I'm struggling to figure out which one to get. I don't even know whether to get the Special or HRM. I play in a cover band doing a lot of classic rock (heaviest would be ACDC but it doesn't have to be that accurate tone wise) so I'd need to be able to do more than the jazz blues every clip seems to be. I'm leaning towards the Standard OTS but have also looked at the HRM BM.

The smooth and creamy OD that sustains is the most important thing. I have a DRRI and love the cleans on it, so anything similar to that would be great.
I like the idea of the internal OD EQ trimpots on the HRM BM but the cleans and OD don't seem to be as good as the Special. I usually play a Strat with a humbucker in the bridge.

more info

FYI
•   On HRM, clean and OD channels have separate master volumes
•   On Non-HRM, they share an master volume.
•   When you add a Dumbleator, the return line is the master volume.
Non-HRM’s come to harmonic feedback easily.  Mid-heavy.   Rich w / sustain.  Emphasis on mid harmonics.  More singing sustain.  OTS will sound a little warmer on the clean side compared to S&M.
HRM’s – more dynamic and percussive, very touch sensitive.  Less OD.  Not gritty or buzzy.  Have internal trimmers for TMB.  HRM series are 90s.  The HRM is much gainier and tighter on the OD
Overtone Special
•   Thicker and warmer than S & M
•   Less O.D.
•   Smoother and deeper sounding.
•   OTS will sound a little warmer on the clean side compared to S&M.
Overtone Special S & M
•   Much brighter OD and more aggressive.
•   A rock machine, but not as good at cleans.
Overtone Special 183
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Overtone Special FM (#102)
•   Skyliner clean tone stack with a Non-HRM OD.
•   More “Chime y” clean tones.
•   More focused OD with a almost horn sound.
•   Very bright amp.
•   Needs a Dumbleator

Overtone HRM
•   Stands for Hot Rubber Monkey
•   Has a second tone stack just for the OD channel.
•   Marshally
•   Very refined
•   More compression
•   Smooth singing OD
•   6L6’s
•   Jazzz fusion but can get dirty
Overtone HRM Bluesmaster
•   Early raw Fender / Marshal tone on steroids.  Like a Bassman
•   Great Cleans (sing and sustain)
•   Less smooth OD and much less compresed than above.
•   OD is a bit raw and edgy.  Meaty and fat.  Lot’s of gain can be had.
•   Cleans are very girthy and has more bass.
•   Less clean headroom than all other OTS amps.
•   Needs Dumbleator.
•   Great blues / rock / jazz
•   More cord friendly and string definition.
•   Bluesmaster version has a smoother overdrive, but cannot be as
aggressive as the regular HRM.
•   excellent cleans, but the OD isnt gainy but more articulate.
Overtone HRM MK II
•   A bit more hair on both channels than the FM 50.
•   OD is crunchier and more compressed than FM.
•   EL34’s
Non HRM Classic EQ
•   excellent cleans, but the OD isnt gainy but more articulate.Great sustain
•   Singing OD
•   Very touch sensitive and not much compression.
Non-HRM Skyliner EQ (Regular Overtone)
•   Little less Fendery.
•   EQ is a little more Dumbley
•   Better cleans than above.Great sustain.
•   Better string to string definition.
•   The Presence is focused around the high freq. only.
-HRM Skyliner Non EQ
•   Same as above, but gain stage is not classic Fender.
•   More headroom, definition and punch.
•   More alive cleans and smoother OD.
•   Small bit of compression.
•   Touch sensitiveOn HRM, clean and OD channels have separate master volumes
•   On Non-HRM, they share an master volume.
•   When you add a Dumbleator, the return line is the master volume.
Non-HRM’s come to harmonic feedback easily.  Mid-heavy.   Rich w / sustain.  Emphasis on mid harmonics.  More singing sustain.  OTS will sound a little warmer on the clean side compared to S&M.
HRM’s – more dynamic and percussive, very touch sensitive.  Less OD.  Not gritty or buzzy.  Have internal trimmers for TMB.  HRM series are 90s.  The HRM is much gainier and tighter on the OD

