5-Watt Battery-Powered Tube Guitar Amp

We designed this portable 5-watt tube guitar amp to run on 3 x 9V batteries — but of course, you can also power it with a 12–18V DC adapter.

This little beast runs on a single dual-triode vacuum tube (12AU7). The sleek grey box we used for the build most likely came from a 1960s record player, giving the amp a unique combo-style vintage look.

The front panel features:

A volume knob to control your loudness,

A Bright/Dark switch to shape your tone and open up its harmonic range,

A Mute/Standby switch to silence or pause the amp when needed,

And thanks to the output on the back panel, you can connect it to a larger 8-ohm guitar cab and get up to 15 watts of power — though we definitely recommend using a power adapter for that.

This simple and user-friendly design wasn’t just made to replace big amps at home. It’s built to be your reliable travel buddy — whether you’re at a picnic, in a hotel room, or jamming with your band. Despite its small size, it delivers warm and rich tube tones anywhere you go. We built this amp using around 80% antique electronic parts. It’s hand-wired with care, and the power amp circuit is tuned to get the best out of the 12AU7 tube at a solid 5-watt output.