Park P18LH | Park 'Little 45' Head

The P18LH Little Head is the early plexi P45 circuit - the Bluesbreaker one - built down to studio power. It uses full-size Park transformers and a choke rather than the small iron a low-wattage amp usually gets, and that is the whole point of it: 15 to 23 watts clean, with the weight and the low end of a big amp instead of the thin, boxy sound most small amps hand you. Sparkling cleans, a hint of breakup, blues overdrive and classic rock all live on the same volume control, at a level that works in a room with a microphone in it.

Most of the power section is a decision you make rather than a fixed spec. Output valves are user selectable: 6V6 as standard and closest to the KT66s in a Park 45, breaking up earliest; 6L6 for a more open sound with more bottom and top; or EL34 for the British voicing, more mids and a smoother overdrive, as fitted to the P50, P50M and Park Master Volume. The rectifier switches three ways as well, between the 5Y3 valve (softer, less powerful, breaks up earlier), the GZ34 valve (firmer, closer to solid state in feel) and solid state itself (tighter, less squish, more headroom, like the P50 and later circuits). Auto bias means you can change valve types without a trip to a technician.