Separate EQ is nice but just know that it is set it and forget it. Once inside a cab it can be a real hassle to take everything apart just to adjust the bass on the OD. But I guess its better to have the option rather than none at all.
FWIW I have both a FM50 ( non-hrm ) and a HRM MK2 , I like them both equally and do not miss having separate EQ for the FM50 at all.
I cant comment on the standard HRM but I will say that when playing either the FM50 or the HRM MK2 with my 2550 it is very apparent that neither are at all Marshally compared to a Marshall, which is why they work so well together with a dual Marshall/Dumble rig. The EQ is like this ^ / V
Todd

No, I have no complaints regarding the transition between the clean and OD of my FM50. On my HRM I spent hours trying to get the clean and OD to match so when I switch over there isn't this big jump in bassiness and what not.
Both of my OTS's cleans are very similar, the FM maybe has a little more chimeiness
for lack of better word.

Either way whichever OTS you choose will be a good choice, they are all great

Todd

Excellent summaries, just one issue:
I have a BM50, which is probably my joint favourite amp out of 20 boutique amps I have played extensively
I then tried it with a C-Lator, and it did nothing extra for me at all. I appreciate the Dumbleator may be a golden ingredient for others, but for me the BM50 is perfect as-is
(Caveat - I am not looking for heavily-saturated lead tones, clean and breaking up is my sweet spot)

The BM50 with a handful of boutique OD pedals must be the most versatile amp I have ever tried, but it will never be a heavy rock amp the way I use it (clean as poss, little touch of OD on the OD channel), However, I cannot think of any valve amp that can cover as much range in styles as this amp with 3-4 favourite pedals of your choice

Cheers
Tone

I'm not a Hendrix expert, but the BM50 covers John Mayer's range well (lots of lovely 60s fenderyness). I assume you'd need some modern take on Fuzzfaces to cover everything
I use it with a Providence SOV-2, Lovepedal Eternity Sunburst, Zendrive 2, Centaur Klone, and a BJFE Honeybee clone, these cover most of my range and work really well with the amp and a strat. I was 10 years cold turkey with no OD pedals before last year, so I am fussy as hell, and these work extremely well with the BM50 running clean or lightly saturating

I had a luthier who has played professionally for years round tp my place, he tried all my amps with no pedals, and chose this as the best over 2 Matchless, a Victoria, a Carr, etc.
I have owned 7 Ceriatone amps, and this is the best so far
I'd say the Matchless and Victorias match it for sound quality, but are less versatile

My advice is buy a BM50 or 100 (the 100 really is switchable to 50W without triode mode, and I don't believe OT saturation is part of the sound anyway)
The triode mode sounds weak to me. I much preferred it over the OTS, I assume the HRM would be like a tamed OTS

I agree with Tone Control on all counts. You can indeed get early Hendrix sounds out of the BM, both Early Marshall and Early Fender sounds, if you so desire. If you are using a strat you will need a fuzz face or a tube screamer or a boost pedal to get that little bit of extra gain out of it, but overall, the BM has good gain on the OD channel. I have the HRM bypassed on mine, but that was more because i hated the "set and forget" nature of teh post OD tonestack. if the controls were external, i may have left it working, but as it is, i like it bypassed as it has a totally different tone and OD characteristic than it does with the HRM circuit engaged, and i like it.

Hi
I have both the FM50 and MKII 50. I would say with the OD trim set the same on both amps the FM50 has more hair than the MKII. As you turn up the OD trim the FM seems to get a little fizzy quicker. I keep my OD trim on the FM at about 11:00 and on the MKII at about 3:00. I am running JJ 6cA7's in the MKII btw IMO they sound better than the EL34's I had in it.
I cant comment on whether that was a typo but in regards to the similarity between amps the MKII uses pretty much the same pre-amp board as the FM, just a totally different power section more like the 183, then add HRM. I have not played a 183

Todd