Epiphone EA-35T Devon Tremolo

My EA 35T Devon dates from 1962. It is a very basic amp but has an amazing tone. It has one channel with 2 inputs, volume, a tone control and tremolo speed and intensity. apparently Epiphone (Gibson) changed the tube compliment and features of this model along the way as compared to other reviewer's specs. I wish it had seperate bass and treble controls but then why wish it were something that its not? I use it for playing at home and recording. It puts out about 12-15 watts with one 12AX7 and two 6BM8's and a 5Y3 Rectifier. The original Jensen Alnico speaker sounded great but had a very small magnet and wasn't helping this amp develop a little more bottom and volume. I have since installed and tried a larger vintage Jensen P12P and a vintage Rola alnico. The jensen wins in the shimmer depeartment but ultimately the Rola won out in volume and giving the slightly scooped middle a boost.

My main guitar right now is a Strat with new Bill Lawerence L280 noiseless pups in it. (highly recommended BTW - hotter than stock but with a bright vintage tone). My style of playing is Folk-Rock/ Alt country/ Pop and this amp suits certain aspects of my playing beautifully. The tremolo is almost always on at least subtley for a little shimmer. The tone of this amp is warm and very chimey at the same time - a little scooped in the middle, and not a lot of bass. Overall a little thin sounding to the ear when playing in a room but put a mic in front of this thing and it sounds huge - most of those fat lows in larger amps need to be EQed out in recording anyway. The shimmer and chime are very Vox-like. This amp really excells at a very sweet distortion either just a bit of grit or really driven overdrive - the sound is thick and creamy and not harsh. You have to play very low for there to be no breakup and then the amp sounds thin.

It has been working fine since I first got it 2 years ago. I retubed it with NOS RCA 6BM8's and am currently running the new ElectroHarmonix 12AX7 in it. No problems.

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There are days when I think this amp is the amp I would have to take to a desert island (if there was power!) and then there are days that I'm itching for another sound. On the days I love this amp I give it a high rating

8
I've never been that happy with the sound, but after reading reviews, I'd better go back and listen again.
The tremolo is very good.
My amp, which I've had about 30 years, came with a 4 page manual, including a schematic.

The tubes are: 6EU7 (two), 6BQ5 (two) and one 6CA4 for any of you having trouble reading the numbers on the glass.

I always thought the sound was a bit thin, but perhaps I haven't been using the tone controls properly. Having said that, the sound of a strat comes through very nicely--very stratty!

Very reliable. An airport worker once dropped it on the conveyor belt, even tho' I had a fragile sticker on the case, in plain view. Come to think of it, a bus driver did the same thing: dropped it on the ground. No problems.

The Devon Tremolo was the first guitar amp I owned and has been loaned out several times and never had any problems. It's really underpowered for "combo" use today but does have features that were ahead of it's time: a pre-amp out and and external "echo" speaker, which does not disconnect the internal speaker.
Any one who whishes to have a copy of the schematic and cannot get it from Epiphone ( or whoever owns the name these days) is welcome to email me: al_crout@applesbc.bc.ca

THE DEVON TREM. THAT I BOUGHT AT A FLEA MARKET ON 8/11/02 FOR 60.00
IS MINT--BUT HAS 1 BROKEN TUBE.MINE WAS MADE IN 1962--THE SPEAKER WAS
MAD THE 26 WEEK OF 61--I HAVE HAD MAJOR PROB. ON FINDING ANY ONE TO CROSS REF. THE TUBES--6CA4 OR 6GA4--HARD TO READ--(2)RCA 6BQ5 AND
(2)6FU7 OR 6EU7 ALSO HARD TO READ.ANY TUBE INFO WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL OR ANY CHANGES OR UPDATES THAT ANY ONE MAY HAVE DONE.THIS IS ONE COOL
AMP--HIGAIN47@AOL.COM

ALL SETTINGS WIDE OPEN--USING STRAT AND DAN ELECTRO

TO NEW TO TELL

30YRS
2STRATS IBANEZ DAN --DRUMS ETC

Great little combo amp made in Kalamazoo, Mi by Epiphone/Gibson. This one dates to 1962 ( speaker code ). Although it does not have reverb, it does have a footswitch and tremelo. I am more of a player and not a tech, so I am not sure about the tube configuration, bias, etc.

It is amazing how good this little amp sounds. It is not quite equal to a Fender tweed, but comes close. It is very loud for it's size, and at lower volumes the low end tones are unbeatable. It sounds just like the old Beatles recordings.

This one is all original, and the sound fades in and out. I think it needs a cap job or something.

This amp is underrated, and I believe that is due to it being somewhat scarce. I think it has the best "Rockabilly" sound of any amp I've tried.

Vintage Epiphone amp made in Kalamazoo. Probably a clone of a Gibson amp from the same era. I'm guessing early 60's, maybe even late 50's. Volume, tone, bass, tremolo. No reverb. About 10 watts. 12" speaker. Has 2 EL84's running in Class A -- just like a Vox AC15. Very light weight. Has a footswitch for the trem which is permanently attached to the amp. Switch is bakelite!

It sounds much like a Vox AC15. 10 watts may not sound like much but it's a screamer. Have gigged with this amp on many occassions. It sounds amazing with a Telecaster and a Gretsch would probably love this amp too. Simply an amazing little amp with super rich, chimey tone. Because it's only 10 watts, I can crank it up about 3/4's, which is LOUD, and those tubes just cook. Just a tad of grit and overdrive at this setting and a touch of compression. This is the way old tube amps are and the way they should be. I hate these modern tube amps that turn into super metal dirt when you get them past 3.

It's held up quite well and I managed to track down a schematic for it but haven't needed it yet since I've had no major problems. It's class A so no need to rebias when changing tubes. It eats tubes real quick since it burns them real hot. Have had to stick new EL84's in it about once a year, but EL84's are cheap so I don't mind.

An amazing amp, especially for the money. Was set on getting one of the new Vox AC15's ($800+) when I stumbled on this one. My Tele plugged straight into this amp is tone heaven. I have other guitars and other amps but everytime I fire this little honey up I always wonder why I strayed to anything else. It's old and a tad rare but I do see these turn up every now and then and they're always dirt cheap. Buy one.

This is a 1x12" combo from the early '60's. It was made in kalamazoo. It has an unusual tube complement of a single 12AX7, a pair of 6BM8's and a 5Y3 rectifier. Apparently the 6BM8's are a combination pentode/triode (don't ask me). I think the amp puts out between ten and twenty watts. The top-mounted panel includes on/off, volume and tone, tremolo speed and intensity, and a fuse and pilot light. The tremolo is footswitchable. The speaker is a blue label Jensen special design. Styling is funky fenderesque. A ground switch would have been nice, but I had a three prong plug added, so no shocks/hum now.

Used with a strat, the sound is very deep and harmonically rich. The tone control is perfect. The clean sound is as smooth as any, and the breakup is very musical. This amp has serious vibe factor. Speaking of which, the tremolo is deep and soothing. The sound gets squashed with the volume dimed, but backing off a little remedies this.

It was neglected when I bought it, but a three-pronger, new caps, and new tubes made a world of difference.

The Devon turned me on to small combos. It's an inspiration. A blackface-quality reverb would make it a ten.