Guitar Center

THD UniValve Review

Started way back in 1987 by Andrew Marshall (not a bad name for a dude in amplifiers!), THD or “Total Harmonic Distortion” is manufacturing some fantastic tube amps out of their Seattle base in the USA.

Okwe all know about credibility, in the amp game it all comes down to who uses your gear, when analyzing THD for this, you are looking at the biggest names in the guitar game!

Eric Clapton, Peter Buck, Bob Dylan and John Fogerty all have used THD amps…try and beat that! Hold on a second though….you can add Prince, George Thorogood, Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page to that list…..so cop that!!!

This is a Class A Single ended amplifier head that has a single output tube that has the ability to be switched at anytime with almost any octal-based tube to achieve different tones without having to re-biase the amp in any way.

Class A amp – what on earth does that mean….

This is a term given to an amp that runs its tubes at full wack all the time. Most tube amps alternate between sets of tubes, splitting the wave load. So what’s the big deal with this? Well the benefits are many, but here are just a few:

The tones that the THD UniValve delivers are diverse. Everything from smooth and crisp to a heavy overdrive with nuts the size of a gorilla! The built in Hot Plate Attenuator allows full output distortion at pretty much any volume.  The THD UniValve has its own built in dummy load so you are safe when it is not plugged into a box, very handy for recording direct through a line connection.

The THD UniValve is not for softies, but it is not only for the nutsy as well. The variety of deliverable tones and textures is really quite unique and a testament to eveyone at THD and in particular Andrew Marshall.

Many players including Clapton, Dylan and Fogerty have cranked these baby’s up over the years, so as a litmus test, I reckon that pretty much says it all.

The verdict – diversity and quality are the two main focuses of the THD UniValve for me, I love it! for more reviews, go to Amp Critic.

How do I wire an Amplifier to my head unit?

I know what wires go where, thats not the problem, i just don’t understand how the cables make it from the head-unit to the side panels of the car. Does this process require you to…like… disassemble your car?

It does require that. It’s not like plug and play on your computer. It’ll require removing parts of your dash to remove your head unit, as well as get the wires to the back of the head unit area. If you haven’t done so already, it’ll also require ripping up some carpet (well, pulling it up atleast) as well as removing some body panels to hide the wires and get them from point A (the battery and headunit) to point B (the amp). You’ll also need to drill through your firewall to get the power cable through. If you don’t know what you’re doing, I highly suggest either consulting a professional for some tips OR letting them do the work. Also, the12volt.com might have some information that might help you. I’ve dealt with home and car audio for years, so I know what to do, but not to a professional level. I do suggest that you talk to a professional, browse the internet for some “tutorials” and tips, and see what you can do. But if you honestly have no clue what you’re doing, leave it to the professionals. That way, if they mess it up, they know how to fix it, and it’s their problem to fix.