Lil' Dawg Amps
I first came across Lil’ Dawg amps while searching the web for 5E3 clones and kits hoping to find a deal on a venerable tweed Deluxe clone. I had never heard of Lil Dawg amps before and the straight-forward simplicity and down home feel of the website intrigued me enough to email Jim Nichols (the sole owner of Lil Dawg) for his pricelist. Jim took no time in responding to my email and I was floored at the prices. I made up my mind right then and there to get in on this deal and have my name put on the mailing list. The build time was 3-4 months but for the price of most 5E3 kits I would be getting a full fledged Tweed Deluxe clone built to my specifications using quality components. It is no wonder his build list is so long. Soon after discovering LilDawg amps myself I found a discussion forum that was buzzing with current Lil Dawg owners actively discussing how great their amps sounded. The Lil Dawg owners were all excited about how toneful these amps were.
Jim offers two basic tweed era amps. A tweed '59 deluxe 5E3, the D-Lux and a '59 5F1 Champ, the Champster. The Champster is based on Fender famous little 1959 tweed Champ. This amp is the famous amp used by Eric Clapton when he recorded the Derek and the Dominos sessions including Layla among others. This amp has appeared on countless recordings through the years. It is so popular because it offers a great tweed tone at a small volume. Jim has updated the amp somewhat by building it around a larger cabinet housing a 12" Jensen RI speaker to more fully let the little monster roar.
The Lil Dawg Deluxe is the focus of this review. It is based on Fender's 1959 Tweed Deluxe featuring the 5E3 circuit. This amp is one of the most popular blues amps of all time. It has a luscious tone and fat creamy overdrive. A sparkling clean sound can be finessed from these amps if you know how the two channels interact and/or use your guitar's volume with high quality pickups (more on that later).
Jim's take on the 5E3 Deluxe is faithful to the original. The values of the capacitors and resistors are all as the original circuit entails with a couple of minor changes that reflect modernizing the amp to work efficiently with modern power outlets. I discussed the variances in the cap values and their allowable tolerances with Jim. He informed me that the original Fender circuit allows a 10% tolerance across the various cap values. This actually makes for an appreciable amount of variability from amp to amp. Jim has found cap values within this 10% range that he likes best, thus adding to uniqueness of his build and laying the groundwork for a specifically good sounding 5E3 that would be somewhat more repeatable than the originals. All transformers are made in the USA and are direct replacements for Fender amps. Illinois Capacitors, carbon comp resistors (except for a 5-watt power resistor), SwitchCraft jacks, and Alpha pots are used in building these amps. Jim also uses 22 gauge wiring throughout. I was very impressed with Jim choices in components. Only top notch high quality parts are used. Jim has done an excellent job in measuring price verses performance. Nothing is sacrificed in terms of quality however expensive, boutique grade materials and detailing are ignored. This is a hallmark of the Lil Dawg D-Lux. The production of a solid great sounding amplifier using quality components at a price set for the working musician. All the self-indulgent boutique level fodder is foregone, and its up-charging in price with it. Jim has in turn built an inspiring amplifier that a musician can afford. I learned a valuable lesson here. You do not need to go boutique to get a great sounding amp. Jim could charge 3x the price for this amp!
I ordered my LiL'Dawg 5E3 tweed deluxe clone and patiently waited These amps are in high demand and Jim is doing all the work himself. I was on a waiting list all summer. This gave me plenty of time to dream about my 5e3 clone and tell my friends about my 'poor mans boutique amp'; built for the musician and musicians budget. I also spent some time learning as much as I could about the 5E3 and what the boutique guys offered. I looked into the kits as well. The more I learned about these amps the more I realized what a really good balance between cost/performance and quality Jim's Lil Dawg has achieved. Meanwhile, during my wait, a friend of mine scored one of these amps on ebay. For the first time I was able to see the amp up close and personal rather than mulling it over on paper and playing other types of 5E3s. The build and design are great. They sound very good too! I have several vintage amps and I go through all the boutique stuff too and these amps are right up there. A truly great deal at the moment. It soon became apparent that, Jim is rather skilled at cabinet making.
