SOT: Epi Galaxie 10 Review

[jmusser]

Well, I wasn't sure what was going to be in the box on the porch when I go home today. I had heard stories in other reviews, of the tubes lying in the floor of the amp, ripped tolex, scuffed metal, etc. This was definitely not the case with this one. Mine is made very well, at least on the outside, and appears to be built like a tank. I've read about poor wiring too, but I'm not going to tear it apart to look for it. For $149.00 and free shipping from M.F., I was not expecting near the amp I got. I have also read where people thought it sounded like crap out of the box with the Sovtek 12A7WA and 6L6WGC tubes and Celestion 10" speaker in it, and instantly changed them out to get a tone they could tolerate. I don't know enough about amp tones to know right now what the difference in tubes or speakers would be, so I'll play it just like it is until my ear gets more advanced to know. What does it sound like? Like a tube amp! It reminds me of something you would hear on Paul Revere and the Raiders, early Stones, CCR, or whoever of those 60s eras bands. It's very clean, and a little cruchy with the gain up. The treble only needs to be at about half, or it'a little too much. I've only had it a couple hours, so It'll take me some time to get used to with effects. So far, I just tried the Easy Face, Simple octave Up, and Si Tone Bender Mark II through it. I didn't care a whole lot for the Easy Face through it. I will build a true germanium Fuzz Face for it to see if I can get the real tube/Ge sound. The Simple Octave Up just sounds different, and will take some getting used to, but it doesn't sound bad either. The Si Tone Bender ended up being the perfect match for this little amp, and sounded spectacular in everyway. I'm hearing "Satisfaction", Yard Birds, Paul Revere, type tones out of it. Like I said right after I built it, "If a germanium Tone Bender is supposed to sound better, I don't know if I could stand it"! I'm glad I didn't go for any of the 5 watt, or the 25 watt version of this amp, because as it turns out, 10 watt is absolutely perfect. It's a little on the loud side dimed out for bed room volumes, but I live out in the sticks, where it doesn't matter. The whole thing sounds a little "tight" right now, if that's the proper term for it,and I guess it takes a few hours to break the speaker in where it flexes like it's supposed to. I would guess I'd be horribly dissapointed like a couple reviewers I read, if I had already owned big Fenders or Marshalls to compare this amp to, but since this is my first tube amp, I'm very pleased with it. MartyMart, kind of put me on the trail of this amp, Pete Moore told me the one he played sounded good, then I found that Musician's Friend had them on sale so......

[jmusser]

I just checked The Price of the Galaxie 10 on Musician's Friend. It's sale price is now $199.00! It's a rare thing for me, when I get the deal of the century, but I take em when I can get em! It's still a good price for 50 dollars more. Did I mention that there is vertually no noise with this little amp, even wide open.

[petemoore]

  Hot Dog !!!
  New amp must be fun !!
  Tubes are still hard to beat, for a pedal DIYer, doing FF work, it's could almost be viewed as 'standard equipment' for testing.
  Can't beat the deal, that's for sure.
  Changing tubes...I never heard that big a difference...but can't say beyond that.
  Glad you've got your new amp and everything is right !!!

[jmusser]

I guess for right now, I'm just so ignorant about the whole tube amp thing, that I think it's sounds great just the way it is. I think it's going to take me years before I'll be able to tell a lot about subtleties. I still can't hear a difference between capacitor types either.

[mojotron]

I guess for right now, I'm just so ignorant about the whole tube amp thing, that I think it's sounds great just the way it is. I think it's going to take me years before I'll be able to tell a lot about subtleties. I still can't hear a difference between capacitor types either.

One really interesting thing that I found was that with a tube driven (or perhaps more corectly a tube being driven  ) pedal, you can kind of audition different tubes. This is really complicated for something like a Mesa/Boogie amp, but for something where you have just a small number of tubes, the sound of a tube driven pedal through the amp you are thinking of putting the tube in is a good way to do some sampling of different brands of tubes. That is if you are curious about what other tubes might do to the sound like.

That's great that you're happy with your amp. I have a few amps that I really like, and I think I know exactly what I like and why - cost is not really a factor, but I think no one would be impressed by my choices. After decades of playing, I've owned some really great amps. And, maybe it's just me, but I think I sound best through gear that is fairly obsure and dirt cheap on ebay.

And, then again, I play an Epi LP as well as a Dot over Gibsons because I think the playability of the Epis is way better and the sound is great with sets of Gibson '57s.. So I love Epi gear! I think their guitars are worth the hype, and you don't have to be especially careful with them. It does not suprise me that people would consider their amps great too.

