Guitar Tube Amp Kits Cheap For Sale (Jan 2023 Update)

Because the Stage Right 5-watt tube amp (#611705) has control knobs only for Volume and Tone, I found that I get the best-to-my-ears guitar sound when I put an equalizer pedal between the guitar and amp and then adjust the equalizer to the tone that I'm looking for. On the guitar the Volume and Tone knobs are set fully open and on the 5-watt tube amp the Tone knob is fully closed and the Volume knob is set to the volume level acceptable to the environment (for home practice the Volume knob is set to level 3 at full 5-watts). The Stage Right 5-watt tube amp is my first tube amp after having used modeling amps for at least five years. I had heard that tube amps more often than not sound better than modeling amps. After now having experienced using a tube amp I agree that tube amps (at least the Stage Right 5-watt amp) sounds better than the modeling amps I've used (which to me sound great too). If you're looking for your first tube amp (like I was) or you are looking for a low-watt tube amp for home use then I highly recommend the Monoprice Stage Right 5-watt tube amp #611705. Review about Monoprice customer support: The 5-watt tube amp that I initially received had a cosmetic defect (a hole) on the textured surface on the front side of the amp. The Volume knob when set to fully opened level 10 produced normal speaking level sound instead of the noise-complaint loud volume that I expected. Monoprice customer service was great and easy to work with in submitting an amp replacement request. I described the problems, sent pictures of the cosmetic defect and a video demonstrating the Volume problem. After Monoprice customer service reviewed the pics and video they sent me a free shipping return label, a RMA label, and they ordered me a replacement amp which arrived within 7 days after I submitted the replacement request. The replacement amp that I received had no cosmetic defects and the Volume knob set to max level 10 is loud enough to generate noise-complaints from neighbors, though I normally use the amp at Volume level 3 for home use.New User

For the price (I got it when priced $119) it is fantastic. It's simple, straightforward and sounds good. Nice warm tones. If you're a fantastic guitar player, this amp will sound fantastic. If you're an okay guitarist, you might want to invest in some pedals (or just keep practicing). I only say that because it is very clean and bright and it really shows off what you're playing. (I've been known to hide my sloppiness with reverb, distortion, etc.) BUT It does take pedals well – thankfully! Adding a good reverb pedal, delay and an overdrive to go along with this little guy is a good idea. The Pros: Value to Price ratio. Looks well built. Warm tube sound. The handle (yes I am talking about the amp's handle) is nice! Better than I expected. In fact, everything looks pretty good (except the cheap control knobs). 5 watts is plenty loud for home/recording use. The Cons: Good sounding, but there are better sounding. Please don't buy this thinking that this is a $500 amp. It is not. But sub $200 it is a good one. The chickenhead knobs are cheap looking. I took them off and painted them. But that's a dollar or two easy fix (if it bothers you at all). Overall: I totally recommend for $150 or less. Probably for $200. If the prices climb too much beyond that, I think there are other options. If you want to jam at home and record with it, I think you'll be happy.Brad

The Monoprice 5 watt guitar amp arrived just a few days after ordering, and arrived in good shape, due in part to the excellent shipping carton. Upon taking it out and inspecting it, I could find no flaws in the cabinet, and due to the cream color of the covering, it seemed a little bigger than I was expecting. I plugged it in, let it warm up for almost an hour, and then plugged in an ES339, using no pedals. At first, I wasn't all that pleased with the sound I was getting, but it was my fault. I had it adjusted as I do with my Albion Hybrid, but that wasn't the way. I found the best sound came from turning the Monoprice all the way up, and then use the guitar controls for volume instead. That did it, and the little amp came a alive in a big way! Sounding very similar to a Fender champ, it could go from nice clear tones to crunchy heaven with the ES339's humbuckers. I plugged in a Strat with an HSH configuration, and the single coil really made it sound Fenderish. Sweet. The only thing I found one might improve on the amp, is the speaker. As such, I plugged into the built-in external speaker jack on the back, a little Randall 8" cabinet. That really did it for me. The sound was fantastic through the entire spectrum, and was loud enough to be heard down the block. I then bi-amped it with the Albion, and the sound had all the creamy goodness I've been seeking, and that is how I now have it setup for daily use. That said, there's nothing wrong with the stock speaker on the Monoprice, and I suspect it will satisfy most users. Am very happy with this purchase, and glad I bought it for such a great price. Almost every electric guitar player could find a use for this amp. Buy before the price goes up, or they quit making them!T

