Harley Benton TUBE5 Celestion

247 Customer ratings

4.7 / 5

You have to be logged in to rate products.

Note: To prevent ratings from being based on hearsay, smattering or surreptitious advertising we only allow ratings from real users on our website, who have bought the equipment from us.

After logging in you will also find all items you can rate under rate products in the customer centre.

handling

features

sound

quality

201 Reviews

Harley Benton TUBE5 Celestion
£129
Including VAT; Excluding £10 shipping
In stock
In stock

This product is in stock and can be shipped immediately.

Standard Delivery Times
Delivery approx. between Wednesday, 3.04. and Thursday, 4.04.
1
SW
Bonkers cheap, amazing sounding, real valve amp.
S. Walker 30.03.2020
Yes, this is a real valve amp. Yes, that price is correct. Yes, it is as good as you could possibly hope, which is to say it holds its own against much more pricey amps. If you were to be a price or brand snob, you'd be overlooking something very special here.

This, and it's larger sibling, are rebadged versions of an amplifier already available and well liked in the US market (the Stage Right), but with a 220v/50Hz transformer for European use, and the Harley Benton badge on the front. Supposedly those, and by extension these, are closely related to the Laney Cub amplifiers, but are slightly lower priced than the equivalent Laney, and from someone who's owned both, I think slightly better built and laid out, too.

Very much in the "Champ" style with one 12AX7 preamp tube and one 6V6 power amp tube (the classic "Californian Tweed" valve of choice, as opposed to the more "British" sounding EL84 and EL34 more usually seen on modern valve amps), these small amplifiers might not be stadium loud, but they have their uses. For one thing, they make fantastic no-compromise practice amplifiers, meaning real valve amp tone, not just a valve pre-amp or valve emulation, in the bedroom, garage, hobby room, or even a small club or pub gig. Even more importantly, they're fantastic recording amplifiers. Countless classic rock staples used low wattage, small speakered amplifiers like this with a microphone shoved close up in front to get those lead tones, and five minutes with this amp will show you why!

It might be diminutive but I can get some great tones out of it. At low volumes, nothing spectacular seems to happen. It's warm, bright enough, and recognisably "valve", but plain. However, push the volume up past 8 and this thing sings. Add in an overdrive pedal and man, oh man. All those saturated rock tones, but without bothering people in the next street/town/country. Still not quiet, but not the deafening behemoth of a full-stack. The built-in attenuation switch lets you access this at an even more manageable volume.

I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality and attention to detail too - despite being a lunchbox sized budget option, this amp feels solid in the hand, and the cabinet is satisfyingly thick. The controls are smooth turning with quality chickenhead knobs, the power switch is firm and positive with a precise and pleasing clunk on actuation, and the input jack feels like it's going to last. Even the wattage button has a reliable, mechanical click when pressed, locking in and springing out cleanly and easily.

In terms of overall design, this is a good looking amplifier. It looks nicer in person than in the pictures, and the cream covering is a welcome departure from the ubiquitous and dreary black of most amps. The covering and speaker cloth are more than adequate in quality, much better than most amps at this price, and the handle is soft, pliable and comfortable. I couldn't promise that it's real leather but it's supple enough to be. Honestly, even though it's not a heavy amp a good handle makes carrying this a joy. It's actually amazing, given how much value for money this offers on components alone, that time and effort were put into designing an aesthetically pleasing amp, but there you have it.

In terms of electronic parts, the fact that the speaker is name brand is also remarkable at this price. It's a Celestion, and whilst it might be entry-level Celestion, it still holds its own and is much better than a no-name speaker. Could you replace it? Yes. Do you need to? No.

The tubes are unbranded, they look like standard China-made ones, but they sound fine and at this price, who is complaining?! I don't plan on replacing them now, they're plenty good enough. Will I change them in the future? Undoubtedly, because I'll still want to play this amp when they wear out!

The only downsides for me are the solid state rectifier and the finish on the front panel. Valve rectification is definitely possible at around this price point, but it's no deal breaker. I know of a similar amplifier with a slightly higher price that has a valve rectifier, but it's only available with a 110v transformer. Still, this performs well enough given that one missed opportunity. The front panel finish is a more personal gripe - it's very, very high shine and so shows up fingerprints very quickly, as well as bouncing a lot of light. For some people, the shiny panel will be a cool feature that adds to the charming looks of this amplifier, but I can't help feeling that something matte would have not looked out of place either.

In summary, quite frankly this is the bargain of the century. Once they're back in stock I think I'd have a strong temptation to buy the larger version of this too.

ONE WORD OF WARNING (for UK customers only): The amplifier has a non-removable power cable with a Schuko plug on it. This is the German plug that has a large cylindrical body with earth connections on the outside, it's not a standard Europlug. The complimentary UK power cable supplied by Thomann has nowhere to plug in!

