GearDump

Bitmo Modded Valve Junior

The Epiphone Valve Junior is one example of an amplifier with a rabid modification community. Players typically modify the circuit, speakers, and even the output transformers to get what some call boutique tone on the cheap.

When I came into possession of my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe I had no idea the difference the custom baffle and two 10″ Eminence Legend Speakers would have. I had never been that big a fan of the stock Hot Rod Deluxe sound but wanted one for the fender clean tones. The thing was monstrous, it could roar with overdrive or sing with a fuzz. I couldn’t help but wonder why the original owner parted with it.

Anyway, I’ve owned my fair share of modifiable amps–particularly the Valve Junior. I have been less then happy with most of those amps with basic circuit mods but I think if you have some major amplifier surgery done you could probably see a noticeable increase in performance. (continue reading…)

Vox AC4TV

The Vox AC4TV features a switch for ¼ watt, 1 watt and 4 watts. The amp is modeled on early Vox TV cabinet designs. The amp churns out tons of grit. The Head Cabinet version gives you a warmer and fuller sound then the 10 inch speaker combo version.  Either way the AC4TV is authentically Vox.  Vox fans who admire them for their wonderful clean tones should probably look elsewhere though since this amp doesn’t have as much head room as an AC15 or AC30. It is great for nailing those gained out AC-30 tones ALA Brian May & Mike Campbell.

Blackheart BH5H

The Blackheart BH5H is a simple small amp with a 3 watt or 5 watt output. It has a 3 band EQ and features a closed back cabinet with a 12” eminence speaker. It has just enough low end girth to get out of Fender territory and closer to early British tones. This amp can get quite fizzy when pushed hard but that is one of the caveat’s of any amp using EL84 tubes. These amps are very similar to the Epiphone Valve Junior which started the budget tiny amp phenomenon. Do not confuse this amp with the more expensive Blackstar HT-5, really different animal entirely.

If you didn’t know this already Blackheart is actually owned by Crate Amplification and Made in China like the other Amps we are looking at. Their website may have you believe otherwise but that’s just the way it is these days, designed in the U.S. and built in China.

Epiphone Valve Junior

Epiphone Valve Junior. (Disclaimer: I will be lampooned for this article and before anyone asks yes I owned a Valve Junior for a long time and actually performed mods on it) The Valve Junior is allegedly the amp that started the Tiny tube amp craze that all manufacturers seem to be plunging themselves into. To be perfectly honest I do not understand what all the fuss is about. I had the combo version for over a year and never got a sound I liked from it. I did some circuit mods to it before finally selling it on Ebay and still never found a sound I really enjoyed from this amplifier. That being said there must be some truth to all the players who love this amp. To be fair I did not upgrade the transformers, I only did basic resistor and cap changes. There are three versions of this amp in the wild so far. The first two have some noise issues but the third has seemingly eliminated that problem. If I were to purchase another I think I would have to get the Head/Cabinet version just because I always wondered how much the speaker contributed towards the bad tone. I really tried to like this amp because I was sucked into the hype, but honestly it just wasn’t for me.

Fender Superchamp XD

Ironically the most unorthodox of the Tiny Amps I am reviewing is also my favorite—and I own it. Fender’s Superchamp XD is actually a two channel amp, somewhat akin to the original Superchamp in that it is designed for practice but might be able to handle gigs or rehearsals given the right speakers and/or a microphone. The amplifier’s clean channel sounds something similar to a Champ or Princeton. The second channel features a unique Voice control that lets you choose what you want it to sound like. Unlike other Modeling amps, this one features a Tube power amp. For those of us able to crank up a pair of 6V6 tubes, this amp can really warm up with the power amp gain turned above 4. Unfortunately this amp doesn’t really have a real low volume for bedroom usage. As soon as you turn the control to where it is audible there is a noticeable jump in volume. The voicing control offers voices of many different types of amp, notably tweed, blackface, A-class, British, hi-gain and boutique flavors. Many of these sounds are good enough to cut demo recordings with.

Their are only a few things I don’t like about this amp. For one, the amp doesn’t take pedals very well until it’s turned up pretty loud. It has a strange high-frequencing shrillness till the power tubes start saturating, I can overlook this most of the time, but it makes many Fuzz pedals unusable. If they released a version featuring a real front panel & jewel light rather than the stick on plastic piece and led that mine has then Fender might create a contemporary classic like the early champs have become. For those of us who do play professionally once in a while this amplifier can be a real breath of fresh air for practice and jam sessions. I highly recommend it for anyone willing to drop a bit of money on a nice practice amplifier.

The Fender Superchamp is one of those rare Fender Amplifiers that given the right endorsee may become as popular as the Vibroverb. The Superchamp was the first in Fender’s redesigned early eighties line. The designer was Paul Rivera, who at the time had been well known as a custom guitar equipment designer and top notch amp technician.

Paul Rivera had just gotten back from working with Yamaha on a complete design of their amplifier line in the late seventies. Fender was looking to re-invigorate their line. At the time no one knew that CBS was planning on selling off Fender, and bringing in Paul Rivera was sort of a last ditch effort to make the company look more viable.

Anyway, this thing is a little two channel monster. This amp was in a lot of ways, Fender’s definitive answer to the Mesa Boogie lineup. It featured a 10 inch speaker, which was made by Eminence or EV depending on the model you purchased. It featured 2 7025 tubes (12ax7)  a 12at7 rectifier tube, and 2 6l6 output tubes along with an additional 6c10 in the pre-amp. The 6c10 was basically three halves of a 7025 in a single tube.  If you see one of these for sale, consider buying it even though the 6C10 is not a current production tube MANY of them exist, and there are mods available that will allow you to use 2 12ax7’s in it’s place.  As with all Fender amplifiers until the mid eighties, these were hand made in the U.S..

The first thing that many people mention about this amp compared to the standard Fender Champ is that it is a really loud amplifier and easily gig-worthy. The tones that the superchamp generated were quite warm. The clean channel was very blackfaceish and the overdrive was extremely usable as well. The usable overdrive was a first for Fender at the time since during the CBS reign their goals were predominately to be loud and clean. On the few Superchamp amplifiers I have heard the overdrive sounded somewhat Mesa like. This is due in part to the 6L6 output tubes. The footswitch on these amplifiers is something of a rare commodity as well. It features an led based switching as I understand it, and there simply aren’t any modern footswtiches available that can be used with this amplifier. Unlike the 6c10, there are a few people who are custom building these footswitches.

Ironically, this amp has gained a cult following due to it’s portability. The SuperChamp at max weight only weighed 30lbs and was in a tiny cabinet. Paul Rivera has never lived this Amplifier down either. In fact in some of his marketing materials for his grab and go Clubster and Pubster amplifiers, he mentions that they contain the heart and soul of a Fender Champ. Those amps are a forced to be reckoned with in their own right.

Perhaps most interesting about the Superchamp was it’s unique cabinet design which depending on which model you locate was either a natural cabinet with woodgrain on prominent display (think Mesa MK I without the basketweave) or the standard blackface appointments.

Fender was really making some great stuff prior to the CBS sale. These amps were definitely proof of Fender’s longevity even during their alleged dark age. Though Leo Fender had left the company prior to their design I’m sure he was pleased to see these little bastards in clubs everywhere. If you ever get the chance to check one out, I highly reccomend it. Their prices seem to increase daily on Ebay so if you really want to snag one of these rare gems I suggest you do it now because at this point it looks unlikely that Fender will be making a period faithful reissue of these amps.