Category 5 is built on
a partnership between Don Ritter and Steve Scott that began as a way
to make amplifiers and raise money (and awareness) for charity at
the same time. The focus was first on charities providing relief for
natural disaster victims (of the Asian tsunami and hurricanes
Katrina and Rita), thus the names of the company and its amplifiers.
As it has grown, so has the scope of both the products and the
philanthropy, which supports an expanding list of worthy causes from
Feed the Children and Voice of the Wetlands to the
"Blues in the Schools" program, and Blue Star Connection,
which provides musical instruments to children with life-threatening
illnesses.
This is worthy of mention not only because it exemplifies the
principle that you do well by doing right, but also because
Cat 5's amplifiers demonstrate the virtues of doing it right
from the get-go. The designs are built on the notion that it's the
players, not the builders, who should determine what qualities an
amp has. The touring pros and other players Ritter and Scott set out
to satisfy needed tough, overbuilt cabinets and chassis that could
handle life on the road; they needed scalable power output to
achieve the same tone from the same amp at the right volume for any
venue; and they needed amps that would be easily coaxed into giving
up outstanding tones. In other words, the design principle and the
philanthropic principle are really the same principle: try to give
people what they need.
Category 5 started by making waves on the blues scene,
providing backline for several festivals (where they were often
asked to sell their amps right off the stage), and in a short time
they've gathered a truly impressive list of artists. The number of
signature offerings and approved charities continues to increase. If
it's not a signature model you’re after, there are nine other models
-- including these two -- to choose from.
They also offer a variety of cabinet configurations. The one that
arrived with these amps was a large, angle front, closed back 2x12,
made from eleven-ply Baltic birch. It is only a tad smaller than a
standard 4x12, and it’s enough to handle almost every application.
Its Celestion G12H Heritage speakers provided a surprisingly
generous low end with depth and control for both amps.
Each Cat 5 amp comes with a goodie bag that includes a vinyl
cover, a full set of extra tubes and fuses, and Analysis Plus
oval speaker cables.
The Tempest
In
keeping with the convention, both of our review amps are named for
storms. All of the models except the Tempest are named for
historical storms; the Tempest, if you remember your
Shakespeare, was a magical storm sent by Prospero to daze and
confuse his rivals.
The 45-watt, cathode-biased, dual EL34-powered Tempest
is a touch flashier than the 1900, with a big,
hurricane-shaped "5" logo, vinyl covering and basket weave grille
cloth separated by diagonal silver piping, and controls located at
the top of the cabinet. Channel one has only a volume and a single
Tone control, while channel two provides volume and 3-band EQ
controls. Global fold back reverb, power scaling, and a single
On/Off/Standby switch with neon indicator complete the control set.
The back panel has some more modern amp features, like an effects
loop and a mid-boost switch for channel 2, a line out jack with line
level control (you'll need to run it through a simulated speaker
load before going into a board), and footswitch control of the
reverb and boost.
Plugging In
Instead of the usual "clean" and
"dirty" channels, Cat 5's dual-channel amps, like the
Tempest, offer two different tonal signatures, both of
which go from clean to crunch with just the combination of amp and
guitar volume knobs. Power scaling makes the overall volume
adjustable. The idea is to have two distinct amps in one head -- in
this case a JTM45-inspired channel one, and a Plexi-style
voicing for channel two. Although they’re not completely different,
they are distinct.
Using a few different test guitars, a Gibson LP Studio with
Alnico V Burstbuckers, a Gibson LP BFG with a Zebra
Burstbucker 3 in the bridge and P-90 in the neck, and my
Fender Contemporary Telecaster with stock
pickups, I found that channel one does the Marshall-like
voicing, but somewhat softer. It has good response and excellent
definition. With the volume up all the way, this channel has greater
clarity and presence at the top end than channel two, as well as
smoother distortion. It cuts very nicely, and can be coaxed into
giving up the "Beano" tone with a good, transparent boost.
