In Praise Of 17-Watt Watkins Amps, 18-Watt Marshalls, And Their Clones

[crunchee]

Saw this article tonight in the latest (Feb. 2026) online Premier Guitar:

A Vintage Watkins Dominator Lands on the Bench - Premier Guitar

It reminded me of this old Guitar Player  article from 2022:

How the Watkins Dominator Pointed the Way Forward to Marshall’s Famed 18-Watters | GuitarPlayer

Funny how neither article seems to mention the old 18Watt.com website.

I have a couple of 18-watt clones, one is a Mojotone kit head assembled by our own HFC member Fractal, the other is a VHT Standard 18.  I've owned these for a few years, they've both served me very well, and I've never needed to go look for another amp.  Anybody else here prefer these?

[Disturber]

Never had a. 18W clone. But reading about that Watkins amp makes me want one badly.

I have my old 18W Fender Superchamp. It ripps.

For Marshall tones I settled on the fact that my 4010 JCM800 is the ultimate home, studio and gigging amp. The fact that these are quite bright makes them work very well with a good attenuator. From bedroom level to full blast. If you use the attenuator for what it is, that it will change the tone and feel of the amp on it's more quiet settings, you can get a lot of fantastic tones out of this set up when recording.

It's a 1x12 combo so it's as easy to haul around as a Deluxe Reverb. It sounds awesome at the same volume as an 18 watt amp putts out, but it has the muscle of s 50 watter if ever needed.

It has EL34's, my favourite tube. And it does not have a choke or other od construction to keep the volume levels down, like the Marshall Studio amps. Well built and good UK transformers too. A real Marshall from the golden years. What's not to love.

[Dutchman]

I've had a few. My favorite was a Reinhardt 18 which was a TMB clone. As I got older I wanted cleaner/moreheadroom. So I ùse a Deluxe Reverb or a 5E3 at àround 3.

I think it's the 6v6 vsEL84 sound difference.

[Jimbilly]

The older lesser well known tube amps can be real bargains, there's a couple on Craigslist and FB Marketplace near me I'm tempted to pickup, but I've reached full capacity for old amps it seems. 

I have a pair of '68 Univox U45's, those are fantastic and low price, keep an eye out for those.  A while ago I got a little Hilgen 1x12 combo (2 el84s), a friend who fixed/built amps as a hobby rebuilt it as a 'modded bassman' pre and Vox type output, really fun little combo.  I've always wondered about those Yellowjackets that would allow for my 2204 to run with el84s, but I've never tried them.

  My H&K Tubemeister 20 deluxe is a winner, those are relatively inexpensive, - I don't know what else one might want for a more 'modern' low cost small tube head.  I have a pretty big pile of good used old EL84s, getting some of those in the HK is on my to-do list.

[santellavision]

Here's one I bet you haven't seen before!!
A wacky, 18-watter by TomasZewichZ amps. It had way too many flippin' preamp/gain/master knobs. Actually sounded great, but trying to remember where you set the knobs was silly.

[duncans]

Timely post. I think I've gathered all the parts to start my latest amp, Sluckeys' Dual Lite. Dual pre amp Vox AC15 Lite and Marshall 18 watt. Non- footswitchable(guess I could make it that way) preamp into 2 el84 power amp. AC15 has vol., brilliance(6 way rotary) and cut. 18 watt has vol and tone. Most of the amps I've built utilize Hammond organ transformers so I work within those parameters. I actually have built both those amps already. Matchless Nighthawk(head) is their take on the AC15 and the Marshall 18 watt lite(combo) is, well, the Marshall 18 watt.  Both pretty darn decent sounding amps. I built Robinettes' JCM 800 with a pair of 6v6 s' two winters ago, his 6L6 Blackvibe 3 winters ago. Winters can get long here in SoDak ! I've built 8 amps so far since I quit gigging in '07, they've gotten increasingly expensive too build. The dual lite will probably be the last build.   Marsha the 18 watt, left is Matchless nighthawk(AC15), The JCM 800 6v6 with a lot of hammond organ parts.