Unless Thomann change what they ship, you will need to obtain the correct Schuko adaptor - a standard Europlug adaptor will NOT earth the amplifer and should not be used. Alternatively, you can change the plug on the existing cord to a UK one if you know how to do this safely.
handling
features
sound
quality
43
4
Report

Report

P
My first tube amp
PP141 30.05.2023
Sounds sweet, simple controls and a good enough speaker. If you're on a budget or/and can only play in your small apartment bedroom, this is the one to buy.
handling
features
sound
quality
0
0
Report

Report

H
It's cheap, it's ok - for the price, it's great!
Hefebaix 24.11.2021
Better than thought. Note that 1W mode is just "volume setting drop" or similar. But no complaints on that.
handling
features
sound
quality
5
0
Report

Report

G
It's ok for the price but not that impressive
GeorgeK2686 14.03.2023
As far as low wattage tube amps go, there are not many in the market. This is a very decent amp, but I found the 1-watt Marshall DSL1 to be a lot more impressive, with more features and the price is very close.
The lack of eq, means you need a drive or eq pedal in front to really shape the tone.
It is loud, even at 1-watt. There is little change in volume between 1 and 5 watts, but it feels that this amp delivers better at 1 watt. It would have been more useful as a bedroom amp if it was 1-watt with the option to reduce to 0.1 watts.
The overall tone is rather bright - this if you like it or not comes down to preference.
At 5 watts connecting it to an external cabinet makes a big difference!
I played it for two days straight - works well as a pedal platform and it starts getting a crunch with the volume turned to 7 and above.
I think for small live gigs this can be used either on its own or connected to another cabinet.
handling
features
sound
quality
2
0
Report

Report

K
One for the money
KarlC 22.12.2022
Great fun
Everyone should have one
Works well with Harley Benton overdrive pedal
Should have reverb but.... You can use a reverb pedal,and sounds fine without
Great gift for yourself or any guitarist
Looks at the price
It sounds like a tube amp because it is a tube amp
It does not sound like a fender but I know what those reviews mean all the same
The lower amp setting is a bit power muted, but both settings have interesting tones at various volume settings
For me the sweet spot is about 80% volume but I play it way down too
It's far louder than I was expecting
I bought it for Christmas last year so am adding this review this Christmas after a year
handling
features
sound
quality
1
0
Report

Report

W
This one is a keeper
Wqllqce 19.05.2022
The Harley Benton Tube5 amplifier is an amazing deal at £123.
An all tube amplifier at this pricing level is a must have.
The amp which was delivered into the UK extremely quickly by Thomann, is covered in a cream coloured textured vinyl with steel protective caps on all corners.
The vinyl application is flawless and most impressive.
Weight is around 6kg which makes moving it about an easy job.
The chrome front panel houses an on/off switch, tone and volume controls, attenuator push switch and a socket for the guitar cable.
Front panel quality is good, as is also the speaker grille.
The HB Tube5 is a good looking amplifier, and does not look out of place in the living room.
Sound wise, the Tube5 is quite bright, but this can be negated by reducing the tone control to about -4.
I am also sure that once the speaker cone has slackened off with use, some of the brightness will diminish.
This is a typical tube amp, and is very loud. Reducing it to the 1 watt setting is more than loud enough for home use.
This also has the benefit of making the amp less bright.
Overall I am more than happy with the Tube5. It is a keeper.
handling
features
sound
quality
0
0
Report

Report

O
I like it
OvidiuE 23.05.2023
I bought this amp because i wanted a tube amp in my life for some reason and an amp that takes pedals well in case I want to experiment with pedals in the future.
The one I received initially had a pretty pronounced buzz when turned louder than the 2-3 position. Same with the tone all the way to the right. I actually wasn't expecting it to be whisper quiet but i thought it was a bit too much so I raised this issue with Thomann and after some more comunication and details from me, they replaced the amp.

The new one is better. It still has some buzz but I guess it's normal and I can't hear it while playing, unlike the first one.

Unlike some reviews I read, I found the sound to be really cool. Loud, full, punchy or sweet are some words that come to mind depending on playing style. I don't find it boxy or tinny. It really reacts to the players touch and coming from digi amps, that is nice.

Be advised it's a clean amp. With my Fender Mexican Tele, by the time it starts to distort, it's waay too loud for sustained apartment use.
For distortion I use a Harley Benton Vintage Overdrive and I think it sounds great.

I mostly use it on the 1W setting and turn the volume a bit louder. Seems to sound better than on the 5W setting with the volume lower.

Some people were complaining about not being able to read the front pannel. I don't have that problem. There's not that much to read.


In conclusion, I like it and I hope it lasts a long time.
handling
features
sound
quality
1
0
Report

Report

G
Pretty sweet!
Gatorback 03.03.2022
For the money this thing is great!
handling
features
sound
quality
0
0
Report

Report

B
Great Harmonia Rig
Biggsy 11.10.2022
Good little amp, good sound with all you could reasonably ask for at this price - which is incredibly low. Plugged harmonica rig straight in and was impressed with the quality of sound and volume. I'll gig this alone for small/medium shows and mic up for the larger ones. Great weight !
handling
features
sound
quality
0
0
Report

Report

d
great value!
doumi 19.11.2023
very nice little amp, super sounb for the price, and enough for your apartment pratice (at least for me...)
handling
features
sound
quality
0
0
Report

Report

Harley Benton TUBE5 Celestion