Goodsell Black Dog 50 Head
Richard Goodsell's nod to fine British Classic Rock Amps!
The Goodsell Black Dog 50 is not just another "me too" JCM-class clone. This EL34-powered leader-of-the-pack can go from plexi to Pro with a single knob twist. The by-pass boost, master volume, and cathode-biasing yield tonal flexibility rivaling a channel-switcher, but in a single channel design.The Black Dog's pre-amp is characterized by two 12AX7 gain stages separated by a by-passable 3-way tone stack. The second gain stage is followed by the gain control, leading straight into the long-tailed pair phase inverter. This tube is nominally a 12AX7, but a number of different twin-triodes can be substituted by the user to suit personal taste, and the effects of this substitution vary from model to model. Like other Goodsells, the post-phase inverter volume control lets you have the good stuff at arena or condo levels.
In a departure from previous practices, all Black Dogs have solid-state rectifiers, which are required to obtain the higher plate voltages needed using existing product platforms. The Black Dog 50 has a layout based on the 33 Custom. The advantages are numerous, including efficiency of parts sourcing and build time. The Black Dogs typically run +80vdc over their tube-rectified counterparts, meaning plate voltages are around 385-400vdc.
Like every other Goodsell amp ever made, the Black Dogs are all cathode-biased; it is the religion at Goodsell, and it is part of the secret sauce. While it is not the way to achieve the highest wattage numbers for a given output configuration, it is a key ingredient to the Goodsell sound formula, with the added bonus that in years to come, after dozens of power tube replacements, the amp will still sound and behave as intended in the original design. A self (cathode)-biasing amp allows for instantaneous comparisons of different sets of power tubes - a tedious task for even the most experienced bench tech - and something that should not be undertaken at all by the unqualified in a fixed-bias design.
Specifications:
| Control Panel | Bass, Mid, Treble, Volume, Gain |
| Features | Footswitchable tone stack bypass (+20 db boost) |
| Power Rating | Approx. 45 Watts |
| Inputs | Single input |
| Outputs | Parrallel switchable 8 ohm and 16 ohm Speaker Outs |
| Construction | Hand Wired - Point to Point |
| Tube Config | 2 x 12AX7, 2 x EL34 |
| Dimensions | 25.75" W X 9.75" H X 8.75" D 25 lbs |
Premier Guitar Review on the Black Dog 50 Head
