I met Don Mackrill some time ago and got to know him and his
company really well. The Canadian company Mack Amps does
things the very old school way of using high quality components
hand making each amp with the ideals of a high quality all tube old school amp should not cost 2000 dollars or even 1000 and in this case not even 800 bucks. Don is one of the nicest down to earth guys you will ever meet while his knowledge of amps is second to none. Mack Amps has three main amps the Gem, Heatseeker and the Skyraider. They also have a great line of classic pickups that will take that Les Paul or Strat and breathe life into it like you only hoped them higher priced pickups would do. For them that want a really cool cab to match there Mack Amps then Don can hook you up with that also. Today we are going to talk about the Gem a low wattage all tube masterpiece that will thrill the all tube addict and make a believer that you do not need to spend a mortgage payment to own.
Layout & Features
- 4 watts switchable to 0.4 watts
- 1xEL84 cathode biased, Class A
- 1xNOS 6AC10 triple triode preamp tube
- Solid state rectifier
- Switchable gain stages: panel or foot
- Single tone control that cuts AND BOOSTS!
- Speaker output: 8 ohms - like all Mack amps, any impedance speaker cab can be used without causing damage
- Red anodized aluminum cabinet
- 8" W x 5 1/2" H x 4" D
- 117/120 VAC, 60 Hz
- 4 lb
Sound
The micro Gem is such a warm amp that you can dial up the most sparkling cleans with tons of headroom. When dialed up you can get that classic to modern day blues that amps twice the price would not even come close to dialing in. When pushing the amp a bit I could dial in beautiful classic rock styles of Skynard to Nugent. When maxing the amp out them beautiful tubes pushing full bore I had a gorgeous AC/DC sound that was bright and brilliant. If you are a pedal pusher no worries there the amp is very responsive to all sorts of pedals, I used some heavy distortion pedals and I was very impressed the tone I was getting. This is a great amp for them still true to the real guitar tone starts with using a real tube amp!
My Opinion
Mack Amps has hit a home run with the Gem amp that allows the musician that is in tight quarters or is looking or real tube tone from a real tube amp that can be reached at lower volumes. This is the perfect little studio amp to get that natural breakup from the tubes also at lower volumes and watts. I usually had the amp at the .4 watts and was plenty loud thru a 4x12, 2x12, 2x6, 1x12 cabs I have used it with. The tone shaping is amazing on this amp that allows you to push in the preamp to give you a whole new pallet of sounds to play with. The amp is rated at 8 ohms but with the high quality of parts used there is no issue running this head thru 4, 8, 16 ohm cabs with no issues or burning anything up at these low wattage's. I personally recommend the foot switch if you look into getting this amp it makes the hands free to not mess up your recording, jamming or stage if you choose. I can put this head into most of my cases and gig bags what makes traveling a breeze. I can also state with my head being dropped down a flight of stairs that this thing is built like a tank (Sorry Don).
Contact:
http://www.mackamps.com/
www.facebook.com/MackAmps
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