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 Anthony "Tony" Palmer
The Jimmy Burns Band
In my 30 year + musical career, I have had the opportunity to perform
on most of the top name guitar amplifiers. I've almost never found an
amp that filled my needs for clean power, even tonal response, and
craftsmanship.
Then I heard the Kafel Half-Stack - it was love at first sound! The
Kafel Half-Stack is the complete amp. It has solid lows, mids and
highs, and constant power, no matter how long you play. It is
constructed with a lot of love.
One the the main assets a musician should have is passion. When I first
met Jack Kafel, I knew he had this same passion about his product.
Right then I decided to own a Kafel amp. I don't regret my decision.
It's a good sound investment.
 Neal Alger
The Kafel half-stack has a wonderful round
and robust tone for jazz guitars and rock guitars. Many amplifiers lack
a low-end fullness and a clarity of tone that cuts through. Kafel's amp
has both of these qualities. The sound is direct and full and has great
midrange and bass capacities. I will continue to use the half-stack on
my performances and recordings and I highly recommend the products that
Kafel manufactures. The handmade power transformer is an added plus.
Enjoy!
After graduating from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor's
degree in jazz guitar performance, Neal moved to Chicago and has
freelanced with many major jazz artists including Lin Halliday, Ed
Thigpen, Howard Levy, Fareed Haque, Grazyna Augusick, and Blue Note
recording artist Patricia Barber. Neal's versatility has also enabled
him to perform R&B/soul with KFox (DefSoul records), classic rock
covers with Cast Iron Skillet, and 20th-century classical music with
HardArt Groop. Recently, Neal has released a duo CD with vocalist
Typhanie Monique on BluJazz records titled Intrinsic. The great
majority of the national and international performances that Neal
participates in are with Patricia Barber.)
 Jeff's
/ "The Bomb" opinion:
I was fortunate to find out about Kafel Amps. I
have played 2 amps for years, a 1969 Marshall and a Hiwatt.
When I heard
Jack's amps I was completely blown away. To the point that I sold my
Marshall just to be able to purchase one.
I've never heard an amp with as much power and
clarity as the S - 150. On top of how amazing this amp sounds, it's
also built rock solid! And with the Kafel warranty on top of that, I
feel confident in
playing the S-150 for a very, very long time.
The S-150 is truly an amazing amp
I was so impressed with the S- 150 that I originally got from Jack
Kafel,that I decided I had to have another. Where as I really like to play
loud,I figured this time I would go with something with a little less
wattage. So I had Jack build me an S-95. Now first off,this amp is probably
just as loud as my S-150,but the tone quality is absolutley amazing! Not
that my S-150 isn't one of the best amps I've ever heard,its just that I
can't believe how great this amp sounds too! At full volume you can hear
every note,nothing gets lost in the gain of this amp.And,it still has so
much power that I can't believe that I ever played any other amps before
this. The thing I love about Kafel amps is that Jack custom makes
everything,the quality is unmatched, and the sound is like no other amp I've
ever heard.
 Jaroslaw's
Smietana opinion:
For the
past two weeks I have been using Kafel S-75 amplifier. I have tested it
both live and in the studio. This amplifier is one of the highest
quality. The tone quality satisfies even the most refined tastes. Clear
channel has a superb, deep and most importantly soft sound. The
distortion channel provides a clear crunch and excellent note
separation on chords.
This amplifier reacts fast to peak attack and has great articulation.
In my opinion, Kafel S-75 could be used by a variety of musicians in
the style of rock, pop and jazz. It is a product entirely handmade, and
surpasses industry standard.
The speaker cabinet is made out of solid pine, which two Celestion
speakers. The resonance of this cabinet is something that any musician
would last over.
 Jaroslaw
Smietana, one of the premiere jazz musicians in Poland. For many years,
jazz guitarist No.1 in jazz critics' and listeners' pools (magazines:
Jazz Forum, Jazz, Guitar & Bass, and Musician). Winner of "Fryderyk '98" award for "Songs and Other Ballads". Honored with President of Cracow Prize for eminent achievements on culture. One of the top guitar players in Europe.
