I was just thinking to myself it's amazing how influential a great player can be in selling gear, I'm gassing for the Romany 12 myself now haha......do you mind sharing what Jensen speaker comes equipped with this amp cheers!
Wow. Sounds great. I think we can certainly be proud of the British made stuff. Just look at the incredible hand made guitars and amps coming out of Cornell, Rift amps, Radioshop pick ups and of course the amazing Gordon Smith - makes you wonder why we ever buy anything other than ‘made in the UK’.
Actually, you’re right. I’ve heard so much doom over the years about the decline of British manufacturing..... well here is a more optimistic look at things. Makes you proud! Cheers for watching Marc 👍
Marc Moyle yeah your right marshall went to crap as soon as they stopped making them in Britain,I was lucky enough to get one of the last British made dsl amps,this is an amazing amp I'd love to own one but very pricy
Was looking for information about this amp. Discovered your sumptuous playing, and lovely channel. Happy since I 'm going to purchase the amp, and found a very inspiring guitar ressource (saw that you have made a good number of tutorials which I' m looking forward to explore).
Great demo Paul when I bought my Les Paul this was the shops try out amp. After watching your review managed to find Romany pro. Thanks a lot mate I'm delighted with it. Steve
Excellent! Delighted you’re enjoying your Romany Pro.... I think that’s the slightly more powerful one? 20watts, and therefore a little more headroom? Anyway, these tweed Cornells are just lovely, I’m keeping a tight hold of mine. Cheers for watching my wee vid 👍🎸
Wow, what a great comment! Delighted you liked the vid. It really is a fantastic amp. I played it for about 4hrs yesterday, with all 5 of my guitars. It’s just lovely. Of all the amps I have, it’s the most “instantly” appealing. It’s like the “Gibson 335” of amps.... and by that I mean, all you have to do to make it sound good is to switch it on! That’s why I bought it, i.e. I had no preconceived idea as to what amp I was out to buy that day. I spent the morning in the guitar store trying Vox, Fender, Supro, Marshall, then BAM! One G chord on the Cornell and that was it. 🤘. And it seems my subscribers seem to agree, in that you’ll see it comes out tops in my “Boss Katana v’s Valves” vid. ruclips.net/video/7WgL5IDGAs0/видео.html. Anyway, cheers for watching 👍
Been looking into getting a handwired British amp and have looked at Cornell. Really not surprised that big names such as Clapton, Gary Moore and Noel Gallagher are on Cornells Rostra, when they sound as epic as this. I also read somewhere Cornell himself has worked and helped design gear for other major names in the past, seriously hope these amps start getting the recognition they deserve.
You have convinced me that this is the amplifier I need. I was originally thinking Marshall Silver Jubilee Studio 2525c, which is a true mini rock machine, but I am really loving these vintage tones from the Cornell. My guitar is a PRS Wood Library Artist Pack Custom 24 with 58/15 LT PAF style pickups, and it should sing through this amplifier! Thank you for sharing the video. Your playing is absolutely awesome.
Thank you so much for the compliment Douglas, appreciated. Actually, by sheer coincidence, I’ve just literally uploaded another video, where I play my Dads amazing guitar collection through my Cornell (15 guitars). Should give you a broad idea of what to expect from a wide range of guitar types. Should be ready to view in about 10 minutes, once it’s finished processing.
Dear Scotsman. Thanks for showing this great amp, especially with a 335. I use a 335 mostly, but not many people demonstrate gear with 335s. I need to buy one of those amps. Thank you so much for the video. I hope I can get a Cornell amp in Australia. Cheers from a Scotsman in the Colonies. 😁👍
Yes, I just watched that Allman Brothers performance on RUclips, to remind me. You’re right! I think on the second song of their set, there it is! Lovely rich punchy tone, fab!
Hi Grantburgh1 😀. Delighted you like my channel, and thanks for taking the time to comment. And yes - feel free to whip those licks.... let’s face it, I probably whipped them from other players 🤣
I had one of these and then ended up getting the 20w version it's absolutely awesome. I see you also have a Hudson Broadcast, I've found that this is an incredible match for the romany when set up as a mild overdrive or clean boost
Hi Andrew. Yes, so it looks like we share the same taste in amps 😀. Like you, I really love my Cornell. And my Broadcast 👍. Cheers for watching my vid.
Another fantastic video Paul - apologies for coming to it so late. I got my Romany Plus 12 way back in 2005 when it came with only three switchable output levels - 10, 2 and 1/4 watts as I recall (no markings). Dennis put a Celestion Greenback 12 in it for me. I love that amp and it’s still my favorite 16 years later even through speaker experimentation and valve (otherwise known as tubes where I am) replacements. I’ve seen a lot of demos of the Romany Plus but yours is the closest to my experience. After about 5 years I swapped the Greenback out, initially for a Jensen, and finally for a Ted Weber 12F150 Blue, which works the best for me. I almost always play straight in (no pedals) with the EQ Cut switched in using a Strat, Tele or ES330. I will now try experimenting with the tone control settings based on your video. Revelation and rejuvenation time maybe.
Hi Paul, that amp sounds Great, probably my favourite so far, and if it's as reliable as the Katana, then you've found something special, a valve amp that looks and sounds nice, very '60s looking, love it! Cheers.
Thanks Dad. Yeah, I was always slightly jealous that your Fender Hot Rod is a tweed, whereas mine was just the normal black/silver and didn’t look as special. So it’s great to have a tweed now in my collection!
You have scored a beauty there Paul, I was going to say 'are you using an external reverb'! Reminds me of the Fender Champ which Clapton used on the Layla album I hear, gorgeous mate looking forward to hearing you playing some chops on that.
Thank you Michael , I’m delighted with it. However, I really need to stop spending money on guitars and amps now.... Each time I walk in to that little room, I have to spend a moment to decide what guitar to play and then what amp to play it through...... it’s such a terrible first world problem, such a burden 🤣.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Oh, I feel your pain Paul, the fabulous Katana, or the vintage excellence of a hand crafted amplifier, the tone options alone are anxiety producing!
Congrats on the amp! Man that thing sounds great. There’s a sweet fullness to the tweeds that’s hard to beat. It just makes a guitar sound like it should. I need an attenuator so I can play mine more often.
Thanks Jeff. Yes I must admit, that little built in attenuator is a great feature..... the volume used in this clip was generally bedroom volume..... that was 0.05 watts. However at the full 10watts, you’d need to consider an overdrive pedal.....
Wow ! Great playing ! Nice tone on the amp , I love Jensen speakers . Regardless of the amp , you have to know how to touch the guitar . The amp sounds so good with all your guitars . The volume setting you have , with no pedals is perfect for really hearing the amp , which is heavenly . Sorry about your experience with the Fender amp . I always play Fender , but I need the sound of 6L6 tubes , EL 84 just don't do it for me . There are some fantastic small builders producing some beautiful gear . We are in another golden era of guitars , which I appreciate . Greetings from Akron , Ohio USA . Love your videos !
Just had a shot of one in Edinburgh today after Chris suggested it and I remembered seeing you getting one. As a "guitar into amp, no pedals" experience it's pretty amazing - and man is it loud on A, B and C but on D I had to crank it up to about 7. The EQ seemed like a boost? The reverb seemed excessive on anything much past 3 or 4 (unless you are going for a very specific sound) but great dynamic amp with a lot of tonal variation and with all the options your guitar gives you, it's even better. Very tempted...
Ha, funny, you just described it perfectly, i.e. the over zealous Reverb, the EQ switch that could suddenly wake the dead 🤣, and the fact that your volume needs to be 6 or 7 if using the most attenuated setting. But man, what an amp! I’m a few months in and I’m genuinely thrilled by it. My “go to” setting for house volume is the lowest output (is that A or D, can’t remember), and volume on 6. Just gorgeous. I doubt you’d regret the purchase..... 😀. Thanks for watching my vid 👍
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks Paul. Love your playing and vids. Out of interest, do you get any footswitch with it or is there one they sell for EQ and Reverb maybe?
Hello Paul, Have watched this video, and many others you've made, several times. Very enlightening - thank you. I've been considering getting a Romany 12 reverb since hearing the sounds you get from it with different guitars. One minor concern is that other reviewers get a noticably thinner, nondescript tone. Am wondering if that results from their coice of settings/technique/personal preference. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this? Thanks again for your channel. John
Excellent question LankisherJohn! I reckon it’s two things….. Firstly, I use an iPhone to record ALL my videos….. I don’t own a computer or audio interface or any of that shenanigans that allow you to do “post production” tweaking. I place the microphone part of the phone about 1.5 feet from the amp’s grill cloth. So I’m capturing the true sound of the amp. Secondly, like most Fender style amps, the Cornell has a generous bottom end to its tone. And so I don’t dial that out. I LOVE that warm rounded tone. Many guitar RUclipsrs dial out bass on their amps so as to sit better in a mix. I do not do this. Hope this helps.
Hi. Still happy with the cornell? Unless I'm mistaken, this looks like the best "tweed at home" option available for guys who want a real valve amp, ie not pedals. Seems you can buy this amp in quite a few places but very few videos or reviews online though, which I is odd to me as it looks better than any fender options, of which I don't really think there is anything comparable in the market.
