Ancient Mariner

Tube 30 combo amp plus Eminence and Celestion speakers

These amps were apparently produced as a product prototype from a Chinese factory for a UK distributor, and a small number found their way onto UK Ebay. I bought this amp 3 or 4 years ago as a basis for modding, gave it a couple of tweaks and then loaned it to a friend who played it most weeks in church. He's now emigrated and I don't really have the space for it, plus I'd quite like to release a little cash.

The amp itself looks quite nice, but the 'tweed' is really just a printed heavy duty vinyl and the cab is lightweight ply with floating Fender style baffle, which is obviously not enormously strong, but it IS lightweight. Inside is a steel U chassis with chassis mounted valve sockets taking 2 X 6L6 and 2 X 12AX7, but with lots of space for more if you were inclined to mod. I have schematics and a list of the tweeks I made (which were mostly in the preamp to give a more pleasing tone, plus a couple of diodes to drop heater voltage). The speaker is a no-name Chinese eminence-alike, with medium magnet and a pleasant tone without the harsher top end often found in ceramic celestions.

Controls are the usual TMB + presence, gain and master + a 'boost' switch mounted in a 'classic style chrome top plate with white screen printing. 2 inputs but single channel. Tonewise it's fairly typical 6L6 with some snap at the top end and warm midrange. Loud enough for small gigs, it's rated at a conservative 30 clean watts, but probably puts out more like 45 if you hoof it, and is loud enough for small gigs un-mic'd. Overdrive tones are a bit fizzy, but it's loud enough to cope with running cleanish and taking a pedal. I'm probably doing the amp a dis-service, but don't want to mis-represent it either as something astonishingly wonderful.

Why sell? I presently have 7 other guitar amps plus projects, 2 bass amps and a bunch of cabs sitting around, and one of my hobbies is amp building. It's very tempting as I'm writing this to build another amp in this chassis, but it's been sat in my livingroom since the end of May, and I've only plugged it in twice. I'd like

Sorry, but I have no information about it beyond that photo and the fact that it sounded perfectly acceptable played by the guy demonstrating Vintage guitars. I was slightly tempted, but would much prefer a 'hello kitty' strat for a novelty instrument.

At Musiclive in Nov '09 on the JHS/Vintage stand:

Sounds just like any other strat with a humbucker in the bridge.

Audio taper - if the guitar is bright then 250K pots, if it's dark then 500K pots. Audio taper will give an apparently even response from the tone control, linear pots will do nothing over a large part of their range with a sudden on/off transition.

Maybe the 'development' isn't really the issue - they just took a block of perspex, shaped it like a strat body and slapped all the usual budget strat shaped bits on it that they usually put on their wood bodied guitars. FWIW I've tried the AXL perspex bodied guits too (AXL can make quite a decent wood guitar) and the couple I picked up were quite horrid.

Updated ad.

I am taking offers on my Madamp A15MkI.

Built it about 3 years ago from the deluxe kit - comes with pre-drilled and painted chassis and better pots than the standard kit - and has been assembled to a very high standard, as can be seen from the images below. 15 VERY loud watts from 2 6V6s, effects loop, separate tone controls for clean and gain channels, 8 and 16 ohm speaker output, space for modification with channel switching relays + foot switch socket. Global controls: fat switch, raw plus 2 levels of power amp smoothing. Big Hair loved this amp when it was up at his place a couple of years back - there might even be a recording of it through a 'blue' floating around still. This amp sounds like a brownface fender on channel 1 and high-gain fender on channel 2, but this doesn't do it justice, and you really need to hear it to appreciate it fully.

It's currently built into a substantial naked ply 1X12 combo cab fitted with an (almost new) G12H. I'll sell it as a separate amp or with the cab + speaker. The current *kit* is 279 euros plus shipping from Germany. I'm looking for around

Thanks. I really liked the layout Martin did in his original and so I was very careful to do it well. This was not my first build, and experience made things much easier. If someone will be kind enough to take this off my hands then i hope to make some more.

DAMN!!!!! That amp replaced the parts I had previously recorded with a Komet , sounds great. I might check out the finances

Thanks for the recommendation Mark.

Used Fishman piezo 'acoustic' pickup system for a strat 2 point trem guitar. Comes with the pre-amp module, replacement stereo jack socket and stereo Y cable to send the piezo signal to an acoustic amp. I bought it on ebay a couple of years back and it didn't fit the (non-fender) guitar I wanted to use it with, so I've never fitted it, but AFAIK it's all there and ready to fit. I have a Godin xtSA now and so it's surplus to requirements.

Godin SD with OHSC. Price drop

I saw him once at Music Live in Birmingham, UK a couple of years ago. I though it was Nigel Tufnel at first.

My Ceriatone 18watt trem.

Cab in English Cocoa and salt'n'pepper by EVA (Chris Uffs - on AX84 and 18watt.com).

This was the thread that had all that bitching and whining about being locked?

Sheesh.

Praying for you here too - sounds a desperate situation.

If you do set up a PP fund then let us know.

Toni