# Ceriatone Overtone special.



## Cary (May 11, 2011)

Im thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these bad boys, I'm just looking for opinions and to hear your experiences both ordering from ceriatone and with this specific amp (overtone special 50w).

The cost for the amp and head cabinet is $1220 plus another ~$220 for shipping. how much more should i expect to send on duty, taxes etc.? 

My bandmate plays through a Two Rock custom reverb signature, and I just love the "3d" sounds you can get with that thing, is the OTS comparable?

I intend to get Nik to build it for me as I don't trust myself soldering anything other than maybe some cables. and to get the head cabinet as well. 

As for speakers i'm thinking about a 212 cab from voltage with a ET65 and a Veteran 30, Any thoughts on how these speakers compare to the real things? Is there going to be enough fendery chime in my cleans, or is this combo too dark?

Any and all feedback is appreciated. 

I've listened to all the youtube clips i can, and i love the sounds i'm hearing, but buying an amp i've never actually played is a little scary, I'm mostly just looking for a nudge in the right direction.


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## Emohawk (Feb 3, 2006)

I recently built their Stray Cat 30, and I've ordered parts from Nik in the past. He's easy to work with, and a good guy. Knows his stuff.

I can't speak to the Overtone series, but the Stray Cat is a very solid kit. Actually, it's a monster of an amp, especially for the cost. Of the builds I've done (about a dozen now), it's by far my favorite.

If Nik puts the same effort into the Overtones (and I'm sure he does), it'll be a fine amp I'm sure. But I hear you - it's a pretty big pile of coin to drop on something you can't listen to first hand. All I can tell you is Nik uses quality components, and all the architecture & logistics appears to be well thought out. The Stray Cat went together as smoothly as any kit I've tried.

I assume from the prices you're quoting that you're buying an assembled amp? I haven't seen one of their pre-built amps first hand so I can't comment on the workmanship. I'm assuming Nik doesn't hand-build all of them himself just based on volumes, but I really don't know what their situation is.


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## Slidewinder (Apr 7, 2006)

Just came across this thread. I've had a 50 watt OTS head for awhile now. I found it on kijiji, already built by ceriatone, and it was one of the best buys I've made, period.
I've done a few small mods on it just to tweak it to my taste but it does everything I could want. Extremely versatile, and one good thing about these heads is that you can switch between 6L6 and EL34 tubes with a simple bias adjustment. The bias points and adjustment pot is on the back of the amp so no having to slide out the chasis and no bias probes needed. Just a volt meter that reads in millivolts.
I've found that using NOS preamp tubes work best. RCA, and Valvo work great in mine. The cleans are amazing and my tweaks were only to get the drive where I wanted it. I've had pretty much every old fender amp you can name and have had 4 plexi's over the years and am more than happy with this amp.
They also love pretty much any pedal.
You really don't need a 2x12 cab with these heads. I had two 1x12 cabs built so I could mix speakers but 1x12 with an original g12-65 seems to do it all.
I have a second 1x12 cab with a celestion gold in it that I can add and a 2x10 cab with 2 celestion golds that sounds huge and not as boomy as a single 2x12 cab. All my cabs are built undersize for portability s well and it doesn't affect the bottom or headroom at all.
So far I've been able to do pretty much any club with the single 12, and have done a few outdoor things with the 2x10 cab. If you're really set on a 2x12 cab think about two single 1x12 cabs so you can have the best of both. All my cabs are open back pine with birch baffles.


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## Lance Romance (Jun 4, 2009)

And fer gawd sakes don't use a Vintage 30 with a D-Style amp!!!!!!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Or any other amp for that matter .................



Lance Romance said:


> And fer gawd sakes don't use a Vintage 30 with a D-Style amp!!!!!!


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