By way of introduction, a brace of hopeless dialogues between a Reviewer (R) and a Manufacturer (M):

ONE
M: But it works perfectly!
R: It's a silly colour. And it's too cumbersome.
M: That's a diecast case for added protection.
R: I understand your managing director is a member of the National Front.

TWO
R: It doesn't seem to be working.
M: It's supposed to be subtle.
R: And bits keep falling off...
M: That's your modular construction, innit.

Certainly the reviewer's prime task is to evaluate a product within the context of readers' requirements, but just as important is the reviewer's role as a testing ground for the manufacturer. The reviewer and the manufacturer ideally work together to find and improve the weak points of a new product. And if you think that is other than a difficult, thankless task, have a banana.

However, the aforementioned requirements of the readers come first, and some times you just have to slag, and slag hard. This is easy - you just tot up the problems - but not much fun. Far more difficult and much more fun is the writing of a favourable review. You have to praise without becoming fulsome and losing objectivity, and you must discuss the product as a whole system of benefits, not as a list of isolated problems. But this is more fun and a great relief. So here goes.

I first saw the Redmere Soloist combo amp on the MM Electronics stands at the summer BMITF show. I was in the company of one Richard Elen and we both exclaimed and stepped back in amazement. The Elen suggested I review the device. Later in the day I returned with Tony Bacon and he too expressed immoderate approval of the Redmere machine. So I borrowed that very sample and have used it on live gigs, sessions, home practise, subjected it to nasty rigours, chucked it down stairs, and what have you. (Not for SI a quick look and five minutes' fiddling - no punches pulled here, mate.) In the three months I have had the amp, it has performed its functions perfectly in every respect.

The Redmere Soloist is a 140w solid state combo with two 12in speakers built into a heavy flight case with lid. Facilities include three primary channels, each a solid-state simulation of a distinct valve sound, reverb, sustain, flange, chorus, graphic EQ, and noise gate. Activation of the major circuits is by touch switch (or footpedal). The Redmere weighs 112lbs (129lbs with lid) and measures 14½in deep (18in with lid) by 29in wide by 25in high (29in including wheels). It costs £470 plus VAT. Redmere also produce a head only version for £430 plus VAT (the explanation for the minor price difference is not cheap speakers — they are 80w Celestions - but the expense of constructing the flight case for the head alone).

All controls are where they should be, nicely visible on the front control panel. Reading from the left, you first encounter the jack inputs: the separate NORMAL and BRIGHT channels each have a high and low sensitivity input, the low being for instruments with some built-in pre-amplification, such as electric piano or synth.

The next sections are the three basic simulated sounds. These are evidently solid state simulations of valve sounds derived from computer analyses, and unlike many 'valve sound' s-s circuits, they do sound realistically valvey. One might even describe them as having (ahem) bottle. MM Electronics have to be rather cagey about describing these simulations for obvious legal reasons. I quote: 'Channel 1 is a simulation of a very well known American valve amplifier, usually bought in 'twin reverb' form... Channel 2 simulates one of the most famous makes of British valve amplifiers used by many major rock bands. This is the rock sound... Channel 3 simulates another type of early British valve amplifier usually found in a 30w combo form.' But I am not under any constraints, so Channel 1 sounds like a Fender, Channel 2 like a Marshall, and Channel 3 like a Vox AC30. (Did you get them all? Jolly good, have another banana.)

Each of these simulation circuits has a touch switch with red LED to indicate ON mode (when switched on, the amp runs the Fender channel; more than one simulation circuit may be used simultaneously), a volume control, bass, middle, and treble controls, and a master volume. The Fender circuit also has a Bright switch before the master.

Next in line is the 5-band graphic equaliser, with bands at 80Hz, 240Hz, 700Hz, 2kHz, and 6kHz, each offering boost and cut of +15dB. The graphic is always active and although it appears before the effects on the control panel, it acts on the signal after everything except reverb and master volumes.

Beneath the graphic is the reverb, a slider-controlled 3-spring Accutronics (Hammond). Although the slider is graduated 0 to 10, anything above 4 becomes a bit chaotic unless you are after an effect rather than a simple reverb. The reverb is activated by another LED-ed touch switch.

The first effect is SUSTAIN, which is a compressor followed by a distortion circuit which clips and thus squares the signal. The amount of compression is controlled by the Effect knob. A Colour control boosts certain frequencies and acts as a fixed Wah. Then the Level slider determines the level at which the already limited signal passes into the distortion circuit.