Hi msteve 👍. Yes, I still LOVE that amp! It has two incredible voices - the first is EQ in, which is just lush and big and gorgeous. The bottom end is just stunning and credit cards literally start jumping out your wallet 🤣. The second voice is “EQ cut” - I’m liking this voice more and more. It suddenly sounds honky and more distorted and very very “tweed”. And the attenuation is SO useful. As regards other tweed style amps .....? I’ve never tried the Lazy J.... but everyone loves it.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 hey thanks for replying so quickly! Yes the credit card has slipped out before several times and yet the search still goes for the one great amp! The tone sounds very natural but driven from your videos. I've heard of the lazy j but never seen one for sale, think they are boutique priced though?! The cornell is possibly the most economicaly priced and obtainable for such a handwired amp.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 My pleasure. Thanks to your video, I’ve tracked down a shop which sells the Cornell amps and I’ve bought a Romany 10”. I retired from performing, so the smaller model is perfect. Thank you my friend.
Thanks Ross. Yes, I reckon fate plays a hand sometimes, and so I’m not missing the Princeton, ha ha. Yes, Denis Cornell has made a lovely thing, and I’m loving it 👍
Hi Paul. Great playing and sounds. I currently have a Fender Blues Junior iii with a few Xotic Pedals, one of which is the RC booster which helps give some depth and body to the sound of my amp. My main guitar is Fender Am Std 2011, which sounds lovely and clean. Would you recommend saving the penny's for this Cornell whist maintaing a clean blues sound? I have been considering getting a Fender Princeton 65 reissue. I also play a Ibanez AS73 with Gibson 57 Classics installed (which is the nearest I can get to the real thing lol) cheers!
Hi Mark. Cheers for watching my wee video. You asked if I would recommend the Cornell for maintaining a clean sound. Hmm…. no, I would not. This Cornell is the best amp I’ve ever owned but I wouldn’t say it’s “thing” is pristine cleans. I think you might be better with the ‘65 reissue Princeton for that. People seem to love them! The Cornell is more of the classic “Tweed” sound, but with added warmth.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks Paul for the advice. I really do love the sounds coming from the Cornell. The Princeton is up there in my favourites but am concerned about reliability seeing your other video and from others. I'm also keen on the MB Recto-Verb 25 and a few others. It's a real minefield out there, but great fun looking into it, before sweet talking the wife and smashing the piggy bank lol. Cheers Paul!
Hi Paul. Just to give you an update. I'm still checking out various amps for various reasons and I keep coming back to the Cornell. I have recently found out the Romany 12 is cathode biased, I could change worn valves myself without looking for an engineer - another plus (I like to keep things simple and no complications). At the moment, I just play at home, but I wondered how the Cornell faired when gigging? How do you use yours when playing with a band? Cheers!
Maybe all the trouble you went through with the fender amps was worth it. This amp sounds sweet. Reminds me of the 5e3 fender tweed deluxe. Nice score Mr. Paul.
Thank you James! Yes, I think Denis Cornell would be happy with your comparison.... I’ve always fancied a tweed amp, they look so cool. And so I’m a happy chappy! Cheers for watching James
Thank you MintyBitesBack! Yes, as regards gigging the Cornell, I’d say the answer is yes. BUT, it ain’t gonna be clean. It’ll be into blues crunch territory. If it helps, here’s a link to one of my vids where I take it (and a couple of other amps) to a rehearsal room and really crank them up to gig volume. If you scroll to 2:05 you’ll hear that, at 85% volume and no attenuation, you have a great ballsy lead tone. I’m sure you’d clean it up with a twist of your guitar’s volume pot.... But it’s certainly no Fender Twin 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks for the reply, really good response and thanks for the pointer. I have to say, your playing is fantastic, defo subscribing and already bookmarked a load more to watch when I have time! They are like mini master classes which really take an alternate view from the Jazzer's approach of theory being god... (not that there is anything wrong with that... (or is there...(?)). All the best from Manchester :-)
Great tones! I think I’m gonna give this one a try. What kind of reverb is it equipped with? Could you post a clip with some clean tones at 10w mode? Cheers from Poland
Hi Eryk. It’s a spring reverb but it’s a bit TOO powerful 🤣. So I keep the Reverb set really low. As regards clean tones on the 10w setting..... Ok, next time I’m doing a Cornell video I’ll include some cleans. Cheers for watching my video 👍
Hey Paul. I’ve been watching a lot of your vids recently. Really like your playing and your gear. Would you say that the attenuation on the Romany is sufficient to play in an appartement without annoying everyone around? Cheers from Berlin. Ysnn
Hi Ysnn 👋. Delighted you like my little videos! The answer to your question is Yes. The quietest setting is amazing. With the volume on 2 it’s beautifully warm and has a slight crunchy edge to it, and yet it’s totally bedroom quiet! Then with the volume on 4 you have a definite bluesy breakup, i.e. the tone and volume that I typically use for my RUclips videos. But admittedly it’s now getting slightly louder than bedroom volume (but still not loud). I reckon it’s the best attenuation I’ve seen so far on a valve amp.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks for taking the time to answer Paul. I’ll probably save to buy one. I have the chance to have an isolation booth in my living room which great to play a normal volume but the acoustic is quite bad, very boomy. So sometimes I just want to be done to play in a normal room and the Cornell sounds like the perfect amp for that. Have a good night!
@@paulstaffordcook8799 BTW, i have just ordered the baby of the family... the Traveler 5. for the moment in the lockdown and the raging pandemic there is no playing in bands, so it's gotta be my home practice amp. I hope it will live up to my expectations: not too many reviews on the web though, in fact very scarce. Have you had the chance to get your hands on the Traveler?
Hi nice video and sounds, I’m in a covers band we do CCR , quo, a couple of eagles, monkeys, Beatles, TRex, mainly 60s and so 70s I’ve looked at these before and admired their sound, my questions are is it loud enough as a stand alone amp, not miked up and does it take pedals I have Dunlop wash, Ibanez ts7 tube screamer, reverb pedal and delay. We only do small pub gigs etc. Many thanks for your videos they are epic.
Hi Rocky Stone. Sorry for late reply. While I only ever use it at bedroom volume (and the most attenuated setting) I did take it to a noise proof rehearsal room a while ago, to crank it up to gig volume and to compare it to my Vox and Supro….. And yes, it’s certainly loud enough to compete with a drummer. However, don’t expect crystal clean headroom at these volume levels…. it’s no Fender Twin 🤣. Here’s a link to that video if it helps ruclips.net/video/QcaYQKduH5s/видео.html
Hi! Thanks for your video. There aren’t many videos on Cornell’s. I am considering the Plexi 7. It should be similar. You think having such an amp at its quietest output setting would be better than a 15 W Fender amp with the master rolled down? I want it mainly for clean tones and pedals on top. Also considering it doesn’t have an FX loop and I like versatility.
Hi Mig-El Romed, thanks for watching my vid. To answer your question - would the Cornell Plexi 7 (in maximum attenuation) be better than the 15w Fender.... Hmm.... I tried the Plexi 7 briefly..... nice, but didn’t grab me and yell “Buy me”. Whereas both the Cornell Romany 12 and the Marshall Astoria really DID grab me by the ears 😀🤘, to the point I just couldn’t ignore them, and had to buy them. Sorry if this isn’t much help....
Thank you Jode111. Yeah, good point. I’ve never really pushed it with pedals..... it sounds so dam good without pedals that I tend to just leave it as it is. That said, yes, I’ll put that on my list for a potential vid. What I CAN say, is that at house volume it takes all my pedals beautifully.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 although I prefer trying an amp before purchase, as the world is now, i am considering ordering one - but tweeds with OD tend to be somewhat ‘fistula’ and hard to dial in the sweetspot, so very curious how this performs. Lovely videos you have in general, really enjoy your entusiasm
Hi Paul, such a great sound. Just what I look for. Would you say that this 10w amp would hold up on a small stage in a club with a loud drummer next to you? I see someone is talking about a 20w version, but I can't see there is one when looking at the Cornell website. Would you know? I wonder how this would compare to a Fender '57 tweed... Choices, choices :-D
Cheers Thor. I’ve not played my Romany in a band context, but I’m gonna make an educated guess and say YES! When you take away the attenuation, my god it’s loud! I doubt it would stay spanky clean - it’s not a Twin Reverb after all.... but for bluesy tones, yes I’m positive it would keep up easily with a loud club band. On a related note - I am not sponsored by Cornell, and I paid full price for my amp - but I maintain it’s the best amp I’ve ever played. It’s charms are so immediate.... you don’t go searching.... it’s just there. I regularly switch between my Marshall Astoria, Supro Tremoverb, my Cornell, and my new Vox AC30... and every time, BAM. For me, Cornell is hands down my favourite. My subscribers seem to agree, when you look at the comments on my amp comparison shoot-out: ruclips.net/video/7WgL5IDGAs0/видео.html
After about a year with this amp I only have one thing I would change if I could… the EQ switch should be footswitchable… I think I could mostly do without pedals then. It definitely has enough headroom to use in a band… “Unfortunately” it’s become my home amp, simply because it sound so ridiculously good at wife friendly volumes (as well as ear shattering loud of course)… but I make good use of both channels of my Suhr Hombre that is an almost equally good, but different amp… but if the EQ was footswitchable I may have considered using the Cornell and ditching the pedalboard…
Hi Paul. What a score. I think you might want to take a look at these two gismos to fit to your camera (Boya BY-MM1 and Boya BY-M1). Been doing some research for my own first attempts at making vids. They stack up very well against the big boys for a fraction of the price - the lapel mic cost me 8 quid!