I just completed my Mod 102 kit. An excellent experience! I was delighted with the quality of components, clarity of instructions, and, perhaps most importantly, the sound of the amp. It is very loud – currently running into my Fender Twin Reverb cab (2×12) and very sweet! I will be running it into a new 1×12 cab with a new Celestion G12 M Heritage 'Greenback' when I get a case for the speaker (on order). My only criticism (and something to look out for) is that the chassis is very nicely painted in gray gunmetal paint. Even following the directions to file all the holes, it is very hard to get a good ground connection at every point a terminal strip connects. I worried about this, and about 1/3rd of the way through the build, took an ohm meter to check all the connections, and as I had suspected, some of the connections were not great (9-10 ohms or so!) So I removed the terminal strips (with the components I had already soldered still attached) and scraped away the paint under the tabs of the strips to ensure a good connection. Re-testing showed virtually zero resistance. I'd strongly recommend scraping the paint away at all holes under the chassis before getting started on the build. Even better, suggest that Amplified Parts leave the inside chassis unpainted (at least around the important holes). Aside that one criticism, I am delighted with the kit and with Amplified Parts. Everything was delivered promptly and they are a class outift. I'll probably try some of their other kits soon.vpmerlyn

I spent three evenings building the MOD102. The instructions are very easy to understand and the amp has a great Fender sound. I had one grounding issue that was easily fixed with a little help from tech support, which was excellent. If you're good at following step by step instructions and can solder well this is a fun little amp to build. Only small issue is the labels. They could stand an improvement.Brandon

I just finished this amp build and it sounds fantastic! I also just finished a Marshall 18 Watt clone and I have to say that the Mod102+ holds its own very nicely alongside the Marshall. In fact, I will probably use the Mod102+ for recording because it sounds amazing at lower volumes (the Marshall is loud AF). Honestly, if I were only going to build one of them today, it would be the Mod. I'm blown away by the tone! Great kit with excellent instructions. Great bang for the buck. The parts all seem to be top quality. I love the old style cloth solid core wire, too. I find it much easier to work with than modern stranded wire. The labels are a bit lame but I covered them with packing tape as suggested before cutting them out and they look fine. If you're thinking about building an amp, build this one.danjbeckett

Where do I start? Well, how about, this is the best tube amp I have ever played! 62 years with many guitars and many amps, some owned, some borrowed, and some tested in music shops, might give me a little credibility. I have loved a Fender Twin Reverb, made in the 50s that my uncle Keith, and my guitar mentor, loaned me for a while. It just sounded so good. Never could seem to find cash, or justification to buy a tube amp, but have owned a hal a dozen solid states. THEN THIS LITTLE BEAUTY! Having played the Twin for a couple of years, and others such as a Mesa Boogie, VOX's, and too many others to recall, THIS monster sounds like most of them with just little tweaks of the knobs and my guitar switches. I have played country, 60s and 70s rock, blues, finger-style instrumentals, gospel, etc. I believe this is the PERFECT combo, with the correct (JJ) tubes, a sweet (and dirty when desired) Seventy/80 speaker, and an amazing diversity of sounds, which works in every genre I play! I do not know how anyone can find reason to bad mouth this. I had it for 2 weeks, was asked to fill an absent, guitarist's spot at an outdoor venue, I took this little amp. We played to an area the size of a football field. I set the amp on 1 Watt, until I could hear it cleanly (behind me on stage), let the sound man mic and mix me in. Never had to turn it above about 4, with gain between 1 and 4, and many complemented me on my sound, and musicians asked me WHAT IS THAT LITTLE AMP? Those are the good points. I can only think of two piddly things I would like to see changed, and one would be a standby switch, and the second being a way to run the external speaker WITHOUT cutting off the amp speaker. Until then, I will just keep playing this sweetheart amp, and enjoy the statements about "my sound," and the question of WHAT IS THAT LITTLE AMP? Keep playing everybody…and maybe buy one of these. I do not believe you will regrety it.New User

