Pip Reverb 5 by Lance Amplification5-watt valve combo The Pip Reverb 5 is a handbuilt Australian valve combo from James Lance of Lance Amplification, a Melbourne maker known for beautifully executed amplifiers and pickups. Small in wattage, but serious in design, the Pip is built around a single-ended 6V6 running in Class A, with a circuit philosophy centred on simplicity: the shortest signal path possible between you and your instrument. The valve complement is 12AX7, 12DW7, and 6V6, and the amp ships with a NOS RCA 6V6. It's optimised for all 6V6 variants, including metal can, large bottle 6V6G, and small bottle 6V6GT, so rolling tubes is very much on the table. Volume is handled by a resistive attenuator sitting between the output transformer and speaker, meaning you're hearing true 6V6 character at any level, not just at full. The taper is linear: 5 watts at full volume, 2.5 watts at half, and right down to 0.05 watts at minimum. Genuinely usable at low volume. The tone control is an original design with two positions: the in position gives a mild mid-scoop in the black panel tradition, the out position opens up the mids for a flat, tweed-style EQ. It's a deceptively effective system that gives the amp a much larger sonic footprint than its output suggests. Spring reverb is valve-driven with footswitch operation, covering everything from a touch of room to full surf-soaked drench. The minimisation of background noise has been a design priority throughout, and it shows. The cabinet is handbuilt from sustainably grown solid pine with finger-jointed edges, and the baffle is marine grade hardwood plywood. The 10" Jupiter 10-SA-P speaker uses a small Alnico magnet in the 1950s tradition, delivering clarity and nuance at low volumes with sweet compression when pushed. A speaker-driven line out on the back panel provides an unbalanced signal with the full character of the amp's electronics including the speaker, straight to a mixing desk, PA, or for re-amping. Comes with a 12-month warranty (excluding damage). Servicing and repairs are handled locally through Lance Amplification directly.