You and I must be of like minds! I bought the lavaliere microphone BOYA BY-DM1.... I’ve experimented for hours, comparing Mic v’s no Mic and all combinations of where to place it. My conclusion has led to it being placed in my “man drawer”. I think when it comes to human speech, it’s an improvement on the iPhone’s own mic. It’s definitely way more powerful and so for vloggers it’s a good call. But for recording my amp, I had to place it several yards away to avoid the sound being clipped and distorted. And there’s a very slight hiss with the mic, that whilst not intrusive (and wouldn’t trouble a vlogger) it’s a little unnatural sounding. So I’ve resorted to placing the iPhone’s own mic about 6 inches from the amp’s grill cloth. Amazingly, it doesn’t clip..... it must instantly self adjust its level, which the lavaliere mic doesn’t do. Ultimately, if I want professional sounding music vids I might have to invest in Mac plus interface plus proper SM57 type mic. Oh dear, I better get saving..... 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 I had a good chuckle at that, Paul. Mine only arrived yesterday so yet to give them a whirl. I went for both as sometimes I will use a student or two in my classes to demonstrate lessons so the shot gun mic BY-MM1 would be better for that situation. However, the lapel mic that you have would be good for solo vids, I hope. Incidentally, I bought the focusrite scarlet set for interface, mike and headphones a few years back. Was just getting into it when the hard disc on my lap top fried. So have to get back to them to reload the programmes etc - I know,... 2 years ago and its still sitting in the box having only been used a couple of times! What am I like? However, if you look at this rig try out the version 2. It seems that version 1 is good for accoustic and low powered pick ups like my SD '59s but clip when you get into distorted sounds - version 2 has apparently fixed that issue! Enjoy the new amps and your pedal - can only say that you must have won the lottery or something !
Thanks Rocksteady. Yes, it’s definitely worth exploring the various options... but for now, I just can’t afford lap tops and PCs..... plus, I’m a “keep it simple” kinda guy. Every time I cross paths with technology I just get annoyed and impatient and it’s such a barrier to sitting down and letting your creativity flow. Hence why I love Katanas and my simple iPhone 😄. As regards winning the lottery..... no, I wish. The neighbour is outside washing his BMW..... however my car is a 60k mile Ford Fiesta..... 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 I'm with you on keeping it simple - I guess that's why I haven't got round to kick starting my tech recording gear. The software hassles with daws and all the post editing seems like a huge learning curve I'm not really interested in. Commendable allocation of financial resources. Hopefully, your tube amps and guitars will hold their value if they don't actually increase. Can't be said for the Beemer!
Hey man, I am really thinking of buying this one, but I am just not sure about one thing. Do you think it will hold up at rehearsals on the 10 watt mode?
Hi , seriously considering getting one off these . Is basically a bassman / tweed twin and could you Mike it up and gig with it . Great playing man really great ⚡️🤘🏻
Thank you Bruce! Delighted you liked my playing. Yes, if you mike this up it would be awesome on a gig. If you DIDN’T mike it up, it would still be awesome for overdriven blues tones, but it would no longer do cleans. It’s no Fender Twin after all 🤣. And at house volume it’s just fantastic with the attenuation set to max. Sounds gorgeous from the first strum of a G chord.
Hi riccardohs75. Glad you like my amp 👍. Actually, I’ve not had a chance to play the 10”..... although Dennis Cornell does a comparison here: ruclips.net/video/tueOLam_FOs/видео.html. Listening to this comparison, the answer is a definite no.... To me, the Romany 12 is the sweet spot in the whole Cornell range of amps.... As soon as you plug into the Romany 12, the lush bottom end is what stuns you and makes credit cards fly out your wallet 🤣. I’m not convinced the 10” (and the smaller cab) suits this amp....
Thank you Charlie! Yes, I had to look up “shellac” on google.... but yes, there does appear to be a hard finish layer over the tweed, giving the impression that it would be hard to rip or tear.... And yes, I need to STOP buying any more amps! It’s only a little room, and I only have a little wallet.... 🤣
Love your playing and you should definitely be sponsored by Cornell 👍🏻 I’m seriously considering the Romany 12… are you familiar with Vox AC15 and could chip in with some information on how the Romany 12 compare volume/headroom wise with Vox AC15? I’ve had the AC15HW1 and AC15C1 and they barely held up with our loud drummer… which is perfect.
Thanks Jks, appreciated. Yes, I own the big brother, the AC30S1, and have played the AC15 before. Funnily enough, the day I bought the Cornell I was actually trying the AC15, the AC30S1 and the Romany - I had all 3 lined up. The second I struck the first G chord through the Romany, my credit card did this funny thing where it lept out of my wallet and into their card reader 🤣. But as regards headroom…. to be honest I didn’t whack either of them up to anything beyond house volume, so I’d be lying if I said one beat the other in that regard.
Hi Soldalyte 👍. I’m really not sure (without removing the back panel). But I’m sure Matt at Cornell amps would tell you. He can be reached via their Cornell Amps Instagram page 😁
Hi Bruce. Good question - and yes, when you remove all the attenuation, it’s LOUD. So for my kinda bluesy break-up tones I’d happily gig this amp. However, as you can imagine, this is no Fender Twin... so if you want very loud CLEANS, then this is not the amp. Hope this helps.
Hi Colin. It’s my absolute “go to” amp. If you look back at the descriptions under the last 90% of my videos, this Cornell is always featured. Awesome amp.
@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks Paul, I can't believe the price they are considering that they're hand wired, it was a fender or marshall im sure they'd be over two grand. Thanks for answering, and a big fan of your playing.
It’s done the old fashioned way, by simply turning up the one and only volume. However, the 4 stage power attenuation allows you to do that at relatively quiet volumes. As a general guide, a light crunch begins at no. 3 on the volume and increases to a definite overdrive at 6 and beyond. 😊
Listened to this amp a couple of years ago and skipped by but this has me teetering. Might be a daft question but how would it be for mellow jazz stuff?
Hi Edward. I’m still laughing from your other comment, about booking a driving lesson but bringing your guitar 🤣. I’m still chuckling from that. “As regards mellow jazz..... whilst I’m more of a blues crunch guy, I think think the Cornell would serve that style admirably. To me, the Cornell’s strength is its warmth, its lovely low end and its crispy highs. And then everything is flipped around when you toggle the EQ Cut switch. Suddenly your into the growling mids. Honky and fantastic. So I hope you get a chance to try one with a jazz guitar. 🤞
Thanks man, really happy with it. Of course, the Katana can easily do similar things, so it’s really just like having different flavours of ice cream to suit different moods. And yes, what a lovely flavour the Cornell is! Might go upstairs and have another wee plug in..... Cheers for watching 👍
Love the sound of that amp. Shame the first picture was of a les paul with p 90's .. I love p 90's, have 4 Guitars two LP, DC'S and a japanese Tokia DC Special and would have liked to have heard the LP in the picture through the Cornell.. Can you advise if the 335 was on the bridge pick up. Samshing so it wis....!!!!! Cheers
Thank you Jim, glad you like the sound of my Cornell. I’m pleased to report that it’s still my favourite amp, especially at house volume. If you’d like to hear the P90 Gold Top Les Paul through the Cornell, then here’s one of my vids where you’ll here that combination. It’s called “Boss Katana v’s Valves” .... if you scroll to 3:29 ruclips.net/video/7WgL5IDGAs0/видео.html
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Cheers Paul thanks for getting back to me I'll look at that video. That said I suspect it will sound the business. I'm hopefully off to Guitar Guitar in Edinburgh shortly to check out their Cornell's... Absolutely intend to get one...
Well I’m not sponsored by Cornell, and I had to pay full price for my Romany.... but I can honestly say it’s a lovely amp. It only has one sound and that one sound may as well be called “gorgeous” 🤣. You just flick the on switch, wait the few seconds for the valves to warm, then form a G chord. Put the volume up a little, and strum. And then get the Visa card out. I love my Marshall, my Vox AC30 and my Supro.... but the Cornell has the most “instant” smile factor.
Hello, I saw on Thomann website that this amp has Dimensions (W x D x H): 533 x 216 x 381 mm. Your amp looks bigger, is it the romany 12 or plus? and what are the dimmensions? Thanks!
Hi Silvera, sorry for late response. I’ve just measured my Cornell Romany 12....... Sticking with W x D x H, my Cornell is 530 x 230 x 410 mm. Hope this helps....
