Victory Sheriff 44

There have been many ‘plexi’ clones over the years that have tried, and to some extent succeeded, to imitate that classic late 60s and 70s rock guitar tone that fans of bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath are so familiar with. Despite this, guitarists looking for such amps sometimes find themselves on a seemingly endless quest to find a guitar shop that stocks them as, in the vast majority of cases, these amps are usually produced by either small amp companies or are from the more boutique section of the amplifier world and, so, are not affordable to the average guitarist.

However, guitar players that have longed for this iconic sound can rejoice as the wonderful people at Victory amplifiers announced the Sheriff 22 and 44 heads that, we at Wildwire Guitars, will now be stocking after a long wait. The Sheriff 44 is a dual channel, EL34 driven ‘plexi’ which blows all other clones out of the water with its distinctive, innovative features. The front plates boasts a three band EQ, master volume, independent volumes for each of the channels (acting as gain controls), two separate inputs and low and high power modes. The amp has three different power options – thanks to the design of having both fixed and cathode bias – which are:

• 45 Watts in the high power mode w/ fixed bias,
• 30 Watts in the high power mode w/ cathode bias,
• 6 Watts in the low power mode w/ either bias option.

What this means is that the amp has the capabilities to easily be a bedroom level practise amp, without annoying the neighbours too much, and at the same time being loud enough to play in a band. The amp, also, features an effects loop (something some other amps unfortunately miss). All this comes in a lovely built, retro looking housing.

Tone wise, channel 1 is very much your classic late 60s/ 70s ‘plexi’ sound that Blues–rock players will feel right at home with. This channel has enough gain to give that iconic rock sound, but it can also clean up really nicely (even when just using the guitars volume pot). It has a punchy midrange response, with plenty of treble, to get that Jimmy Page sound. Channel 2, on the other hand, is a deferent beast entirely. This channel features a more late 70s/ 80s ‘plexi’ sound with the effect of dimed or hot-rodded old 60s/ 70s amp. This produces more than enough gain and is well suited to the tones of artists such as Van Halen.

All these features help to create one of the best ‘plexi’ amps around and it comes in a welcomed £1,149 – what a steal!! A Friedman of the same output would come in at around £2,249, Tone King at £2,399 and Suhr at £2,499. We strongly recommend you try one of these beauties next time you come across one.