The Palmer brand has a comfortable place among guitarists. Although it is still better known for its specialized direct boxes and speaker simulators for guitarists, surely its flagship products. Nevertheless, the brand has continued an upward trajectory in building cabinets and tube amplifiers for guitarists. Today we have a good-looking little five-tube combo with first-rate tones.
Construction and Finish
As you can see in the photos, this is an especially attractive amplifier. Cared for down to the smallest detail, with certain retro touches that go very well with its warm tube sound, perfect for rock and blues. Its cabinet is made of steel and covered plywood. Its control panel is on top, behind its sturdy carrying handle. We think the aesthetic result is very successful and charming.
Circuits and Components
For some time now, amplifiers capable of great tone but without excessive power have been in fashion. Getting natural timbres and warm tube saturation at moderate volumes has always been a problem for guitarists. This kind of 5, 10, or 15 W amp emerged to solve and answer that need. To satisfy guitarists who need a real, tube-driven, “pure” sound but don’t need to play on big stages (with it) at exorbitant power levels.
In today’s case we find a 5 W Class A amplifier with 12AX7 tubes in the preamp, 6V6 in the power stage, and a Tube EZ81 rectifier. This select signal path ends in a luxury speaker: a 10" Eminence Ragin Cajun. What this 5 W can do is truly surprising. Its performance, in terms of power, is far above what you’d expect when you read that it’s 5 W. Besides underlining its Class A design, the best thing is to play through it to experience the sensations we’re describing.
Sound and Performance
This is a 10 kg combo capable of putting out ample power, within logical expectations for this type of amplifier. It has an attenuator that lets us work at different volumes, getting the most out of the tubes even at very low sound pressure levels. On the back of the amp there is a three-position switch that cycles through
- Maximum power: Full.
- Room. Considerable reduction in output.
- Bedroom, for working at minimum volumes and still getting high saturation
The attenuator makes it much easier to get tube saturation, even when working at very low sound pressure levels (low volume).
| No explanation is needed for those of you who know the virtues of attenuators, but we’ll explain for those who don’t know what they’re for. What we achieve by going from Full to Room, and from Room to Bedroom, is to make the tubes work flat out, turning the gain and volume all the way up, while holding back the decibel power of the tone. That way, at maximum attenuation you can set the controls wide open, getting total saturation at especially moderate volumes. Working at full, on the other hand, we get all of its power, so we can use the amp in rehearsal settings or with more powerful sound sources. |  |
This is the part where we highlighted its virtues, because for a little 5-watt amp, in full mode it has quite a bit of punch. As a result it becomes a fairly versatile product. We can’t close this section without highlighting the quality of its sound. We’re probably not wrong to say that this amp isn’t the ideal one for metal, but it is for rock and blues. For lovers of good tone, who are looking for the warmth of tubes and the powerful dynamics this type of amplifier offers, the FAB 5 is a little gem. We also tried it with a pedal or two to give us a hand with brutal saturation and, honestly, we can hold our own quite well in practically any situation: cleans, crunch, and heavy stuff (with the help of pedals).
Its 5 W of Class A deliver excellent performance. It has a lot more punch than you’d imagine by looking at it.
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Thanks to the attenuator, the tubes described, and these knobs, we can hold back or push the dynamics of the guitar sounds. The lower we turn down the attenuator, the more punch we can get out of the saturation while working at low volumes. Clear, right?
Conclusions
Little to add to what we’ve already said. A well-finished product, good-looking and warm in both appearance and sound. Especially suitable (in our opinion) for blues, rock, and mid-gain tones. Great power considering its 5 W. We think it’s a great amplifier for working in the studio, at home, or at the rehearsal space if our band isn’t a bunch of savages who play flat out. In short, small and simple but extremely professional. Good finishes, and well thought out in both its exterior and internal architecture. We liked it a lot.
