Epiphone Century

OK folks here's the tech scoop on this model...a pawn shop "special"...$60.00..(and needed help!)
this is what I actually paid..it's not for sale..this info is for assistance purposes only..
EPIHONE CENTURY..
circa late 50's ...
2 channel /4 input
normal/tremolo
tremolo speed/intensity
master tone
"bassman"style top mount channel chassis

3ea. 6EU7
1ea. 5879
2ea. 6V6
1ea. 5Y3GT rectifier
These amps are mid/late 50's as the 9 pin miniature preamp tubes date from this period.
This amp seems to be a "Bell" design..J. Bell was a reknown amp designer who also designed the 79 RVT stereo..ever heard of that one?..what makes me feel JB designed this amp is first this is the era when he was actively working for Gibson as a designer...look at the schematics.. If you see the small J.Bell at the bottom right corner then you know you have a keeper! ((I do not have a schematic for this amp and would appreciate any info or submissions of a copy via email..))...the filament 6.3 VCT(center tap) is tied to the Cathode Bias resistor/capacitor for the output tubes...know what this means...??..the amp is almost silent!!..no hum whatsoever..why>>? the filament section is not grounded nor "sees" the chAssis ground..!!..no AC is induced at B- (chassis)because it "floats" at +17VDC..which is the potential of the cathode bias (output section)..also the bias capacitor effectively acts as a filter section for the filament supply...bingo...any inbalance in the filament cicuit is effectively filtered out accross the cap and the 250 ohm "dogbone" resistor..
This amp screams..I am also a performing blues/slide player...the tremolo is so-so but the normal channel rocks..!!..this amp has the tone of ZZ tops first album...it's a keeper and I replaced the(ragged out) original hockey puck jensen special design ala 3/4" voice coil in a 15" speaker with an earlier alnico horse shoe 3/4" VC special design jensen..OK the speaker also effectively dates the amp...as the hockey puk models are after 58ish ...any ?? s about this stuff/assistance OR if you would like to email me a schematic...email me ...cocobayjo@yahoo.com..

THIS AMP BELONGED TO MY LATE FATHER!! IT'S GOT ONE 12" SPEAKER;;TWO CHANNELS, AND 4 INPUTS. ITS A EPIPHONE AMP....CENTURY...IT ALSO HAS VIBRATO....NO REVERB.....SOUNDS GREAT....BUT IT NEEDS NEW TUBES....THIS AMP JUST SITS IN MY MUSIC ROOM ,,I OCCASIONALLY USE IT FOR RECORDING..JUST SO I CAN USE THE VIBRATO....I WISH I KNEW HOW TO DATE THIS AMP!!!?? I THINK ITS A 50'S MODEL?? MY DAD PLAYED HIS 54 STRAT THROUGH IT FOR YEARS.....PLAYED A LOT OF HONKY TONKS....THE AMP IS COVERED WITH HIS CIGARETTE BURNS...ITS A SITE TO SEE........

IT'S GREAT FOR 50'S MUSIC........AND BLUES....IT'S BASICALLY A CLEAN SOUNDING AMP.... LIKE I SAID I USE IT IN MY STUDIO FOR RECORDING...IT HAS GREAT VIBRATO.!!!!!! A REAL MELLOW ,,,I MEAN MELLOW TONE...

IT NEEDS SOME NEW TUBES,,,,WHEN I GET THEM REPLACED IT SHOULD BE FINE....JUST RECENTLY I FOUND SOME BAD TUBES....WITH TUBES REPLACED ,,I WOULD USE IT WITHOUT BACKUP...

I'VE BEEN EMAILING ,,,AND WRITING EPIPHONE ON THIS AMP ,,,TO GET THE DATE OF THIS AMP AND SCHEMATIC,,,I'VE HAD NO RESPONSE... I'VE BEEN HITTING DEAD ENDS ....HOPEFULLY SOMEDAY I'LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS AMP ......I'M SURE ITS A 50'S AMP.....? ITS A EPIPHONE CENTURY TUBE AMP....IT'S REALLY A COOL SITE TO SEE.........

I'VE BEEN PLAYING GUITAR SINCE 1967..I OWN A GIBSON SG STANDARD...A 50TH ANNIV.FENDER STRAT.....TWO SILVERTONE AMP IN CASE MODELS 1448 MADE IN 1962...A FENDER ULTIMATE CHORUS AMP ,,,,A OLD GIBSON AMP.....A PEAVEY BASS GUITAR...YAMAHA SYNTHESIZER....A FOUR TRACK STUDIO.....MY GIBSON SG HAS BEEN THE BEST GUITAR I'VE EVER OWNED!!!! MY FENDER STRAT IS MORE FOR SHOW.....ALTHOUGH IT SOUNDS SUPER..!!!!! FENDER AND GIBSON THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.!!!!!!! I HAVE TO MUCH GEAR TO LIST..... THERE IS A LOT MORE.....

