Two Rock Custom Reverb - Version 2

The Marketing Blurb

The Custom Reverb Signature is the culmination of everything Bill & Joe have learned since day one. It has a lot of the same features from their early days building amplifiers. The CR Sig has a very refined lead channel that has been tweaked to perfection. Originating in the K&M Custom, this circuit is the most open, least compressed and most articulate and revealing. The Signature also features a dual mode power supply which allows for either 35 watt or 50 watt operation(70/100 watts in the 100 watt version). It has a separate isolated power supply for the reverb, which enhances the reverb effect and prevents loading of the dry signal. In conjunction with our other reverb innovations, you'll immediately notice a rounder, warmer, less restrictive feel.

The version 2 of the Custom Reverb Signature features further refinements. More proprietary components have been added to the list of parts made exclusively for us to continually improve our amps. The presence control has been eliminated and a contour control has been added. At the twelve o’clock position, the amp’s frequency response is flat. Rotating the knob counter-clockwise, will decrease the highs and increase the lows, and vice-versa for clockwise movement. This is ideal for switching between single coils and humbuckers without touching other controls or compensating for different speaker cabinets. It’s also a great way to compensate for room acoustics without changing your entire preamp EQ.

The effects return level is now internally fixed and there is a reverb send control on the back, similar to the Overdrive Signature. The beauty of this is you can control the amount of signal that goes to the reverb tank, allowing you to go from short to long decay times. The return control(front panel) adds just the right amount of total effect, from subtle to surf.

Finally, the output transformer has also been redesigned. The Custom Reverb Signature V2 has a much wider bandwidth, which along with our refined circuitry and component choices, translates into more articulation, feel, chime, and musicality than ever before.

My Opinion

This amp's all about tone.

I heard one played a couple of years ago in a gig and I was surprised at the tone from such a compact package. From what I could see, the guitarist was using a regular US Strat and no special pickups. I didn't even see the footswitch being used, instead I remember the guitarist using a tubescreamer/boost pedal to lift the tone nicely. It definitely a nice tone.

At that particular gig, the Two Rock Custom Reverb worked out well for the jazz-funk/blues/pop that the band were covering, while allowing the guitarist to shine through with his own style. He leant more towards acid-jazz licks. What made me notice was that the although the band were changing styles regular, the guitarist was able to fit in without being the drawing away attention.

I've read a lot about these amplifiers (and some of the Fuchs) being as near to getting your hands on a Dumble as most are ever likely to. I can't say much about that, never having played either. With my main Dumble reference being Stevie Ray Vaughn, I can easily see how you can the SRV tone with the Two Rock Custom Reverb.

From that perspective, this amp would definitely have to be in my short-list if I could only ever have one amp.