Budda has a number of different products in their Superdrive Series II collection. The major difference in these amps seems to come down to wattage. The Budda Amps Superdrive 18 Series II is a sweet 18 watter. It just about enough power for most small to midsize rooms. It’s also very lightweight and easy to travel with, making it great for taking it on the road.
The Superdrive 18 Series II is a class AB amp that is completely hand-wired. It has two channels (rhythm and high gain) and the amps are known for being amazingly articulate. The amp uses two EL84 tubes, a 5u4 rectifier, and 12AX7 tubes for the preamp. The amp has controls for mid, bass, treble, rhythm, and master volume. It also features a pull modern mid function and a pull brite function for rhythm channel volume. The Superdrive 18 Series II also features a custom-wound transformer that has a 4, 8, or 16 ohm switch. This amp is available as a head for $1595 new or as a 1x12 combo for $1895.
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Budda Amplification was founded in 1995, making it one of the newer amp companies around. However, founding designers Scot Sier and Jeff Bober were no strangers to the amp world. Both had experience designing and building amps. In fact, the first amp they marketed under the Budda Amps label, the 18-watt Twinmaster Ten, was based on one of Bober’s early designs. They debuted the Twinmaster at the NAMM show in 1996, and they sold out of all 65 amps the first day of the show. This lead Sier and Bober to creating a line of low wattage boutique amps.
By 2004, Budda had grown to the point that the company had to expand. With new means of production, they were able to add new products and product lines, including the Superdrive line of amps. These amps are of higher wattage than the Twinmaster. They also introduced the Dual Stage line (which has been discontinued), the Stringmaster amps, and they released the Twinmaster Ten a decade after it hit the shelves as a way of celebrating the company’s tenth anniversary. (more...)