New amp gear - Rocktron Vendetta head (again)

This post is dedicated to one of the most "mis-understood" amps on the market... the Rocktron Vendetta. I had a Vendetta a few years back and it was one of those few amps that I immediately bonded with. Of course, like most things, I ended up selling the Vendetta to pick up other gear. But recently I ended up on a mission to pick up a simple-but-versatile 100 watt head, and I became hell-bent on finding another Vendetta (inspired in part by the fact that I've had a Vendetta 4x12 cab loaded with V30's around here for the past few years).

So what makes the Vendetta so great? For starters, it's basically a "modernized" version of the Egnater TOL100... it has a similar 4-channel, 100-watt architecture, but with more gain on tap and a slightly more aggressive voicing. Compared to the original TOL100, it is much easier to dial in (to find good tones without compromising too much on the shared EQ's). From a features standpoint, it's got dual effects loops (series + parallel), built-in MIDI switching, and bias points on the back panel.

So why is it so misunderstood? Perhaps because it looks like a TOL100-wanna-be. Perhaps because Rocktron only produced a handful and never really marketed them. Perhaps because Rocktron introduced a second line of solid-state Vendettas that paled in comparison to the original 100-watt all-tube version. Perhaps because (as some point in time) Rocktron shifted production of the amps from the US to China. Who knows?

While my first Vendetta was made in the USA, this is one of the made in China models. What's different? Nothing's noticeable from a tonal standpoint (which is a good thing). I haven't yet taken it apart to look at the build quality. The key differences are that the Chinese model includes a road case and has LED's installed behind the tubes for that cool "glow-in-the-dark" effect.

So I've got the Vendetta rigged up with a MidiMate for channel switching and running through a Vendetta 4x12 cab... it's about as much Rocktron gear as I could have in a single rig without having an Xpression in the FX loop. Shortly after receiving it, I upgraded the stock Ruby tubes with Svetlana 12AX7's and JJ 6L6's. After spending a bit of time to dial it in, I put together the following quick demo videos to show off it's capabilities...

Vendetta with PRS Sunburst 245:


Vendetta with PRS DGT:


Here's a pic of the Vendetta head on top of the Vendetta cab, reunited after all these years:


Anyway, for anyone who's in the market for a versatile but straightforward 100-watt tube head, this is definitely one to check out (assuming, that is, that you can find one to check out).

--B