In conclusion, the Kafel S-75 and SC-75 speaker cabinet makes an
excellent set for every guitar player who can appreciate world class
sound quality.
Jaroslaw Smieta
 Frank Lieggi's Opinion:
Guitar Player with the Royal Esquires
In my tenure as a guitarist, I have played just about every new and
vintage amp ever made. I have never heard anything like my Kafel
amp. When you play the Blues amp’s don’t lie.
Jack Kafel is the very best!
Matt Detlaff's Opinion:
I cannot put words to describe how amazing this bass amp actually
sounds but, I'll try my best. I have tried every Bass amp imaginable,
believe me I have even tried other custom amps and nothing comes close
to the way the Kafel B-150 sounds. Other bass amps lack the punch, they
lack the tone and smoothness this amp creates. I had mine built with
only 1 tone knob...this may confuse some so I'll clear it up a bit. The
1 tone knob is basically the 3 predecessors (Bass, Treble, Mid) into 1
knob. A turn from left to right changes the sound from bassier to
brighter. The Gain on channel 2 creates an even bigger punch, causing
the entire room to shake. Every note is pronounced perfectly and
accentuated so crisply that I can strum every note on my bass and
anything I put my fingers on is heard perfectly.
Thank you once again Jack Kafel for the amazing amp the Kafel B-150. If
it wasn't for you, I would still not own a bass amp because everything
I played didn't satisfy me enough to purchase. Also, thank you for
taking the time and effort into the single Tone knob on both channels
and design of my amp.
Chris Detlaff's Opinion:
It's safe to say that we're really picky when it comes to gear. Every
tube amp has it's pros and cons; when you find an amp with great tone,
it never has the output and vice versa. This amp has both! The tubes,
capacitors and pots are all top-notch! We no longer have a need for the
20+ pedals we've bought trying to emulate the sound we developed with
other amps we've used in our rig. The tone maintains it's shape even
when you turn it all the way up. Even with a full band, we've never had
to turn the volume past 2; it produces enough output to fill any space
with crisp even tone. It outperforms amps that cost twice as much. I
also have to commend Jack on how fast he built it, he had it built to
all my specifications within 2 weeks! Pretty good for a completely
customized, hand-built amp. Finally, this thing is a tank. Everything,
inside and out, is solid. I definitely would recommend this to any
guitarist, from any genre, this thing can do it.
Chris Detlaff about Kafel's cabinet:
Kafel’s cabinet is the perfect compliment to his line of amps.
Built solid, with large magnet speakers, this cube is absolutely
flawless... It’ll knock yer socks off, truly a work of art in
craftsmanship and a giant step forward for musicians everywhere.
Brian Bupris Opinion:
These amplifiers have "balls," this is the simplest way to describe
Kafel amps. Never have I owned or played for that matter an amplifier
that made me shiver from the joy. Extremely articulate touch dynamics
ooze from the speaker.
I am just the average guitar tone fanatic, but I can tell you my amp
sings like nothing else on the planet. Jack is awesome, a very nice guy
who backs his products up. No one else offers a lifetime guarantee. I
can tell you that these amps are built like tanks, they will never
fail. Kafel Amps and Jack Kafel are the best in this business. They
make the best electric guitars sound even better.
Russ Reiser Opinion:
I recently had the pleasure of purchasing a KAFEL S -150 guitar amp.
Handcrafted by Jack Kafel in his shop in Chicago , he even builds the
transformers.
Features include two channels Cathode bias switch which lowers the power to 75 watts and parallel loop.
The whole process of demoing the amp to getting the final product has
been a great experience . Jack and his family are very hospitable and
made me feel at home.
What sets this amp apart from other great amps I've played is the
warmth and responsiveness this amp exhibits. For high powered amp it
reminds me off all the good things a small amp has but at volumes that
cut thru the max in a live band setting. It's very clear articulate and
precessive . It goes into feed back easily and works great with pedals.
Huge sound with no " ice pick to the ears". This is not a bedroom amp
and the dirty channel is more like AC/DC.
You may need a pedal for high gain. I highly recommended. Check out JACK' s amps.
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