[Hellhound]

Thanks for that

I used the basic settings that you listed. I plugged into Input One, bridge pickup on full.

The tone is spot on. But it is still lacking gain and saturation. The closest sound that I can compare it to is Rocket Queen, original AFD version. That last chunky rhythm part is closest for gain and tone to my ears.

[surfnorthwest]

Surf - Now I'm jealous!  Have a great time at NAMM.  I think you are going to love this amp.  I'm hoping to have something done by Wednesday, maybe Tuesday.  I'll try to demo the power control with no Slash stuff. lol.  I say try because I've never posted on Youtube before or used the equipment.  When do you leave?

Since the end of March seems to be when the amp is availible here in the US it will be nice to see one. Since the new JYM100 was announed I am setting my focus on that since it is based on my favorite Marshall the 1959. Yngwie will be there at the Marshall booth.

Fly out Thursday night so will go to the show Friday and Saturday, I'm stoked. Got a VIP booth at the ESPN Club Sunday morning to watch some playoff football before I fly home. The club is across the street fro NAMM. I should have a photo/video album up by Monday night.