Video summary
Doug Aldrich introduces the new DA5 Ruby amplifier as a refined evolution of his iconic 100-watt stage rig, designed to bring that powerful tone into smaller environments without compromise. Unlike typical small valve amps that rely on scaled-down components or attenuation circuits which can degrade sound quality at lower volumes, the DA5 Ruby utilizes genuine push-pull EL84 tubes and a custom-developed Aldrich 50 speaker driver within its five-watt chassis. This engineering approach ensures that even when played quietly in a living room or studio, the amplifier retains the dynamic response, authority, and "big amp" feel of much larger systems, allowing musicians to achieve their desired tones without excessive volume levels while maintaining consistent performance across different stages and rooms.
The core philosophy behind this new model was to eliminate the gap between what sounds good on stage under high gain and what is achievable at home volumes by addressing circuit design rather than simply turning down a loud amp. The amplifier features two distinct channels with four total voices, offering an open, American-style clean tone alongside a tighter, brighter British character that breaks up beautifully when pushed, while the overdrive channel delivers serious saturation derived directly from the DNA of the DA 100 Ruby. A key innovation is the ISF control system, which allows users to sweep the entire sonic spectrum between these tonal extremes, and an optional half-watt setting that further reduces volume without sacrificing headroom or altering the working voltages in the power stage, ensuring the sound remains intact regardless of how hard it is played.
Beyond its technical specifications, the DA5 Ruby offers significant practical advantages for recording and live performance through its integrated Cab Rig speaker simulation technology. This feature allows the amp to be connected directly via USB-C or XLR into a DAW or mixing console without needing microphones, providing front-of-house engineers with a signal that sounds as authentic as a well-miked large amplifier but at any volume level. The unit includes three user presets and various cabinet simulations right out of the box, making it an all-in-one solution for home studios where Doug can plug in and immediately access his signature tones without additional gear or complex setup procedures.
Finally, the DA5 Ruby carries forward the premium aesthetic and personal significance that defines the original model, featuring a high-quality finish named after Doug's daughter to honor her memory alongside the iconic look of its larger counterpart. It ships with exclusive Dunlop pickups and a signed certificate of authenticity, serving as both a reliable touring companion for his major acts like Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin and an essential tool for his home studio work in North Hollywood. Ultimately, this amplifier represents more than just a smaller version of a big rig; it is a fully realized instrument that successfully bridges the gap between professional stage reliability and intimate recording flexibility while preserving the specific touch response and emotional connection Doug has spent decades chasing in his sound.
Read the full video transcript
Well, hey guys. Doug Aldrich here and
I'm doing some tweaks and testing the
brand new DA5 Ruby. It's really cool. I
think you're going to dig it. I love it.
I can't wait to get it home and uh just
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>> [music]
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>> in general. Does it feel like just a a
smaller version of your normal live rig?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah, pretty much it should. Yeah.
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Heat.
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Heat.
Heat. Heat.
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Heat. [music]
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Heat.
Heat
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>> up here.
Heat. [music]
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HEAT.
[screaming]
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>> That's ripping, dude.
has five watts.
>> It's [ __ ] crazy.
Sounds great. [music]
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of
mind
to zero.
All right,
here we are. The mix room in North
Hollywood, California. I should show you
around a little bit. Let's check this
out.
These are some of the records that Ben's
been working on over the years. Ben
Gross. This is a cool record. Fuel.
A lot of kid rock records he did.
Uh, Seven Dust, Breaking Benjamin. Oh,
Vertical Horizon. That was a cool band,
but this was one of his biggest ones at
Filter. Great record. Breaking Benjamin,
Disturbed.
Awesome band. Oh, in here there's a
basketball court in the studio.
Let's see. Let's see if I can make a
free throw.
[laughter]
Come on.
>> Y
dot tree.
And
here we have a little kitchen area.
We got a whole mess of Guinness in here.
Now, I wish we don't have any Guinness,
but other stuff. You know, I've spent my
entire career playing through some of
the most soughta and famous amps in the
world. Everything I've done from the
Dead Daisies, Whit Snake, Dio. That
sound comes from knowing those amps
inside out. When we built the DA 100
Ruby, we weren't trying to clone
anything. We were trying to take the
feel and response I'd spent decades
chasing and put it into something that
could get all the tones that I love and
I need and more and be consistently
reliable on the road, something that I
could trust every night on any stage in
the world. And adding to that, you know,
trusting that the sound was consistent
every day because every day you show up,
it's a different stage, it's a different
room. And I need to know that that amp's
going to work out in every situation.
And it it did.
Okay, I think that's good.
This [ __ ] sounds great. [music]
>> So, basically, the HT Stage was already
a killer amp, and we just experimented,
came up with a few small tweaks that
made it more personal to me. And it, I
think it really just brought out a
little bit more of an instantaneous uh
connection in my playing between my
brain, my fingers, and the amp. And you
know, the guys at Blackar are
incredible,
state-of-the-art with the technology,
[music] and I love the cab rig. I get so
many compliments when I show up with the
DA Ruby. But here's the thing about the
DA 100. It's loud. It lives on the
stage. And for a long time, getting that
tone at home meant cranking something
that was way too powerful to
realistically crank in a living room or
accepting that you would get close. You
couldn't get it exactly right. And
that's the problem the DA5 Ruby was
built to solve. And it turned out that
the answer wasn't simple at all. When
it's cranked, the the top end doesn't
it's like it's nice to have that open
up, but on a when it's so when it's
quieter, it it makes it for me gives it
a little more tone, less buzz on the
>> Yeah, that's it. The quieter set. some
of that what it takes out that that part
of the circuit is stuff that can be
fatiguing to your ears. They literally
you don't you can't it's more feeling it
than hearing it in a way.
