Up for consignment is this wonderful 65 Amps Lil’ Elvis! 12W from a pair of EL84, in an amp that was created from old unreleased VOX designs, but adapted to the likings of the brand’s co-founder and designer Dan Boul: top materials (SoZo capacitors, Mercury Magnetics transfomers, etc.), point-to-point wiring, Master Voltage circuit...

It has one single channel and input, but there is a great function (“Bump”) that adds a great deal of character and overdrive, taking the amp to the sounds of a 60’s Vox. This option can also be activated from the footswitch. Two different tonal approaches, so an independent overdrive channel is hardly missed at all.

Tone balance is regulated with one single chickenhead control, but it mustn’t be mistaken with a regular frequency cutter. Whatever the design behind this is, 65 Amps have outdone themselves here, offering a huge sound palette with this knob alone, with practically as many possibilities as positions we can actually dial in! You can cut the tone entirely and turn de pot slowly, discovering dozens of different and unique settings in the way. The great thing is, they’re all “useable”: no extreme annoying “ear-bleeding” setups are possible, really. 

A great thing about this amp is the organic way in which it maintains the personality of the guitar, making a Les Paul sound like one (same thing for a Strat, etc.). Even though results are great for both single coils and humbuckers, we prefer the way it responds with singles, probably because of the amp’s sweet way to deal with high frequencies.

One of the star features of the circuit is its master volume, which is actually not an output attenuator, but a voltage attenuator that affects the tubes’ power supply directly. That way we can obtain two or three real watts without sacrificing any tone! This is so much more interesting than a standard good ol’ master volume, since instead of reducing the power going through the speaker (always the same tone but at variable volumes), we have hundreds of different tonal possibilities as we dial down the “master voltage”! That is pretty amazing right there. One of our favorite setups is cranking the volume all the way, and lowering the master voltage all the way down! The results are quite impressive creamy tones at great room/studio-levels!

We also have a very interesting bias tremolo that modulates the signal but allows new notes or chords to jump in no matter where the cycle’s oscillation is at that instant. This makes the use of a tremolo so much more suitable for many situations!

Finally, there is a “Smooth” switch that is supposed to smooth down crossover distortion, according to the designer, but we can hardly hear any difference. Supposedly it was designed for studio recordings.

One of the things we truly love about this amp is its great dynamic response: switching from clear sparkly tones to nice creamy overdrives can be achieved by simply varying the attack in your playing.

The finger-jointed Baltic birch cabinet is quite big for a 12W amp, but the resulting resonance certainly justifies this. It is beautifilly covered with an elegant vintage-style tolex, and every detail has been taken care of.

This is a boutique amp with a personality of its own, not a “copy of a classic with better hardware”, but something with unique character and tone. No wonder artists of the size of Elvis Costello have these as keepers!

This Lil’ Elvis is in excellent, near-mint condition (it has some really tiny random scuffs in the sides and back, really hard to spot), no repairs of mods. It has JJ valves (3 x 12Ax7, 2 x EL84 and a EZ81 rectifier), and it does come with a footswitch (LEDs have been added to it).

A great chance to get your hands on a tough one to find, specially at this price/condition, and it will definitely be a great add to your studio & small/medium gigging gear.

Specifications:

Output: 12 Watts

Tubes: Three 12AX7 preamp tubes, two EL84 output tubes, one EZ81 rectifier

Combo speakers: 1x12' Celestion G12H30

Panel controls: Volume, Smooth switch, Tone, Bump switch, Intensity, Speed, Master

Extras: Series effects loop, two-button footswitch jack, dual speaker outs, switch for 8O & 16O impedance

Cabinet: Finger-jointed Baltic birch

Dimensions: Head: 24.75' W x 8.5' D x 10.5' H; Combo: 25" W x 10" D x 19.75' H

Weight in box: Head: 29 lbs, Combo: 57 lbs

Accessories: Footswitch included. Also includes custom-made cover.