For those oof you just now starting to shop, and those of you near your long awaited build date...

... Let's touch base on the part of your amp that YOU decide the fate of. The design is set by the designer, the internals are compiled by the techs to fit the specifications, and YOU get to pick the finishing touches. Knobs are a good part of this, but these can actually be changed out at will at any time during your ownership and that makes them less important in that aspect to the case.







One of my favorite, and one of the most popular bases is the Victorian.

These UFO3 mono blocks are seated in the black Victorian base. This is a beautiful, and stately combination. The black Victorian base looks amazing on any of our pieces. It is a timeless design and blends seamlessly with the design and styling of our amplifiers in any environment. It looks just as good sitting in a room with 120 year old woodwork as it does sitting next to modern audio equipment with LED lights, sharp metallic cases and flashy displays. In my opinion.

However, there is a lesser known often overlooked cousin to the Black Victorian that I think deserves a highlight... May I introduce the Walnut Victorian!!!




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WHOA NELLY!!!

WOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEE!!!

Since taking on the responsibility of helping Steve in the QC department 6-7 weeks ago I have had to get use to seeing our work from the outside in, instead of inside out. As a tech it got to the point where it was actually far more difficult (still not "hard" per se) to identify amps from their picture or from looking at the top of the amp. When you spend 3 years face down in the wires the amplifiers have their own identities from that perspective. It's a different world. It's crazy to think that this is less than a tenth of the time that Steve has been running this business...  Since I am now dealing with the final ok's and casing the units, I get to see a lot of things that never crossed my path before and this base has REALLY caught my attention! The look is amazing and I am amazed that it is not the most popular option...

I am proud of every unit that leaves this small shop (there are roughly a dozen of us in and out of the shop throughout the day). This is one of the best teams in the world. Small, but mighty, and laser focused on providing the world class quality that is delivered in every Decware product. I could not imagine being anywhere else.

The pictures are the real reason for this post, so I will quit running on about it... let me know your thoughts on base style considerations and favorites. I am not going to lie, I started out as a contemporary base fan in the beginning and am starting to change my tune. Share your thoughts!

Thanks for your time!

1stWatt

All your woodwork is objectively fabulous, but for me, I'm more of a minimalist. The "plain" contemporary Padauk bases on my UFO25s are as beautiful as the music that comes out of them. In fact the whole package with the powder coated top, the chicken head knobs, backlit gauges and the glowing VR tubes is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears. But this is JMO/YMMV and all that.

So you did away with the bottom twisted rope pattern on all of the bases?

I like the rope pattern but I also see why some felt it looked like crown molding from Home Depot. This new style may appeal to more people.

Looks awesome in Walnut

I don't care for the Victorian bases either.  Padauk looks fake to me. The copper color really clashes with wood choices but looks ok with a black base, in my opinion.  

The good news is we have so many options, we each get to make our gear look the way we want it!  

My first base love affair was definitely the contemporary in any color and honestly it fits my current decor a little better than most of them... but when you put it next to the angled anniversary base the anniversary base makes a definite statement. This was the first thing to pull my attention from the standard contemporary base. It is crazy what such a small difference can make! There is more wood visible from more angles... a win in my book.

I absolutely love the grey color of the current Sarah base, but Steve's prototype with the black plate/base/bells is like a quiet little sound ninja sitting there waiting to strike and strike it does, like a tiny cold blooded killer... figures, as I think it has been Cryo treated! COLD COLD COLD!

No runs, no drips, no errors!

The white Victorian! If it shows up…….

Some beautiful bases!  Ours is the standard walnut. Looks great to us anyway. A question for those who might know.. The first two months of owning our zen, I needed a new rectifier and an internal fuse. After tipping the amp on it's side, I rolled the edge of the base over a screw I did not see on the towel and it scratched the finish enough that it still bugs me. A one handed bonehead move. Opinion on a way to dress up this scratch? I thought of just getting some walnut stain of hopefully the same color and carefully just filling only the scratch. I really appreciate this. Simple things but hey...lol... Thank you   ~Miike

There are stain pens as well.  Easy storage and use.

Montana Mike depending how deep the battle wound is ? Howards Restoration Finish will fill in slight scratches nicely.
Ive never performed the trick on harder woods like walnut but softer woods Ive used the moisture/heat method of raising the grain back up and fine sanding before stain touch up.

Youtube vids should pull up various methods of that. Damp rag then heat gun etc. Maybe experiment on the inside of base that cant be seen first?

I love walnut too. I have two guitars that a luthier made with black walnut bodies. Love their looks (and how they play and sound).

That black and white combo really gets your attention!