>> But is this right? Is this the one?
>> Yeah, that's the that is the the
control. So that's way down on nothing.
>> That's dark.
>> No, no, that's that's opened up now.
>> Oh yeah. Yeah.
>> So where's the darkest?
>> If you crank it all the way out,
>> that's the darkest.
>> Yeah,
>> but it it is really high.
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>> SO, MOST SMALL VALVE amps are built
around a single EL84 or 6v6 tube.
They're efficient tubes. They're cheap
and they sound good, but they don't feel
like a big amp. The touch response is
different. The dynamics are different.
The way the power stage breathes when
you dig in is different. The DA5 Ruby
uses a 12BH7
in a genuine pushpull configuration.
That's the same anatomy as the DA100
Ruby. The same anatomy as every serious
100 W valve amp. It's not a scaled down
compromise. The building blocks are the
same. [music] That's what you feel when
you play it.
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>> It's great.
>> Touch response for me is the quickness
of the amp. You know, the way that it
pops right from your finger on the
string. Um, the sound just kind of jumps
out. We all like quick amps because
um there's no there's no lag. It's
immediate. And um I think it's really
important. All the amps that you play
that you play and you go, "Oh man, this
feels so good." It's because of that.
It's touch response.
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The speaker was the other big piece of
this. You can build the most
sophisticated circuit in the world and
if it's pushing a cheap 8-in driver,
it's going to sound like a cheap 8- in
driver. I work with Blackstar to develop
a new speaker specifically for this amp.
The Aldrich 50 is a 50 W 12-in speaker
in a 5 watt combo. So, that headroom is
the reason it doesn't compress or break
up in ways you don't want. It pushes
more air, gives you more authority, and
delivers more of that big amp sound and
feel that we want
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switch.
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Let's hear this one more time. Yeah.
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>> just going that over. It's darker as
well, isn't it? That [music]
>> this just it's just definitely got more
to it.
>> Yeah.
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When I arrived, they had a couple of
prototypes there and I played through
them both and they were slightly
different and then we kind of all
focused on the one. We made some, you
know, minor changes. It was just in in
terms of upper mid-range, but the thing
sounded incredible. The first thing I
wanted to do is crank it up, but you
know, the greatest thing about it is is
that you don't need to play super loud
to get this big sound.
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>> The DA5 Ruby is super versatile. It has
two channels and four voices, which
covers a massive range of tone. Pretty
much anything you want to get, you can
get it here. On the clean channel,
you've got two voices. One that's more
open in character, higher in headroom,
and more American sounding. And the
second one that's a bit tighter and
brighter and will break up really nicely
when pushed. A lot more British in
character.
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>> the overdrive channel. This is where
it's going to get serious. This is the
DNA of the DA 100 Ruby, but it's in a 5
watt format. Same building blocks, not
based on it, but derived from it. The
way it responds to the pick, the way it
cleans up when you back off the volume,
it's all there. The ISF control, that's
Blackar's patented tone control, [music]
and it sweeps the whole character of the
sound, American to British and
everything in between.
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>> You got five watts and you got a half a
watt at your choice. At half a watt, you
can push the amp harder. Obviously, even
at lower volumes, the character stays
intact because we're controlling the
working voltages in the power stage
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directly rather than using attenuation.
And that's the key
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half wall.
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>> Heat.
Heat.
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>> It's great, man.
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>> And then there's the cab rig IRbased
speaker simulation direct into
headphones straight into a DAW via USBC
or XLR out of the amp. And I've had
front of house engineers when I would
show up and do a jam. I'm like just plug
it straight in. Don't even bother with
the mic. And the guys would come up to
me and go, "Dude, that amp is ruling."
you know, and you know, it felt like a a
very wellmiked amp and it felt like what
the amp sounded like when I would listen
to it with my ears and very important.
[music] And so I'm here today and we've
got the DA5 Ruby plugged directly
through the cab rig into the console and
it it sounds huge. It sounds just like
it sounds like a DA 100, but it's it's 5
watts.
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>> And it comes with three user presets on
board. three different cabinets. Let's
say this is how I record a lot when I'm
at home in the studio. It's just
incredible. You plug in and it's all
there.
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The finish matters to me. Ruby is my
daughter's name, so that's important to
me. The DA 100 Ruby is iconic on any
stage. It just looks amazing and it's
eye-catching. Everyone's always asking
me about it and telling me how cool it
looks. The DA5 Ruby shares all of the
same premium toollex and appointments.
And it ships with some of my Dunlop
plerums and a signed certificate of
authenticity. The DA00 ruby is what I
use every night on stage. It does
everything I need in front of thousands
of people night after night. tour after
tour. The DA5 Ruby is what I use when
I'm at home. Same tones, same feel, same
ruby. [music]
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