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks for answering! Yes it helps, but anyway I ended getting a tone king skyking. But the cornell sounds great too, maybe the next on my list :)
@@paulstaffordcook8799 yes, the skyking is an amazing amp.. I was divided between the tk and the cornell.. but I found a store here that has the tk. So it was better.. I could test it
Hi Spirou, sorry for late reply. Yes, it’s the Supro 1622RT Tremo-verb, 25w. Am I happy with it? Absolutely. I’ve done a few RUclips videos featuring it, and I really like it. It’s old school, so to get it sounding gnarly and bluesy you have to turn it past half way..... and then it’s lovely. It’s not as loud as you’d think.... it’s a 10” speaker, and so that limits the clean headroom and therefore the volume. It’ll compete with a band / drummer, but it’ll be crunch tones at that point. If using it in the house, you’ll need a pedal to get it to crunch. It’s naturally a very bassy amp, so I tend to run the Treble on full and Bass around 4. Hope this helps 👍
Hi Matt. Actually, I heard a classical cello piece once, maybe on my music feed, I can’t remember….. but I couldn’t ever find it again, not even to this day. So all I had to go on was my rough memory of the general mood of the piece, after only hearing it once. So I’ve no idea whether or not I was success in recreating it. That said I’m very happy with what I’ve captured here. Hope you like it. 👍
Ooo, now I’ve no idea on that one. I’ve certainly done some research on this amp and I’ve never read anything about using a specific circuit from Fender. The official blurb says that it’s based on late 50’s American tweed amps.... so it’s certainly his take on Fender style amps, like the champ. The good news is that I’m sure the small team at Cornell would be delighted to answer specific queries via the “contact” page on their website. Cheers for listening Elvis 👍
Hi Jeff. Yes. I say that because I turned it up very briefly one day, on the setting with no attenuation - and boy it’s loud. Not Fender Twin loud, but certainly loud enough to hang with a band in a small pub gig scenario. I’m not currently playing in a band and so this brief experiment was purely in the house. Mind you.... i play almost exclusively with a bluesy breakup tone.... so if you’re after very loud punchy cleans, i’d imagine the Cornell wouldn’t be the ideal choice. That said, this amp has a stunning tone from the moment you flip the switch. I’ll never sell mine. 😀
Hi James. Correct, just guitar into amp. No pedals, laptops, microphones. Just my iPhone angled toward the amp and touched “record”. So you really are hearing the sound in the room. Very happy with the amp 😊. Thanks for watching James.
Actually, I’m not sure...... my quick google doesn’t seem to reveal the magnet type. I’m guessing ceramic because a RUclipsr called Joe Perkins has a Romany Plus Tweed (granted, not quite the same as my Romany 12). In his video he compares the stock Jensen Ceramic to a new Alnico. One thing I do know - their customer care is great..... so if you send them a message via their Instagram page (cornellamps) I’m sure they’ll let you know. Cheers
Yeah… ok… I ordered the damn thing and I blame you. No stores nearby have it so had to order it online. Hope it doesn’t disappoint. Since you are much to blame, then a good excuse to present for my wife before it arrives would be nice ☝🏻😊
Excellent. I really think you’ll love it. Setting D (quietest), EQs around noon, volume at 2 or 3, strum a G chord and you’re smiling a warm satisfied smile. Then flick the “EQ cut” switch and dig in with some aggressive lead playing and it’s like you’ve just turned a Fender Champ up to 10. Congrats. As regards an excuse to present to your wife…. Hmm… struggling with that one. Maybe just let her hear it 🤣🤘
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks for the tip :) The true test on if I'll keep it is at rehearsal to see if it can keep up with our drummer really. He's not too heavy handed though. Should be fine. I'm currently using 5W mode on my Victory V40D...
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Yeah… I already told her… it’s just a small amp after all 🤷🏼 I’ll try your setting… perhaps make a “first reaction” video of it (if I get a chance before taking it to rehearsal). What guitar you propose? ES355, Les Paul with buckets or P90/Staple, or single coils? I’m mostly curious of how it holds up in rehearsal but I think it should be good. I use 5W setting on my Victory V40 Deluxe so 10W should be sufficient. Our drummer isn’t too heavy handed. Thanks 😊
@@paulstaffordcook8799 K... I picked it up from the post office on my way to rehersal so didn't get a chance to try this today... but man... I used it for rehearsal and this amp was way more than I expected and hoped for. It sounds huge, warm, headroom in spades if you want it to... thanks. I probably wouldn't have dared to put in the money without your demoes of it.
Hi Matt. To say I’m still using it is a bit of an understatement…. It is my “go to” amp for 95% of all my playing and recording on RUclips. In fact I’ve now sold all my other amps (Vox AC30S1, Supro Tremoverb, Boss Katana), except I’ve kept my Marshall Astoria (which is just too good to let go). The Cornell is just the amp that seems to suit me best, I just love the dam thing 🤣😊
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Very interesting. I've had a few 5e3 clones which were great, but that cornell looks like (or sounds like) a great option. I'll have to see if I can try one out. Interesting it's a single 6l6 circuit, maybe similar to my little 5w swart junior. Thanks for the insight! (and thans for all your great content)
all i know is this my good friend go and try an amp you may never have even heard a Koch studiotone 20 there not cheap prob about the same price or a bit less than a princeton 68 but boy youll love it that amp there sounds really nice but the Koch does it all, good luck
Once I get around to writing a good backing track, I'd like to send you them. Would love to hear how you play over them. Anyway, wis fuckin roasting the other day eh?
Your last comment made me burst out laughing ! 🤣. Yeah, I’m a driving instructor so I had to spend the day sweating in that car! Anyway, I’d be delighted to play over a “zeefour original”, so bear me in mind when if you get creative 👍
My wife just laughed out loud at your comment 🤣. Ok, I admit it.... I need to re-prioritise. Maybe for her birthday I could buy her a wee Fender champ..... and if she doesn’t like it, well maybe I could get some use out of it? Ok ok, I’m off to the beauty salon to buy her a pedicure 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Well that's a good sign.....it means you're not COMPLETELY in the dog house but it doesn't mean you're not in trouble. Anyway, that was a nice thought and I'm sure she'd love a Fender Champ too !....;)
I bought a Romany 12 a month ago after watching this video. Amazing tweed type amp. Words cannot capture how good the amp is and how much I love it.
Excellent! I’m delighted you’re bonding with it 😊
I was just thinking to myself it's amazing how influential a great player can be in selling gear, I'm gassing for the Romany 12 myself now haha......do you mind sharing what Jensen speaker comes equipped with this amp cheers!
Are you still happy with it
@@colinpadley1897 extremely happy. I think that Cornell, Two Rock, and Louis Electric are making the finest amps available.
This amp sounds WONDERFUL! I love that the bottom end doesn't flub out and get pigpen muddy like so many amps do.
Wow. Sounds great. I think we can certainly be proud of the British made stuff. Just look at the incredible hand made guitars and amps coming out of Cornell, Rift amps, Radioshop pick ups and of course the amazing Gordon Smith - makes you wonder why we ever buy anything other than ‘made in the UK’.
Actually, you’re right. I’ve heard so much doom over the years about the decline of British manufacturing..... well here is a more optimistic look at things. Makes you proud! Cheers for watching Marc 👍
Marc Moyle yeah your right marshall went to crap as soon as they stopped making them in Britain,I was lucky enough to get one of the last British made dsl amps,this is an amazing amp I'd love to own one but very pricy
@@TheDunateen77 Marshall have never stopped making stuff in the UK, it's just the cheaper stuff that's made abroad now.
Was looking for information about this amp. Discovered your sumptuous playing, and lovely channel. Happy since I 'm going to purchase the amp, and found a very inspiring guitar ressource (saw that you have made a good number of tutorials which I' m looking forward to explore).
Great demo Paul when I bought my Les Paul this was the shops try out amp. After watching your review managed to find Romany pro. Thanks a lot mate I'm delighted with it. Steve
Excellent! Delighted you’re enjoying your Romany Pro.... I think that’s the slightly more powerful one? 20watts, and therefore a little more headroom? Anyway, these tweed Cornells are just lovely, I’m keeping a tight hold of mine. Cheers for watching my wee vid 👍🎸
Simply put All amazing playing and tone!! The strat was my favorite ! Thanks! I am purchasing one of these amps because of this video
Wow, what a great comment! Delighted you liked the vid. It really is a fantastic amp. I played it for about 4hrs yesterday, with all 5 of my guitars. It’s just lovely. Of all the amps I have, it’s the most “instantly” appealing. It’s like the “Gibson 335” of amps.... and by that I mean, all you have to do to make it sound good is to switch it on! That’s why I bought it, i.e. I had no preconceived idea as to what amp I was out to buy that day. I spent the morning in the guitar store trying Vox, Fender, Supro, Marshall, then BAM! One G chord on the Cornell and that was it. 🤘. And it seems my subscribers seem to agree, in that you’ll see it comes out tops in my “Boss Katana v’s Valves” vid. ruclips.net/video/7WgL5IDGAs0/видео.html. Anyway, cheers for watching 👍
Been looking into getting a handwired British amp and have looked at Cornell. Really not surprised that big names such as Clapton, Gary Moore and Noel Gallagher are on Cornells Rostra, when they sound as epic as this. I also read somewhere Cornell himself has worked and helped design gear for other major names in the past, seriously hope these amps start getting the recognition they deserve.
Thanks Ben, yeah I think my Cornell is probably the best sounding amp I’ve ever played.
You have convinced me that this is the amplifier I need. I was originally thinking Marshall Silver Jubilee Studio 2525c, which is a true mini rock machine, but I am really loving these vintage tones from the Cornell. My guitar is a PRS Wood Library Artist Pack Custom 24 with 58/15 LT PAF style pickups, and it should sing through this amplifier! Thank you for sharing the video. Your playing is absolutely awesome.
