I've had many amps in my time, good ones! this little thing is actually very very good. I see a lot of people mod them replace speakers e.t.c but it kinda defeats the point of it being a great cheap amp as is. I removed the Harley Benton plaque and placed the celestion plaque in center making it look nicer in my opinion 
(my beloved MIM partscaster)
monoprice tube 15 under harley benton name
- Thread starter ben smith
- Start date
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notme
Tele-Meister
Mods are inexpensive really, many owners want more headroom, easily done with a tube swap in pos1, 12AU7, and cheap.
rickthescot
Tele-Afflicted
Well none of us can leave a perfectly good piece of equipment alone.
eichaan
Tele-Holic
I put this badge on mine:
J-Flanders
Tele-Meister
Since the (preamp) circuit is very similar to a JCM800, I love the idea!
Where or how did you get that made? 3D printed?
TheCheapGuitarist
Friend of Leo's
I don't know - I think the Harley Benton logo is pretty cool. It's not overstated (ahem.... Egnater...), it's pretty classy looking.
MyLittleEye
Tele-Meister
How does it compare with your Pathfinder; which has the edge?
I'm wondering if it's worth the upgrade?
stormsedge
Poster Extraordinaire
I added an "f" on mine, so it reads "Stage fRight". I've rolled tubes a couple of times because I had them, and recently changed the speaker to a Celestion G12H-30w (used). It really didn't need any of it, but idle hands 
.
. J-Flanders
Tele-Meister
It'd be hard to compare them and would be similar to asking: do you prefer a Champ over a JCM800 or maybe an AC30?
The Monoprice, or any of the others like Belcat, SubZero, Fame, Harley Benton and probably a couple more are copies of the Laney Cub series: 8, 10/12r.
Circuitwise (especially the preamps) they themselves are based on the Fender 5F1 and the Marshall 2203/2204.
Simply put:
Monoprice 5W = Fender Champ
Monoprice 15W = Marshall JCM800
They're not 1:1 clones though as some component values for cathode bypass caps, coupling caps etc. have changed, which can drastically change the tone. But the circuit topology is definitely the same.
The Vox Pathfinder is from the family: Fender Frontman, Marshall MG, Vox Pathfinder.
They're all solid state and in no way trying to copy the original tube circuits with SS components.
The two amps, Pathfinder 15R and the 5-watter Monoprice are fun amps, but for my own use, 'apples and oranges'
The Pathfinder gets the gigging edge for a few reasons:
- it has a louder clean sound, partly because ( IMO) it has 15 watts vs. the 5 of the little guy.
But also, I think it has better tone, more low end/bass because the 8" speaker of the Pathfinder is in a bigger cabinet. I think there is something to that
- the Pathfinder has great-sounding Tremolo, and the Reverb ( I turn knob all the way up), though not very deep, has a nice, natural sound to it.
That said, the little Monoprice sounds absolutely glorious with both of those knobs turned all the way up! Pure crunch breakup and nice sustain, in an old R&R, blues manner. Reminds me of the 'Layla' album, or Clapton's first solo album- plug in a Strat, crank it and that sound is there!
I got this amp specifically to hear if a little tube amp really did this, when you turned it all the way up. And it does.
I could never turn my previous Fender combo amps up all the way to get and hear, 'real tube distortion...'
I do have a little pedalboard for the Monoprice- a boost>Tremolo >Reverb, and I use another small pedalboard for the Pathfinder, and my other amps ( all small, fun).
So I just bring whatever amp to a gig I feel like using.
I have a spare Pathfinder cabinet that a buddy of mine worked on, to fit a 10" speaker.
I may very well get a better speaker than what's in there and pair it up with the Monoprice, but I'm leaving that amp as is...love the portability
eichaan
Tele-Holic
There is a guy on Etsy from England who prints stuff in the Marshall font. And I just have it stuck on with Velcro.
J-Flanders
Tele-Meister
Thanks!
I'm close to the UK, so I'll try to get in touch with him.
MyLittleEye
Tele-Meister
Thanks for that - I've been tempted by a tube amp to see what all the fuss is about but since I'm predominantly into clean/edge of breakup vintage blues & surf sounds and since I'm so happy with my PF15R I've come to the conclusion that tubes probably aren't worth the investment for me.
NoTeleBob
Poster Extraordinaire
A 15R does sound like a tube amp. Just a different one from the one mentioned here. VOX did very well with that one. Should have kept producing it.
At some point you just learn to trust your ears, and just embrace that you like the way something sounds
- and in no small part, because you + the right gear create it.
When I got my Pathfinder ( maybe 8-10 years ago now) I had read ( here) what a cool amp it was, looked like a little Vox, etc.
But did not plan on using it at gigs, until ( after trying it out at home, happy!) I decided to bring it to a regular gig, at an upstairs lounge, and I just wanted to bring a lighter amp- plus our R&R/blues trio knows how to play rock with great energy, but not too loud.
* I do use an always ON Blues Driver to goose the amp, with volume and great breakup
Anyway, in that moment I realized it was fine to gig with this amp, and later get a few other small amps ( like the Monoprice 5-watter) to gig with.
I'm lucky because of my own band and gig environment ( brewpubs,
Wineries, Cafes) as we don't play very loud, plus we can mic anything when needed...
ndtced
Tele-Meister
I just picked one up used. It does have a good sound, however, I changed the speaker to a C12K and new tubes with a 12au7 in #1. This made a great difference in sound. It now has a little more headroom, but it breaks up in a more creamy way. I tend to like Fenders and Peavey and this is a nice departure from them. It can get some Finderish sounds clean, but would do better with a reverb change. The distortion is classic rock. The return send is great for pedals and it takes them well up front as well. I liked it stock, but, with the changes, I am impressed. I haven't giged with it yet as I need a little more power so I use a Deluxe Reverb or a Pro Reverb most of the time. My Peavey Bravo comes in at about 23w and has more gain if I want it. The Bravo has more headroom and needs to be at about 7 on the volume to get the kind of saturation I can get with the monoprice at much lower volume.
Overall this is a 7 out of 10 with the changes but about a 5 stock. I like it for what it does. I would say everyone should have one.
Overall this is a 7 out of 10 with the changes but about a 5 stock. I like it for what it does. I would say everyone should have one.
