Instruction Manual

For a copy of the Revelation's instruction manual, click here: Revelation V.2 Instruction Manual

Review

Last year, the Revelation (V1) was reviewed by Guitarist Australia. It is the only Australia product reviewed in the history of the magazine to be awarded a Gold award, by achieving a full five stars in all categories. You can read the review here: Page1; Page 2

Audio Samples

We're not big fans of audio samples. There's nothing like experiencing an amp in real life. Samples, regardless of how much effort goes into them, ultimately sound 2D, and always seem to miss out on the 'detail' that makes the difference between a good amp and a great one. Nonetheless, these samples should give you a rough idea of the amazing wide palette of tones you can conjure up with a stock Revelation.

About the recordings: These recordings were done on the same day. They were played by MI Amplification's resident stunt guitarist and 'le singe de test', the amazing Mr. Matthew 'Browny' Brown, guitarist from the highly seditious, salacious,  and soon to be world famous bush punk band, the Sydney City Trash. Here's the info:

Amp:

- Stock Revelation with 6L6GC power tubes

- MI Amplification slant quadbox with customised Eminence Wizards (available soon)

Guitars:

- A Legacy 'Less' Paul copy with Seymour Duncan pickups (JB in the bridge and a 59 in the neck).

- A Japanese Fender Stratocaster '57 reissue with stock Texas Special pickups in neck and middle positions, and a Seymour Duncan mini JB in the bridge

- A Japanese Fender Telecaster '52 reissue with stock TL-vintage pickups.

Recording Equipment:

- Shure SM57 and Legacy Axis 80 ribbon microphone, both close miced to capture the immediate tone.

- A pair ADK A51 condenser mics, about 1m back from the amp to capture a more dispersed sound.

- M-Audio fast track ultra sound card.

- An ancient version Cubase  SX running on an even more ancient laptop.

No FX were used with the amp, except where noted. I added a touch of reverb or delay during the mastering to make the samples a bit less boring to listen to (there are quite a few samples!)

Tele Samples

   

Strat Samples

Sample	Settings	Michael's Notes
Strat_Green_Low	- Green Channel, Low Gain Mode - Gain 5, Bass 5, Mid 5, High 5, Volume 5 - Master 6, Presence 1, Depth 0, Feedback Low - Output Power High, Triode.	This sample, with all preamp controls flat on the Green channel demonstrates what we call the 'hyper clean' tone of this channel. Pristine, glassy, piano like cleans. This can be further accentuated by the optional cathode dynamic mode.
Strat_Green_Mid	- Green Channel, Mid Gain Mode - Gain 6, Bass 3, Mid 6, High 4, Volume 4 - Master 4, Presence 0, Depth 2, Feedback Low - Output Power Low, Pentode.	This sample shows off the beautiful in-between tones you can get from this channel. The low output power meant that the power amp was adding some colour as well, while pentode mode helped the amp retain punch. Touch sensitive and articulate.
Strat_Green_High	- Green Channel, High Gain Mode - Gain 6, Bass 4, Mid 6, High 5, Volume 4 - Master 4, Presence 0, Depth 0, Feedback Low - Output Power Mid, Pentode	Like the Tele/Green/High sample, this sample shows the touch sensitivity of this channel. Old school, 'immediate' tones.
Strat_Yellow_Low	- Yellow Channel, Low Gain Mode - Gain 8, Bass 7, Mid 7, High 6, Volume 7 - Master 5, Presence 0, Depth 0, Feedback Low - Output Power Low, Triode	In this sample, overdrive duties are shared between the preamp and the power amp. Spanky forward mids with a controlled low end help push the power amp into musical clipping, which can be easily backed off with the volume control.
Strat_Yellow_Mid	- Yellow Channel, Mid Gain Mode - Gain 7, Bass 7, Mid 7, High 5, Volume 3 - Master 4, Presence 2, Depth 2, Feedback Low - Output Power High, Pentode	This is channel transmits all the nuances of the players hands without filtering. Hit the strings hard, and a big, raucous, rough, edgy sound comes out the speakers, but without necessarily a lot of gain. We love this sound for a Tom Morello type of vibe.
Strat_Blue_Mid	- Blue Channel, Low Gain Mode - Gain 5, Bass 7, Mid 7, High 6, Volume 5 - Master 3, Presence 0, Depth 0, Feedback Low - Output Power High, Pentode	The clean mode of the blue channel has the least low end of any channel, and a fairly controlled, smooth high end. This provides the fastest response, as well as a tone which sits in the perfect spot for more complex band settings. As you can hear, this is funk heaven, especially when used in conjunction with a compressor, as in this sample.

