On the heels of the surprising popularity of the vintage Univox-inspired Unibox 10, comes the Dominatrix 18. Packaged in the same venerable 5E3 cabinet as the Unibox and 17 MkIII, the Dominatrix takes it's inspiration from the Watkins Dominator series made in England in the '60s and '70s. At first glance, the Dominatrix appears to be structurally similar to the Super 17: 2 EL84s and a trio of 12AX7 dual triodes with the new JJ 5Y3 rectifier. Further scrutiny reveals that the six knobs serve different functions; gone is the tremolo replaced by a tone stack that notably includes a mid-range control. Volume, master volume, and the now-familiar Goodsell reverb round out the knob complement.
Behind the faceplate dwells a 2-stage pre-amp, a significant departure from the 17's single-stage configuration. This pre-amp is followed by a phase inverter that is physically similar to the one in all the other Goodsell amps, but with component values mostly taken from the Watkins recipe. Like all other Goodsells, the Dominatrix is cathode-biased, however the bias resistors and grid resistors differ significantly.
As with its siblings, the 17 and Valpreaux, the Dominatrix 18 has a Goodsell-specific version of the WGS ET-65, with tone like the RGH – but now with higher power handling and slightly less weight.
The result is a new amp that has all of the physical attributes of the Super 17 (light weight, compact size) with improvements on the original design (hand-wired, reverb, mid-range, master volume, rectifier) that is different enough from it's predecessors to warrant it's own model designation.
The Dominatrix 18 sound is browner than the 17, and there is quite a bit more gain on tap. Distinctly British, but leaning more in the direction of Marshall rather than Vox - but plenty of good cleans on tap as well. The overall vibe is early British Invasion - a pint short of full-on Mersey, like Page on a Herman's Hermits session
Goodsell Black Series amps are handcrafted and handwired in Atlanta, Georgia using imported birch/poplar plywood cabinets. Domestically sourced pine cabinets in a variety of colors are available on a build-to-order basis for a significant upcharge. Any questions? Give me a call or send an email.