YerasovGTA15J1x10combo £319
CrèmedelaKrem–aboldnew15-wattbudgetboutiquecombo
CONTACT: Yerasov UK PHONE:
Nowavailable intheUK,the Russian-madeYerasovGTA15 maylookalittlelikea1970s cataloguepracticeamp,but underneaththeskin,it’sa serioustonetoolwithapairof JJEL84spoweringaJensen C10Qloudspeaker.Insidethe toughsteelchassis,there’sa decent-qualitynon-throughplated Wimafilmdecoupling capacitors–arguablythebest youcanbuy.Hand-wired ceramicvalvebasesarebolted tothechassis,andtheboard layoutandwiringissuperb. Controlscouldn’tbesimpler,
07534 429269 WEB: www.yerasov.co.uk
comprisingvolumeandtone, fedbyseparateinputsforguitar orline-leveldevicessuchas multi-effectsfloorboards.
Sounds
TheYerasov’snoise performancebeatsmostofthe valveampswe’vetestedinthe lastdecade,withpractically inaudiblehumandhissatlower volumelevels.Combinedwith theexcellentJensenC10Q loudspeaker,thismakesita superbrecordingtool.Used withaPAF-loadedLesPaul,the ampstayscleanupuntilaround 10o’clock.Beyondthis,the GTA15’ssmoothcreamy
Verdict
overdriveprogressivelytakes over.Dependingontheguitar youuse,itmaybealittletoo warm;however,forthe relativelybrighttoneofaPAFstyle coils,it’ssuperb,withadeluge ofharmonicovertones accompanyingpowerchords, andabloomthatflatterssinglenote forclassicrockandblues whencranked. TheYerasovisareal‘stealth’ boutiqueamp,withportability, greattone,excellentbuild qualityandsuperblow-noise performance.Ifyouthinkthe stylingisalittleaustere,then closeyoureyes,listentothe soundandreflectontheprice. You’regettingatop-quality hand-madevalveampforthe costofamass-producedsolidstate makeitidealforfloorboard users,too–apairofGTA15s wouldmakeaportableand powerfulstereorig.Definitely onetowatchoutfor. [NG]
GUITARIST RATING:
Guitaristsays: Forgettherather drabstyling,thisisaserious boutiquetonemachine