Thank you so much for the compliment Douglas, appreciated. Actually, by sheer coincidence, I’ve just literally uploaded another video, where I play my Dads amazing guitar collection through my Cornell (15 guitars). Should give you a broad idea of what to expect from a wide range of guitar types. Should be ready to view in about 10 minutes, once it’s finished processing.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks, I’ll have a look later.
Love the stuff you‘re playing from 2:30 onwards. Great amp fantastic sound and matching your playing.
Thank you man. I appreciate that 👍
Dear Scotsman. Thanks for showing this great amp, especially with a 335. I use a 335 mostly, but not many people demonstrate gear with 335s. I need to buy one of those amps. Thank you so much for the video. I hope I can get a Cornell amp in Australia. Cheers from a Scotsman in the Colonies. 😁👍
Well thank you Max, glad you like my amp. It’s been my “go to” amp for the last couple of years, I just love it. 👍
Thanks SO much for this demo & review, I have now found the perfect amp for me. Awesome !!!!
Excellent, delighted you liked the video 👍
Sound at the 8:25 - 8:30 mark is classic Allman Brothers tone like Live at The Fillmore East. Awesome!
Yes, I just watched that Allman Brothers performance on RUclips, to remind me. You’re right! I think on the second song of their set, there it is! Lovely rich punchy tone, fab!
Just discovered your channel mate and loving your playing, going to have to whip some of those licks!
Hi Grantburgh1 😀. Delighted you like my channel, and thanks for taking the time to comment. And yes - feel free to whip those licks.... let’s face it, I probably whipped them from other players 🤣
Great review Paul, lovely playing and tones
Thanks Tim!
I had one of these and then ended up getting the 20w version it's absolutely awesome. I see you also have a Hudson Broadcast, I've found that this is an incredible match for the romany when set up as a mild overdrive or clean boost
Hi Andrew. Yes, so it looks like we share the same taste in amps 😀. Like you, I really love my Cornell. And my Broadcast 👍. Cheers for watching my vid.
Is there a 20 watt version , i cant seem to find that.
Excellent sounds and playing once more. Certainly better than the fender. A blessing in disguise.
Thanks Peter. Yes, maybe it’s all “meant to be”. 👍
Solid Demo !!! Stellar tone ⚡️🦅⚡️
Great job man ❤️
Thank you Fret Junkies! Appreciated 🙏
Proper review brother Paul a guitar into an amp. If the basic tone don’t move you no amount of pedals will.
Wise words Wade! My sentiments entirely. Cheers for watching 👍
Another fantastic video Paul - apologies for coming to it so late. I got my Romany Plus 12 way back in 2005 when it came with only three switchable output levels - 10, 2 and 1/4 watts as I recall (no markings). Dennis put a Celestion Greenback 12 in it for me. I love that amp and it’s still my favorite 16 years later even through speaker experimentation and valve (otherwise known as tubes where I am) replacements. I’ve seen a lot of demos of the Romany Plus but yours is the closest to my experience. After about 5 years I swapped the Greenback out, initially for a Jensen, and finally for a Ted Weber 12F150 Blue, which works the best for me. I almost always play straight in (no pedals) with the EQ Cut switched in using a Strat, Tele or ES330. I will now try experimenting with the tone control settings based on your video. Revelation and rejuvenation time maybe.
Thanks Bruce, glad to see we’re “Cornell twins” 🤣. Yeah, I love that EQ Cut switch. Just makes everything sound so retro.
I own this amp too, and it’s just so versatile with the attenuation and EQ cut! Sounds awesome here man!
Thank you Nick! Cheers for watching 👍
Hi Paul, that amp sounds Great, probably my favourite so far, and if it's as reliable as the Katana, then you've found something special, a valve amp that looks and sounds nice, very '60s looking, love it! Cheers.
Thanks Dad. Yeah, I was always slightly jealous that your Fender Hot Rod is a tweed, whereas mine was just the normal black/silver and didn’t look as special. So it’s great to have a tweed now in my collection!
You have scored a beauty there Paul, I was going to say 'are you using an external reverb'! Reminds me of the Fender Champ which Clapton used on the Layla album I hear, gorgeous mate looking forward to hearing you playing some chops on that.
Thank you Michael , I’m delighted with it. However, I really need to stop spending money on guitars and amps now.... Each time I walk in to that little room, I have to spend a moment to decide what guitar to play and then what amp to play it through...... it’s such a terrible first world problem, such a burden 🤣.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Oh, I feel your pain Paul, the fabulous Katana, or the vintage excellence of a hand crafted amplifier, the tone options alone are anxiety producing!
I just bought the Romany 10. Amazing thing
Hi Ivan. Yes, it seems Dennis Cornell is quite the “amp guru”. Cheers for watching Ivan, glad you’re enjoying your Cornell 😀
Did you get the 10" or 12" speaker cheers!
Oh duh Romany 10= 10" speaker my bad
Congrats on the amp! Man that thing sounds great. There’s a sweet fullness to the tweeds that’s hard to beat. It just makes a guitar sound like it should. I need an attenuator so I can play mine more often.
Thanks Jeff. Yes I must admit, that little built in attenuator is a great feature..... the volume used in this clip was generally bedroom volume..... that was 0.05 watts. However at the full 10watts, you’d need to consider an overdrive pedal.....
Fender Tweed is mud, this one is sparkling, the fair comparison should be against Dr Z
Wow ! Great playing ! Nice tone on the amp , I love Jensen speakers . Regardless of the amp , you have to know how to touch the guitar . The amp sounds so good with all your guitars . The volume setting you have , with no pedals is perfect for really hearing the amp , which is heavenly . Sorry about your experience with the Fender amp . I always play Fender , but I need the sound of 6L6 tubes , EL 84 just don't do it for me . There are some fantastic small builders producing some beautiful gear . We are in another golden era of guitars , which I appreciate . Greetings from Akron , Ohio USA . Love your videos !
Thank you Kenneth! Yes, a real shame about that Princeton because it did sound nice. Anyway, the “fate” of it all led me to the Cornell 😀
Great choice lovely tone Paul
Thanks man, I’m very happy with it. Cheers for watching 👍
I own the Cornell Plexi 18/20 head. Cornell aren't common in Australia but they are a great amp maker!
Actually, I’ve not tried their Plexi yet.... Hope to do that once this virus permits. Cheers for watching David!
Sounds so good, really lovely..how is the “luggabilty” as it were, is it heavy heavy?!
Hi 😊. No it’s a piece of cake to lift. 👍
Love your expression, says it all.
Thank you Colin 👍
Just had a shot of one in Edinburgh today after Chris suggested it and I remembered seeing you getting one. As a "guitar into amp, no pedals" experience it's pretty amazing - and man is it loud on A, B and C but on D I had to crank it up to about 7. The EQ seemed like a boost? The reverb seemed excessive on anything much past 3 or 4 (unless you are going for a very specific sound) but great dynamic amp with a lot of tonal variation and with all the options your guitar gives you, it's even better.
Very tempted...
Ha, funny, you just described it perfectly, i.e. the over zealous Reverb, the EQ switch that could suddenly wake the dead 🤣, and the fact that your volume needs to be 6 or 7 if using the most attenuated setting. But man, what an amp! I’m a few months in and I’m genuinely thrilled by it. My “go to” setting for house volume is the lowest output (is that A or D, can’t remember), and volume on 6. Just gorgeous. I doubt you’d regret the purchase..... 😀. Thanks for watching my vid 👍
Oh, and it comes across lovely in my other vid ruclips.net/video/7WgL5IDGAs0/видео.html
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks Paul. Love your playing and vids. Out of interest, do you get any footswitch with it or is there one they sell for EQ and Reverb maybe?
No footswitch unfortunately..... I’ve no idea whether you can source one.....
Hello Paul,
Have watched this video, and many others you've made, several times. Very enlightening - thank you.
I've been considering getting a Romany 12 reverb since hearing the sounds you get from it with different guitars.
One minor concern is that other reviewers get a noticably thinner, nondescript tone.
Am wondering if that results from their coice of settings/technique/personal preference.
Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this?
Thanks again for your channel.
John
Excellent question LankisherJohn! I reckon it’s two things….. Firstly, I use an iPhone to record ALL my videos….. I don’t own a computer or audio interface or any of that shenanigans that allow you to do “post production” tweaking. I place the microphone part of the phone about 1.5 feet from the amp’s grill cloth. So I’m capturing the true sound of the amp. Secondly, like most Fender style amps, the Cornell has a generous bottom end to its tone. And so I don’t dial that out. I LOVE that warm rounded tone. Many guitar RUclipsrs dial out bass on their amps so as to sit better in a mix. I do not do this. Hope this helps.
That’s good to know. Thank you very much.
Cheers,
John
Hi. Still happy with the cornell? Unless I'm mistaken, this looks like the best "tweed at home" option available for guys who want a real valve amp, ie not pedals. Seems you can buy this amp in quite a few places but very few videos or reviews online though, which I is odd to me as it looks better than any fender options, of which I don't really think there is anything comparable in the market.
