What's your amp? "a Divided by 13..." Yeah... It does, don't you think? :) Divided is the kind of brand that never needed to advertise or anything to get all the greatest guitarists on the planet using their amps. Besides, Divided isn't really a brand, it's more of a person. Fred Taccone. And Fred's amps, I would personally find it hard to call them "amps", as we could call so many others... Why? Quite simply because the Divided are NOT amps like the others. Fred's philosophy is to make the best, and the least we can say is that Mr. Taccone's impressive list of clients speaks for itself and supports this. .. We are here in the best of the best, the strawberry on the cake, the top of the top... And this AMW 39 (for Adam Matthew Watts) is a kind of historical jukebox of British sound, namely everything you love about the Marshall sound but... Without the flaws. Be careful, the AMW 39 is dangerously addictive!
Aesthetically, as always with Divided, the complete stack (head and cabinet) is just magnificent. The finish is indisputable, the design is sleek, efficient, the manufacturing and the components used are top notch... It's impressive while being sober... And it's as beautiful inside as it is outside . It's a big crush, we're not going to hide it! On the front panel, and from left to right, there are the usual 2 switches (On/Off, Standby), a 3-band EQ, the master volume and the volume. The amp has 2 high/low inputs.
On the rear panel, only classic, the usual 4/8/16 ohm outputs and an effects loop that works well. The cabinet features a Celestion G12H and an open panel / closed panel to use the cabinet as you see fit.
Connected with a Les Paul 56 in P90, EQ and Volume at 12:00, it starts very strong! The amp crunches fairly quickly (past 11:00) with a very light drive that you can control with your fingertips with the volume knob on the guitar. The amp cleans very well while retaining a lot of complexities in the treble. We immediately find the Divided sound signature, namely a very "in your face" amp with a forward high end and precise and chiseled bass. The dynamics are excellent, it slaps in all directions, reacts perfectly to the attack, which will allow you to obtain a lot of nuances just by varying the attack and the volume knob. We are on an old school Plexi with an accentuated dynamics and above all an impressive clarity! Each note is perfectly detached, balanced, with a dense and organic side reminiscent of the best amps of the genre. By pushing the bottom and the gain a little, you can very easily obtain an absolutely magnificent "brown sound", but without the "compressed" side of many current amps. There's a gain tone in reserve, plenty of headroom, an ultra-responsive EQ, but above all, an amp that doesn't crash. Indeed, the AMW 39 remains clear, audible, open while retaining the thickness that all fans of big boosted Marshalls love. This typical articulation of the Californian brand is a rare commodity on the market and that's what makes all the difference. Basically, if you're a fan of ACDC, Guns and other hard 70's / 80's, the AMW 39 will clearly be a reference for you!
With its solid 39Ws and its crazy response, the AMW 39 offers a very wide range of British sounds ranging from Plexi to edgy JCM. It's an amp cut out for rock, with a strong personality, which will be a must for "players" wishing to control their sound at their fingertips. An extremely improved Marshall that can be summed up in one word: FUN!