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Swampdonkey M50 / M50HR

Swampdonkey M50:

Single channel, high-gain guitar amplifier offers widely variable gain structure with
amazing tonal personalities. Perfect for large clubs, ballrooms and the studio !

(M50 prototype shown in photos immediately above and below)

 We designed the M50 entirely by ear and through a long process of experimentation with various guitars, different speaker cabinets and drivers and by enlisting input from seasoned guitarists. The goal was to provide a boutique amp that offered a wide variety of tonal possibilities with an easy to use set of controls.

As the M50 is our debut product, we are hoping to captivate you with a durable, great sounding amp that could last almost forever due to it's easy to service chassis & construction method. 

This amp provides plank spanking clean tones for fast country pickers, a great crunch rhythm tone and widely variable levels of tube distortion for rock, electric blues & roots players as well as unique tonal options for emergent playing styles and to satisfy tone hounds seeking something to call their own.

Above: M50 with matching 2x12 cabinet loaded with Tone Tubby Ceramic drivers.

M50 Features -

The M50 is available as a head only and produces approximately 50 watts in a single channel, Cascading Gain Stage design. Initial gain structure is determined with the "Drive" and Voice" controls that offer a wide palette of sonic colours to choose from. A three control tone stack is provided to give you the tweakability you need, followed by a "Volume" control. A post phase inverter "Master Volume" and "Edge" control (think:  Master Tone) let you further shape the tone to your liking. This control set lets you present each stage of the preamp AND the phase inverter AND the output tubes with gain, compression &/or distortion as you like. This gives you incredible variety in crafting tones. See our M50 Technical and M50 Controls pages for more info. Check out sample audio clips online on our Sample Clips page.

M50HR variant -

In the closing days of 2009, we determined a great set of mods to the M50 design to shape it's tone in the direction of Hard Rock. These include a set of EL34 output tubes and an ECC83S phase inverter tube and voicing changes in the preamp. To dial in output stage gain similar to the non-HR model, simply turn down the "Master" and if treble compensation is desired, nudge the "Edge" control up.  Other output tubes may be swapped in - no extra charge!

Other Stuff -

  • Variable, Foot Switchable "Boost". (Footswitch w/ 15 foot cable is included)
  • No Negative Feedback loop (output is not constrained).
  • Auxiliary OUT / IN with independent Send Level just prior to the Volume control.
  • Individual output tube BIAS adjustment with external test points (safe, low voltage) Output tubes do not have to be a matched pair.
  • Selectable speaker impedance (4, 8, or 16 ohms)
  • ATA Flight Case is included with ALL Swampdonkey products.
  • Custom finished fine wood cabinets available at slightly higher cost.

Click here to download the M50 brochure in PDF format.