Hunter Amplifiers

Hunter Amplifiers The premier tube amplifier builder and repairman in beautiful Keno, KY.
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It started the week as an idea, some stuff, and a board—and it ends the week as a music maker.Fresh off the bench is the...
10/02/2026

It started the week as an idea, some stuff, and a board—and it ends the week as a music maker.

Fresh off the bench is the second iteration of the Hunter Amplifiers "2-Face Champ". Functionally and sonically, this build is 100% identical to its predecessor, delivering the best of two iconic single-ended eras in one box. The big difference? While the first run was built boardless, point-to-point on the fly, this one is constructed on a custom, hand-laid, cut, drilled, and staked turret board. Still 100% hand-wired, rock-solid, and built to outlive us all.

Two Switches. Two Eras (Plus Hybrids)

Instead of just a single mode toggle, the 2-Face features two front-panel switches that let you tailor both stages of the circuit independently:

Stage 1 Switch: Adjusts the bias of the first gain stage and selects the signal path—routing it either straight into the second gain stage for raw, touch-sensitive 5F1 Tweed drive, or through the passive tone stack for scooped, sparkling AA764 "Black Panel" cleans.
Stage 2 Switch: Reconfigures the bias structure and shifts the negative feedback loop between tight Black Panel dynamics and loose, organic Tweed sag.

Because the switches operate independently, you aren’t limited to just pure Tweed or pure Black Panel—you can mix and match stages to dial in custom hybrid voicings you won't find on standard vintage circuits.

Construction & Components

Hand-Wired Turret Board: Laid out and staked in-house for bulletproof reliability, ultra-clean lead dress, and an exceptionally quiet noise floor.
Top-Tier Components: Built with JJ tubes, Vishay coupling caps, MOD electrolytic capacitors, and rugged Switchcraft jacks in a hand-punched chassis.
Custom Cabinetry & Speaker: Hand-crafted finger-jointed white pine cabinet, loaded with an 8" Jensen Special Design C8R speaker for classic vintage punch, detail, and chime.

The last one drew a lot of interest and found a new home before Cumberland Guitars could even list it on Reverb.
This one lands at Cumberland Guitars tomorrow.

If you want a chance to plug in, flip the switches, and hear how the two eras interact in person, stop by Cumberland Guitars soon -before it’s gone!

On the workbench today: The next Hunter Amplifiers 2-Face ChampNot a lot got done today, but I did make sure everything ...
10/01/2026

On the workbench today: The next Hunter Amplifiers 2-Face Champ
Not a lot got done today, but I did make sure everything fit, and I mounted the chassis in the cabinet. Tomorrow is Tolex day.

On the tablesaw today: another Hunter Amplifiers 2-Face Champ.At 7 a.m., this was a surprisingly flat 1x12 at the local ...
09/30/2026

On the tablesaw today: another Hunter Amplifiers 2-Face Champ.
At 7 a.m., this was a surprisingly flat 1x12 at the local lumberyard. Tonight, it's all clamped and drying. Tomorrow I'll fit the chassis, back, and hardware to the cabinet, mount the speaker, and attach the grill cloth. Friday is Tolex day!
Stay tuned.

On the workbench today: another Hunter Amplifiers 2-Face Champ. The 2-Face Champ is a hand-wired tube amplifier that let...
09/29/2026

On the workbench today: another Hunter Amplifiers 2-Face Champ. The 2-Face Champ is a hand-wired tube amplifier that lets you switch between raw tweed 5F1 grit and scooped black panel AA764 sparkle in a single amp, in two stages. The last one seemed to garner a lot of interest and sold before Cumberland Guitars could even list it on Reverb, so it seemed like a nice, quick build before I start on the next commission.
The previous 2-Face was built point-to-point, on the fly, working only from the two original schematics and a plan in my noggin. This time I made it a bit more traditional. I laid out a turret board Sunday night and had it cut, drilled, and staked before lunch on Monday. By quitting time, I had the chassis punched, the IEC connector, the tube sockets, and transformers mounted, and had the faceplate being printed on the 3D printer. By lunch today, it was passing signal and sounding pretty good. A few tweaks, a cabinet, and this one will be ready to rock!
Stay tuned.

It was a fun build!
09/09/2026

It was a fun build!

"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." — Ecclesiastes...
08/28/2026

"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." — Ecclesiastes 1:9

That sums up the new Hunter Amplifiers 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗟𝘂𝘅𝗲 𝟱𝗘𝟯+. None of the circuit concepts here are original to me. The foundation is straight off Leo Fender’s classic 5E3 schematic, and practically all the rest comes directly from Rob Robinette’s 5E3 modifications and analysis. What makes this build unique is having this specific suite of mods integrated into a single, cohesive build.

