The Penguin -Amp™ is a faithful recreation of the 6G2 Brown Princeton, that really does live up to it's reputation as a screaming little dirt box. This is not assembled from a "kit”. The Penguin -Amp™ has about 175 parts, consisting of approximately 90 discrete part numbers sourced from over a dozen different vendors. No corners cut on these; only the best components were used.  Furthermore, it comes standard with some really cool features that take it well beyond a one-trick pony, without altering the original "brown sound” or DNA these little gems are known for. And yes, it has that seductive bias-vary tremolo that just a select few of the Brown-era amps are known for.

The Penguin -Amp™ is a single channel amp, but with dual voicings. Huh? Stay with me. Plug in as usual and you'll get the vintage spec, unmodified 6G2 tone. Now pull the volume pot to switch out the 6G2 preamp section and engage a JMP50 voiced preamp section for a very British flavored tone (i.e. tighter with slightly less gain). Like the 6G3, the tone control contributes significantly to the overall gain on the 6G2's circuit. Sometimes, single coils can get a little bright at lower volume settings, due to the way the bright cap blocks lower frequencies. Pull the tone pot to lift the bright cap to warm it up, without having to turn the tone down, thereby diminishing the gain. Also present are a switchable rectifier, switchable negative feedback (NFB) and the best (imho) PPIMV master volume out there. More on this below…

You've probably noticed by now that it's not a Brown amp. Well, turns out in late '63 they made these for a short time in a transitional blackface color scheme. Known as the "tuxedo” Princetons, they had black face plates, ivory "cupcake” knobs, black bronco tolex, silver grill cloth and black rubber "spring” handles. As an homage to the 6G2 "tuxedos”, the Penguin -Amp™ sports black rough tolex (same cool texture as the brownface amps), aged blackface silver grill cloth and a black rubber "dogbone” handle. I also felt that the cab might sound a bit bigger (and it does) with a 10″ if it was 1″ deeper than stock. The name? Well, it just kind of fits, doesn't it?

Penguin -Amp™ Features:

·        Single channel/dual-voiced preamp section: Normal mode is pure, unadulterated 6G2 chewy goodness; pull the volume pot to engage JMP50 mode for a tighter, lower gain vibe.

·        Pull-to-lift bright cap feature on tone control for a warmer tone when using single coils; works in 6G2 & JMP50 preamp mode

·        Rich Mod II PPIMV using a PEC 500K dual audio potentiometer and shielded wire (sounds fantastic + this little bird gets loud!)

·        Switchable tube/solid state rectifier

·        Switchable negative feedback; choose between 6G2/5E3/JTM45 NFB settings

·        Dual adjustable bias pots on underside of chassis

·        Bias-vary tremolo

Penguin -Amp™ Components & Specifications:

·        Weber Vintage Alnico 10A125 8 ohm, 30 watt speaker (a P10Q-inspired Alnico)

·        Mercury Magnetics FBPP-Penguin custom power transformer, FBPO output transformer, HD 14AWG 10′ power cord

·        12 watts, (2) TAD matched 6V6GT-STR's; (1) EH 5U4GB, (1) Mullard RI CV4004/12AX7 & (1) JJ 12AX7

·        Old-school hand wired construction with our custom-made G10FR ‘glass eyelet boards and correct gauge pushback wire

·        SoZo NextGen Blue Molded Vintage and Yellow Mustard Vintage capacitors

·        Sprague, F&T electrolytic capacitors

·        Carbon composition resistors

·        Belton sockets, Carling switches, Switchcraft jacks

·        CTS, Bourns and PEC potentiometers

·        Custom-made (1″ deeper than stock), vintage correct cabinet to our specs using selected lightweight #2 pine & 1/4″ finger joints just like Leo made 'em. They're even stained inside for that vintage "cedar” look (dust bunnies not included).

·        Fender style single button footswitch for tremolo

·        Weighs just 28 pounds; grab ‘n go!