I had some ebay bucks burning a hole in my virtual pocket, so I figured I'd see if the MonoPrice / Stage Right 5W 8" tube combo amp was worth a damn. Best $92 amp I've ever bought. ;D
Some of you probably know that MonoPrice doesn't actually make anything. They get private label stuff from manufacturers and resell it. But they are very good at choosing nice stuff and selling it at irresistible price points. I have one of their mini 3D printers, and it's excellent (and cheap as all hell).
Based on my readings on the interwebs, this amp is just another rebadge of the Laney Cub 8 (itself just a rebadge of some nameless non-brand amp). That pretty much means it's a Champ clone with a simple tone control added between the preamp and power amp. There is also a switch on the front panel that says "5W / 1W", but it doesn't actually change anything regarding voltage and it's not a pentode / triode switch. All it really does is add more input resistance to load the guitar pickup more. Still, it works well and doesn't have a big impact on tone. I'd guesstimate that it drops volume by about 25% and there is a small amount of overall gain reduction (which may or may not be a good thing depending on your application).
Considering the tiny cabinet and 8" speaker, it sounds very good. The output tranny is pretty small, but it doesn't seem to lack in the low frequencies. With stock tubes, it favors single coils for max headroom, as humbuckers drive it pretty early on the Volume knob (a little hair shows up around 3 on the dial). The Tone control is very responsive all the way around, but there is a big jump right near the end of the sweep (clockwise). The way Tone is set up in the circuit, it also sort of acts as a gain control as well. Between Volume, Tone, and the "Watt" switch, you can get a lot of sounds, especially if you play with your guitar's controls as well.
Stock 6V6 is Sino clear glass (6V6GT). Honestly, I think it sounds just fine. The preamp tube is totally unmarked, but the documentation says it is 12AX7. It must be a low gain 12AX7, because I swapped in a JJ ECC83 and it had noticeably more preamp breakup. I ended up putting in a JJ ECC81 (12AT7) to get a little more headroom, and it really works nice. Since I had a single, I also put a JJ 6V6 in there. I'll play that for a few weeks and then put the stock 6V6 back in and see if I can hear a difference.
The only thing I wish it had was a master volume, but it's a Champ, so there ain't one. I can probably get where I need with just my guitar volume. I think there is enough room for a 10" speaker if I cut the baffle a little bigger.
For $100 folks, this one is a no-brainer. As with many of these Asia-made amps, you can't come close to buying the parts for the asking price of a finished amp.
(https://i.imgur.com/3FrhpWH.jpg?1)
(https://i.imgur.com/vsA7wHY.jpg?2)
Cool. Those have a good reputation from what I've seen.
I actually was looking at the 15watt yesterday trying to figure out if it could work double duty for a little guitar and bass amp.
Nice amp! im go to youtube now
btw, if you put Stage Fright in front of this baby, raise the bar of COOL meter?
That looks like a sweet little amp. I didn't know MonoPrice was selling them but I'm not surprised. And I think you're right. They do a fantastic job of finding great stuff to sell at really sweet prices.
[Picture emoji with a big thumbs up in your mind--there it is!]
Did you open it up and snoop around? I'm wondering about it as a mod platform. Does it run at proper high voltages? Does it have room in the chassis? That kind of thing.
That looks very cool. Seems pretty well constructed for that price.
Not sure I totally agree on the quality of all things MonoPrice. I've gotten some very well made things from them, but some of the stuff was absolutely terrible quality. You just kind of have to order and see which category it fits in. ;-)
I've thought about getting one of these. Good review.
If it does break, that's a good excuse to crack it open and use it as a base for a modded valve amp circuit :)
A tweed Champ is the obvious candidate. Just get a metalshop to drill a hole for the rectifier.
Quote from: ahiddentableau on April 07, 2018, 08:56:37 PM
Did you open it up and snoop around? I'm wondering about it as a mod platform. Does it run at proper high voltages? Does it have room in the chassis? That kind of thing.
Didn't check voltages, but I have no reason to doubt it's running at a "standard" B+ for this type of amp.
I think it might be easiest to pull the board completely and replace it with something new. A lot of the resistors are surface mount, and while changing values is not too bad, doing ad-hock mods that require adding new parts or running wires might be a bit tricky. But there's some room inside for a new board.
(https://i.imgur.com/zorhZAN.jpg?2)
(https://i.imgur.com/jH1x4eQ.jpg?2)
Thanks for the pics! That was super helpful.
I gotta say, it looks pretty sweet as a mod platform. Lots of room for a turret board in there, and even for an extra pot if you move the lamp. Even the iron looks better than I would have expected. I'm very tempted to get one and turn it into a BF/SF champ-style.
I've been interested in this one already, now I kinda want one.
Have you tried it with a 12 inch external speaker?
I tend not to like 8 inch speaker sound
Quote from: junkemail86 on April 08, 2018, 09:36:23 PM
Have you tried it with a 12 inch external speaker?
