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We like the Cornford's bold aesthetic

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• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

It was back in 1999 that UK maker Cornford Amplification launched its first Harlequin model. It was a radical move: a full-sized 1 x 12 combo that kicked out just six watts.

Since then, many other manufacturers have cottoned on to the demand for a big tone from a low-output valve amplifier, and the market is now awash with single-ended heads and combos.

The Harlequin became an instant hit with studios, as well as with guitarists with home set-ups who were fed up with synthetic sounds and wanted real tone on their recordings.

These days, the Cornford range includes the powerful MK50, Ritchie Kotzen signature heads and cabs, the 35-watt Hellcat stack and combo, and the excellent 20-watt Hurricane.

So why have Paul Cornford and Martin Kidd, the founders of this now world-acclaimed amp range, come up with another low-watter, this Carrera?

"It was as a direct result of pressure from our players," says Paul Cornford. "They kept telling us they wanted a Harlequin, but with a few more features, like reverb and an effects loop. So we've bowed to their requests with the Carrera. But we added our own ideas to make it even more interesting."

Overview

Cornford has made its name on hand-built, point-to-point wired amps ("No PCBs of any sort," insists PC) and that's exactly how the Carrera is built at the company's home in Kent, England.

As well as the entirely valve-driven reverb and effects loops, Cornford has come up with a rather ingenious way of creating different power ratings and tones – but more on that later.

The Carrera is a simple but attractive amp. It comes in the company's trademark oxblood vinyl over a lock-jointed pine cabinet, with cream-painted control panel, chicken-head knobs and a sturdy leather handle.

The monster-sized Cornford logo splashed across most of the cream-piped black fret-cloth is new. We like this bold statement.

The control panel is a simple affair, offering low and high inputs, effects send and return, gain, reverb, bass, middle, treble and master volume controls.

There are on-off and standby switches, and another toggle that says '8 pin' one way and '9 pin' the other.

This is the Carrera's secret weapon and means you can use any output valve you like, from regular EL34s and 6L6s, right up to super-tubes like the venerable KT88.

This feature not only enables the user to choose the amp's overall tone colour, but it also provides different power outputs, from five watts (EL84) to a massive eight (KT88), and all points in between. Inside, the wiring is impeccably done.

Makers of hand-built valve amplifiers like to route and tie the cables as neatly as possible while ensuring minimum noise through interference.

They also love to lay the components out in the most visually pleasing way, as well as building in simplicity of design and therefore ease of maintenance.

Cornford and Kidd have turned these aims into an art form. This is a beautiful piece of work.