These amps are fantastic, and at these bargain prices you simply can't go wrong. I upgraded the reverb tank in mine to a Mod and changed the speaker for a Warehouse GC12. OMG, this thing is a beast! Another WGS option I've seen people use is the ET65 for a more British tone, also with good results. The stock speaker is not too bad, but this one simple upgrade of swapping the speaker takes the amp to the next level. It just sounds awesome. The upgraded reverb tank is also an improvement, but not as much as I thought it would be. If I had to do it over again I would just take out the stock tank and use a pedal for reverb and make the amp even lighter to haul around. The more important upgrade imo is the speaker. It really makes a world of difference. Grab one reasonably while you still can, the price keeps creeping up and up and up… !Jeff

After a number of FEDEX issues, I received my amp about 5 days later than estimated. It did arrive in excellent condition and was worth the wait. The Stage Right 611815 has a really sweet tone that sounds particularly good with the single coil pickups on my Fender Sratocaster Player. It breaks up nicely! The reverb works perfectly, and is fine for most playing but you might want an external reverb unit if you are playing Dick Dale tunes. A really nice feature for home playing is the 15W/1W switch, where you can limit the amp to 1 W (be aware that with sound, you have to increase the wattage by 10 times to double the perceived volume, so the 1W setting is a lot more than 1/15th as loud as the 15W setting). It is a bit unusual to have a tone control along with the more common bass, middle and treble controls. Personally, I would have labeled the Tone control as Presence, because that is what it seems to be. I have mostly been playing in the 1W mode with all the controls (including reverb) at 12 o clock, and that is working out great. As far as construction, the amp looks fantastic and gives a vintage look that hints at its tone! The dark grill cloth provides a nice contrast with the blonde tolex, giving a true vintage appearance. The retro red, jeweled pilot light and metal toggle switch complement the vintage styling Keeping with the vintage look, the control panel is chrome with retro chicken head knobs. As others have mentioned, the control names are a little bit difficult to read on the chrome panel. After you use the controls once, you know where they are, so does it really matter (I noticed the blonde version of the Fender Blues Jr also uses a chrome control panel…probably where Monoprice got the idea)? The tolex is neatly installed and glued, at least the parts that are exposed. The leather handle is also reminiscent of old school amps. And I really like the metal corner protectors…very nice. As proudly announced by a badge on the front panel, the amp is equipped with a Celestion speaker…a Seventy 80 The only criticism of the construction, and it is minor, is that the 8 external screws are not chamfered properly to mesh with the finishing washers, which result in the screw heads protruding above the washers. The amp has a jack for an external speaker. When you plug in an external speaker, the internal speaker is shut off, as is common with guitar amps. The reason is if you plug in an external 8 ohm speaker and the internal speaker would still be on, a (combined) 4 ohm load would be presented to the amplifier, which it is not designed to handle. The back is open. The line cord is not detachable, but can be conveniently stowed in the back of the amp. The amp has an effects loop, which I have not tried yet. The amp is now equipped with JJ brand tubes and a metal, two spring, reverb tank, which are upgrades from the original issue I wish I could find a nice, economical (i.e. $20) dust cover for the amp. The only ones I can find are priced at $50 or more, a bit much for protecting an inexpensive amp. In conclusion, the Stage Right 611815 amp looks great and sounds great, and I highly recommend it.Chris

I recently completed the British 18W head kit from Tube Depot, and can't say enough good things about it! From start to finish, the kit exceeded my expectations. Ordering, shipping, and customer service were top-notch. No issues with components. The instructions and documentation were amazing, worth their weight in gold. The end result was an amplifier that sounds incredible! I incorporated a few of the suggested options- PPIMV, Tremolo HI/LO sw., Tube/SS Rectifier sw., and choke. The sound is amazing, I'm finding it very difficult turning the amp off- once I start playing through the amp I don't want to stop. I would absolutely recommend Tube Depot for anyone interested in building a guitar amplifier. The clear, well-written instructions really made this an enjoyable project. This was my first amplifier build, and I had no issues thanks to the great documentation.Dave R