Believe it or not, I do not currently have a functional 12" cabinet. My main cab for the last few years is an oddball Blackstar 4x8", which looks like an oversized 112. I'll definitely hook it up and give it a listen.
I do have a spare 10" cab that I can do a listen test with, however. And I highly suspect that a 10" speaker will fit in the Stage Right cab.
So I got a really cool old-stock Tung Sol 5881 on ebay for $5 (shipped!), and my understanding is that as long as the power tranny can handle the additional current draw, there's no harm in subbing that in for a 6V6.
I was going to report my findings with this post, but I ran into a problem: all of a sudden the amp makes no noise at all. Stupid cheap amp! ;D
I tested all the usual things (tube swap, cable swap, speaker swap, guitar swap) and then pulled the chassis out again. During my last foray inside, I just took pics, didn't move anything or disconnect anything. Then I noticed the preamp tube is glowing as normal up when the power is on, but the power tube is not glowing and does not get warm/hot, even after being on for 10 minutes. I checked the fuse, but it was fine.
Finally, decided to reflow all the tube socket pin joints. And that was the problem! I guess there was a weak joint that was cracked when I changed out the tube a few times.
So now it's too late to test out the 5881, but I'll update this thread tomorrow. :)
The Laney versions I repaired had the same problem. The amps would shake themselves to bits. The store I was doing repairs for dropped the Laney line but if I recall once I reflowed the sockets I don't think any of them had issues or came back in again.
Quote from: gordo on April 14, 2018, 02:47:39 AM
The Laney versions I repaired had the same problem. The amps would shake themselves to bits. The store I was doing repairs for dropped the Laney line but if I recall once I reflowed the sockets I don't think any of them had issues or came back in again.
Awesome. I'll also reflow the preamp socket pins just to be safe.
BTW, I just plugged this into my weirdo Blackstar 4x8 cab, and it sounds so much better. I mean, that's hardly surprising. Kinda makes me think I ought to just build a small head shell for it and toss out the combo cab. Or maybe first try putting a 10" in there.
Just finished a 20-minute tube swap listening test. For the preamp: JJ 12AX7 vs JJ 12AT7. For power: Sino 6V6 (stock) vs JJ 6V6 vs Tung-Sol 5881 (vintage). I tried all possible combinations of tubes.
I definitely preferred the 12AT7 in the preamp with all of the power tubes. It's the only way to have clean headroom above conversation level. If you are looking for a 5W "exploding amp" sound, definitely go with a 12AX7. I may try a 12AU7 as well and see how that sounds, but the AT7 will stay put for now.
The Sino 6V6 is a fine tube, honestly. Very middle-of-the-road tonewise and gain-wise. I wouldn't hesitate to use this brand in another project.
The JJ 6V6 was my favorite of the three with humbuckers. It breaks up the latest and has a little less bass than the 5881. Sounds nice and clear with the AT7 (which cuts a little off the high end).
The Tung-Sol 5881 was also nice, especially at mid to upper-mid volumes. Didn't sound as good wide open, which is probably because it's getting less than optimal voltage on the plate. Or maybe the OT is getting maxed out (it's not very large). But with single coils, it sounded pretty good all the way up, and exceptional at middle volume (which, honestly, is where I'd be using it).
So for general use, I'm sticking with the 12AT7 and JJ 6V6. Great combo. FYI: I tested with a PRS Custom 24 SE and the cab was a Blackstar 4x8 (closed back). The combo cab is just really boxy sounding.
I think adapting an existing single-ended amp from 6V6 to 5881 (with proper changes to bias resistors and perhaps a more appropriate primary impedance) would be a worthwhile project. You get a little bit more headroom without a substantive increase in volume.
A 5751 in the preamp might be worth a shot too.
Quote from: Leevibe on April 14, 2018, 08:01:26 PM
A 5751 in the preamp might be worth a shot too.
Good call. I actually have a few so that's something I'll put on the list.
Quote from: culturejam on April 14, 2018, 02:58:40 AM
Quote from: gordo on April 14, 2018, 02:47:39 AM
The Laney versions I repaired had the same problem. The amps would shake themselves to bits. The store I was doing repairs for dropped the Laney line but if I recall once I reflowed the sockets I don't think any of them had issues or came back in again.
Awesome. I'll also reflow the preamp socket pins just to be safe.
BTW, I just plugged this into my weirdo Blackstar 4x8 cab, and it sounds so much better. I mean, that's hardly surprising. Kinda makes me think I ought to just build a small head shell for it and toss out the combo cab. Or maybe first try putting a 10" in there.
I feel like these low wattage tube amps are almost always more functional as heads (even though they typically come with a small crappy speaker). I guess if you need a lightweight combo the internal speaker option is nice.
definitely the case for the new version of the micro crush ... absolute junk internal speaker but you plug that into a cabinet and it is a whole lotta amp for 3 solid state watts
N the other hand, I had a Fender Pro Jr that sounded its best through the stock combo can with ceramic 10". I kept trying it through bigger cabs and I always went back to the stock speaker. That was a cool amp.