5E3 Chinese clone

[Erdowonge]

Hey all,

Quick question...anyone any eexperience with something like this?

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...pm=a2700.details.maylikehoz.11.6d3c194dO5ISNL

thanks in advance

 

[Strato50]

A buddy got one. Took awhile to get here. But he loves it. I played a les Paul through it. It broke up like an old deluxe. He is running JJs and a Weber speaker in his. They are not bad at all. Build quality was top notch. Goodluck

 

[Dacious]

My friend has one. Had one bad solder join on a tube heater but otherwise been flawless. Good sounding amp. Also got a JTM45 clone head and cab through them. If you google Shenzen Grand Instrument company you'll find them and can deal direct.

 

[VintageSG]

No direct experience. Juketone sell them under their own brand and have done for a while. They get good reviews and customer feedback.
I bought one the cabinets to house a home-brew, and the cabinet is well made, made from ply, fabric covered and comes with a leather handle. I could barely buy the wood, tweed and handle for the cost of the finished item.

http://www.bestamp-guitar.com/e_pro...red-All-Tube-Electric-Guitar-Amp-20w-100.html

 

[Strato50]

Only thing my buddy is having done to his is a recap with FT caps.

 

[jiri_c]

hello
i have one. the amp is fine. classic 5e3 with beefier transformers. i think Weber was selling the very same under the name of SoWatt. i recaped with FTT (in case, there was nothing wrong) , put new tubes and it rocks. it’s funny, someone mentioned Juketone, because i got my cab there. the chinese one has baffle cut in center (might be a trouble. with some speakers), and has vinyl covering, therefore i bought just the amp and went to Juketone for the cabinet.

 

[FredAU]

Same company also make a Tweed Princeton clone, pine cab, point to point, tone/performance/build quality is way beyond what you would expect at its price point 250AU or 170US.
My only negative is the crap tweed style vinyl, the rest is all good.

Going by this one I would think the 5e3 would be worth considering at the right price.

 

[sleazy pot pie]

So I reached out to Grand to see what a 5e3 would cost and they responded back right away.
5e3 head is 350.68 each with 125.32 fedex freight
Combo is 426.68 each freight is 136.32
They also sent me the price for a stand-alone reverb unit for 285.68 of 103.46

I think you guys may have talked me into pulling the trigger.

 

[Musekatcher]

So I reached out to Grand to see what a 5e3 would cost and they responded back right away.
5e3 head is 350.68 each with 125.32 fedex freight
Combo is 426.68 each freight is 136.32
They also sent me the price for a stand-alone reverb unit for 285.68 of 103.46

I think you guys may have talked me into pulling the trigger.

Maybe check those prices for what can buy used. $560 can buy a lot of used Fender.

 

[SuprHtr]

That looks pretty good. I don’t own anything hand-wired but even if some of the components are not so great, it wouldn’t be hard to swap them out. Now I have to think...

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

Maybe check those prices for what can buy used. $560 can buy a lot of used Fender.

+1 on the check..
I have a Champ in a 10" Harvard box w/ 15 watt tranny and a Weber speaker that was $350 sightly used, I know the builder ( well respected local tech) and could have it on his bench in a half hour need be.

There are some killer HW tube deals in your price range, old Ampeg Jets, early Supros. I just saw a Rivera era Champ II for much less than what they quoted you.. If you want a Tweed Deluxe, you might need to roll the bones, but some times you get what you need if you keep open, I was looking for a 18 watt Marshall when I found the tweed...

 

[muchxs]

Truth be told we can make it here.

 

[sleazy pot pie]

I am just waiting for muchxs to put one up on eBay after he sells his tube lots

Used to go see James McMurtry at the continental club on Wednesday nights when I first moved here.
To quote coming to America -that boy good

 

[Erdowonge]

Thanks for your input ppl ! I know Juketone .I have one of their 5f1s and its great. They are asking 750 quid for a 5e3 though so probably cheaper to buy direct from China ,but after shipping and import tax might not be much difference. I live in Holland though and Juketone wont ship this model overseas,they say its too big

 

[ParkAmp50]

Count me among those who wouldn't buy a Chinese amp no matter the price.

 

[Donny Osmond fan]

Count me among those who wouldn't buy a Chinese amp no matter the price.

Most amps are made in China. Vox VT etc..

 

[Jonp]

Thanks for your input ppl ! I know Juketone .I have one of their 5f1s and its great. They are asking 750 quid for a 5e3 though so probably cheaper to buy direct from China ,but after shipping and import tax might not be much difference. I live in Holland though and Juketone wont ship this model overseas,they say its too big

www.birdsongamps.com

They might be willing to send it to you. Based in Belgium.

 

[schmee]

It doesn't look too bad. Much of it is really wired, that's a plus. Most of the cheap Chinese switches, fuse holders etc dont last long. Tranny's.... it depends.... The cab is likely pretty good. If you can do your own work they can be a bargain if for nothing else a starting place to upgrade on.

 

[11 Gauge]

So I reached out to Grand to see what a 5e3 would cost and they responded back right away.
5e3 head is 350.68 each with 125.32 fedex freight
Combo is 426.68 each freight is 136.32

If you can assemble one from a kit, you might want to consider this:

https://reverb.com/item/28237095-fr...n=2068628530&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google

(no affil - it was just the first one that popped up with a Google search)

Granted, it doesn't include a cab or speaker, but it's also just a tad over $400, shipping included. I'd imagine it would probably get shipped to you pretty fast, too, since it's only coming from NC.

I know it's a personal preference thing, but I don't think a lot of players are probably going to like a Celestion Vintage 30 in a 5E3. IMO, that's really paying a premium in shipping it halfway around the world, to get a speaker that you'll potentially just replace.

I'm also curious as to why they have a 5AR4 in it, instead of a 5Y3GT. Makes me wonder if they've dinked around with the value of the power tubes' cathode resistor, to deal with the higher B+ that the power tubes are going to get. And that doesn't even take into account other adjustments for the preamp tubes.

Provided you know how to work around potentially lethal DC voltages, IMO 5E3s from (decent) kits are pretty easy-peasy stuff to build, especially if you don't rush through it.

 

[Jonp]

It doesn't look too bad. Much of it is really wired, that's a plus. Most of the cheap Chinese switches, fuse holders etc dont last long. Tranny's.... it depends.... The cab is likely pretty good. If you can do your own work they can be a bargain if for nothing else a starting place to upgrade on.

As I recall from one of Uncle Dough's video, he stated that a tranny failing is a very rare occurence, and mostly happens as a result of something else going wrong (tube shorting, no output load,...).
I have also never had a flipswitch or fuseholder failing, or have I heard about it happening in my direct enviroment . I guess almost all current day mass manufactured amps use the same flipswitches, fuse holders and other basic hardware from the same Chinese factories.