My amp finally arrived early in the fall. This is a custom Lil Dawg D-Lux with Mercury Magnetic Transformers and a Weber Blue Dog speaker. Hence the cost of this amp was about $200 more than a standard D-Lux.
This amp was made by Jim Nicolson during the late summer of 2006. It is a clone of a 1959 Tweed Deluxe model 5E3. The control panel is set up like a traditional 5E3, 2 instrument inputs, 2 mic inputs, vol controls for each input and a single tone control. The volume controls are interactive. In the back there is a line out for running directly to PA or a console and a 8 ohm output for running an additional speaker cabinet. This is the 1x12 version. The stock speaker is a Jensen RI P12Q however I asked Jim to build mine with a Weber Blue Dog. I also upgraded the transformers to Mercury Magnetics Tone Clone tweed 5E3 transformers. The tube compliments are a pair of NOS 6v6's and a 5y3 rectifier, a 12ax7 and a 12ay7. Jim was really cool about changing the spec's of the amp to suite me. I could have changed more if I wanted. I researched every component Jim used and in keeping with our original goal all I wanted to change was the speaker and the transformers. Jim simply subtracted the normal cost of these components from his price and had me drop ship the speaker and transformers to him after I ordered them.
This amp is a loud 15 watts. Especially with Blue Dog, it can hang with a 22 watt Deluxe Reverb easily.
Once you master the interactive volume controls, take advantage of channel switching via a A/B pedal, and yes, your guitars volume knob, you will find this to be a versatile amp.
My main two guitars, currently, are a 1993 MIJ Fender Strat with BareKnuckle pickups and a Heritage CM140 2nd Ed with HRW pickups. My effects are simple, a Foxrox ZIM (equipped with H9 and B9 modules), a Teese RMC3 Wah, and a Maxon AD999 analogue delay. My style is some sort of hybrid of blues, rock, and rockabilly.
This is a bone crushing blues amp. It can be used effectively for getting harder sounds but the blues is what this amp does best. Using the interactive volumes, you can get a classic clean sound by putting the volume you are plugged into at half max and the other volume at full on (dimed). A heavy overdrive can be achieved using the opposite setting (dime the vol of the channel you are plugged into and halving the other channel). You can use a A/B box to go back and fourth as you would on a modern amp with two channels. The volumes interact in all sorts of other clever ways, many of which I have not even figured out yet. It is so expressive and reactive to my playing. Very touch sensitive and it has great dynamics. I can interact with it like I want to interact with my amp. It becomes a part of the instrument which I play. Only amps this good really allow tone to be in your fingers!
In regard to just the hi gain input, the D-Lux starts to break up almost immediately and gets really distorted past half way. If you turn the amp up just past half you get a great broken up blues tone. This amp sounds like it already has an overdrive in front of it at higher volumes. That classic sound. There are a lot of sounds in this amp. This amp does not have a lot of clean headroom but there are varying degrees of crunch then sustaining violin like overdrive. The D-Lux does these sounds oh so well. Having said that, I really love the clean sound I can get with this amp.
The amp is not noisy. There is some Class A type hum but not as much as most class A circuits due to the grounding scheme Jim uses. Otherwise, this amp is as quite as the tubes you use. Speaking of tubes, I found both positions v1 and v2 to be sensitive to both noise level and tone of the amp. Traditionally, a 12ay7 goes in v1 but you can use a 12axy to get a harder edge and more gain. I love more gain but I still find this amp reacts best with the 12ay7. Some people disagree so feel free to experiment. You can substitute 6l6's for 6v6's to increase headroom but I have not tried this yet.
