This 12W Bartel Amps Sugarland built in Baltimore MD by master amp builder Mark Bartel features some new appointments. This is the first Sugarland to ship with a Fane A60 speaker, which all Bartel models now come loaded with.
The Fane A60 is a nice upgrade to this design. The Blackface tones sound more crystalline, the Tweed tones sound fatter with just the right amount of mid-range and the Plexi tones hold together beautifully with a more focused top-end than the Celestion Blue that used to come stock in this model.
This Sugarland also features Bartel's new push-pull bright cap on the output volume control. This option is helpful to retain your desired tone when switching from single coils to humbuckers, without having to touch the treble or bass controls.
This amp is finished in Bartel’s custom British Black color scheme. Black tolex with a black and tan Marshal-styled checkered grill cloth. Other features of the British Black color scheme include white grill piping and gold mid section piping. A classy looking amp indeed. Note the in-house built molded “chicken head" knobs.
From Bartel Amps:
The 12W Sugarland is a purist design, all tube 1×12 combo powered by a pair of 6V6 tubes. Its’ single channel Multi Voice preamp offers an incredibly wide range of voicings ranging from sparkly cleans to thick, woody tweed to driven plexi crunch and grind. The solid wood cabinet with unified baffle/body construction delivers a lively, deeply resonant, and unconstricted sound. A unique master volume circuit is extremely transparent, maintaining the same sound and vivid presence all the way down to bedroom volume.
Features
• 12W 1x12 Combo Amplifier
• All Tube, Handwired Circuitry
• Single Channel Multi-Voice Preamp
• Innovative Master Volume Control
• Line Out
• Dimensions 20" x 17" x 10.5"
• Weight 33lbs
Construction Highlights
• Circuitry handwired on custom fabricated turret boards
• Paper Bobbin Layer Wound Transformers
• Silver Plated Wire
• Handmade Leather Handle by Brookwood Leather
• Custom molded knobs and other appointments
• Tweed covering material finished with 5 hand-brushed coats of lacquer
Cabinet
• Unified body/baffle construction
• Cabinet body: solid Eastern White Pine
• Baffle board: crafted from 12 pieces of solid Eastern White Pine and African Mahogany
• Special recipe coating compound applied to preserve natural acoustic behavior.
• Upholstery applied with natural hide glue for superior acoustic response.
• Fane A60 Alnico Speaker
Design Highlights
• Tubes: 2x12AX7A, 2x12AU7, 2x6V6GT, 1x5Y3GT
• Interstage transformer coupled phase inverter
• Ideal circuit layout for lowest noise floor and purest tone
• Cathode biased output stage
• No negative feedback
Designer Notes: The Sugarland is just a little bigger than a tweed deluxe but it sounds like a much bigger amp. As you might expect from the specs (cathode biased 6V6s, no negative feedback, paper bobbin layer wound output transformer, etc.) it can certainly deliver vintage tweed tones, but it can do so much more as well.
You can dial in a mid-scooped tone like a Princeton Reverb, a chimey jangle like an AC15, or a crunchy, grinding tone like a little Plexi. The acoustic response of this amp is something special too. It cuts through amazingly well on stage but never sounds shrill or piercing – it remains thick and full like a saxophone. In spite of its powerful stage presence, it sounds fantastic in a home environment too – full and rich, with intense clarity but never sounding overly bright, even at very low volume.
I should also mention the master volume circuit. It’s incredibly transparent and really makes the Sugarland so much more versatile and usable. It preserves the harmonic balance and the dynamic response a lot better than a conventional master volume circuit, so the tone and feel remain consistent down to bedroom volume. At the same time, it preserves the presence and immediacy of the sound better than a power attenuator does, so in my opinion it’s the ultimate tool for transparently reducing volume to any level.
On top of all this, the Sugarland is built with bulletproof construction and instrument-grade craftsmanship inside and out. I build each one myself here at my Baltimore shop, and I’m delighted to offer this model as part of my new product line.
