Available New: Bartel Amps Sugarland Head + Cab.

EL84 loaded Head / 1x12” cab w/ Fane A60 Alnico Speaker. Featuring Bartel’s push-pull bright cap on the output volume control.

The Bartel Sugarland Head + Cab setup sounds immaculate. The EL84s paired with the Fane A60 Alnico speaker make for a dynamic and other-worldly harmonically rich and articulate amp: With Mark Bartel’s signature push-pull bright cap on the output volume control, switching from single-coils to hum-buckers is a breeze. It’s wild how lightweight these are—definitely not the usual burden of a head and cab rig.

The EL84’s shine in this model, especially when pushed into a gritty overdrive. Try setting your treble to 8 & your bass to 2 & crank the output to your desired gain-level. This setting is reminiscent of a Vox AC15. The Plexi settings (treble 0-2 bass 0) yield immaculate harmonic overtones and fullness. It’s interesting how little of a difference the EL84 output tubes make when in Blackface or Tweed mode. The amp still sounds very much like Bartel’s original 6V6GT Sugarland design with just slightly more gain on tap.

You can’t go wrong if you’re looking for an ultra versatile rig with top-notch build quality, an absurdly pure signal path and complex harmonic overtones. While Bartel’s are more than capable of imitating classic tube amp designs of the past; Mark Bartel has taken it a few steps further. It’s difficult to comprehend the uniqueness of these ultra high-end tube amplifier designs, until you’ve actually spent some time with one.

From Bartel Amps:

All three Signature Series amplifiers bring a new level of innovation and refinement to the crafting of vintage tones. Distinctive design features like instrument-grade cabinetry, a purist multi-voice preamp, and interstage transformer-based design set them apart from conventional guitar amplifiers. The result is a strikingly different kind of sound – deep and resonant, detailed and present, but also smooth and balanced at the same time. They respond like an acoustic instrument and fill the room with a lively, present, and totally unconstricted tone.

The Custom 12W Sugarland is a purist design, all tube head and 1×12“ cab powered by a pair of EL84 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 Head & 1x12” Cab

• All Tube, Handwired Circuitry

• Single Channel Multi-Voice Preamp

• Innovative Master Volume Control

• Line Out

• Emerald Green Tolex w/ Oxblood Grill & Gold center piping / dividing line

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 12” Alnico Speaker

Design Highlights:

• Tubes: 2x12AX7A, 2x12AU7, 2xEL84, 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 cab 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 bias, 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. These latter settings are where the EL84’s fully shine.

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.

– Mark Bartel