# Allen Amp Kit Experience?



## ampaholic (Sep 19, 2006)

Hi folks, I'm considering an amp build and I'm curious about the quality of Allen Amplification kits.
I'm not really concerned with the quality of the kit (I think the reputation seems solid), but rather the quality of the finished product.
From what I read David's amps are well regarded and his tweaks to the mainly Fender style circuits are worthwhile and useful.
When I see Allen amps listed in the For Sale forum they always seem to sell quickly, in particular the Accomplice and Hot Fudge. I don't often see this same level of interest in other brands of "kit" amps posted for sale. This seems to suggest that kit or not, the amps are desirable and sought after.
I am thinking of a new model called Brown Jug, patterned after the brown Vibrolux circuit.
Any thoughts or advice is appreciated!


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

Trinity Amps in Canada. Top quality customer service. Email Stephen with a question and he will answer within 24 hours


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Seems like you already have your answer in your post?


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

ampaholic said:


> Hi folks, I'm considering an amp build and I'm curious about the quality of Allen Amplification kits.
> I'm not really concerned with the quality of the kit (I think the reputation seems solid), but rather the quality of the finished product.
> From what I read David's amps are well regarded and his tweaks to the mainly Fender style circuits are worthwhile and useful.
> When I see Allen amps listed in the For Sale forum they always seem to sell quickly, in particular the Accomplice and Hot Fudge. I don't often see this same level of interest in other brands of "kit" amps posted for sale. This seems to suggest that kit or not, the amps are desirable and sought after.
> ...


I’ve had two of them, I build a hot fudge kit a few years ago, and I have an Accomplice currently. The kits are well thought out, use good parts, and Allen has good support/troubleshooting. Worst case scenario, if you have a disaster, you can send him your mess and he will fix it for a reasonable price. 

As far as sound, they are excellent Fender style amps with a few really nice modern touches-super quiet, reliable, great reverb and tremolo, and for many of the models a useable master volume. I can’t remember the Fudge very well, its many years gone, but the Accomplice does a nice job with the glassy Fender BF sound, but you add a bit of the raw control and it breaks up perfectly. I have the 6L6’s in it so its pretty ballsy. My only gripe is that the taper of the master is a bit odd, when I first got it I thought the amp was pretty quiet for a 2x6L6, and when I used it at a jam session it wasn’t particularly loud, even with the master at about 8. Since that time I’ve realized that all the volume boost is between 8-10 on the master, it goes from polite to roaring loud at that point. Presumably something to do with the taper of the volume pot. I was used to Marshall style master volumes, they get LOUD by 3 or 4 on the volume knob.


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## ampaholic (Sep 19, 2006)

Good info Zdogma. Thanks!


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## _Knighthawk_ (Mar 2, 2014)

ampaholic said:


> Hi folks, I'm considering an amp build and I'm curious about the quality of Allen Amplification kits.
> I'm not really concerned with the quality of the kit (I think the reputation seems solid), but rather the quality of the finished product.
> Any thoughts or advice is appreciated!


In 2018, I bought a kit from David - a Brown Sugar. The layout of the circuit in the chassis is designed to keep leads to/from the preamp short. The instructions were relatively straightforward and the kit was complete (no missing components). David is not exactly a people person so you might find him a bit abrupt if you contact him. That said, he is responsive and if you provide updates on your build - he will respond (keep your leads short or he will pop a blood vessel - every millimeter counts in his mind).

The Brown Sugar is switchable between 6L6s and 6V6s. I found there wasnt enough headroom with the 6V6s. The Brown Sugar is loud and breaks up pretty quickly with 6V6s installed in the power section. I found the 6L6s much more to my liking in the amp. 

I had Derek build my cab and would recommend him to you for sure.

The Brown Sugar is a super sounding amp - for sure and there is a reason that Allen amps sell pretty quickly. They sound amazing - particularly at low to medium volumes.

Good luck with whatever you decide.


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## Dennis. (Apr 13, 2010)

I built a Sweet Spot a few years ago, and it was a great experience that resulted in a fantastic amp that's still my primary. The bias pot and bias points make a huge difference in terms of dialling in "my" tone with different tubes. It's also dead quiet. My only "complaint" is that it's a little loud for what I need these days, but that's hardly a fault.


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