[ebook]

Alright, I'm still checking out amps and trying to decide what to get. I would like to get a small all tube amp. So far, I've looked at the Pro Junior and ruled that out maybe just based on cost. Then I found the Champ and saw that there is tons of them on e-bay all the time and if you wait and look long enough you can get a pretty good deal, but then I heard about the Epiphone Galaxie and I've read good reviews about that. So, what do you think?

The Champ has minimal controls, volume and tone I believe. But, the Galaxie 10 has volume, gain, 3-band e.q. and a stand-by switch. The Champ is 15 watts, the Galaxie is 10 watts....

Give me some suggestions if you have had the oppurtunity to play through one of these amps.

[Major Tom]

I have checked around town trying to find a Galaxie to try out, can't find one. A Fender Champ has a 6-watt output using a 6V6 output tube, very similiar single-ended type amp to the Galaxie which uses the more powerful 6L6GC tube. The Champ has volume, treble, and bass controls, and has an 8" speaker, Galaxie uses a 10", which should sound a little bigger, and coupled with the extra power, should have more clean headroom. I have an old blackface Champ, it is a cool little amp for recording, but a little small for live use. I have a few other amps, which are all too loud for using with the P&W group I work with on Sundays. I was hoping the Galaxie 10 might be the ticket...

Another inexpensive little tube amp choice is the Epihone Electar Tube 10; 10watts, same controls and output tube as the Galaxie, but with an 8" speaker, and closed back. These were recently discontinued by Epi, replaced with the Galaxie 10. Music YO had these recently for something like $130.00 closeout price, they also appear on Ebay from time to time..

[ebook]

Your right, the Champ is six watts, the Pro Junior was the 15 watt amp. I will check into the Epiphone Electar.

[thesteve]

electar amps are actually another subdivision of Gibson (Like Epiphone, Trace Elliot, etc.) I don't know much about there amps except that they look good.

[Major Tom]

I believe the Electars are made in Korea.

[LWatford]

Deffinatly try a Champ. I had one a few years ago, and I really wish now I hadn't sold it. I don't know anything about the Epiphone amps, but I know I've had three Fender amps that were still running on their original tubes when I got them, and most of them had had some form of "amp truama." The point is, not only do the amps sound good, but they will also last forever with just a little love. The Champ is a tone machine, especially when you get it cranking...no need for an overdrive pedal. The 6 watts doesn't sound like much, but it is plenty loud (don't know about doing any gigs with it though, especially with a drummer). It might possibly be the ultimate practice amp.

Also check out a Fender Princeton if possible (you might find one for a little more than a Champ, especially if you can work with the seller some). This is a step up from the Champ and is a little more gig worthy (they're a favorite of Jazz guys).

[ebook]

Does anyone know anything else about these Electar's? They have somewhat favoriable reviews on Harmony Central, but most people say that you need to mod it in some small way (new tubes and a speaker). I just wondering if this would be something good enough because I found one for $80, or should I still try to get a Champ for about $50 more?

[Major Tom]

Wouldn't worry too much about the tubes - any Champ or other tube amp you buy might also need new ones...there's only 2 in either, not too expensive. I don't know what to say about the speaker thing. Have you seen Champs go for $130 ?? that sounds cheap

[thesteve]

I've seen the Squier Champ 15s go that cheap, but never a real deal...interesting.

[ebook]

If you watch e-bay pretty close you will see them go for around that sometimes. Usually there is somewhere around 5 or 6 champs on their at a time and maybe even more VibroChamps. If the auction closes in the middle of the night even better. I'm just thinking that if I can pick up an Electar for around $80 and then add a new speaker (Weber or something) it may sound good. I guess I don't really need top of the line stuff, I just want a small practice amp that isn't solid state. The only thing is that the Champ has more tubes. Is that something I should think about?

[Major Tom]

The Champs do have one more tube - a rectifier tube, just because they were made in a different era. All amps except expensive "boutique" amps made after the early 70's have a solid state rectifier. The rectifier is not in the signal chain, it converts the 110volt AC current from the wall into DC. The tube rect's can produce a "sag" effect when an amp is being pushed hard, not quite able to meet the demand of current needed, which would cause a type of compression or distortion of the signal under certain circumstances. Some players like this, others like the solid state rect's better. The Champ is such a low power amp, I don't think it would be able to exceed its rectifier's output, so it won't exhibit "sag" anyway, and won't add any more "tube tone".

One other thing to consider - you may have heard the term "recapped", meaning the electrolytic capacitors have been replaced. This is because they are only rated to last something like 10 - 20 years, although sometimes they will still function at 30 - 40 years. At some point they lose their capacitance, or become leaky, causing less than optimum tone, and can actually explode. Anyway, if an old '70's amp has not been recapped, it is usually a good idea to go ahead and do it. If you are handy with a soldering iron, you can do it yourself for about $30 to $40 in parts.

Also sometimes those old speakers will start to disintegrate around the edge, not to mention that old "varnish" on the voice coil might start flaking off, causing burnout. If it has the original speaker you might end up replacing that too.

If you can get a working silverface Champ for under $150, that's a good deal, and not a bad investment; they will continue to go up in value since they have collector's value, but you could end up incurring some extra expense to keep it going...If money is tight, I'd go for a newer amp, less to go wrong.

[ebook]

Hmm...Thanks for all the advice guys. I think for the amount of money that I want to spend I may go with the Electar. I guess that way I have a nice tube amp that has a decent sound (although I may replace the speaker) that I can use for practice. If I ever need to play out then I'll look for something bigger that would be more useful than the Champ. So, unless I find a good deal on a Galaxie then, the Electar it is...

[monty-mhcs]

I just came across this thread whilst searching for further modifications info for the Electar Tube 10, so thought i'd add my .02 in case it helps anyone.

I've had one of these amps for years now, and it's a nice little thing as it is for low-power needs such as recording, home use, etc. It can be made a bit better though ...

1. The most limiting factor is the speaker, which is just crap really. Prove this to yourself by using the speaker output jack to drive another (almost any other!) speaker cabinet, and you'll get a whole lot better sound. This can be your permanat fix (so you're effectively using the Tube 10 as an amp head only) or - to save having 2 separate boxes - either change the stock 8" speaker for a good quality one (e.g. Jensen or Weber) or build a new cabinet to take the existing amp chassis but with your choice of a better (and bigger?) speaker ... or two.
2. The tubes aren't brilliant either - try swapping the preamp tube for a better quallity 12AX7 (or 12AU7 if you fancy cleaning it up a bit more), and swap the stock 5881 for a good quality 6L6 such as a Sovtek or Svetlana.
3. If you're even more adventurous, you can modify the circuit a bit as per suggestions here: Electar Tube 10 mods. I haven't tried this, but what he suggests does make sense, so i might do at some stage ...

Have fun!

MONTY (UK)

[thesteve]

holy old thread Batman!

closed.