Regular visitors to this site will know I’m a fan and friend of 633 Engineering founder Cliff Brown and his fabulous amps. My #1 633 amp, a Custom 36 which I co-designed in small part, received the ultimate accolade, scoring 10/10 in the August 2016 issue of Guitarist magazine.
The October 2017 edition of the magazine carries their second review of two more 633 amps. My second 633 amp, the Drive King 50 in whose spec I also played a small part also received 10/10 and a fabulous writeup. A few quotes :
- “It’s practically impossible to find fault with any 633 we’ve tried. They blend a range and clarity that we haven’t experienced on any other amp, with superb player-friendly dynamics”.
- “The competition doesn’t even come close, simply because the Drive King is in a class of its own… sublime tone, exceptional performance and build quality more than justify the price and out top award’.
- “If you’re in the market, our advice is don’t delay… there’ll probably never be a better time to buy the amp of your dreams”.
Well, enough said. The full review is reproduced below. The other amp, the superb Jazz & Blues combo which I’ve also played gets a mere 9/10!
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- Guitarist October 2017 / 1
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- Guitarist October 2017 / 2
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- Guitarist October 2017 / 3
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- Guitarist October 2017 / 4
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- Guitarist October 2017 / 5
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- Guitarist October 2017 / 6
As the first customer and a long-term owner (my Custom 36 serial #1, the first non-prototype, and my Drive King is #17), I can confirm that these amps are everything Guitarist says they are, maybe more. And the two together? Valhalla…
Hey Bob, You’ve got a tremendous collection of guitars and amps from what I could see in Ramon’s videos. Looks like those 633 engineering amps are quite absent from the pre-owned market… I’m in if I can find a reasonably priced one: I still need my car 🙂
I am about to order a Drive King 15 combo as a retirement present to myself. As you have observed there are no pre owned 633 Amps -The owners love them too much to part with them. Whilst I am only a hobbyist player the tone of the Drive King is addictive.
A very good friend who has been a pro guitarist for over 45 years says he has NEVER heard any other amplifier come close to the 633 Drive King 50 head which a friend allowed him to use for a gig.
Apologies for my delay in responding. You will not regret buying a 633 amp and as you rightly observe, nobody sells their on, suggesting they really are as good as I think! Beautifully designed and built, they sound fabulous.
The Drive King is slightly more complex in having several controllable gain stages, so it takes a little to master it but it’s so worth it. Speaker choice is very important too. I use my Celestion G12/75 Creamback because it’s the best match I’ve found, but try an Alnico Gold too. I suggest you make sure Cliff gives you 9v power to the footswitch so you can power a small pedalboard without additional power run.
You will love it…