I ordered this kit with a mod to use KT 66 power tubes. The changes were easy to make and it sounds fantastic. The classic JTM 45 tone at a manageable volume level with the master volume control. Just to test it out I've used a power soak and the tone is exactly the same using the master volume. A couple of real nice features of the design are the negative feedback switch and the ability to switch between solid state and tube ratification (the tube sounds better to my ears). Great product!Clint

The Ac-10not only looks the business but it has since real depth and warmth to its tone. Clean – it’s bright and has the chime you’d expect. Turn up the gain and your tone breaks up but still retains clarity. Having the gain wide open and master volume down means you can still have the saturated crunch but not disturb others . Perfect for home use but would not be out of place in a small pub gig. Takes pedals will and with a multi-fix like a GT 100, if you disable the amp sim and use like a conventional pedal board, you don’t lose any quality of the AC10’s natural tone. A masterful amp and it even smells nice with those tubes cooking.Mark R.

Ive been playing 35 years and this is probably the best all around practice amp ive ever heard. Pros- looks great, sounds very good, cleans thump and chime, distortion can wail. Its loud for its size. Seems built well. Have had no bad issues. Cons- clean isnt near as loud as w the gain cranked up. No reverb. In short if this amp was 50-100W and had reverb and an external speaker jack id never play another amp. Good job VOX.jjsrvfan

I bought this amp based on the good print reviews and the way it sounded in you Tube reviews. I did a lot of homework and finally placed my order. I was excited when it showed up at my house and plugged my Jay Turser Les Paul copy right in. Boy, is this thing dark! I turned all the tone controls to 10. I changed the strings. I removed the covers from my pickups- that just made it dark and tinny. After three days I decided that I had to either send it back or make some changes. I took the speaker from a Squier 15 amp and installed it in the Bugera. Right away there was more life and clarity to the sound, though it still sounded tinny (because it's a speaker from a Squier 15), but it was some progress. Next I pulled tubes from a circa 1959 Curtis-Mathes console stereo and swapped them into the Bugera. Now we were getting somewhere- the overtones, the reason we use tubes, were now present and accounted for. The same console is full of Oxford speakers, which are a Jensen knockoff and well respected. I took an 8" from that and installed it in the V5. OH YEAH! Now this is a great little amp. The clean tones are super sweet, clear, full and bell-like with tons of sustain. The overdrive has a huge range of grit, and the reverb is better than any other amp I've had. So after installing a set of +/- 60 year old tubes and speaker, it sounds great. But out-of-the-box stock, I would have sent it back, no question. If you have a too-bright guitar or are willing to make upgrades, this amp is a super value. My one complaint about build quality is that the wattage selector switch is extremely touchy- it goes from .1 to 5 watts and has to be fiddled with to get it to stay on the 1 watt setting.Farmhand

Perfect at home tube amp. I generally use 1 watt mode. Great tone whether clean or breakup. Loves my telecaster and Boss BD-2 into it, and takes pedals great in general. Couldn’t get over how nice it looked when I unboxed mine, either. Beautiful looking amp on top of sounding great. Really an incredible value. Can’t recommend this one enough if you’re looking for a home use valve amp.Grandaddy Jeff

Nice little kit! Instructions are pretty clear and it's certainly not overly complicated to build. Having some amp repair/building experience helps, but I'd say even a beginner could buy this, build it, and be playing it within a day or so. Once built it sounded pretty good as well. Fun to swap tubes around, substituting the 12AX for a 12AT, AY, or others. The 'effect' changes on the pull switches are pretty subtle, so don't expect anything dramatic there. But, the amp makes a great platform for learning, and even 'expanding' from the original design. I've put an EIA connector in the back of mine so I don't have a cord sticking out. I put some tall 'feet' on it so it would clear a speaker box handle. And, the power transformer is suitable for adding a 6CA4 rectifier, which I plan to do in the future. I'll have to move the filter capacitor section around some to make clearance for the socket, but it's a 6 volt 9-pin rectifier, so will work perfectly in this amp. I might even 'upgrade' the output transformer….or play with some yellow jacket type adapters to try a different output tube. In all, a lot of fun to build, sounds great for what it is, and I'm very glad I made the purchase!! A 'GREAT' value!!!Tom

