HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?

At Sundragon, our main goal is to make musical products that sound incredible, inspire you to play your instrument,  and endure the test of time. After making the Limited and Standard versions of Jimmy’s iconic combo that graced Led Zeppelin 1, we realized the need for a low powered version of the Standard and worked for months before coming up with the right approach. After numerous prototypes, with various circuit designs and features, we achieved our goal.

THE NYMPH

“Immediately after I played ‘Rumble’ at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame show, I went backstage, and you’ve got to understand the headspace I was in. I had just played, and I’d also taken in all the other performances, so all my senses are tuned intensely to the guitar at that moment. And Mitch comes into the dressing room with this tiny little amp, and he says, ‘So, this is the Nymph!’ I thought, ‘Hmm, The Nymph. Right!’

I mean, the idea of it sounded good, a small amp that you can switch from 1-watt to ¼-watt, but is this tiny thing going to be able to handle the [Gibson EDS-1275 SG] Double-Neck? I don’t want to blow it up! I first played through the six-string lower bout and circuit of the guitar, switching between its two double-coil pickups, and tweaking the volume and tone pots to test the Nymph’s response.

I thought, well, this is pretty extraordinary, but hang on: will it really be able to handle the higher output of the 12-string side? And it was incredible how it dealt with it. I said, ‘Eureka for all of us here, because you’ve found that elusive thing, a low-watt amp which reacts perfectly to a guitar and delivers all the tonal qualities you want. Hold on a minute, is this the 1-watt setting?’  And Mitch said, ‘No, Jimmy, that’s actually the ¼-watt mode!’ I mean, I just threw my hands up. I’ve got to tell you, that amplifier, the Nymph, is absolutely extraordinary.” -Jimmy Page-

Jimmy Page surprised the world on Nov. 3rd when he performed Rumble after he inducted his hero, Link Wray into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by way of video. Jimmy rocked an elated crowd while playing his Gibson double neck premiering the new Super Dragon amp.

A Faithful Recreation

It all started when…

In 2010 when Mitch Colby left his 30 year career at Korg USA Perry Margouleff contracts Mitch to restore one of the (if not the) biggest collections of vintage amps in the world. As of today 800 and counting!

Around 2014 Perry discovers a unique sounding Fender Tweed Champ among eight others in the collection. He gives the amp to Mitch to find out what makes the amp so special. Once figured out, Perry has Mitch mod the other seven Tweed Champs to sound as good as the “special” one. After modding the Champs Mitch further develops the idea and creates the Colby Lil Darlin. In 2016 Perry gives Jimmy a Colby Lil Darlin which Jimmy loves and uses as his at-home practice amp.

In 2017 Perry talks to Jimmy about working with Mitch to find out what is so special about his Supro. Jimmy said he would be happy to have a second one and Mitch mods a vintage Coronado to what he thinks might sound like Jimmy’s. Perry brings that amp to Jimmy and they compare it to Jimmy’s original. While the amp is close, there is still something special about Jimmy’s amp. Jimmy then ships his original amp to Mitch’s shop in New York so he can see exactly what is going on. Mitch makes a second amp, this time a clone of Jimmy’s including transformers from the original manufacturer, exact wiring and other details of modifications that were done to the amp. While this is happening Perry goes on a quest to find someone to manufacture brass plated steel chassis, exactly like Jimmy’s original. While not all of the cosmetics are true to the original, we feel we have created a vintage inspired design with beautiful appointments. some of the physical things unique that we have copied include the stunning brass plated preamp chassis, cabinet design, knobs and gold handle.

The new amp and the original get crated and shipped back to Jimmy. He loves the new clone. Jimmy, Mitch and Perry agree to make 50 of these amps for the 50th anniversary of Led Zeppelin I.

SUNDRAGON began.