I feel like it is important to hammer in the point that this is not a boutique amp. Jim makes these with the working class musician in mind. However, this amp sounds better than most boutique amps of its type (including Victoria and Carr Mercury). For example, we A/B'ed the Lil Dawg with a Victoria Deluxe model and the Lil Dawg won hands down. Ditto for the Fender Custom Shop tweed Deluxe that was released in limited quantities awhile back. This amp is not a kit amp either. It is Jims own take on the 5E3 circuit and he sources the parts. Jim has done a terrific job of finding the best components for the Lil Dawg amps without inflating the price. This is the best performance vs cost amp I have ever seen. Only high end or good quality components are used throughout but nothing too costly. You do get switchcraft jack, alpha pots, and very heavy wiring. Not to mention the option of having NOS tubes installed.
Before you look past the Lil Dawg take a look inside. This is one of the best wiring jobs I have ever seen. If you can find an example of someone who does it better, email me. This is a serious amp put together by someone who really knows what they are doing. Jim does not brag much, his webpage advertising these amps is friendly and modest. I did not realize what a master he is until I saw his work for myself.
Something I realized early on in studying Jim's amps is that he is especially good with designing the speaker cabinets. His designs are especially resonant. I think the cab makes a big part of the sound.
I have a friend with a standard Lil Dawg D-Lux with the stock Jensen RI speaker and the stock trannies. The amps sound very similar. The basic tones are the same. My amp however, has a much bigger bottom end. Hence it is fuller sounding and louder. I think this difference is more to do with the speakers. His amp sounds really good too. Just different. This opens my eyes to the difference speakers make in this circuit. I love the fullness and detail of this Weber Blue dog but there are instances where I can see changing speakers to achieve different goals. We really nailed it with this amp. This is one of the best sounding amps I have ever heard. My coworkers at the music store all agree. My breakup is smooth and musical. Very detailed and rich sounding. The notes just bloom and blossom and there are all these pleasing overtones to listen too. And this is not meant to be a boutique amp but a working musicians amp with solid features and no frills. This amp has already smoked a few boutique amps in its short life so far.
I have had my Lil Dawg for about 4 months. A friend has had theirs for about 8 months. These amps are built like tanks and I am sure they will last forever. I have had no problems with this amp.
Jim offers excellent customer support. He talked a lot about the design of my amp long before he started building it. During the build process I was informed and emailed and sent pictures at every step. I had input wherever it was needed. I was able to choose how dark my tweed was (based on pics jim would send), as well as the tubes, speakers, transformers and anything else I assume. Jim made this clear in the beginning that this was my amp built to my specifications. I pretty much said I want cream colored knobs instead of black and a blue jewel then left the important stuff up to him.
I have dealt with really good customer support but so far Jim has been the best. I actually gained a friend through the process of buying this amp. I wasn't looking for anything more than a good quality amp. I think sometimes we expect too much from people in this industry. Jim, however is just a great and honest guy.
I have been playing just 20 years. I have owned several blackface and tweed amps. Mesa cabinets and heads, Dr Z amps. I have been fortunate enough to play lots of other great amps. I love this amp because it is something special. This amp costs just over the price of most 5E3 kits yet this amp is better than many of the boutique 5E3's. I was not expecting that, I just wanted a really good amp. What I got was one of those really one of a kind amps you always hear about. I'm still not quite sure where the magic is but it is in there. This amp has made me a better player as it inspires me. Ironically, this amp has also taught me something every player hears often: that your tone is in your fingers. The Lil Dawg lets me get back to that level and just play.
[POSTSCRIPT]
It has been a few months since I wrote this and I still can’t say enough about Jim and the Lil Dawg Deluxe. It is still my favorite, most inspiring amp. I think Jim has started using more expensive caps stock since I wrote this. I let my nephew borrow this amp for a short club tour. The D-Lux came back to me looking like it was dropped down a flight of stairs (last time I lone an amp out) but it still sounds good.
Please leave comments or discuss this review here Lil Dawg Discussion.
To visit the Lil Dawg Home Page and read more or talk to Jim about ordering a Lil Dawg click on the link below. Be sure and tell him Jason from Peerless Tone sent you.