This is a great kit. I wanted to build a small amp so i started researching schematics online. Then i found this kit. All the leg work has been done as well as step by step instructions. I just started it so i can’t comment on tone, but the ease and design of the kit is excellent. Full parts list, schematic and instructions include. It gives you a proven simple platform to start with and you can add your own modifications if you wish. Thanks MODRonnie

I was excited to procure this battery/ac amp at a fair price, so I bought a used one listed as "great condition." These amps are hard to find on the used market and ZT told me in an email production has ceased for this model until Q2 2022. The amp was indeed in semi-great condition except for a small puncture in the foam of the 5" speaker which buzzed. Quality control was obviously lacking as it's noticeable while playing the bass strings on an electric guitar irrespective of where the ZT's tone control is set. Accessing the speaker simply requires removing the grill without tools and applying a bit of speaker glue to the damaged part of the cone. I did it myself instead of returning it to GC, which I would have pondered if ZT wasn't horrendously backlogged. These amps sound stellar for home, busking, or as a personal stage monitor. I have two of them for a stereo pedalboard and Rick-O-Matic guitar. I have a DI on my pedalboard. I wouldn't mic the ZT. Conversely, the active tone control has excessive bass for the small speaker to handle, and I suspect many amps result in ripped cones if played loudly with the tone control at less than 12:00.Ed

The sweet analog tone coming from this little guy really inspires me to play & practice. Great cleans but the real surprise is it has the best grind of any solid state amp I ever played when pushed. This amp reacts very much like a valve amp. I owned a 200w lunchbox and like the tone of the junior more.tony f

I was well aware of the dimensions of the thing before it arrived, but opening the box and actually holding it is still pretty shocking. I found it to be small on a scale that it left it hard to believe that it would be functional for more than a practice amp. I accepted that the small size could be handy but expectation of sound quality was suddenly diminished. I stand corrected. The sound is excellent. It is definitely more than a curiosity that is smaller than a breadbox. It will put out a substantial amount of volume with a substantial low end range that was a tremendously satisfying surprise. For my modest needs, it far exceeds my expectations. I would like to note, for jazz guitarists I think you'll find this to be a surprisingly versatile and capable tool, not just a toy.Bliss

I bought this amp on a wim and I'm glad I did. I wanted a light weight little tube amp to lug around to play small gigs with. I'm old and I don't like to bring out amps that are just too loud and bulky. After swapping out the tubes a couple of times to find what my ears liked, it just perfect. I'm not going to tell anything about how it sounds because that would not mean anything. We all search for a individual sound that is on YOUR head. I will day this. The amp is a great platform to mold into that sound we all are looking. I purchased 2 of the single 12" cabs. O opted to do this instead of the 2 x 12" because I wanted to keep the weight down for moving it around. The 18 watts is plenty loud enough to cut through and be heard. I like the amp so much that I use it for every show. I can play small to large gigs with no worries. When we play bigger events I just run into the board but still use the cabs for monitors. So I can hear my rig. The days of having to lug a full 100 watt stack are not needed anymore. So all in all this a great little amp and it will satisfy most everyone with a little adjusting. I also love that tube replacement is just plug and play. It will tell you if your tubes need replacing and it's self biasing.worldtrdex

Classic Hughes and Kettner tones in a little monster of an amp! Plugged it into a 12 x 2 cabinet and DAMN! this thing is beautiful to listen to. Clean or over driven, this amp is a pleasure to play guitar on. However when overdriven the nuanced variances between different guitars are not well appreciated. The overdrive is more muddy and less nuanced in my opinion. Comparing different strat styles here with different pick-up combinations. Tele sounds different. Chambered SG style sounded the same as other strat style guitars with humbuckers. Parker and Ibanez S series with infiniti 2 pickups sounded distinctly different. Have not played neodymium pickups on it yet but I'm hoping that will clear up some of the mud.arcticwynd

Compact size Versatile Great for Home music room. Studio Clean Channel pristine quiet Lead Channel with boost very nice Takes pedals well Built in attenuation 1-5-18W FX Loop nice! Sounds great with 8 or 16 ohm speaker Great valuechhl