The next effect is the FLANGER, which has Speed, Depth, and Regen controls, and after that comes the CHORUS with its Speed, Depth, and Effect controls. All three effects are activated by a LED touch switch, and more than one effect can be used simultaneously.

Since most effects are noisy and both Flange and Chorus are more than usually noisy, the inclusion of a NOISE GATE is very handy, particularly for studio work. The Noise Gate acts only on the three effects, and is infinitely variable via a Threshold control which determines the lowest level of signal that will pass through the gate before it slams shut on the residual noise.

Under the Noise Gate is the standard red-lit mains rocker switch. Rear panel controls include auxiliary input, slave output, and an output which can drive another amp to produce a stereo effect when Chorus is activated. The loudspeaker outputs, like the previous in/outputs, are standard jacks, one of which is taken by the internal speakers with another for an extra cab. The amp is rated at 140w into 8 ohms and the internal speakers are wired to 8 ohms. The amp is rated at 200w into 4 but is limited into lower impedances, which means that an external cabinet used in conjunction with the internal speakers should be at least 8 ohms.

There is also a Direct Injection output at 600 ohms from a 3-pin female Cannon which takes the signal as it is just before going into the power amp section, isolating and transforming it to line level so that you can inject straight into the studio or stage desk. The lead is not supplied.

The Footswitch socket is a 9-pin latchlock unit similar to the usual multicore terminals. The footswitch can be programmed to provide three completely different combinations of simulation and effects at the touch of a button. (The footswitch was not available when I borrowed the amp, so I can't comment on it.) The only other features of the rear panel are the mains input, 3A fuseholder, and the power transistor heat sinks. The rear panel is accessible beneath a hinged and lockable dropdown flap, and this would be the perfect place to store the mains cable were it not for the fact that the average British 3-pin plug is too bloody big! Happily, one of the new slim LEB plugs will just fit.

Fine. So much for description; what is it like to use? Well, first and most important, the simulations are very realistic, although a distinct tranny distortion does begin to overlay them at high volume. The Fender sound is clean and countrified and Steve Cropper would like it. Even with the pre-amp volume flat out the distortion is typically non-hysterical. The Marshall sound has that punchy attack on each note and really hair-raising dirt can be added by injudicious knob-tweaking. But my personal fave was the AC30 sound. I once owned an AC30 and although I liked the sound at high levels, I could never get any balls from it at practise levels. Not so the Redmere. You can have flat-out early Rory Gallagher/Brian May sounds at three in the morning in your bedroom if you like. And one of the great drawbacks of the AC30 was its somewhat crude single Tone control. The Redmere offers the more flexible complement of bass, mid, and treb, so you can go beyond the essentially limited AC30 sound if you fancy it.

By now you should know what I think of effects: blech. But if you like effects, the Redmere deserves your attention. I found the Sustain a bit overwhelming and the Flanger something of a cliché, but I quite enjoyed the Chorus. The graphic adds considerable tonal flexibility, and the reverb is clean and effective if kept down. As I mentioned, it gets a touch loony if used above 4.

Oddly enough, I think MM have slightly missed a point in the design of this amp. Most gigging guitarists will want only one of the basic three sounds, and many will be unwilling to pay for the two they might never use. On the other hand, the amp is a session player's dream: and three basic amp sounds in one cab. Magic! BUT - the Redmere is constructed for road use and is consequently going to be too big and heavy for a session player whose usual mode of transport is a taxi or a Mini. I would like to see Redmere develop the Soloist into a range which includes the combo as it is, the head only, and three simpler versions, each including all the effects but only one of the simulations and then a lower-powered and lighter-constructed version with all three simulations and all effects for the session chaps. That would satisfy all but a few purist die-hards and give Redmere a good share of the overall amp market.

The only criticism of the Redmere I have concerns the touch switches. I am cursed (blessed) with dry hands, and many are the touch switches that ignore my caresses completely. Although I can see the advantages of touch controls for speed, I would personally prefer straight toggles or rockers. The switches certainly function, but often I have to lick my fingertip, touch the switch so firmly and for so long that the advantages are lost, and often the switches would only work if my other hand was clutching my guitar strings.

Nevertheless, it's a fine amp at a reasonable price. The guarantee is for twelve months and covers parts, labour, and return shipping, which is a plus over the legal requirements. I would like to see a longer guarantee period, but you can't have everything (so it seems). If MM Electronics can keep turning out good units at low prices, they'll soon be so successful that Mike Harrison of H/H will have to share some of the envy aimed at him by other manufacturers.

rrp: £470/$1788

Dave Blake is an ex-session musician who has been writing on sound for several years.