NAMM 2024: Victory Amps has collaborated with Andertons’ tone perfectionist Pete Honoré for The Deputy. The compact, single-channel amp is said to be “a testament to simplicity, delivering a pure and powerful classic rock”, and supposedly fills a gap in the Victory catalog.
The collaboration came from Honore’s ability to get much mileage out of the Vintage channel of Victory's 25-watt Sheriff amp. Consequently, Victory and 'Danish Pete', who has been using the brand's amps for nine years, looked to expand on that with a simple, fluff-free build.
Tonally, the Deputy’s ethos was a simple one, as Victory and Honoré set about building an amp that can churn out ‘60s blues tones and early ‘70s rock with little resistance as players transition between the two. Its concise approach focused on a ‘plug and play’ mentality to make tone-shaping quick and easy.
The Deputy packs 25 watts of power via three ECC83/12AX7 and two EL86s, although there is the option of fittings EL84s instead. Housed in a wooden sleeve, the premium all-valve amp head continues the Victory tradition of being hand-built in England.
Despite its streamlined build and small footprint (220H x 390W x 220D, and weighing just over 17lbs), great effort has been spent ensuring none of Victory’s sonic elements were lost along the way. As small as it may be, it still finds room for three-way Voice and Bright switches, and deep in-built reverb for extra spice and versatility.
Of the three voices, position one delivers the lowest amount of gain. Position two lets players exploit a maximum of +6dB gain, which is influenced by the gain settings on the amp, whilst the third position takes position two and boosts its upper mid frequencies and treble.
There’s an effects loop in the back, which is completely bypassed when not in use. That makes it a viable choice for small shows beyond bedroom performances.
The Deputy has a simple three-band EQ (Bass, Treble, Middle) with extra controls for Gain and Reverb. It can be paired with Celestion Creamback ‘65-loaded cabinets, which come via 1x12 and 2x12 options.
"Having a gain and a master control makes this amp much easier to control in a home environment,” says Honore. “Something that's in-between a very clean amp and a Marshall-y, super-crunchy high gain amplifier that, I thought, has been missing from the Victory catalog. They've absolutely nailed the design of this amp."
Victory Amplification is now in its second decade of amp building, having been established in 2013. Its amps, hand-made in England, are put together by a committed team of engineers that adopt a modern-boutique approach to the design and specification of its amp arsenal.
Signature Victory artists include Guthrie Govan, Richie Kotzen, Graham Coxen And Rabea Massaad, who has just released his first two signature Music Man models. Mastodon riff king, Bill Kelliher, who has also just dropped a new signature guitar in the LTD Royal Shiva, is also a signature artist.
The head and its partner cabs are available now. The head costs $1,499, with the 1x12 at $869 and the 2x12 rising to $1,129.
For more information, head to Victory.
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