Hi msteve 👍. Yes, I still LOVE that amp! It has two incredible voices - the first is EQ in, which is just lush and big and gorgeous. The bottom end is just stunning and credit cards literally start jumping out your wallet 🤣. The second voice is “EQ cut” - I’m liking this voice more and more. It suddenly sounds honky and more distorted and very very “tweed”. And the attenuation is SO useful. As regards other tweed style amps .....? I’ve never tried the Lazy J.... but everyone loves it.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 hey thanks for replying so quickly! Yes the credit card has slipped out before several times and yet the search still goes for the one great amp! The tone sounds very natural but driven from your videos. I've heard of the lazy j but never seen one for sale, think they are boutique priced though?! The cornell is possibly the most economicaly priced and obtainable for such a handwired amp.
That’s a great amp. I wish they had them in my part of Australia. It’s nice to see someone playing a 335. 👍
Thanks Max Power 👍
@@paulstaffordcook8799 My pleasure. Thanks to your video, I’ve tracked down a shop which sells the Cornell amps and I’ve bought a Romany 10”. I retired from performing, so the smaller model is perfect. Thank you my friend.
Excellent! I’m delighted you got your hands on a Cornell. Happy practicing Max 🤘
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thank you Paul. I’d heard of Cornell, but I’ve never seen one here in Australia. Cheers mate. 😁👍
From 3:48 to 4:02...that was pure heaven made music👌
Well thank you nikolaubtopou 👍
Something’s are meant to be, and it sounds like the Cornell has a happy home 👍
Thanks Ross. Yes, I reckon fate plays a hand sometimes, and so I’m not missing the Princeton, ha ha. Yes, Denis Cornell has made a lovely thing, and I’m loving it 👍
Hi Paul. Great playing and sounds. I currently have a Fender Blues Junior iii with a few Xotic Pedals, one of which is the RC booster which helps give some depth and body to the sound of my amp. My main guitar is Fender Am Std 2011, which sounds lovely and clean. Would you recommend saving the penny's for this Cornell whist maintaing a clean blues sound? I have been considering getting a Fender Princeton 65 reissue. I also play a Ibanez AS73 with Gibson 57 Classics installed (which is the nearest I can get to the real thing lol) cheers!
Hi Mark. Cheers for watching my wee video. You asked if I would recommend the Cornell for maintaining a clean sound. Hmm…. no, I would not. This Cornell is the best amp I’ve ever owned but I wouldn’t say it’s “thing” is pristine cleans. I think you might be better with the ‘65 reissue Princeton for that. People seem to love them! The Cornell is more of the classic “Tweed” sound, but with added warmth.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks Paul for the advice. I really do love the sounds coming from the Cornell. The Princeton is up there in my favourites but am concerned about reliability seeing your other video and from others. I'm also keen on the MB Recto-Verb 25 and a few others. It's a real minefield out there, but great fun looking into it, before sweet talking the wife and smashing the piggy bank lol. Cheers Paul!
Cheers Mark. Yeah, there’s SO much choice! I can’t stop gassing over a Morgan MVP23, and a Tone King Imperial 🤣. I’m a hopeless cause.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 LOL. Cheers Paul! 🙂
Hi Paul. Just to give you an update. I'm still checking out various amps for various reasons and I keep coming back to the Cornell. I have recently found out the Romany 12 is cathode biased, I could change worn valves myself without looking for an engineer - another plus (I like to keep things simple and no complications). At the moment, I just play at home, but I wondered how the Cornell faired when gigging? How do you use yours when playing with a band? Cheers!
Maybe all the trouble you went through with the fender amps was worth it. This amp sounds sweet. Reminds me of the 5e3 fender tweed deluxe. Nice score Mr. Paul.
Thank you James! Yes, I think Denis Cornell would be happy with your comparison.... I’ve always fancied a tweed amp, they look so cool. And so I’m a happy chappy! Cheers for watching James
Great playing. Very melodic. The big question.... can you gig it??
Thank you MintyBitesBack! Yes, as regards gigging the Cornell, I’d say the answer is yes. BUT, it ain’t gonna be clean. It’ll be into blues crunch territory. If it helps, here’s a link to one of my vids where I take it (and a couple of other amps) to a rehearsal room and really crank them up to gig volume. If you scroll to 2:05 you’ll hear that, at 85% volume and no attenuation, you have a great ballsy lead tone. I’m sure you’d clean it up with a twist of your guitar’s volume pot.... But it’s certainly no Fender Twin 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks for the reply, really good response and thanks for the pointer. I have to say, your playing is fantastic, defo subscribing and already bookmarked a load more to watch when I have time! They are like mini master classes which really take an alternate view from the Jazzer's approach of theory being god...
(not that there is anything wrong with that... (or is there...(?)).
All the best from Manchester :-)
Great tones! I think I’m gonna give this one a try. What kind of reverb is it equipped with? Could you post a clip with some clean tones at 10w mode? Cheers from Poland
Hi Eryk. It’s a spring reverb but it’s a bit TOO powerful 🤣. So I keep the Reverb set really low. As regards clean tones on the 10w setting..... Ok, next time I’m doing a Cornell video I’ll include some cleans. Cheers for watching my video 👍
wow that cornell sounds great think ill check one out great sounds
Cheers Gregory, I certainly recommend it! Cheers for watching 👍
Hey Paul. I’ve been watching a lot of your vids recently. Really like your playing and your gear. Would you say that the attenuation on the Romany is sufficient to play in an appartement without annoying everyone around? Cheers from Berlin. Ysnn
Hi Ysnn 👋. Delighted you like my little videos! The answer to your question is Yes. The quietest setting is amazing. With the volume on 2 it’s beautifully warm and has a slight crunchy edge to it, and yet it’s totally bedroom quiet! Then with the volume on 4 you have a definite bluesy breakup, i.e. the tone and volume that I typically use for my RUclips videos. But admittedly it’s now getting slightly louder than bedroom volume (but still not loud). I reckon it’s the best attenuation I’ve seen so far on a valve amp.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks for taking the time to answer Paul. I’ll probably save to buy one. I have the chance to have an isolation booth in my living room which great to play a normal volume but the acoustic is quite bad, very boomy. So sometimes I just want to be done to play in a normal room and the Cornell sounds like the perfect amp for that. Have a good night!
Magical 👍🏻 all the best
Thanks Roundabout 👍
Oh gosh...that thing sounds magic
Thanks Gjuby, I’m still loving that amp!
@@paulstaffordcook8799 BTW, i have just ordered the baby of the family... the Traveler 5. for the moment in the lockdown and the raging pandemic there is no playing in bands, so it's gotta be my home practice amp. I hope it will live up to my expectations: not too many reviews on the web though, in fact very scarce. Have you had the chance to get your hands on the Traveler?
Hi nice video and sounds, I’m in a covers band we do CCR , quo, a couple of eagles, monkeys, Beatles, TRex, mainly 60s and so 70s
I’ve looked at these before and admired their sound, my questions are is it loud enough as a stand alone amp, not miked up and does it take pedals I have Dunlop wash, Ibanez ts7 tube screamer, reverb pedal and delay.
We only do small pub gigs etc.
Many thanks for your videos they are epic.
Hi Rocky Stone. Sorry for late reply. While I only ever use it at bedroom volume (and the most attenuated setting) I did take it to a noise proof rehearsal room a while ago, to crank it up to gig volume and to compare it to my Vox and Supro….. And yes, it’s certainly loud enough to compete with a drummer. However, don’t expect crystal clean headroom at these volume levels…. it’s no Fender Twin 🤣. Here’s a link to that video if it helps ruclips.net/video/QcaYQKduH5s/видео.html
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks dude and great vids, exceptional playing too.
Hi! Thanks for your video. There aren’t many videos on Cornell’s. I am considering the Plexi 7. It should be similar. You think having such an amp at its quietest output setting would be better than a 15 W Fender amp with the master rolled down? I want it mainly for clean tones and pedals on top. Also considering it doesn’t have an FX loop and I like versatility.
Hi Mig-El Romed, thanks for watching my vid. To answer your question - would the Cornell Plexi 7 (in maximum attenuation) be better than the 15w Fender.... Hmm.... I tried the Plexi 7 briefly..... nice, but didn’t grab me and yell “Buy me”. Whereas both the Cornell Romany 12 and the Marshall Astoria really DID grab me by the ears 😀🤘, to the point I just couldn’t ignore them, and had to buy them. Sorry if this isn’t much help....
How does it take OD pedals? would be great with a demo where you push it some more.. btw, lovely Roy Buchanan'ish outro...
Thank you Jode111. Yeah, good point. I’ve never really pushed it with pedals..... it sounds so dam good without pedals that I tend to just leave it as it is. That said, yes, I’ll put that on my list for a potential vid. What I CAN say, is that at house volume it takes all my pedals beautifully.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 although I prefer trying an amp before purchase, as the world is now, i am considering ordering one - but tweeds with OD tend to be somewhat ‘fistula’ and hard to dial in the sweetspot, so very curious how this performs. Lovely videos you have in general, really enjoy your entusiasm
Hi Paul, such a great sound. Just what I look for. Would you say that this 10w amp would hold up on a small stage in a club with a loud drummer next to you? I see someone is talking about a 20w version, but I can't see there is one when looking at the Cornell website. Would you know? I wonder how this would compare to a Fender '57 tweed... Choices, choices :-D
Cheers Thor. I’ve not played my Romany in a band context, but I’m gonna make an educated guess and say YES! When you take away the attenuation, my god it’s loud! I doubt it would stay spanky clean - it’s not a Twin Reverb after all.... but for bluesy tones, yes I’m positive it would keep up easily with a loud club band. On a related note - I am not sponsored by Cornell, and I paid full price for my amp - but I maintain it’s the best amp I’ve ever played. It’s charms are so immediate.... you don’t go searching.... it’s just there. I regularly switch between my Marshall Astoria, Supro Tremoverb, my Cornell, and my new Vox AC30... and every time, BAM. For me, Cornell is hands down my favourite. My subscribers seem to agree, when you look at the comments on my amp comparison shoot-out: ruclips.net/video/7WgL5IDGAs0/видео.html
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks Paul. I appreciate you taking the time to answer. It is very tempting to go for one of these... Digging your videos :-)
Sounds lovely. Nice one
Thank you Benjamin 👍
Great vid. NICE amp. Best part, was hearing a play some Danny Gatton style.
