Melding the classic sound of British low-watt crunch tones with two independently voiced preamps, the Banshee offers unparalleled versatility and a large range of tones for the modern guitar player.

Two British EL84 tubes, for that sought after British low-wattage crunch, are the base of the power amp section of the Banshee. The EL84’s provide a spunky sound full of character and raw distortion at a lower volume then you’d ever expect to hear them. At only 18 watt’s, power tube distortion can be comfortably reached at home, but with enough power to comfortably play a small gig or venue.

The power amp section also features two controls that can radically change the character of the power tube distortion, allowing you to emulate the feel of a variety of different power sections, and adjust the wattage of the amp as you see fit.

The Operation switch allows you to change the power tube operation, from pentode operation to triode operation. The pentode mode allows the tubes to put out their full 18 watts, and have the typical smooth response classic british pentodes. Triode mode puts the tubes is a less efficient operating mode that allows them to have a gritty top end distortion, but maintain their smooth cleans.

The Class knob utilizes a control scheme that allows the user to “dial out” one of the power tubes to change the amp from a Class AB1 Push-Pull amp to a Class A Single Ended without damaging the tubes. When set to 0, the amp is in Class AB1 push-pull, and has the typical smooth response of a push pull amp. As the knob is turned towards 13, less harmonic cancellation occurs bringing forth a raw sounding distortion and a much sharper response from the amp.

Utilizing four 12AX7 preamp tubes spread between the two preamps, the Banshee offers tones that range from jazzy cleans to screaming leads.

The “Vintage Voiced” channel is based off of the lower gain preamps of the British low wattage combos of the 60’s, allowing the channel to have jazzy cleans at lower volumes, and classic British crunch as the channel breaks up. The channel includes only a volume control and a tone control to minimize the amount of circuitry between the guitar and the power amp, allowing the channel to be as responsive as possible.

The “Banshee” channel is a high gain channel featuring a full 3 Band EQ (Bass, Middle, Treble) to sculpt the sound of the distortion. Utilizing 4 triode stages, the channel has plenty of gain on tap for tones from classic mid heavy tones, to clear modern rhythm and lead sounds. For maximum versatility, the channel also features a master and preamp volume setup to allow a mixing of power tube and preamp tube distortion.

The internals of the amp are totally hand-wired and built to vintage specs, including the use of epoxy boards and turrets. Although very time consuming, this practice allows for a sturdy amp that doesn’t suffer from the problems of a printed circuit board amp. All of the components in the amp are also chosen for optimal tone, and include carbon composition resistors for the signal path (read the FAQ), metal film resistors for the power stages, Mallory 150 series film caps, and genuine cloth covered wire just like the amps of yester-year.

All of the amps in the Banshee line feature custom hand wound transformers that combine vintage tone with extra power handling capability to prevent core saturation and burnouts common with their vintage counterparts.

Along with these custom features, the Banshee line also features all of the standard Phoenix Amplification features found on all of our amps.