Vintage Reproductions
I love the sound of vintage amps, but the originals are financially out of reach for most folks. And even if you can afford one, it’ll take a substantial amount of maintenance to make it playable, safe, and dependable. And even then, do you really want to haul it around town?
I can build interpretations of almost any of the Fender ’50s and ’60s Fender amps. I prefer not to use the word “clone”, because some things can be done better now than they were back in the day. Better materials, quieter and safer wiring.
My prices are low because I keep overhead costs to a minimum — I don’t skimp on anything related to quality, I and always use the best materials and components that I can find.
I build on commission, and sometimes I have completed amps ready to go. Check the inventory page to see what’s available now.
Little River Amp
I wanted a small amp for low volume home-use — with spring reverb. We know of course that Fender amps did not have reverb until the black panel era of the ’60s.
So….
This amp combines two 50’s Princeton circuits, the 5F2 and the 5F2A. The Little River has the 5F2 tone circuit, which (to me) sounds more open than the later 5F2A, although not quite as loud. The power section is a combination of the two legacy amps, with some other tweaks, resulting in an extremely quiet-at-idle amp. You can barely tell it’s on without a guitar plugged in.
The reverb circuit is borrowed from ’60s Ampeg amps, like the Reverberocket. It uses only 1 tube, a dozen resistors/capacitors, and a spring tank. And it sounds great!
2 watts clean, 6 watts full power, through a 10″ 8 Ohm speaker.
Weighs 22 pounds.
And everyone will ask how it sounds with pedals. Since I am not a pedal expert, I asked my friends at a local high-end guitar shop to audition some pedals using the Little River. It sounded fantastic at all volume levels – way better than I expected – and has inspired me to become a better pedal-head.
Price: $1860 plus shipping.
There is one on the floor at LA Vintage Gear. Stop by and try it out if you’re in the Los Angeles area.