Thank you Tomas! Delighted to speak with another Danny Gatton fan. Cheers for watching my wee vid 👍
After about a year with this amp I only have one thing I would change if I could… the EQ switch should be footswitchable… I think I could mostly do without pedals then. It definitely has enough headroom to use in a band…
“Unfortunately” it’s become my home amp, simply because it sound so ridiculously good at wife friendly volumes (as well as ear shattering loud of course)… but I make good use of both channels of my Suhr Hombre that is an almost equally good, but different amp… but if the EQ was footswitchable I may have considered using the Cornell and ditching the pedalboard…
I’m delighted to read that you’re enjoying your Cornell. And yes, at “wife friendly” volumes it’s particularly nice 🤣😊
Hi Paul. What a score. I think you might want to take a look at these two gismos to fit to your camera (Boya BY-MM1 and Boya BY-M1). Been doing some research for my own first attempts at making vids. They stack up very well against the big boys for a fraction of the price - the lapel mic cost me 8 quid!
You and I must be of like minds! I bought the lavaliere microphone BOYA BY-DM1.... I’ve experimented for hours, comparing Mic v’s no Mic and all combinations of where to place it. My conclusion has led to it being placed in my “man drawer”. I think when it comes to human speech, it’s an improvement on the iPhone’s own mic. It’s definitely way more powerful and so for vloggers it’s a good call. But for recording my amp, I had to place it several yards away to avoid the sound being clipped and distorted. And there’s a very slight hiss with the mic, that whilst not intrusive (and wouldn’t trouble a vlogger) it’s a little unnatural sounding. So I’ve resorted to placing the iPhone’s own mic about 6 inches from the amp’s grill cloth. Amazingly, it doesn’t clip..... it must instantly self adjust its level, which the lavaliere mic doesn’t do. Ultimately, if I want professional sounding music vids I might have to invest in Mac plus interface plus proper SM57 type mic. Oh dear, I better get saving..... 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 I had a good chuckle at that, Paul. Mine only arrived yesterday so yet to give them a whirl. I went for both as sometimes I will use a student or two in my classes to demonstrate lessons so the shot gun mic BY-MM1 would be better for that situation. However, the lapel mic that you have would be good for solo vids, I hope.
Incidentally, I bought the focusrite scarlet set for interface, mike and headphones a few years back. Was just getting into it when the hard disc on my lap top fried. So have to get back to them to reload the programmes etc - I know,... 2 years ago and its still sitting in the box having only been used a couple of times! What am I like?
However, if you look at this rig try out the version 2. It seems that version 1 is good for accoustic and low powered pick ups like my SD '59s but clip when you get into distorted sounds - version 2 has apparently fixed that issue!
Enjoy the new amps and your pedal - can only say that you must have won the lottery or something !
Thanks Rocksteady. Yes, it’s definitely worth exploring the various options... but for now, I just can’t afford lap tops and PCs..... plus, I’m a “keep it simple” kinda guy. Every time I cross paths with technology I just get annoyed and impatient and it’s such a barrier to sitting down and letting your creativity flow. Hence why I love Katanas and my simple iPhone 😄. As regards winning the lottery..... no, I wish. The neighbour is outside washing his BMW..... however my car is a 60k mile Ford Fiesta..... 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 I'm with you on keeping it simple - I guess that's why I haven't got round to kick starting my tech recording gear. The software hassles with daws and all the post editing seems like a huge learning curve I'm not really interested in.
Commendable allocation of financial resources. Hopefully, your tube amps and guitars will hold their value if they don't actually increase. Can't be said for the Beemer!
Hey man, I am really thinking of buying this one, but I am just not sure about one thing. Do you think it will hold up at rehearsals on the 10 watt mode?
Cheers Paul do you want my Princeton 65 ,ha,ha
I've got a cornell Romany plus love it
Cool, nice to speak to a fellow Romany owner 🤘
Hi , seriously considering getting one off these . Is basically a bassman / tweed twin and could you Mike it up and gig with it . Great playing man really great ⚡️🤘🏻
Thank you Bruce! Delighted you liked my playing. Yes, if you mike this up it would be awesome on a gig. If you DIDN’T mike it up, it would still be awesome for overdriven blues tones, but it would no longer do cleans. It’s no Fender Twin after all 🤣. And at house volume it’s just fantastic with the attenuation set to max. Sounds gorgeous from the first strum of a G chord.
love that amp! does the 10" sounds as great as the 12" for mostly home use?
Hi riccardohs75. Glad you like my amp 👍. Actually, I’ve not had a chance to play the 10”..... although Dennis Cornell does a comparison here: ruclips.net/video/tueOLam_FOs/видео.html. Listening to this comparison, the answer is a definite no.... To me, the Romany 12 is the sweet spot in the whole Cornell range of amps.... As soon as you plug into the Romany 12, the lush bottom end is what stuns you and makes credit cards fly out your wallet 🤣. I’m not convinced the 10” (and the smaller cab) suits this amp....
@@paulstaffordcook8799 plus you dont get a reverb on the Romany 10
Nice playing bro!!
Thank you Anthony 🙏
that sounds gorgeous, especially on full power. Does it have a shellac finish on the tweed ? your fast running out of room there :)
Thank you Charlie! Yes, I had to look up “shellac” on google.... but yes, there does appear to be a hard finish layer over the tweed, giving the impression that it would be hard to rip or tear.... And yes, I need to STOP buying any more amps! It’s only a little room, and I only have a little wallet.... 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 ;0
Love your playing and you should definitely be sponsored by Cornell 👍🏻
I’m seriously considering the Romany 12… are you familiar with Vox AC15 and could chip in with some information on how the Romany 12 compare volume/headroom wise with Vox AC15? I’ve had the AC15HW1 and AC15C1 and they barely held up with our loud drummer… which is perfect.
Thanks Jks, appreciated. Yes, I own the big brother, the AC30S1, and have played the AC15 before. Funnily enough, the day I bought the Cornell I was actually trying the AC15, the AC30S1 and the Romany - I had all 3 lined up. The second I struck the first G chord through the Romany, my credit card did this funny thing where it lept out of my wallet and into their card reader 🤣. But as regards headroom…. to be honest I didn’t whack either of them up to anything beyond house volume, so I’d be lying if I said one beat the other in that regard.
Bonjour Paul, I just want to know wich speaker the Jensen is exactly? Is it a 8 ohms? Thanks for your good émotions Paul
Hi Soldalyte 👍. I’m really not sure (without removing the back panel). But I’m sure Matt at Cornell amps would tell you. He can be reached via their Cornell Amps Instagram page 😁
Oh shit 🤯 how great was that Intro jam !?
Ah, thank you David! Appreciated 😊
Hi there , fantastic demo really great playing . Could you gig with this on smallers shows
Hi Bruce. Good question - and yes, when you remove all the attenuation, it’s LOUD. So for my kinda bluesy break-up tones I’d happily gig this amp. However, as you can imagine, this is no Fender Twin... so if you want very loud CLEANS, then this is not the amp. Hope this helps.
Thanks
Have you still got tge amp, would you recommend buying one, close to pushing the button.
Hi Colin. It’s my absolute “go to” amp. If you look back at the descriptions under the last 90% of my videos, this Cornell is always featured. Awesome amp.
@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks Paul, I can't believe the price they are considering that they're hand wired, it was a fender or marshall im sure they'd be over two grand. Thanks for answering, and a big fan of your playing.
So how do you increase the gain/drive Paul?
It’s done the old fashioned way, by simply turning up the one and only volume. However, the 4 stage power attenuation allows you to do that at relatively quiet volumes. As a general guide, a light crunch begins at no. 3 on the volume and increases to a definite overdrive at 6 and beyond. 😊
Listened to this amp a couple of years ago and skipped by but this has me teetering. Might be a daft question but how would it be for mellow jazz stuff?
Hi Edward. I’m still laughing from your other comment, about booking a driving lesson but bringing your guitar 🤣. I’m still chuckling from that. “As regards mellow jazz..... whilst I’m more of a blues crunch guy, I think think the Cornell would serve that style admirably. To me, the Cornell’s strength is its warmth, its lovely low end and its crispy highs. And then everything is flipped around when you toggle the EQ Cut switch. Suddenly your into the growling mids. Honky and fantastic. So I hope you get a chance to try one with a jazz guitar. 🤞
@@paulstaffordcook8799
Shit. This is now going to get expensive!