Bought this for my grandson to use. My other amps are too big for him to take to lessons and school. This isn't the cheapest practice amp but the sound is great and the overdrive DSP is as good as much more expensive amps. Excellent amp for the money.digital_photog

I was looking for a tube amp head and a 112 cab. Like a lot of people I don't have a ton of money to spend, but I wanted something that would work for what I do. When I got the amp it worked and as advised a let the power tubes warm up before I used it. this is a list of features I really like. 1. A good built in reverb. 2. An effect loop. 3. A switch for 4,8 and 16 Ohm speakers. 4. Came with a foot switch that that controls the channels and turn the reverb on or off 5. Two channels. A clean and a dirty. 6. Responsive tone and volume knobs. 7. Four pre-amp and two power-amp tubes. 8. The Infinity self bias feature for changing tubes. 9. One of the best clean channels I've ever used on a tube amp. 10. Works very well with pedals and effects units. 11. A indicator in back to let you know if the tubes need to be replaced. 12. A great price for a 50 watt all tube amp. 13. Looks great, almost like a Vox Night Train(which I believe Bugera modeled this after). 14. Works extremely well with the Burgera 112TS cab. Great cab by the way. 15. Has a fat switch which is helpful for people using single coil pickups in their guitars. These are the thing I didn't care for. 1. A fairly bad dirty channel. It tends to get fizzy sounding when bring up the gain. 2. The Tone Cut Knob in my opinion is pretty much useless. It kill your tone and sounds like a wet blanket was put over the speaker or speakers. Maybe if you use it slightly I could see a use for it, but you're better off using your EQ and/or adding an EQ to your effects loop. 3. The stock tubes aren't that good, but then again you can't except much for an inexpensive tube amp. I love and enjoy playing different kinds of music, but I love my metal :). I put in a set of GT 6L6GEs, a EH 12AX7 in V1, a Tung Sol 12 AX7 in V2, a EH 12AX7 in V3 and a EH 12AX7 in V4. This cleaned up the fizzy sound and tightened up my tone, but you still need separate overdrive and compression to put this amp in modern metal territory.Realmofreal

I have had the G20 for a couple of weeks and it has exceeded my expectations. I have had over a dozen amps in the past few decades, mostly solid state combos. One exception is an Orange Micro Dark hybrid I still own. This is my first all tube amp, and to me, the G20 provides "better" tones than any of my others. The G20 feels well built, with metal knobs & switches, solid connectors, and nice tolex with everything straight. The Morph knob adds great variety and tone controls work well. I have played it through 3 similar 1×12 open-back pine cabinets with Celestion Rocker 50, V-Type, and WGS ET-65 speakers. It sounds different with each one providing their own character. My previous right-angle instrument cable did not fit well with the input location and upgrading with a straight Kirlin cable was a noticeable improvement. The amp sounds good with a 1994 Fender Am.Std. Strat – getting nice clean and bluesy tones. Mostly, I've played a 2014 GLP Studio with 490s. With the Gain at 12 o'clock & Volume on 10, the Overdrive channel provides a nice, well, overdrive. The cleans are nice – clear and chimey. With Clean Volume at 3 o'clock, to match the gain settings when channel switching, it gets a bit dirty when guitar volume approaches 10. The Master allows you to get the tone you like and adjust the volume. With the above settings, the Master on 1, the amp is pretty loud in a 24' x 16' room. I have found it responsive to volume and tone adjustments on the guitar and pick attack. The reverb seems good (set on 1), but the cabinets with their location provide a certain amount of reverb so I have a hard time telling how effective it is otherwise. I really like this amp! It is quiet and can produce a variety of very nice guitar tones. I'm hoping the Infinium technology eases future tube changes and lets me know when it is needed. I will be using the amp at home so can't speak to its roadworthiness or relative loudness in a band setting. Worth checking!C-ville Brent