Here is the breakdown of the circuit and features:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀 & 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹: Pure, unadulterated Leo Fender 5E3 from input to output. Organic, touch-sensitive, and rich in vintage tweed harmonics.
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹: Re-biased and re-voiced for higher gain. With tailored cathode and plate resistor values and trimmed coupling capacitance, this channel delivers a tight, articulate overdrive with focused midrange bite, eliminating the typical low-end mud when driven hard.
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗹𝗹-𝗝𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵: Built right into the Normal volume pot via a push/pull DPDT switch. No patch cable needed between the jacks. Engaging it links both channels internally in parallel so you can blend the fat, woody tweed low-end of the Normal side with the aggressive bite of the Lead side.
• 𝟯-𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗡𝗙𝗕 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵:

𝗢𝗙𝗙 (Up): Stock 5E3 configuration—cathode bypass capacitor intact on V2a and zero negative feedback. Wild, raw, open, and harmonically explosive.

𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗙 (Middle): Local feedback mode. Disconnects the cathode bypass capacitor on V2a without global loop feedback, introducing local degenerative feedback that tames gain, tightens the bottom end, and adds clean headroom.

𝗢𝗡 (Down): Standard global NFB loop injected from the output transformer secondary into the V2a cathode (unbypassed). Stiffens the power stage, increases clean headroom, flattens frequency response, and provides a tight, punchy attack reminiscent of Black Panel amps that takes pedals exceptionally well.
• 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗲 / 𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝘀 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 (Rear Panel): Toggle between the spongy, singing compression of traditional 5E3 cathode bias and the tighter, punchier attack and increased power output of fixed bias. Think "Mini-Bassman".
• 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗦𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘁𝗲 ("𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗯𝘆") 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵: A traditional high-voltage B+ standby switch is neither necessary nor beneficial on a tube-rectified amplifier—hot-switching raw B+ DC is a notorious cause of arc-over and blown rectifier tubes. Instead, this "Standby" switch borrows the clever phase-cancellation circuit straight from the Silvertone 1484. It completely silences the audio signal with zero thump and zero stress on the rectifier.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁 & 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
• 𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗿𝘆: Hand-crafted finger-jointed solid pine shell with a void-free Baltic birch baffle board, wrapped in genuine tweed. It is also the first Hunter Amplifiers build to break the two-foot height mark to properly accommodate the dual-speaker setup.
• 𝗜𝗿𝗼𝗻 & 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀: Heavy-duty Hammond power and output transformers, JJ tube lineup, Switchcraft jacks, and discrete point-to-point wiring on custom turret boards in a hand-punched aluminum chassis.
• 𝗗𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬" 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 (𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬𝗔𝟭𝟮𝟱 + 𝟭𝟬𝗙𝟭𝟱𝟬-𝗧): The ultimate complementary pair. The AlNiCo 10A125 brings classic 1950s Jensen-style compression, sweet chime, and woody midrange bloom, while the ceramic 10F150-T adds tight low-end punch, fast transient attack, and the extra headroom needed to keep the amp articulate when pushed.

The Dirty DeLuxe 5E3+ lands at Cumberland Guitars tomorrow before heading off to its new home in a few days. It was built as a commission from a good customer, so I'm not trying to sell it. I just want to share it with my friends and folks that find this sort of thing interesting. If you want to check it out in person and hear how these circuit tweaks interact, pop in while it's there and plug in.

08/22/2026

To piggyback off that sweet 1977 Champ we shared yesterday, here’s what we consider the ultimate Champ.

Meet the Hunter Amplifiers 2-Face Champ! 🏆

Bob took the basic single-ended Champ recipe and gave it two independently switchable stages that let you move between 5F1 Tweed and AA764 Black Panel behavior, or mix the two together.

One switch changes the first gain stage and signal path: straight into the next stage for raw Tweed drive, or through the tone stack for the cleaner, scooped Black Panel sound.

The second changes the bias structure and negative feedback, moving between tighter Black Panel response and the looser feel of a Tweed Champ.

Flip both one way, flip both the other, or start mixing them. That’s where this little amp gets really fun.

True point-to-point wiring, quality components, a finger-jointed white-pine cabinet, Fender Brown Tolex, and an 8" Jensen.

And the best part? It’s handmade with love right here in South Central Kentucky by Hunter Amplifiers.

Don't sleep on this one! ⚡️⚡️

Address

318 Monument Square
Keno, KY
42629

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