BEING A SONGWRITER.....AND A RECORDING ARTIST..AND A COLLECTOR.....

This is a plain and simple mid-sixties Kalamazoo (rectangular blue label) made "economy/student" thin non-cutaway archtop with one P-90 pickup.

One volume, one tone pot.

Brown mahogany glossy finish over not bad looking mottled pattern top wood (laminated maple w mahogany rims and med/thin/slightly narrow "c" shape one piece mahogany neck).

Compensated two-piece wooden bridge with brass inserts and thumbwheels.

Trapeze style tailpiece.

Unbound rosewood fingerboard with 20 Gibson style frets and 24.75" scale.

Three on a plate Kluson Deluxe tuners w white plastic oval button keys.

Body single ply cream plastic bound front and back.

Silkscreened "Epiphone" on headstock with "E" truss rod adjustment cover.

"E" on long single ply white plastic suspended (raised) pickguard.

Old, but in fair shape, with just some nicks and thin spots in finish (not worn through). Bridge is bottomed out, but the action is fairly low. Will require neck reset or bridge modification to go lower. OK as-is (for now).

Basically the same as a Gibson 125T, but without sunburst (just mottled brown, like some ES-335's I've seen from the '70's/'80's).

Beautiful (rich and full) so-called "Jazz" sound when plugged in.

Not as much sustain as say: ES-335 or Les Paul, but bassier and more lush and warm sounding, especially with some highs rolled off with the tone circuit (simple passive affair).

Conversely, can be meaty and bright for good Blues sound when opened up. Hot output. P-90, gotta love 'em!

Slightly noisey but good signal to noise ratio, so with some turning, relative to the amp or other sources of interference, can be pretty quiet when it needs to be (takes awareness).

Acoustically limited, due to shallow body depth and laminated top, but good enough to hear during practice, though somewhat dulcimerish sounding. Thin and bright, but not a bad sound at all.

All the glue joints still seem to be holding up. These are more fragile than bolt-neck plank guitars: Need more care/consideration.

Neck straight.

Top not collapsed.

Been around, but not abused.

I'd play jobs with it, travel with it. Spare optional but always a smart thing to bring. I keep a solidbody handy on paying jobs.

Typical old Kalamazoo Gibson factory CMI era feel and action.

Bridge wheels are at the bottom, so to go lower with the strings will require bridge mods or a neck reset. Good for now with twelves though.
Typical fast Gibson style "flow" to neck.

Familiar fret size and dressing (think Gibson large/flattened). Plenty of meat left. Hardly any wear. No divots.

State of the art for 1960's student grade materials and manufacturing techniques.
Can't compete with modern CNC techniques, but has some vintage character.

Built by Gibson for Chicago Musical Instruments.

That was a long time ago!

I do my own work.

I usually see these for $850 in purple, so this brown one at $500 was right on time (I'd been wanting a cheap archtop). Good shape too.

There's something to be said for a Gibson 24.75" scale and a fat P-90 dog-ear single coil pickup on an archtop body with a wooden bridge.

Not exactly Kenny Burrell's model but plenty lush. After all it's in the ES-175 "family." Sounds just like my old '54 ES-175 (long gone).

This 1954 110 watt, single channel model has tone and volume controls, with a tremolo unit that doesn't work. No reverb. But don't let the low rating fool you, this amp has TONE. It has enough stage volume for small combos, but the 6V6 tubes just distort more after 5 and don't get louder after 6. It has an unusual tweed-like covering and looks like a cool old radio

Playing through an archtop ('62 Gretch, '74 Ibanez) I get rich, round, natural, smokey sound. I could get a treble screech if I wanted it, and the distortion is wonderfully warm with a bark, but I usually play clean for jazz and western swing. It could also be used for rockabilly, country, Beatles influenced rock, and blues. This is NOT a wall of sound amp and it will not be able to handle high stage volumes, or fill a noisy room without a mic. The tone is incredible, and very responsive to the player. If not for some modest static I would give it a 10.

I have had one ugly tone freak out during a rehearsal, but I have not had serviced before or since and it is fine. I always have a solid state backup for it in any case. I never use the broken tremolo.

I think I found a boutique amp from a bygone age. I wouldn't trade for anything, and would scour the globe to find a replacement if I had to. The sound is perfect for me, and I can carry it in one hand with the guitar in the other as like I'm a mobile self contained guitar unit. It lacks the sterility that I hear in a lot of new amps, but with that you get some anomalies, which you can make work for or against you. It lends a visual nostalgic value to the music I'm playing. But most importantly it has a breath that only comes from unadulterated pure tube electronics. It is certainly not a rock amp, but it is versatile enough to fill nearly every other musical role.