Frenzel 5F6 Bassman Head

I bought this on Ebay last July. It is a one-of-a-kind Retro Conversion built by Jim Frenzel. The features of this amp are perfect for me. The connections/controls are as follows:
1 instrument-level input jack, 1/4"
1 on/off switch
1 power cable, 10' long
1 speaker level output jack, 1/4", 8 ohms impedence, mono
1 fuse port
1 vintage RCA 12AX7 preamp tube
1 Mesa Engineering 5U4 rectifier tube
2 matched (within 5% of each other) EHx 6L6 power tubes.

I replaced the original vintage 5U4 and 6L6 tubes, which were supplied, with brand new replacements I bought on my own. This is my first tube amp, so I figured I should learn to take care of it before using rare or dilicate pieces. The amp looks like some 8th grade science project, as it has no enclosure, and the tubes and transformers are exposed. This aesthetic characteristic is part of the amp's novelty, and I love it.

The fact that this amp has no preamp controls (not even a volume knob), makes it the perfect platform for my collection of effects. I have close to 50 stompboxes, but I usually hook up 5 at a time. I just use the knobs of any distortion or overdrive pedal as one would use an amp's knobs.

This amp responds perfectly to picking dynamics, and the 5U4-based rectifier section provides the perfect hint of sag desirable in a tube amp. I run this dream amp through an Avatar 2x12 speaker cabinet with [intentionally and perfectly] mismatched Eminence Red Coats, and my 2 main guitars are an old Squier which was hot-rodded with a trio Seymour Duncan Strat-sized humbuckers are set up at Ed Roman's and a currently stock Epiphone Les Paul Standard Baritone. This amp catches the low and commanding bottom end of the baritone as well as the blistering aggression of the JB Jr. pickup in the Strat and everything in between. Even when I plug straight into the amp with no preamp and no effects, the guitars' knobs can be used to the fullest extent to shape my sound. From the twangiest country and blues tone to the smoothest jazz tones to hard rock, all I need to do is adjust the tone and volume knobs and the pickup selector switches. My main musical interests are techno and grunge rock, so an amp this versatile is perfect for my needs. Using an equalizer pedal, I have been able to play palm-muted metal-type rhythms through this amp. And with my old Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz and the low output Duckbucker pickup, I get the coolest saxaphone sound coming out of this amp.

The science project appearance of it makes it look delicate, but it feels pretty solid when moving the unit around. It is only natural to mind the exposed tubes when transporting it. Oh yeah, shortly after I received the amp and played on it for a few hours, the amp actually stopped working, but after some investigation and correspondence with Jim Frenzel, it came down to a fuse replacemnt. This is really no big deal, as a pack of fuses can be purchased with pocket change, and this amp was originally extracted from an old Lowery organ, and now it is this incredible tone machine guitar amp. I have had no issues since, and I changed out tubes only for my own sonic exploration.

As this was my first ever tube amp, I had a lot of questions for Jim before bidding on the head. He responded quickly and politely to every question I asked before bidding up to every question I have come up with since I got the amp and have been using it. Jim is really cool about answering questions, and he is what they call a fountain of knowledge. He has never been stumped by any of my questions (I am an academic type of person, and I ask questions of most companies I deal with). Even when I was freaking out about the fuse situation, he asked my to describe any sound or light that came from the amp when it stopped working. By email he properly diagnosed the fuse going out and offered to investigate and repair the amp at no additional charge to me. Fortunately it was just that fuse, and the amp has been perfect all this time. Jim and his son Trevor state that they back their products 100%.

This amp, stripped of knobs and switches, is a real fantasy amp for me. I love the simplicity and the versatility at the same time. I am also amazed by the price, as one of my friends says it sound more like a $1k+ piece of gear. If it were lost or stolen, I would be screwed because it is a one-of-a-kind piece. If I had to replace it nothing short of Bogner Metropolis, Dr. Z Mazerati, or the Frenzel Blu Tone 50 would be worthy.