After many months (nearly a year, in fact!) we have added a new amplifier design to our line up… The Tug Boat Classic! The Tug is an eight watt, 10″ combo guitar amplifier that sits perfectly between the bedroom, the studio and the stage.
The Tug Boat sports a single input, Volume and Tone controls, and a power switch that allows access to Full (eight watts) and Half (four watts) power modes. We’ve included the Jensen Electric Lightning 10″ speaker – after auditioning dozens of drivers we came back to this amazing sounding Jensen again and again.
For only eight watts you will be amazed at the loudness and room-filling nature of the ‘Tug. In Full power mode the ‘Tug will provide plenty of power for most small to medium stages, especially those equipped with modern sound reinforcement. In Half power mode this amp will allow you to practice at home and in the studio without blowing your family, friends and neighbors away. Although, the Captain often contemplates; what’s in a friend that dislikes being blown away?
As with our Classic 18 amplifier, the Volume control adjusts loudness and gain simultaneously, while the Tone control is something a little different. On the left side of the Tone dial this amplifier produces a pristine, scooped sound – perfect for cleaner excerpts, with a truly “American sound.” As you rotate the Tone control clockwise the amplifier yields richer mid tones and distortion, yielding a classic British style crunch and break up. The range of versatility between these two simple controls is fantastic, and accompanies pedal boards perfectly.
To extend the utility of the ‘Tug, we’ve included the option to swap out the single power tube in this Class A monster. The Tug accepts a variety of octal power tubes, including the EL34, 6L6, KT66, KT77, KT88, 5881, 6550, and 6V6 varieties. The power tube can be changed without any adjustment of the amplifier – making this an extremely accessible and plug-and-play device.
You may also exchange the single 12AX7 pre-amp tube for any 12AT7, 12AU7, 12AY7 or 5751 type, though keep in mind the 12AX7 produces the most gain of any of these choices.
The Tug Boat Classic features the same rugged construction as the rest of our amplifiers and comes with a lifetime warranty. Hefty, USA-made Edcor transformers were custom wound to achieve these remarkable results and allow us to drive any impedance speaker cabinet through the single 1/4″ speaker connection. This means you can bypass the internal speaker for a larger cabinet, truly unleashing the power of the Tug. My favorite use for the amp has become playing a jazz bass into a 2×15 … now you just don’t see other “boutiques” doing that!
The first run of Tugs was limited to just four units, and quickly all were claimed! Of course, we had to hold on to the little red beauty for ourselves, so come to our shop and play one first hand for yourself!
Check out the Steamboat Facebook page for closer pictures of these beauties and stay tuned to our website for audio clips and a full specification listing.
The Boathouse (home to our wonderful shop) will be hosting a stop at the SIXTH iteration of COUNTER CRAWL. We are excited to be included in this independent arts community and we can’t wait to network with more artists, musicians and other zany Houstonians. The Crawl will be on Saturday, October 13th. The Boathouse stop is 7:00-9:30 pm. Don’t miss live music, performance art and …. dare I say… FREE BEER!
Besides that, we’ll be seeing you in ATX for the FUN FUN FUN fest Nite shows! We will be at one venue with a full STEAMBOAT backline for some very special guests to use and abuse. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for venue announcement and band line up.
Cheers
Capt Jake
ps. Sorry for lack of blog updates! Lots of stuff in the works… including a few new prototypes, custom builds, a classic re-imagined, and a new non-amp product!