 

LP Samples

Sample	Settings	Michael's Notes
LP_Green_Low	- Green Channel, Low Gain Mode - Gain 10, Bass 10, Mid 0, High 0, Volume 7 - Master 10, Presence 0, Depth 10, Feedback High - Output Power Low, Triode.	Believe it or not, this is the clean mode of the Green channel! For a bit of fun, we set the output to the lowest, spongiest output, cranked the master, and got rid of everything except the bass. If you think outside the box, the Revelation can reward you with some very unique and interesting tones!
LP_Green_Mid	- Green Channel, Mid Gain Mode - Gain 7, Bass 7, Mid 4, High 7, Volume 4 - Master 4, Presence 0, Depth 0, Feedback Low - Output Power High, Pentode.	By running the bass higher, and by using a hotter output guitar like those in the the LP, the low end on this channel can be made to 'fuzz out'. But by dropping the mids and boosting the treble, the top end stays incisive and detailed, as you can hear when Browny plays higher notes. In short, in this channel more than in any other, EQ plays a huge role in shaping character. See the next sample!
LP_Green_High	- Green Channel, High Gain Mode - Gain 8, Bass 0, Mid 10, High 10, Volume 4 - Master 4, Presence 5, Depth 10, Feedback High - Output Power High, Pentode - Gain Trim 10	Yes, this is the Green channel (!!). By cranking the gain trim on the back of the amp, cutting the bass and boosting the mids/highs, this channel not only produces a crazy amount of gain, but it's also surprisingly tight. This is not so crazy when you consider that the bay area metal bands from 80's were using amps which at the end of the day, are sooped-up Fenders. The final 'trick' with this sample was an EQ in the loop to scoop the mids a touch and boost the lows. [We probably should have also added more highs, but you get the idea!]
LP_Yellow_Mid	- Yellow Channel, Mid Gain Mode - Gain 7, Bass 7, Mid 5, High 5, Volume 4 - Master 5, Presence 2, Depth 2, Feedback Low - Output Power Medium, Pentode	The combination of guitar and channel is classic (Australian ;-) rock. The perfect balance of sponge and cut. By dropping the output power of the amp, the power amp also starts to colour the tone and contribute to the old-school rock sound. It would be even better with EL34s!
LP_Blue_Mid	- Blue Channel, Mid Gain Mode - Gain 5, Bass 7, Mid 7, High 4, Volume 4 - Master 4, Presence 2, Depth 2, Feedback Low - Output Power High, Pentode	Browny Brown! (the guitarist, and tone that is!) I love this channel and mode. It's super tight, yet warm, compressed and forgiving. The top end is also very smooth.
LP_Blue_High	- Blue Channel, High Gain Mode - Gain 5, Bass 7, Mid 7, High 4, Volume 4 - Master 4, Presence 2, Depth 2, Feedback Low - Output Power High, Pentode	This takes the mid gain sound and pushes it even further. Unbelievable saturation, focus, tightness, but never harsh. This is a lead guitarist's dream.
LP_Red_Low	- Red Channel, Low Gain Mode - Gain 5, Bass 5, Mid 6, High 5, Volume 5 - Master 5, Presence 0, Depth 0, Feedback Low - Output Power Mid, Pentode	On first impressions, you may be tempted to dismiss the Red channel as a modern high gain channel (due to voicing of the mid/high gain modes, as well as a colour of the LED!). But clean mode on this channel is probably the warmest on the Revelation, making it perfect for jazzier playing. Higher output pickups also tend to overdrive slightly, which adds to expressiveness of this channel, as can be heard on this sample.
LP_Red_Mid	- Red Channel, Mid Gain Mode - Gain 5, Bass 7, Mid 4, High 6, Volume 4 - Master 4, Presence 2, Depth 2, Feedback Low - Output Power High, Pentode	The combination of guitar, channel, mode and tone control settings allows latent 'character' of this voicing to punch through. With light picking, everything seems normal. Dig in, and this channel will bites back with an authoritative, wide sonic footprint.
LP_Red_High	- Red Channel, High Gain Mode - Gain 5, Bass 4, Mid 2, High 6, Volume 5 - Master 5, Feedback Off - Output Power High, Pentode	This sample was in fact just a test recording we did, and we overloaded the mics! But nonetheless, it gives you a good idea of how ferocious this channel can get with the negative feedback switched off. Crazy!