Cornford Amplification
Cornford Amplification was an English manufacturer of handcrafted tubular guitar amplifiers . The amplifiers were own models designed by Paul Cornford and Martin Kidd (later Victory Amplification). The Harlequin was the first amplifier to hit the market in 1999. Cordford amplifiers had a very good reputation and were used by Guthrie Govan , Dave Kilminster , Richie Kotzen and Richard Fortus , among others . After a fire in the factory, production was stopped in 2013. The company's website has not been available since summer 2019.
Amplifier models
Carrera
The Carrera is a 5-8 W 1x12 ” combo (Celestion Vintage 30). Its specialty is the large number of possible output stage tubes, including EL84, EL34, 6L6, 6V6, KT88. For this purpose, the Carrera has both octal and Noval tube sockets, between which you can switch. In addition to controls for gain, master and a standard 3-band tone control (bass, middle, treble), an adjustable reverb and an FX loop are available.
Harlequin
The Harlequin is a 6 W 1x12 ”combo (Celestion Vintage 30) and is primarily intended for recording in the studio. In addition to volume and master, it offers tone control with bass and treble, a voicing switch for more mids and two inputs (Hi and Lo). The amplifier design is reduced and uses only two 12AX7 and one EL84 tubes in the single-ended output stage. Due to the combined distortion in the preamp and output stage, it delivers a relatively large amount of distortion.
Hellcat
This 35 W top has two channels: Vintage offers little gain and is therefore e.g. B. suitable for blues , modern has more distortion, e.g. B. for rock and metal. Both channels have a common 3-band tone control. There is also a reverb and an FX loop with tube buffer. Five 12AX7 and four EL84 tubes are used.
Hurricane
A 20 W 1x12 ”combo (Celestion Vintage 30) with reverb and FX loop. The Hurricane uses four 12AX7s and two EL84s and can be considered the Harlequin's big brother.
MK50H
The name MK50H stands for Martin Kidd, the designer of this 50 W head.
It has one channel with additional overdrive, 5-band tone control (bass, middle, treble, presence, resonance) and two masters, which (like the overdrive) can be switched using a foot switch. The FX loop is buffered with tubes, a total of four 12AX7 and two 6L6 are used. This amplifier was named "Amp of the Year 2000" by Guitar Magazine.
MK50H II
The second version of the MK50H was again a 50 W top, but now with two channels (clean and overdrive) each with its own 3-band tone control. The switchable overdrive acts on the overdrive channel, the two masters can be used for both channels. Common controls for presence and resonance extend the tone control. There are also two FX loops, which can either be switched manually using a foot switch or each assigned to a channel using the FX loop auto assign. This version received a “5 out of 5 stars” rating from Guitarist Magazine and a “Guitarists Gold” award.
RK100
The RK stands for Richie Kotzen and this 100 W top was his signature amp. The amplifier has one channel with medium-strong distortion, 4-band tone control and a switchable boost. Four EL34s are used in the output stage .
Roadhouse 30/50
The Roadhouse is available in 30 or 50 W as a top or combo. The combo amplifier has one (30 W) or two (50 W) Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. It is a single channel with an additional adjustable boost, 3-band tone control and FX loop. It is built with a PCB instead of the soldering strips usually used at Cornford. Three 12AX7 and two EL34 are used.
Other products
Cornford also produced boxes in 1 x 12 ", 2 x 12" and 4 x 12 "formats to match the tops.
Web links
Cornford website ( April 4, 2019 memento in Internet Archive )