Thermion All-Tube Head Joins Ibanez Amplifier Family
 |
|
(Click for a close-up) |
July 25, 2005
Eight years after launching its own line of Ibanez solid-state amps at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, Ibanez is debuting its first all-tube amp at this year's NAMM show in Indianapolis. The new Thermion amp features 120 watts of power and has matching angled and straight front cabinets. The Thermion head boasts two independent channels, a heavy-duty, maintenance-friendly design, and most important, according to John Lomas, one of the designers, "no wimpy solid-state devices anywhere in the signal path."
John Lomas of Ibanez describes Thermion's formidable capabilities and features at length: "This amp uses absolutely no solid-state devices in the signal path. All switching is through mechanical relays and everything, including send and return of the efx loop, is vacuum tube. The backbone of the amp is the over-designed power supply. The transformer is a huge toroidal which feeds fast-switching, soft-recovery diodes which imitate tube rectification without the voltage sag. This keeps the amp punchy and from fizzing out especially of the top end because the power supply stays stiff even when played loud. In addition all 12AX7s are running on DC not AC almost virtually eliminating AC hum. Finally the output transformer is almost hi-fi in spec running almost flat from 20hz to 20khz. All other components are top quality including matched and selected Ruby Tubes, glass epoxy pc boards, sealed pots and ceramic tube sockets. Output tubes can be easily replaced and biased without taking the amp out of the cabinet. The speakers are genuine Celestion Vintage 30s. "
Specifications
TN120 Thermion Ibanez All-Tube Amplifier
- 120W 5%THD @4, 8, or 16 ohms
- All tube signal line circuitry with mechanical relays
- 4 x 6L6GCSTR-MATCHED Ruby Tubes output tubes (user switchable to 6550s)
- 5 x 12AX7A-SELECTED Ruby Tubes preamp tubes
- HI/LO input impedance switch
- Two independent channels: Vintage Channel & Hot Channel
- Tube circuit Effects Loop w/Send and Return Level Control on the front panel,
- Blend/Series switch and 0dB/-20dB switch
- Illuminated front panel and illuminated Ibanez logo.
- Dampening switch enables different distortion characteristics out of Hot channel
- Rotary 3-position bright switch in Vintage channel.
- Traditional passive EQ in both channels
- 3-button footswitch for channel switching, dampening and effects loop on/off
- Maintenance friendly design includes Metal nut jacks, Bias adjustment interface for output tube replacement on top of chassis, UL/CSA compliance (under application) High efficiency toroidal core transformer with automatically resetting thermal fuse, durable 3/4" ply wood cabinet, heavy-duty toggle switches, potentiometers with dust-covers, and more.
TN412A Angled/TN412S Straight Front Themion Cabinets:
- 4 x Celestion Vintage 30 speaker drivers
- 5/8" birch plywood provides durability and augments resonance
- Input jacks w/stereo/mono switch
- Separate left and right chambers eliminate acoustic interference
- 1-3/4" large heavy-duty pop-in casters
- Durable 1.5mm black nickel-plated carbon steel corners and additional front angle corners (TN412A).
- Ultra-durable cane net grill
- Dimension: 31.0"Wx31.5"Hx14.5"D
The TN120 Thermion 120-watt all-tube head lists for $1466.65. The matching straight and angled front cabinets each list for $1066.65
For more information, visit their web site at www.ibanez.com. |