Edited February 4 by duncans
Added info.

[beezerboy]

Hoffman 18w Plexi

[crunchee]

Here's the YooToob Watkins video from the Guitar Player article.  I do love that vibrato/tremolo feature and sound, the Mojotone amp I purchased from Fractal was assembled with that stock trem circuit.  Everybody nowadays (including me, my VHT Standard 18 has the TMB [Treble/Middle/Bass] tone stack too as original) seems to have the TMB setup, but it's nice to go OG every now and then:

 

[beezerboy]

I should have said more about the Hoffman 18 Plex. the one and only input goes to both sides of V1.... V1A is voiced "normal", V1B is bright. each one has a volume control, and the mix goes on the TMB tone stack.  there is a presence control and a master volume.  I built one and liked it so much I built another with Tubinit(?)s one tube reverb. great sound, super versatile. several ways to set the tone and the gain

[Travis]

I’ve got a Budda SD18. Not a “clone” but still within the lower watt parameters yet loud enough to do most anything I would need in or out of the house. And it sounds great! If I ever need something louder, my SD30 would be more than capable. 

Edited February 6 by Travis

[Jimbilly]

someone should be building these, my amp builder friend put this together for me out of a '50s Magnotone chassis that had been previously re-wired and had an inappropriate transformer. I wanted a low wattage simple head:

this is a "modded bassman"  preamp, and a champ type single octal power section (going for a Marshall / Champ type thing).  He built it so that I can use 6V6s or any 6L6, I've got a bunch of old 6L6GAs Bs etc that are unmatched and not robust enough for a more modern amp, so now I have an amp I can use those ancient tubes in, and it sounds great.  My dad built the mahogany box for it, he's not really a 'craftsman' but it was a fun project for a then 88 year old. I drilled holes in the bottom board for easier removal of longer tubes, the keep the box shorter and keep it from being too top-heavy.

Edited February 5 by Jimbilly

[Disturber]

I found a Watkins Dominator for sale over here. In a music shop. They want 3K for it. I am thinking, nah not a chance.

 

[cmatthes]

I don't have a clone either, but my "sweet spot" for amps seems to be in the 18w-30w range, and anything bigger than the 18-watters are more for bigger rooms/outside use only.  I think the only amp that's gotten my palms damp recently was a Marshall SV20, and I really don't want to spend the money for one.  The Boogie will likely be moving along soon.  I custom-ordered it in 1989, but rarely play it any more.  More into the 3 Monkeys stuff and my TM60.

 

 

[crunchee]

Avatar used to build and sell a 18-watt semi-clone amp in both head and combo form a few years ago that was pretty popular (used ones can still be found on Reverb every now and then), but they quit doing that and have since been focusing on making only speaker cabinets.  A lot of small amp builders used to make amps more-or-less based on the 18-watt Watkins/Marshall amp over the last twenty to thirty years, but a good number of them have since gone out of business.  Amp kits are still around, though:

British-Style 18-Watt Amp Kits: Mojotone & Tube Depot - Premier Guitar

The 18-watt amp that I purchased from HFC member Fractal is one of these Mojotone kits, and I love it.

If all else fails, the easiest thing to do is to look for good used examples (functional, of course) for sale.

Edited to add:  Dan Baird (of Georgia Satellites fame) is featured on this old Avatar demo video:

 

Edited February 6 by crunchee

[Jakeboy]

I owned the first Lil Dawg Pug combo which was a spot on clone of the Marshall 1974 Normal channel. That one was a fire-breather that I should have kept…think a nastier JTM at lower volumes…like a 5e3 and a JTM had a one night stand in an alley and this is the resulting baby. A total RNR grinder. I should have kept it. @django49 has it now. 
 

I found a Pug head a few years ago but it had been modified and didn’t sound near as good as my combo. Marshall’s 1974 was a straight up rip of the Dominator. I’d love to have one.

[Hbom]

Talking about 18 watters.. This one should make you all smile.

Reeves Custom 18 | Reverb