New Jersey-based Sommatone has been in the amp game since 1994, when the venture was a part-time gig for founder Jimmy Somma. A rousing reception from customers far and wide prompted Jimmy to make Sommatone a full time job in 2001. His latest amp – the Overdrive 35 – shares the same control layout as the company’s flagship Roaring 20 and 40 amplifiers. The OD-35 is a single channel Class A amp, but unlike the Roaring series, which is loaded with EL84s, the new offering boasts a pair of 6L6s. The result is a more vintage US West Coast tone than the Roaring series amps, which have a distinctly more British flavor. The OD-35 sports three 12AX7 power tubes – five if you count the two for the Reverb… which is the same circuit as found in the Roaring series. The amp also features true point-to-point wiring with custom Mercury Magnetics transformers.

The controls on the OD-35 include three volume knobs – Normal Volume, Bright Volume and Master Volume. Normal and Master are self-explanatory. The Bright Volume control acts to give a little sparkle to the amp voicing, which is naturally a bit dirty. The knob also is a push/pull control that can make things brighter as well. The amp also has Treble, Middle, Bass and Presence knobs as well as two toggles – Standby and Power. Around the back of the amp and beneath the tube seating, there are controls for the Reverb unit – Dwell and Mix knobs and an input for the foot switch. There also is a Mid-Boost on/off mini-toggle and input for the foot switch, external speaker input, internal speaker input, impedance selector (4, 8, 16 ohms), amp fuses and AC power cord input. The OD-35 is available as a head, 1×12, 2×10 and 2×12 combos. We had the 1×12 as our test amp. Our amp was loaded with an Eminence 12″ Cannabis Rex speaker.

Diving into the our slick blue and white OD-35, we brighten things up a bit for the bridge pick-up of the Strat Deluxe. The Normal Volume around 11 o’clock, Bright Volume around 3 o’clock, the Master Volume dimed (which takes it out of the circuit), Treble at noon, Middle at 10 o’clock, Bass and Presence both around 2 o’clock, here is a little EC progression from the underrated Journeyman album.

Rolling on the Bright Volume control offers more cleans to the overall signal, which is crisp and clear no matter the settings. Shifting to the neck pick-up, we get dirty for a little boogie blues… looking to add a little punch to that clarity. With the Normal Volume dimed, Bright Volume at noon, Master Volume and Treble at 11 o’clock, Middle and Bass at noon and Presence around 10 o’clock, here is the OD-35 showing its true colors. You’ll hear the riff first, then around 0:15 we kick on the reverb to get a little extra depth.

The OD-35 gives a nice, round fullness to the single coils of the Strat. It offers up a good amount of headroom as well. The tone feels substantial… never thin. Over to the Les Paul, we let the drive do the talking and the humbuckers push the amp into higher gain territory. With Normal Volume dimed, Bright Volume at 2 o’clock, Master Volume at 10 o’clock, Treble, Middle and Bass at 3 o’clock and Presence around 10 o’clock, we’re living in the limelight. This clip also uses the reverb – like the Rush original – and also employs the Mid-Boost feature.

The OD-35 has an excellent, smooth growl with the Paul. The gain level is great for exercising your classic rock chops or baring your soul through the blues. For a single channel, the versatility of the amp cannot be understated. The only thing that would make it better is if was a pure two channel that would make bouncing from cleaner rhythms to crunchy leads a breeze. As is, the foot switchable Mid-Boost can get you part of the way there. But let’s face it, it’s called the Overdrive 35 for a reason. The cleans are nice, but the amp’s bread and butter is its creamy overdrive.

While that tone will undoubtedly attract fans, we can imagine the price would be a stumbling block for some. At $2900 as tested, the OD-35 may existed outside most weekend warriors’ price range. However, we believe that with this beauty, you get what you pay for – a sleek, mean rock machine that plays the classic rock/blues game as good as any amp we’ve heard. That’s our opinion anyway… your mileage may vary!

PLEASE NOTE: All clips for YMMV amp reviews are played using a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1998 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster. For our amp reviews, we use Analysis Plus Pro Yellow Oval cables. No effects are used on these clips, unless noted. The amps are mic’d with a single Shure SM-57 dynamic microphone.