[jmusser]

I have been around accoustic music now for around 25 years, and I have a very good ear for what sounds good. That took a long time. I never go with the hype of particular instruments. I don't care if it says "Ed's" on the head stock, as long as the tone and playability is there. The electronic thing for me though is a whole different schooling, because there are so many variables besides the guitar it's self. We have everything about the guitar set up, wood type, strings, action, etc. Then we have the amp with it's particular voicing, and and effects with their particular voicing for the amp. Now, we still have to adjust for venue, and on and on it goes. This is mind boggling compared to setting up accousticly.

[jmusser]

Just an FYI. I contacted Gibson to find out  when these amps were distributed, and the Galaxie 10 was available from 2002 to 2004. The Galaxie 25 from 2003 to 2004.

[barret77]

hey, this amp is $ 129 w/ free shipping on sale today...

[octafish]

hey, this amp is $ 129 w/ free shipping on sale today...

Awww don't do that to him.

Hey J (Jeff right?) How about updating this thread in a month or so when the Honeymood period has worn off. That way we can see how much valves have grown on you.
10 watts sounds like a good amount of power to really crank hard. Should be houd as hell!

[bwanasonic]

The really wonderful thing I find about tube amps is the way they *feel* and respond to variations in playing technique. It makes the whole signal chain feel much more like a *musical instrument* to me. Especially when you are *surfing the edge* of breakup and distortion. The speaker is another important part of the whole equation. But the whole tube/ speaker upgrade thing is more a matter of developing your wallet than your ear!   

Have fun!

Kerry M

[jmusser]

Wow, $129.00! I may buy another one! So far (and yes, we're in the honeymoon period) I still like it very much. I think I'll treat it to a germanium Rangemaster today in fact.

[Doug_H]

Jeff, I'm glad you like your new amp. Tube amps are a blast.

I took a peak at the galaxie over at musician's friend and I was surprised how similar they look to the electar 10. The electars have(/had??) an 8'' instead of 10" speaker but other than that and some cosmetics, the cabinet shapes and styles look very similar. I think electar was related to epiphone as a subsidiary or some arrangement, I wonder if the galaxie was developed from the same family? Anyway, the electar was a dog, stock, but I had a lot of fun modding it. I kind of wonder if they made improvements and developed the galaxie from that or something?!?

Doug

[RDV]

Jeff, I'm glad you like your new amp. Tube amps are a blast.

I took a peak at the galaxie over at musician's friend and I was surprised how similar they look to the electar 10. The electars have(/had??) an 8'' instead of 10" speaker but other than that and some cosmetics, the cabinet shapes and styles look very similar. I think electar was related to epiphone as a subsidiary or some arrangement, I wonder if the galaxie was developed from the same family? Anyway, the electar was a dog, stock, but I had a lot of fun modding it. I kind of wonder if they made improvements and developed the galaxie from that or something?!?

This should answer that.

RDV

[jmusser]

Boy they sure seem similar. The cabinet face is totally different, but the layout of the control panel looks like an exact duplicate, as well what is offered. The only thing I see different is an external speaker jack.

[JimRayden]

Hmm, do anyone know how beefy these OT's are and what's the primary impedance for one 6L6? I'd like to buy one of these and mod the power amp to 2xEL84 and hook up 2x12" speakers. I've always wanted an 18watt.

Damn, just 100 bucks for a great looking modding platform.

-------------
Jimbo

[Fret Wire]

Jeff, I'm glad you like your new amp. Tube amps are a blast.

I took a peak at the galaxie over at musician's friend and I was surprised how similar they look to the electar 10. The electars have(/had??) an 8'' instead of 10" speaker but other than that and some cosmetics, the cabinet shapes and styles look very similar. I think electar was related to epiphone as a subsidiary or some arrangement, I wonder if the galaxie was developed from the same family? Anyway, the electar was a dog, stock, but I had a lot of fun modding it. I kind of wonder if they made improvements and developed the galaxie from that or something?!?
Doug

http://www.geocities.com/oasysco/elect10.htm

Doug, didn't you have your Electar mods on your site for awhile? And a soundclip also? Baby Bassman or something?

[Doug_H]

Yeah, wow... That was a long time ago... You have a good memory.

The electar was my little frankenstein monster for some time as I experimented on it a lot and learned about amps. It did not stay a "baby bassman" for long, although it sounded pretty good and I miss that blackface sound. (In fact, I'm getting ready to fool around with another s/e el34 idea, and if it works out and becomes my "go to" el34 amp, I may try a "blackface" mod I have been thinking about on the octal fatness so I can get that sound again). I guess I still have a frankenstein monster in my work area... (sigh...)

FWIW I recycled the electar pwr xformer into the octal fatness. The electar output xformer is a piece of junk.

Doug