ValveTrain Amplification Classic 105 Po' Boy

Made in 2005. Based on the Tweed Champ. One knob = on/off and volume. 1x 8" (Jensen MOD) speaker, handwired, unfinished pine cabinet. One 12AX7, one 5Y3 rectifier and one 6V6 with 5 watts output. No tone or other controls besides volume. Very compact and lightweight (14 lbs!) little combo.

I'm not going to mark this poorly for features, because it's "lack of features" is the point of the amp. It amplifies with no tone controls or anything (but power tube distortion if you crank it) else smearing the guitar sound. One point off for the lack of standby switch.

At first I was a little hesitant about the lack of at least a tone control, but now that I see that the amp is balanced without it, I like it's exclusion. EQ induced phase weirdness unless you have a $4k mastering engineer's EQ, so good riddance if I don't need it.

The sound is pure tube bliss - very detailed and engaging sound when clean, moving into serious crunch capabilities when overdriven. My son has a Nau Electronics (very well regarded amp-and-pedalsmith from Rochester) single-6V6 box which sounds great, but I would have to say that this sounds possibly even better for two reasons: 1) it has an equally detailed clean sound (though it saturates early), BUT... 2) it's range of gain is greater...a humbucker with even medium output is distorting at the halfway point on the volume knob. Crank it, and you're well into classic rock territory. Plenty of low end for a single 8", too, as the Jensen MOD has a round little low end. Great low volume cleans, and excellent OD for blues etc.

Perhaps not what the average person looking at a Tweed Champ clone is thinking, but it's a great amp to lightly amplify a hollowbody electric for jazz etc. in quiet settings. Mine's a lami, but I imagine a solid spruce top would be even more ideal in this app. It's low end presence and detailed high end make it sound great for jazz, and you can crank it a bit and let your volume knob control your tone (most effective for me), or use the guitar's tone knob, whichever sounds best for you. Classy sounds, if you only need low volume (and I mean low, as these single-6V6 amps don't have tons of clean headroom).

Though I just got this, I'm going to presume that a very sturdy, well built, handwired combo is going to be reliable? On safe territory here. eh? I'd certainly bring it anywhere without backup, though you always have to have spare tubes.

If it ever breaks, I'll come back to this page and eat my words. ;)

Rick is great - always ready to answer questions and offer advice. No doubt he'd be ideal to deal with under any circumstances.

Pure tube amplification for guitar is all you get here, and if that's what you're after, then I have no reason to believe that you can do better than this. Of course, for a little more you get the tolexed-and-cornered Classic 105 version of the same amp, but in terms of sound quality and build, this is the real deal.

Hand wired replica of the 5F1 Fender Champ.

Amp was made in 2005
Versatile enough for me, plays and sounds great turned down, but also has the punch when cranked.
There are two ports to plug in guitars, so two can play at once, I thought that was pretty neat.
I'm not going to use this Amp for distortion effects, but that is one thing it does not have. Nothing a distortion pedal couldn't fix, though.
I will be using this amp in my dorm room. So far, I haven't turned it up past halfway, and it is plenty loud.
This is a tube amp.
You can also tell that it's louder than all the others; the volume dial goes up to 12 :)
VERY Portable for a tube amp.

I've only played this amp with my 12 string Ovation, but it sounds BEAUTIFUL! Sounds great turned down if you just want to jam to yourself, but also packs punch when turned up for all ages to enjoy.

My dad knows the man who hand crafted it, so if anything went wrong, I'm sure he would know what to do and give us replacement parts or recommend something.
I've only had it for about 10 days, so I'm not sure, but it seems very solid and I hope to use it for many years.

I got this for a gift, so I'm not sure

Sounds great, plays clean, and fun all in one little package!