Reason SM25 Combo Amp
Need a tube amp? Now you have a Reason. Sorry, couldn’t resist the pun. All right, I know what you’re thinking, “Another amp manufacturer?” That’s what I thought at first until I saw some video clips (I’ll get to those in a sec). But on the flip side of that mild complaint, thank the universe that people have the creativity to come up with different approaches to existing paradigms.
I found out about Reason amps from none other than Mr. Phil Vickman of Fat Tone Guitars just outside of Chicago, Illinois. Being a fellow blog freak, I found Phil’s Fat Tone Blog awhile ago, and signed up for his newsletter. Much to my surprise, his latest newsletter featured an upcoming in-store demo from the guys at Reason Amps on November 12 at 5-7pm. Go to Fat Tone Guitars for address information, or give ’em a call at: 866/512-8663.
So, being curious, I checked out the Reason Amps web site, checked out their sound bites, and much to my surprise, they didn’t have a dealer list, and they didn’t even list MSRP’s for their amps! So, I gave Phil a call, and we had a nice chat. Apparently, Reason Amps is NEW. So new, that not too many people have heard of them. But I have a feeling that their amps are soon going to get some traction.
So what makes Reason amplifiers so special?
Whether you go low wattage or up to their 50W amps, they all come with three modes: Normal, Bright, and Stack. It’s actually two channels, with the third mode being a blend of the two channels that Reason calls “Stackmode.” Stackmode uses a “cascade series connection that sets up the circuit architecture to blend the independent gain stages” of the two channels.
The net result? Yikes! Tones that you wouldn’t expect to find from an amp that is essentially a vintage-style amp. But don’t take my word for it. Check out the YouTube demo:
You can also view all their videos here by clicking here.
Granted, YouTube audio is not the most desirable audio to be heard, but if the amps sound that good over YouTube, you gotta believe they’re going to sound outstanding live. So check out the Reason web site!
A Little Plug for Fat Tone Guitars
Phil Vickman has a nice little business going with Fat Tone Guitars. I go to the Fat Tone site to get on my drool factor for the wonderful gear he sells. Amazingly enough, there’s not a Fender guitar listed on his site, though he does carry Gibson. But make no mistake, Fat Tone sells high-end gear from several boutique guitar makers like Baker, St. Blues, and Ram. From my recent conversation with Phil, he likes unique approaches to guitars. For instance, Ram guitars make Tele-style guitars made from pine! Wow! We spoke at length about Saint Guitars and how Adam Hernandez likes using different kinds of woods like walnut or bloodwood. That’s cool and unique. Adam told me he spoke to Phil, and will be sending him a couple of demo guitars. That’s so awesome! Way to go Adam, and way to go Phil! You won’t be disappointed!
Guitar Gear 
[…] This is a continuation and expansion of the original new gear article I wrote previously… […]
[…] When I discovered the Reason Amplifier company a few weeks ago, I was so intrigued by what they had to offer that I immediately contacted them. I had the fortune of getting in touch with Anthony Bonadio, one of the founders of Reason to talk to him about his exciting new company and his new line of amps. That conversation led to him sending me an SM25 25 Watt combo to review; and since I’ve had it, I haven’t gotten much sleep from playing with it late into the night. Now you might say that I’m just excited about playing a new amp. Yes, that certainly has a lot to do with it. But what Reason has come up with in their amplifiers is so incredibly brilliant and unique that I’ve been spending all my free time trying to discover the subtle intricacies of this tone machine. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get started! […]
Book-marked on faourites already.