Got this as B stock, and since I repair amps, I took this amp apart and tested the tubes. The tubes are Tung Sol reissue copies and they sound great—let them break in first, give it about four or five months of intermittent use. You'll be very pleased with the results, I can tell you, the sound stage and head room are outstanding, the EL-34's positively purr! I had to remove the lead free solder from all of the tube sockets, as they turned out to be cold solder joints (ergo, why I got a deal on the amp, as a B stock customer return.) I used leaded solder and since I have been soldering for over 43 years of my life, the work turned out very nicely… Surprise! The amp sounded far, far better than it had originally, if you have the skills with solder wick and a soldering iron, give it a shot, you won't regret it!! 99% of the problems with these amps are simply due to the tube sockets being hand soldered incorrectly, the main board, which is wave soldered, is 100% perfect, even with the lead free solder used. The Fender to Marshall ISF pot works, interesting tones produced by this, you'll enjoy the results… The PC boards use surface mounted components, for the most part, so don't buy this amp thinking that you can modify it that easily, you can't and it really is not necessary, the amp sings fine, just as it is!ejmendoza

missing parts on both kits ( I ordered 2) going to make PSET mono blocks. 180 ohm resistors missing both kits. 15 ohm 2 watt resistors missing. had to order 4 cost of $15. .47 ohm not right value. had to find english assembly instructions. should be included. im not happy. i am a good kit builder i have made several amplifiers not had this much trouble befor!! in addition have found the english instructions do not match values in the japanese instructions i guess i wasted my money… i have found there are 2 versions of this kit TU-8200 and TU-8200R. the R version does not use optoisolator chips the one i have and there are different ohm values. Elekit needs to straiten this out considering the cost of these kits. one more thing the R version does not have a 115v setting its 100v or 200v for input the previous model did have a 115v setting . you will have to modify the unit 7 module if you got the TU-8200R to the 115v setting but you have to look at the TU-8200 schematic to do so.uncle45dp

Bought the TU-8200R after a very good experience with the Pre-Amp. Kit was very well designed and went together easily. First powered up with no issues and sounded pretty good. I replaced all tubes with Mullards and the power tubes with KT88's for some more punch. This was powering my Heresy IV's and the setup was to bright and did not have the lows I liked. I added a 4 Ch EQ and some hardware to send a signal to my powered sub. Could not be happier now!!! Setup sounds amazing!Jim B

I LOVE the 5F1 kit: This was really enjoyable to build, and I had the benefit of a pro adviser to help me when I had questions, so I can even say it was easy. I am going to go as far as to say it sounds really fantastic. I use this amp almost all the time now, and with an attenuator, I can crank it all the way up and play at bedroom levels with the crunchy tube tone I crave, without disturbing the neighbors. It is every bit as great sounding as my Victoria REGAL. If you don't know what that amp is, it is all tube, has a variable power output all the way up to 35W, driven through a 15" speaker with reverb and tremolo. Obviously, this Champ kit is only 5 W, and doesn't even have an EQ (or any other frills whatsoever) and YEAH, it sounds THAT good. Rich harmonics, great crunch when cranked, sounds clean at level 3 or below, and responds well to the volume knob on your guitar. It is incredible. BUY IT!Bobby Bellpepper

I recently completed the British 18W head kit from Tube Depot, and can't say enough good things about it! From start to finish, the kit exceeded my expectations. Ordering, shipping, and customer service were top-notch. No issues with components. The instructions and documentation were amazing, worth their weight in gold. The end result was an amplifier that sounds incredible! I incorporated a few of the suggested options- PPIMV, Tremolo HI/LO sw., Tube/SS Rectifier sw., and choke. The sound is amazing, I'm finding it very difficult turning the amp off- once I start playing through the amp I don't want to stop. I would absolutely recommend Tube Depot for anyone interested in building a guitar amplifier. The clear, well-written instructions really made this an enjoyable project. This was my first amplifier build, and I had no issues thanks to the great documentation.Dave R

I ordered this kit with a mod to use KT 66 power tubes. The changes were easy to make and it sounds fantastic. The classic JTM 45 tone at a manageable volume level with the master volume control. Just to test it out I've used a power soak and the tone is exactly the same using the master volume. A couple of real nice features of the design are the negative feedback switch and the ability to switch between solid state and tube ratification (the tube sounds better to my ears). Great product!Clint

Second kit I have assembled from Tubedepot.com and it was awesome! Clear instructions, easy build, and most important- the sound! I can't wait to build another.Mike L

My son and I built this as our first kit. We took our time and had very few issues. When we were done, we had a great sounding amplifier and some great memories! Highly recommended.Wade Church

