Sold Custom Audio Japan Tube Top (5-Watt Mini Amp Head)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Emperor Guillotine
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Emperor Guillotine

Emperor Guillotine

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DESCRIPTION:
I have for sale an incredibly cool, mini amp head that you absolutely won't see or find again here stateside in the West. This is a long-since discontinued Tube Top amplifier head by Custom Audio Japan.

Custom Audio Japan is the Japanese branch of Custom Audio Electronics (owned by Dunlop/MXR here in the USA). CAE founder Bob Bradshaw created CAJ as a company with the goal of offering CAE boutique products and professional touring rig solutions to Japanese artists at a more affordable price. But CAJ also offered some unique, limited edition products such as the Tube Top that were relegated exclusively to the Japanese domestic market.

Spec highlights:
• All-tube head (one EL34 and two 12AX7 tubes)
• 5 watts (5.5 watts output technically)
• 8-ohm and 16-ohm speaker outputs
• Internal dummy load (so no speaker connection is required)
• Two direct-out line outputs for recording
• Headphone output
• Defeatable cab simulation (can be turned on/off for the direct-out line outputs but obviously NOT for the headphone output)

This small, compact, convenient amp head is an all-in-one solution for capturing an all-tube sound for recording at home, then taking it to the stage for smaller gigs where you don’t need a full-size head raging onstage.

This mini head is noted for having a superb clean sound. It reminds me a bit of a Custom Audio Electronics OD series head (for those who are familiar with the OD-50 or OD-100, you’ll know what I’m talking about) without the gobs and gobs of gain, but mashed with the clean channel of an old Mesa Boogie Mark I or Mark II. These mini heads were marketed as being able to handle anything from vintage to casual rock tones; and from what clips I’ve seen/heard online of guys playing everything from rock to jazz fusion (something ala Masayoshi Takanaka who, rather coincidentally, played Mark I and Mark II amps), these Tube Tops can definitely handle a wide range of tones. For a meager 5-watt head, these units sound NICE.

CONDITION:
Absolutely clean with minimal hours. No original factory packaging or box though.

PRICE:
$300 OBO + shipping

LOCATION:
East Coast, USA.
I can work with interested buyers on all shipping concerns domestically or internationally.

PHOTOS:

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Last edited:
Could you put a clip up showing the high gain potential?
All the YouTube videos of it don’t show any high gain tones.

Thanks!!

👍
 
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