Ah…wheels are turning…

I bought it as a “70’s” Freedom amp. But you’re telling me it’s not? Those old tolex Freedom amps predated the wood cabs? That would explain the wooden cab’s more efficient battery use. And battery type.

I see the wooden cabbed ones as “sold out” at sweetwater and the like, but thought it was strange to see a 70’s amp for sale at a big box store, albeit sold out. I assumed the ones they carried were the reissues. When in fact, the entire line of wood cabbed Freedom Amps are reissues? Ah.

So then what’s the story on these? What date are they? If they are on big box store’s web pages they can’t be that old at all. Mine is pretty dinged up. Wood must be pine or maybe birch. The finish has an amber tint to it unlike the picture. I may refinish it. Easy enough. And if it’s not truly “vintage” then I can make it look new again with some sandpaper and a can of shellac.

For what it’s worth, I’ve had time t really put it through it’s paces. Such as it is with the minimalistic controls. As other have stated, this amp is very loud.

What I noticed is this: On the volume knob from about 8 o’clock to maybe 11:00 o’clock the volume goes up. And goes up a LOT. Amazing volume for such a small amp. But from 11:00 to 5:00 (all the way around) the volume doesnt go up as much as it simply overdrives the signal. It does get marginally louder, but it also gets noticeably dirty. Not in an “the amp is breaking up” dirt, but almost like an effect. Possibly like the old FET cirtcuits found in the Dwarf amp.

The middle “Tone” knob seems to be not just a tone, but a bass/tone knob. With noon being neutral. CCW seems to boost bass, CW boosts highs. This is what it seems like anyway. The “Bite” control seems to operate very similarly to a “presence” control. All the way CCW and the signal is a little damp and almost muffled, all the way CW and it’s extremely mid-rangey and bright. I foiund keeping it at about 10:00 o’clock was a good “leave-it-alone” setting for my LP.

The sound from the amp has the potential to be exceptionally warm. I can get a very convincing jazz sound out of the neck pup of the LP with the volume on the neck pup rolled back just a small bit.

I also have a modded 50’s tele. Again, the sound is wonderful. Neck pup on the tele through the EH has a very 335ish sound.

All in all, this amp is amazing. I’m surprised nobody has just duplicated it in some way. Even if they dumped the elaborate wood cab (which I suspect isn’t popular with everyone) in favor of a lighter tolexed cab, buit still had the same sound, it would be great. Though I’m guessing all the heavy wood imparts some tonal characteristics to the little feller.

Batteries are not an enigma.

Wish there was some kind of guide on them.

Thanks for clearing it up EH Man. I think I stumbled on a site that you may have.

Ah…damn mine is pretty dinged up for an amp that’s about a decade old. Got a lot of use then I suspect.

For an amp that isn’t that old it was a true quest to find one. You would think more would be around or pop up on the bay more often. Or would be cheaper on the aftermarket.