Johnson JA-T25-R Loredo Combo

The Loredo I have was purchased through ebay, but appears to be almost brand new. I think they're around $500 in Australia but they're not widely available here yet. It's a single channel, master volume, 2*el84 combo with a 10in Alphatone speaker. The tubes have been replaced by JJs, so I'm not sure what it's like with the stock EHs. The amp also has an effects loop that seems to work fine, and Accutronics reverb. The manual claims there's an XLR line out, but it aint true. Looks great!

The amp sounds quite good - I'm gonna try replacing the speaker with a Weber blue pup, but it's OK for now. Using the extension out, I've tried it through my homebrew 2*12 with Jensens and it sounds big and clean. With my strat and the eq tweaked slightly, I get a lush slightly overdriven sound with both gain and master on about 7 each. I'm not sure about the 25Watts claim... it gets over a drummer but not completely clean. I'm sure it's more like 15 W or so. Doesn't matter to me though, I like the overdriven sounds I get from this. With the 2*12, I reckon I can play any pub or club (and will keep sound guys happy!) Reacts well to a overdrive pedal in front so I can get all the way from bluesy clean, to hard rock sounds. With a better stock speaker (and maybe JJs instead of EHs?), this'd be a 10. Have played through it with a Jap-made Fender Strat with Dimarzio pups and a 1990 Les Paul standard and it brings out the character of each guitar nicely. Probably better with single coils but that might just be me. This amp is very quiet.

It's PCB, but seems to be built solidly. Tubes are easy to replace. Would gig without a backup.

I asked about the line out and got a friendly reply via email in a day or two.

I've been playing for around 15 years now... had a Peavey Reknown (which I loved till it blew up on me), a Marshall 2204 (sounded great but too bloody loud and heavy), an Eminar 50 watt point to point (sounded even better than the marshall but NMV and extremely loud) and now this little baby. I love it, and would recommend it to any player. The bang for buck is amazing on this thing, and the volume is just right for jamming and gigging. Plus it's really really light and portable. If only it had the line out...

Next amp on my list will be a tweed deluxe clone if I can find one for a good price... that and this amp in stereo would be awesome on stage. Email me if you have one for <$1K.

Bought brand new in November 2006. This "all-tube" amp features a single input and single channel with a gain and a volume control, 3-way EQ, footswitch jack for the Accutronics spring reverb, effects out and in jacks along with a "dry~wet" pot for controlling the amount of outboard effect fed into the amp. It has 2 Sovtek 12AX7 tubes in the pre-amp stage and 2 Electro Harnonics EL-84 tubes in push-pull config for the main amp. It is rated at 25WRMS. It has a 10" Alphatone speaker. The amp is designed by AXL in California but built in China.
Although the amp is "all tube", it does use a lot of solid-state circuitry and is not "point-to-point" wired like the vintage or boutique tube amps. But then it also doesn't cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
It has a vintage look with its ox-blood tolex and beige grille cloth. Seems to be very well built with a solid cab and chassis and quality controls and on-off and stand-by switches.
I use this amp for jamming with a couple of friends and also for performing at the open mic at our coffeehouse. It has plenty enough power for that and can go from "Fender" clean to nicely over-driven by tweaking the gain and volume controls. It has THAT vintage tube sound that is to die for. Definitely not a "metal" amp but great for R&R, Country-Rock, Country, Blues and Jazz. Turn up the gain and you get that great warm overdrive sound that is to die for.
The spring reverb really works and doesn't get too "wonky" right away like on a lot of amps out there. Beats the hell out of ANY digital reverb!
It would be great if the amp had 2 channels with foot-switching but at this price, well, you just won't find that.
Also, the fact that it only weighs 25 lbs. is a blessing for this old guy with a bad back.

The amp can go from very clean to a nice tube overdrive without the hum associated with a lot of tube amps. It "dirties" up faster with humbuckers than with single-coils of course, but with the right blend of gain/volume, you can find the right sound for most stuff. I use an SX strat knockoff with 1983 '72 re-issue Fender alnico pups and this amp gives me the full range of sounds this guitar is capable of producing, along with all the fine nuances of various picking styles. It can get pretty loud with the volume cranked.
I jam mostly Buddy Guy style blues and this amp suits that to a T. Also great for such classic instrumentals as Sleepwalk and Apache.
Definitely not a "metal" amp though. Get a Mesa Boogie or whatever if that's what you want. Although I guess you could just put a heavy-metal pedal in front of it...

At the (low) sonic levels at which I play, I don't worry about the amp failing. I haven't had the amp long enough to say how well it will hold up, but it seems to be built quite solid and the tubes even have metal retainers on them to avoid them from shaking loose so I think the amp will hold up fine.
The Alphatone 10" speaker has a relatively small magnet structure for a 25WRMS amp and that might be a cause for concern for anyone who intends on really driving this amp for prolonged periods of time. Might be a good idea to change it out with a heavy-duty Jensen, Webber or Celestion or or what-have-you.

