Brownsville Choirboy 60watt 2x10 Stereo Chorus Amp Reviews 4

One day while cruising thru Sam Ash, I see this amp that looks a lot like a Fender 2x10/2x12 combo amp, except its a dirty brown color, not the grey, silver and black I'm used to seeing. Intrigued, I go on over to check it out: A "Brownsville Choirboy Stereo Chorus" Well, I never heard of Brownsville before, and I'm ready to walk away, And I see the price tag: it says 'used. $149.00. Originally sold for $600.00. Well I heard momma saying in my head, if it looks like it's too good to be true, it must be! Of course, I decide to check it out any way! Sorry Momma.

#1 At $150.00 bucks, it was definetly in my price range. I grabbed a Telecaster of the wall, and plugged it in for a spin. WOW! I started off in the "Clean Channel", and I was blown away how nice and clear it was. It wasnt sharp, or harsh like I expected a solid state amp would be. It actually did a good job of sounding "Warm". Big Honkin Kudos to Brownsville for that one. It even overdrived nicely in the clean channel! I was impressed! Just by twisting the knobs I was able to go from deep and resonate without getting muddy (like some good ole American made amps), to bright and crystaline (just like some good ole British amps), without getting scratchy, or harsh! Then it was time to kick it into the overdrive channel. BOOOYAAAAHHH! Thats what Im talkin about! This is the kinda Overdrive/Gain I've been lookin for in a small amp (60watts split in stereo, make it a 30watt amp)! Now its not the "Razors-Edge" Metal overdrive/gain, and it's not "nu-metal crunch" either: If you push the overdrive/gain knob to between 3-6, you get this fantastic overdive/gain saturation going on! No mud! You can clearly make out every note, and the overdrive does not rob from the EQ. Now if you go beyond 6 on the overdrive/gain knob, it begins breaking up realy dirty and muddy, and looses all of its beautiful resonance. That was ok with me were I play: Blues/Rock, Contemporary Christian. I played around with a Tube Screamer pedal, and I was able to get more punch out of it with out muddying things up: That will be the ticket for those screaming leads. Its got 1/4" jacks for the clean/drive channel switching, and for the effects loop. The effects loop: Reverb was ok, nothing great. The Chorus effect is a little better, but I've had better Chorus stomp box's, and thats what I'll run.

Like I mentioned: reverb was pretty grim, and I get better Chorus effects out of a good Chorus pedal. I got on the internet and tried to find out some things about this amp, and I wasnt very successful. The best I could find out was, that Sam Ash bought out an old Korean Factory that had ties to Fender. It's no longer made. and I cant even get a users manual for it! So much for customer support!

This amp is built like a brick, or just like a Fender Combo Amp, take your pick! It even looks like a downsized Fender Twin! Well, except for the dirt/brown color! Another thing thats cool: It's got lil mini chicken head knobs! Very cool!

Well, I snatched it right up! The Salesman said he had just sat it out, and I was the first one to check it out. After I paid for it, he said he knew it was gone, cause if I didnt buy it, there was four other guys chompin at the bit to get at it. One of those guys even offered me $75.00 above what I paid for it! I politely declined. Bottom line: Its perfect for small to medium size gig's. Offers a good "base" for me to build my sound upon. And It's different: Come on! How many times have you seen a Brownsville Amp?

Stephen rated this unit 4 on 2003-01-07.

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