I built this amp 4 years ago, and have used it a lot. It's connected to a pair of ELAC DB62-BK speakers. It was fun to build and has been very reliable. I upgraded it with Hammond 1615A output transformers, and the extra iron makes it sound much better. I haven't replaced any tubes yet, but would be interested in options for tube upgrades.Shayne

This is a great little amp, easy to build and has great sound and gain. If you haven't built your own stereo amplifier before, start here, you won't regret it!Lester

This is a great little amplifier. Works perfectly, sounds great & has high quality construction. The tube buffered effects loop & included footswitch for switching channels really can't be beat at this price. Jet City Amplification has every reason to be proud of this product. The only downside to this purchase was the attitude of the representative who took the order. When informed of the product selection his response was to say "I've never heard of this brand". He went on, in a effort to sell the extended warranty, to say "I wouldn't expect this to last more than three years". Upon learning that the extended warranty would not be purchased, He adopted a superior attitude & acted like we were idiots for buying this item. When you call to place a order it states that calls may be recorded for quality control purposes, I hope that was the case here. I would & have recommended the highly regarded Mike Soldano designed Jet City amps to my musician friends.a boy named sue

Crunch, is exactly what it says, crunch. Think slightly pushed cleans all the way through to AC/DC maybe a touch more. No real clean although if you have a single coil or a coil tap some usable cleans can be had. Don't expect Fender type clean tones or tons of headroom. This amp isn't built for that. The overdrive channel is the reason you buy this amp. At low volume it can be pretty loose and the mid range gets lost but as with most tube amps as you crank the better things get. When you get to around 11-12 o'clock on the volume everything kicks in and the harmonics and mids begin to jump out. Even with the gain up around the 3 o'clock are all the note are able to be picked out and the it is really articulate. The low end is still a touch loose but after my experience with a 412 in a store I believe a different speaker or cab would handle that situation. The speaker that is in it seems to be a little flubby. Not bad by any stretch but I will probably change it out to a Eminence Governor (V30 but better) at some point. As far as loudness goes, plenty for most small gigs and by the time your playing a place big enough where this wouldn't do the trick your probably going to be on a PA so no big deal at that point. This hooked to a good 212 or 412 would be more than enough for most gigs. Effects loop is fine as long as your pedals are line level compatible. Look at TC Electronics. Most if not all their pedals are compatible both ways and they build great stuff. Build quality seems to be good. No obvious imperfections and you don't read a ton in the reviews about problems that continually arise. Time will tell. While there are some things that can be improved IMO I can't really give this any cons. I feel like it does exactly what it was designed to do. Yes a clean switch would have been nice and a touch better speaker would have been nice but really at this price point you can't expect everything. These points are really personal preference anyway.MGB

I was in need of another guitar amp and I bought this on a "stupid deal of the day" sale. That's half price for this amp. I'm the bassplayer in a Florida based rock band, "Lizzie True and The Liars". Lizzie, the singer, also plays guitar along side a lead guitarist that uses a Marshall and some other pretty hefty amps. She's been using a Fender amp until now. She loves her new Jet City amp and can't wait till the next gig to use it again. This amp more than stands it ground next to the lead players various amplifiers. Since I bought it for her, I am very pleased with the amp and the great deal I got. You can get some great tone out of this amp. You can get a nice clean, crisp and smooth sound on the crunch/clean channel or you can throw as much dirt as you want on that channel. There's no need for any pedals to get a good lead sound with the overdrive channel. There's plenty of overdrive and sustain and will give you a nice feedback as well. Although it's rated at 20 watts, that's at 16 ohms. The amp has plenty of power and can run 2 additional cabs. This amp has a very good build quality and stands it ground alongside Fender and Marshall and other amps in it's price range very well. After only 2 weeks I am very pleased with this amp and can't wait to change out the Chinese tubes and hear what it sounds like. It could use reverb but Lizzie's processor has several reverb settings that all sound very good through it. This amp has a tube driven effects loop and makes any pedal you run through it sound it's best. So far Lizzie and I love this amp and for a mid budget amplifier it's a solid winner ! Good job Mike !!Boldface a.k.a. Jimmie Arpeggio