Barnett Davies - the new approach to valve amplification

A new concept in guitar amps, the Barnett Davies FIFTEEN THIRTY is a lightweight and compact valve amp that is easily portable without compromising sound quality. In fact the FIFTEEN THIRTY sound quality is considered to be one of the highest on the market today.

"Whatever style you play, play it through a FIFTEEN THIRTY - you won't want anything else once you have."

John Pearson

LATEST NEWS

The Barnett Davies FIFTEEN THIRTY is awarded runner-up in the Guitar and Bass Awards 2006.

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Design
Having worked for many years maintaining and modifying sound equipment for musicians, we are aware that it all has to be carried in and out of venues, often up or down flights of stairs and in and out of vehicles. Therefore anything that will reduce the size or weight of equipment is desirable which certainly applies to valve amplification. Most amp designers seem to pay NO ATTENTION to overall weight particularly concerning combos. The FIFTEEN THIRTY is designed entirely with minimum weight in mind without compromising sound quality.

Materials
We have chosen materials and component parts carefully to reduce weight wherever possible. The cabinet is pine not ply, MDF or chipboard and has comb-jointed corners - no blocks or battens. The cabinet construction contributes to the quality of sound of any amp.

The Chassis
The chassis is welded aluminium, not steel, so does not need plating or painting and has better conductivity.

The Speaker
The speaker is specially made for us by Tayden in England. It is more efficient than some speakers at converting the amplifiers output into sound. It is also 3 - 4lbs lighter than conventional ceramic magnet speakers.

Size, weight and balance
By very careful use of space we have kept the physical size to a minimum again reducing the weight. In the careful positioning of transformers etc. we have been able to balance the carrying position.

The FIFTEEN THIRTY has been designed with:-

Two separate channels - one clean and one overdrive which are actually SEPARATE channels, so that they can be combined to produce a third sound. The more usual arrangement is actually a single channel reconfigured for high gain, this involves complicated switching with relays etc. whereas the FIFTEEN THIRTY uses simple, silent earth switching.

Silent earth switching which is also used to control reverb levels which can be off or set to a lower level than the panel control. The reverb switch is mounted in the foot switch to enable channel change and reverb level change simultaneously if required.

An output power level which is switchable between 15 and 30 Watts to allow the output stage to be overdriven at a lower level for long creamy sustain or clean headroom up to 30 Watts.

A transformer isolated balanced line XLR connector with level control and speaker simulation for recording or direct line out to a PA.

Power and Standby switches which are separately illuminated on a 45 degree control panel, designed to be seen from all levels. So whether the amp is on the floor or raised from the ground, you can still see where the controls are set.

Because valve amps can be severely damaged if the speaker is not connected we have incorporated a dummy load to protect the output stage. This is not usually found on any other amplifier.

We aimed to create an amp which can be carried in and out of a venue in one hand with a guitar in the other and yet still sound great. We have carefully considered every aspect of design and believe we have created a modern classic.