The amp came with a 5-year Manufacturer's guarantee. Hopefully I'll never have to take advantage of that... I expect to have to change out the tubes sooner or later because tubes don't last forever. I can do that myself. The tubes are readily accessible.
I e-mailed the company (AXL) requesting a schematic for the amp and they sent me one (in PDF format) within 2 days at no cost! I've since printed it out, "just in case".

I've been playing since 1964 and have owned a lot of gear over the years. Back then in the 60's when I was playing professionally in R&R bands, I was using a blackface '63 Fender Bandmaster. Wouldn't want to have to carry that sucker around anymore!
In th 80's when I was playing in various Country-Rock, Country and Classic Rock bands, I was using solid-state Peavey's and Rolands, through Boss effects. Much more portable but there was always a certain "something" missing from the sound.
I've also played through Crates and other "modeling" amps lately and again, always something missing. That "tube" sound.
I considered the Traynor YCV-20 all-tube amp with channel switching (one of my friends has one and let me give it a work-out) but at 35 lbs., it's just a bit too heavy for me to lug around at my age. Also, it's reverb isn't as nice as the Johnson's.
I've got a custom home-built (by my old-time tube-techie friend John Lansky), so-called "AC-DC" all-tube amp that uses a pair of 50L6's in push-pull. It has tremolo and sounds really good and weighs only 16 lbs., but it lacks the reverb, effects send and return and the gain/volume thing. If it had those, it would be perfect but John didn't want to get into that. That's why I bought the Loredo.
If what you want is a vintage-looking and vintage-sounding amp with REAL tube "vibe" and sound at a price that won't break your wallet, this baby fills the bill. It's not a Mesa Boogie or a Marshall Stack but hey, it's a lot cheaper than a Fender Blues Jr. and sounds every bit as good!

Valve amp well priced and in the 25 Watt range comparable features

Excellent -very clean and clear

Too soon to make a comment

Excellent amp for a 25 watt unit.

Brand New. These amps just came out to dealers in December 2005 and I am probably one of the first owners. This is an all tube amplifier with a 10" speaker. It has one channel with pre and post gain with overdrive. It has a nice sounding reverb as well. Using the line out, you can patch it directly to your PA or to another power amp for gigs. You can also patch directly into your studio panel. The line out has an adjustable level. The amp is tolex covered with a nice Fenderish tweed grill. The knobs have a Quality feel to them. The chassis appears to be all steel, is well constructed and solid. The input jacks are quality as well. I was particularly impressed with the On/Off and Standby switches. These are very high quality vintage style switches, not your standard plastic type. The tubes are 12ax7wa sovteks and the power tubes are EL-84 EH electro-harmonics. I was surprised to see the EH tubes in it, but very pleased. The tubes are PCB mounted each with a retainer, so there should'nt be a problem with them coming loose. Overall, this amp is very very well constructed for an Asian product.

I have to say I was amazed at the sound of this little guy. A very sweet blusey sounding distortion and when clean, sounds very much like a Fender. And with 25 watts (It has a very large power transformer), it is just fine for small venues that I play. If I need extra power, I will just patch it out to a Peavey power amp and another set of speakers, but I have'nt had to as of yet. I've tried it and it works/sounds great. Much of the tube sound is preserved to my surprise, or maybe its my imagination. I bought this for its size, power and sound and I have not been disappointed.

Well, too soon to tell, but I am also a technician, and I can tell a good one when I see one. This little guy should hold up nicely, and if it needs repair, the boards are arranged nicley for troubleshooting. Nothing like some of the newer Fenders I've worked on. And I really mean that. The only thing I'm concerned about is the speaker. I will likely put an Eminence Legend in it soon. Not that the one in it sounds bad, it just does'nt look like it will go the distance. This is the only potential week point I see. But hey, its got a warranty for a while.

Just don't know. It does'nt come with a schematic, so I have orded one. Hopefully the company is now big enough to provide reliable support. I would'nt have said that a few years ago.

I've been playing weekends now for over 30 years off and on. I've owned them all. As I've gotten older, I just don't have a lotta use for the big stacks and heavy combos. I really don't like the setup and teardown anymore so I try to keep things as simple and small as I can. 30 years ago, you could'nt buy an amp this small that sounds this good....they just were'nt available or sounded like crap. Not so anymore. I like this amp. 25lbs of tube tone. It ain't perfect, but it comes as close as I have had for a long time. Sounds as good as my old Hot Rod Deluxe in a smaller package. Just hope it holds up as well as I think it will.