Channel 2 seems to have more headroom, and much more depth and
body up through the mids, with a warmer sustain. To be honest, the
big, beefy cleans and creamy top end make it a great blues amp, but
channel two wasn't as much of a thrill ride as I'd hoped, and the
mid-boost switch didn’t seem to give it the kick it needed. Using
the two Les Pauls, the crunch could've been tighter, and at
high volume there was some loss of definition in the middle. I'm
sure this wasn't all the amp’s fault, as it seems to prefer
vintage-style pickups with lower output. The Burstbucker 3 in
particular bit in too hard, audibly reducing the dynamic range and
smoothness.
For the final test, I used an A/B/Y box to jumper the two channels.
Yowza! The best of both channels came through with energy and
conviction. Easily the best tone in the box. The bridge pickup on my
Tele did a terrific "icepick" tone on this setting, and the
neck pickup was all creamy blues, but with more oomph than I'm used
to hearing from it. Like the other Cat 5 amps, the
Tempest uses high-quality components from companies like
Analysis Plus,
Mercury
Magnetics, SoZo, Accutronics, etc.
-- you get the picture. This amp is going to be with you for a
while.
As Tested $2995 -- Category 5 -- category5amps.com
Buy if...
you’re looking for a soulful, tone-heavy amp that’s tailor made for taking your blues on the road.
Skip if...
you’re not that into the blues... or the road.
Rating...
The
1900
The 50-watt, fixed bias 1900 sports
single channel preamp with three gain stages, a massive power
supply, two overpowered transformers, a solid state
rectifier, and extremely high voltage. It's being billed as an amp
"on the edge" -- loud and unrestrainable -- but you don't have to be
completely fearless to really like it. It's a rockin' amp, for sure,
but presents a more straightforward, unassuming look than the
Tempest, with just a logo on the face, black control knobs
on a stainless steel faceplate, and separate On/Off and Standby
switches.
Ritter has described the tonal influence of the 1900
as "Wreckish," and the similarities are not hard to hear, but a
strict comparison might not be wholly accurate. For one thing, the
Insanity knob allows the amp a free range of saturation and breakup
characteristics, although calling it the "Insanity" control seems
like an embellishment.
Plugging In
The first test guitar I grabbed was
my Duesenberg Mike Campbell Signature with a custom
P-90 at the neck and a Grand Vintage humbucker at the
bridge -- a great guitar for blues, roots rock and hard-edged
country. The tone it produced through this amp knocked me out. The
P-90, with the knobs rolled off slightly, came through with
gorgeous clarity and presence, while the humbucker procured a thick,
gnarly treble. The 1900 picked up the nuances of both
pickups together beautifully, and that’s been lost in a lot of amps
I've plugged it into. In fact, with every guitar I played through it
-- single coil and humbucker equipped, new and old, inexpensive and
pricey -- the amp preserved the character of that guitar.
The secret of the 1900 seems to be its wide sweet
spot: wonderfully complex with a shimmering top, very forward mids,
and deep, full bass. Push it hard and churn out harmonics in
buckets, and sustain that lingers until it morphs into the most
musical feedback you've heard your guitar produce. Rolling off the
guitar's volume, the cleans exhibited a soft breakup with very
little force, and produced long, warm sustain, and an attack without
compression or sag. At higher volumes, cleans retained ringing
clarity and note separation, with a very smooth transition into
overdrive.
Since there's precious little clean headroom, getting it just to the
verge of breakup takes a little work, but the 1900
served up an open, layered tone with a glassy bite and beautiful
sustain. It's very sensitive and responsive. Heavier gain yields
startling complexity, the mids get solid and punchy but the top
remains crisp and smooth. If I were in an Americana band, playing
hard-driving roots rock and blues, this would be my amp.
The Final Mojo
Both of these amps offer classic tones rather than replicas of the legendary models used to make them. Both amps are ideal for crafting your signature tone, and either one of them will make you happy to leave your pedal board at home. It isn't difficult to see why Category 5 amps are gaining a reputation among pro players seeking a specific vintage character and tone with modern dependability and custom- built quality, but it is hard to see how you could go far wrong with one of them.
List $2850 -- Category 5 -- category5amps.com
Buy if...
you're looking for a rocker with its own sound and posture.
Skip if...
you're aiming for something more conventional.
Rating...
