Cornell Plexi 18/20 – Low Wattage Sweet Spot
| Posted in Guitar
About five years ago, I retired my Mesa Boogies from live work as I was frustrated with not being able to turn them up loud anymore; the advent of decibel meters in venues and the dreaded Health and Safety issues were making it more and more of a problem.
The thought of using a 20w amp for gigs though just didn’t seem feasable..until I got a Cornell Plexi 18/20. What a joy the first gig was, I could turn this amp up to cooking level without a council official taking my name. The Les Paul never sounded better, and I could use the volume control for the first time without any loss of tone. Eventually, the effects pedals were consigned to the box of shame as well.
Next was a Top Hat Club Royale, Vox AC15, Divided by 13 SJT 10/20, Orange Tiny Terror, Clark Beaufort, Dr. Z Maz 38 and a Top Hat King Royale. They’ve all accompanied me on gigs at one time or another and I’ve never enjoyed playing guitar more.
I’ve also tried the Cornell Plexi 7, Cornell Romany Plus, Hiwatt Custom 20H, Fender Blues Junior, Vox Night Train, Ampeg J20 and Blackheart Little Giant, all of which I would be more than happy to own and gig with.
Obviously, they don’t do metal or wouldn’t be much good at Sonisphere but if you’re playing pub and club gigs in a blues rock vein and hauling that 100w 2×12 is becoming hard work, try downsizing; your audience will love you for it.