Very nice mate
Thanks man, really happy with it. Of course, the Katana can easily do similar things, so it’s really just like having different flavours of ice cream to suit different moods. And yes, what a lovely flavour the Cornell is! Might go upstairs and have another wee plug in..... Cheers for watching 👍
Love the sound of that amp. Shame the first picture was of a les paul with p 90's .. I love p 90's, have 4 Guitars two LP, DC'S and a japanese Tokia DC Special and would have liked to have heard the LP in the picture through the Cornell.. Can you advise if the 335 was on the bridge pick up. Samshing so it wis....!!!!! Cheers
Thank you Jim, glad you like the sound of my Cornell. I’m pleased to report that it’s still my favourite amp, especially at house volume. If you’d like to hear the P90 Gold Top Les Paul through the Cornell, then here’s one of my vids where you’ll here that combination. It’s called “Boss Katana v’s Valves” .... if you scroll to 3:29 ruclips.net/video/7WgL5IDGAs0/видео.html
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Cheers Paul thanks for getting back to me I'll look at that video. That said I suspect it will sound the business. I'm hopefully off to Guitar Guitar in Edinburgh shortly to check out their Cornell's... Absolutely intend to get one...
Well I’m not sponsored by Cornell, and I had to pay full price for my Romany.... but I can honestly say it’s a lovely amp. It only has one sound and that one sound may as well be called “gorgeous” 🤣. You just flick the on switch, wait the few seconds for the valves to warm, then form a G chord. Put the volume up a little, and strum. And then get the Visa card out. I love my Marshall, my Vox AC30 and my Supro.... but the Cornell has the most “instant” smile factor.
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Cant wait...! I'm like a kid at Christmas..!
Hello,
I saw on Thomann website that this amp has Dimensions (W x D x H): 533 x 216 x 381 mm. Your amp looks bigger, is it the romany 12 or plus? and what are the dimmensions? Thanks!
Hi Silvera, sorry for late response. I’ve just measured my Cornell Romany 12....... Sticking with W x D x H, my Cornell is 530 x 230 x 410 mm. Hope this helps....
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks for answering! Yes it helps, but anyway I ended getting a tone king skyking. But the cornell sounds great too, maybe the next on my list :)
Ah, I hear good things about Tone King.... and so I’ve just watched Premier Guitar’s review of the TK Skyking. Cool amp, great sound!
@@paulstaffordcook8799 yes, the skyking is an amazing amp.. I was divided between the tk and the cornell.. but I found a store here that has the tk. So it was better.. I could test it
Which Supro you got there? Are you happy with it? :)
Hi Spirou, sorry for late reply. Yes, it’s the Supro 1622RT Tremo-verb, 25w. Am I happy with it? Absolutely. I’ve done a few RUclips videos featuring it, and I really like it. It’s old school, so to get it sounding gnarly and bluesy you have to turn it past half way..... and then it’s lovely. It’s not as loud as you’d think.... it’s a 10” speaker, and so that limits the clean headroom and therefore the volume. It’ll compete with a band / drummer, but it’ll be crunch tones at that point. If using it in the house, you’ll need a pedal to get it to crunch. It’s naturally a very bassy amp, so I tend to run the Treble on full and Bass around 4. Hope this helps 👍
hi - what's that piece you often play? it's at 4.40
Hi Matt. Actually, I heard a classical cello piece once, maybe on my music feed, I can’t remember….. but I couldn’t ever find it again, not even to this day. So all I had to go on was my rough memory of the general mood of the piece, after only hearing it once. So I’ve no idea whether or not I was success in recreating it. That said I’m very happy with what I’ve captured here. Hope you like it. 👍
Does it use the circuit of Fender '57 Custom Deluxe?
Ooo, now I’ve no idea on that one. I’ve certainly done some research on this amp and I’ve never read anything about using a specific circuit from Fender. The official blurb says that it’s based on late 50’s American tweed amps.... so it’s certainly his take on Fender style amps, like the champ. The good news is that I’m sure the small team at Cornell would be delighted to answer specific queries via the “contact” page on their website. Cheers for listening Elvis 👍
Would this be loud enough for a band situation with a drummern second guitar and bass?
Hi Jeff. Yes. I say that because I turned it up very briefly one day, on the setting with no attenuation - and boy it’s loud. Not Fender Twin loud, but certainly loud enough to hang with a band in a small pub gig scenario. I’m not currently playing in a band and so this brief experiment was purely in the house. Mind you.... i play almost exclusively with a bluesy breakup tone.... so if you’re after very loud punchy cleans, i’d imagine the Cornell wouldn’t be the ideal choice. That said, this amp has a stunning tone from the moment you flip the switch. I’ll never sell mine. 😀
@@paulstaffordcook8799 thanks for the respons :D , awsome playing and tone in this video!
thaz billy bob, NO pedals right?
Hi James. Correct, just guitar into amp. No pedals, laptops, microphones. Just my iPhone angled toward the amp and touched “record”. So you really are hearing the sound in the room. Very happy with the amp 😊. Thanks for watching James.
Is the Jensen speaker an Alnico or ceramic?
Actually, I’m not sure...... my quick google doesn’t seem to reveal the magnet type. I’m guessing ceramic because a RUclipsr called Joe Perkins has a Romany Plus Tweed (granted, not quite the same as my Romany 12). In his video he compares the stock Jensen Ceramic to a new Alnico. One thing I do know - their customer care is great..... so if you send them a message via their Instagram page (cornellamps) I’m sure they’ll let you know. Cheers
Thanks Paul I'll follow it up.
Yeah… ok… I ordered the damn thing and I blame you. No stores nearby have it so had to order it online. Hope it doesn’t disappoint.
Since you are much to blame, then a good excuse to present for my wife before it arrives would be nice ☝🏻😊
Excellent. I really think you’ll love it. Setting D (quietest), EQs around noon, volume at 2 or 3, strum a G chord and you’re smiling a warm satisfied smile. Then flick the “EQ cut” switch and dig in with some aggressive lead playing and it’s like you’ve just turned a Fender Champ up to 10. Congrats. As regards an excuse to present to your wife…. Hmm… struggling with that one. Maybe just let her hear it 🤣🤘
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Thanks for the tip :)
The true test on if I'll keep it is at rehearsal to see if it can keep up with our drummer really. He's not too heavy handed though. Should be fine. I'm currently using 5W mode on my Victory V40D...
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Yeah… I already told her… it’s just a small amp after all 🤷🏼
I’ll try your setting… perhaps make a “first reaction” video of it (if I get a chance before taking it to rehearsal). What guitar you propose? ES355, Les Paul with buckets or P90/Staple, or single coils? I’m mostly curious of how it holds up in rehearsal but I think it should be good. I use 5W setting on my Victory V40 Deluxe so 10W should be sufficient. Our drummer isn’t too heavy handed.
Thanks 😊
@@paulstaffordcook8799 K... I picked it up from the post office on my way to rehersal so didn't get a chance to try this today... but man... I used it for rehearsal and this amp was way more than I expected and hoped for. It sounds huge, warm, headroom in spades if you want it to... thanks. I probably wouldn't have dared to put in the money without your demoes of it.
Thank you man, I love that you’re happy with the Cornell. It’s an amp that’s close to my heart. Enjoy!
Are you still using it Paul?
Hi Matt. To say I’m still using it is a bit of an understatement…. It is my “go to” amp for 95% of all my playing and recording on RUclips. In fact I’ve now sold all my other amps (Vox AC30S1, Supro Tremoverb, Boss Katana), except I’ve kept my Marshall Astoria (which is just too good to let go). The Cornell is just the amp that seems to suit me best, I just love the dam thing 🤣😊
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Very interesting. I've had a few 5e3 clones which were great, but that cornell looks like (or sounds like) a great option. I'll have to see if I can try one out. Interesting it's a single 6l6 circuit, maybe similar to my little 5w swart junior. Thanks for the insight! (and thans for all your great content)
all i know is this my good friend
go and try an amp you may never have even heard a Koch studiotone 20 there not cheap prob about the same price or a bit less than a princeton 68
but boy youll love it
that amp there sounds really nice but the Koch does it all, good luck
Cool, I’ve not heard much about Koch amps (other than Greg Koch's version). So I’ll do a little research on the studiotone 20. Cheers mate
Once I get around to writing a good backing track, I'd like to send you them. Would love to hear how you play over them.
Anyway, wis fuckin roasting the other day eh?
Your last comment made me burst out laughing ! 🤣. Yeah, I’m a driving instructor so I had to spend the day sweating in that car! Anyway, I’d be delighted to play over a “zeefour original”, so bear me in mind when if you get creative 👍
Danny Gatton..... Harlem Nocturne
no need for fender anymore
That's enough amps for now Paul....probably time to spend some money on your wife instead......;)
My wife just laughed out loud at your comment 🤣. Ok, I admit it.... I need to re-prioritise. Maybe for her birthday I could buy her a wee Fender champ..... and if she doesn’t like it, well maybe I could get some use out of it? Ok ok, I’m off to the beauty salon to buy her a pedicure 🤣
@@paulstaffordcook8799 Well that's a good sign.....it means you're not COMPLETELY in the dog house but it doesn't mean you're not in trouble. Anyway, that was a nice thought and I'm sure she'd love a Fender Champ too !....;)