Telecaster Guitar Forum - View Single Post - GA-5 versus 5F1 Champ?

JohnnyCrash · August 16th, 2007, 06:18 AM

OK, I've got a ton of caps, resistors, and tube sockets left over.

I'm extremely tempted to go mad and have a Single Ended amp blowout to see how they all differ.

I'm looking at a Gibson GA-5
And a Kalamazoo Model-1 (sorta like an Epi VJr except not cheap chinese stuff)

If I choose to do this, I will put them all in combo cabs, they will all use Diode/SS rectifiers, and the same exact OT, and each will get a Jensen Neo 10-100 speaker. Trannies and Speakers I get wholesale, so that shouldn't hurt too badly.

I will try to get the voltages to what the originals had as well as using similar component values wherever possible. Otherwise, shielded wire will be the only thing the originals didn't have that mine will (and SS rects).

After all of the amps I've built from scratch, I can build a single ender in about a day... I guess I can build em and have a shootout + review.

Anybody have any experience with original GA-5's and Kalamazoo Model-1's? How do they compare with the Champ?

I know the K1 doesn't have NegFeedback and I think it has lower voltages than the EpiVJr, while the GA-5's NegFeedback is 47k instead of the 5F1 Champ's 22k (and the BF/SF Champ's 2700)... otherwise, how do these amps respond and sound in comparison?

I think I'll get to work :)

August 16th, 2007, 06:18 AM	#1 (permalink)
JohnnyCrash Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lost Angeles and Orange County Posts: 7,128	GA-5 versus 5F1 Champ? OK, I've got a ton of caps, resistors, and tube sockets left over. I'm extremely tempted to go mad and have a Single Ended amp blowout to see how they all differ. I'm looking at a Gibson GA-5 And a Kalamazoo Model-1 (sorta like an Epi VJr except not cheap chinese stuff) If I choose to do this, I will put them all in combo cabs, they will all use Diode/SS rectifiers, and the same exact OT, and each will get a Jensen Neo 10-100 speaker. Trannies and Speakers I get wholesale, so that shouldn't hurt too badly. I will try to get the voltages to what the originals had as well as using similar component values wherever possible. Otherwise, shielded wire will be the only thing the originals didn't have that mine will (and SS rects). After all of the amps I've built from scratch, I can build a single ender in about a day... I guess I can build em and have a shootout + review. Anybody have any experience with original GA-5's and Kalamazoo Model-1's? How do they compare with the Champ? I know the K1 doesn't have NegFeedback and I think it has lower voltages than the EpiVJr, while the GA-5's NegFeedback is 47k instead of the 5F1 Champ's 22k (and the BF/SF Champ's 2700)... otherwise, how do these amps respond and sound in comparison? I think I'll get to work :)