What We Think:

If this was around in the days of Queens glory days, you know this would be stacked behind Brian May! And countless other classic rockers that made the British Vox tone sound oh-so-good! This amp has a great vocal quality to its mid-range and it's ultimately flexible.

You may forget those major brand names once you play the sidewinder. This is a truly inspirational amp! Unique EQ configuration, Power Dampening for clear variable wattage settings, and Classic British tone for days, all in a fairly light-weight head.

You have to play it to believe it. It's versatility and pure tone will please your ears for the rest of time! No joke. This is a gem. My personal favorite in the line!

Manufacturer Description:

The big brother to the popular 12 watt Coyote, the SideWinder is built with a 30 watt power amplifier offering a greater degree of clean headroom for the player who requires as much in dynamic range as they do in great tone.

Built with Mojave AmpWorks exclusive current tracking technology, the SideWinder sports crisper tone than conventional amps in its class. A classic power amp section that is cathode biased creates a symphony of color and chime that is rich in harmonic content. Cathode biased amps are well known for their touch sensitive character and sweetness. Nothing demonstrates this better than the SideWinder, as it captures all of the great tones players look for in an amp of this class.

A product of experience, the SideWinder is built with (4)-EL84 output power tubes, (1)-GZ34 rectifier tube and (3)-12AX7 preamp tubes. With this tube complement and design, there are many classic sounds that can be conjured up when this amp is put to the test. The SideWinder can be adapted to work in many situations. Without missing a beat the user can move from a sweet chime laden tone to a full on raging overload.

Power Dampening

Power Dampening is a unique feature that allows infinite power levels to be selected. With the SideWinder you can dial in anywhere between the maximum 30 watt to the minimum 2 watt output. If you need to get a full throttle overdrive tone, but at a volume you can play at home, then you can select the power or volume level that works best for you and still get the same tone you had with the amp cranked up.

A non-master volume amp does not have preamp distortion and normally needs to be run at high power levels to achieve an overdrive sound. Higher power levels result in higher volume. With Power Dampening the user can select what power level they want to use. By reducing the power the amp can make, the volume will be reduced with it. Because Power Dampening lowers the power being generated by the tubes, the amp runs cooler, and with much less stress. This reduces wear on the tubes and transformers. Power Dampening is not a built in attenuator, nor is it a master volume control. The result is excellent retention of both tone and clarity. Power Dampening lets you get full throttle overdrive with lower power amp volumes.

Line Level Output

All Mojave Amplifiers are equipped with adjustable line level outputs. The adjustable Line output is also equipped with a ground lift, selected via a push-pull knob, to avoid any ground loops that might occur from direct connections with external equipment. Line outs serve as an excellent source for collecting the amplifiers sound as a whole without microphone or speaker interaction. The tone is also inclusive of the power tubes and output transformer. By using the line level output the guitar amplifier signal can be sent directly to a live board, recording device, effects processor and amplified separately allowing wet/dry setups.

Mojave AmpWorks exclusive current tracking pre-amp technology

What is Current Tracking Pre-amp Technology? Simply stated, it is now a revolutionary application of tube related technology to guitar amplifier design. The benefits are three fold. First, the input stage of the amplifier will have one half of the noise of a typical pre-amp. Second, there is a significant increase in current capacity of the pre-amp stage. Finally, there is a high degree of improved guitar pickup sensitivity. Add these three benefits together and you get a unique quality that is Current Tracking Pre-amp Technology.

Two independently voiced preamp channels,that can be mixed together An independent channel voicing topography is used on the SideWinder amplifier for a high degree of voice versatility. This design has several intelligent advantages. First, the independently voiced preamp channels obviate the need for tone controls such as bass, midrange, treble or presence. By removing the tone controls your amplifier is simpler to use and it becomes easier to find great tones. In addition, mixing of the two voices provides a greater degree of achievable gain. The gain is extracted from a total of four triodes. Because there are four triode tube stages alone in the pre amp, your guitar signal is rich with even order harmonics before it even gets to the power tubes where it will pick up a massive amount of additional tube tone. This design gives the user a greater degree of complexity and responsiveness for a given instrument input signal. Channel one is voiced for a thicker bass tone, while channel two is voiced for a more focused bright tone. Each channel is controlled by its own volume control. When one channel is set for its volume the other channel can be added for the desired level of tone enrichment.

Cathode biased EL84 power amp

The SideWinder has been designed with a classic cathode biased power amp design. Classic power supply design enhances the SideWinder's character with a unique feel and warmth, provided by its (4)-EL84 power tubes and GZ34 rectifier tube. Many guitar amps have used the tube rectifier, even when the solid-state rectifiers were available. This part of the power supply will lend a great deal of classic feel to the amp. The power section is self biased allowing power tubes to be changed without the technical attention normally required by amplifiers using grid biasing. The simplicity of the SideWinder design is truly an asset for the user. The SideWinder's output transformer is equipped with both 8-ohm and 16-ohm speaker taps providing good flexibility for your speaker needs.

Mid-frequency cut switching

The SideWinder amplifier has a natural midrange emphasis in its overall frequency response. Engaging the midrange cut switch will tend to reduce the midrange level of the amplifier's frequency response. The mid cut only affects the bright channel, and when the midrange is in the "cut" setting the SideWinder achieves a greater degree of clean headroom. The result is the same as with a Top Boost. If the mid switch is in the "emphasis" setting the amp will move into a more aggressive mode.

High and low sensitivity input jacks

By using high and low input sensitivity the user can find different dynamic ranges with the SideWinder. The low sensitivity input allows you to obtain a larger degree of clean headroom, especially with lower output pickups. If the high sensitivity input is used a greater degree of output tube overload can be achieved. The drive signal from the high sensitivity input is two times greater than that of the low sensitivity input

It's a supreme TONE MONSTER that will have you smiling and playing more. Ignore "noise" complaints from your family. They just don't get it!