Elk Custom 45

[Phostenix]

Had a guy ask me about one of these today. I've found a little info on google about it, but not much. Anybody here have any knowledge of these amps? Do they have any value today? Are they worth restoring?

Thanks.

[wyatt]

Not familiar with that particular model but Elks have absolutely no value, IMHO.

From the outside, they look like carbon copies of Fenders, but the circuit is enitrely different and total crap.

To me, they would only the value of their empty chassis and cabinet.

[TheEHMan]

Not familiar with that particular model but Elks have absolutely no value, IMHO.

From the outside, they look like carbon copies of Fenders, but the circuit is enitrely different and total crap.

To me, they would only the value of their empty chassis and cabinet.

I have an Elk Stage Man amp that I use as my bench amp and while it's definitely not Fender quality, I wouldn't call it crap. It's along the lines of Univox quality/construction from what I recall.

[olddawg]

Here's what I always tell people about these low end old amps. If you have no technical knowledge or skills stay away from them. That said, if you do and can get them cheap you can do a lot with them. Nowadays alot of people have more time and brains than they have money. Fenders are nice amps but old Leo used the cheapest stuff he could source at the time too. I tell people to stay away from anything solid state. (If I can get some name brand broken solid state stuff super cheap I will fix it and resell it but I wouldn't recommend that for the average noob) If you can get an Elk, Univox, or whatever for cheap with known good iron you can do a lot with it. Sometimes you will even get some good nos tubes and speaker(s). I would bet that Elk 45 has 12AX7s an 6L6s. So if it isn't what you like you just make a new tag board for it. What do you want? A Bassman, a Super, A Plexi? It's even cheaper if you hoard this junk (old hifi chassis,etc) for parts. Almost any old guitar amp with EL84s can be converted to a Marshall 18 watt or a Vox AC30 based amp. My 2 cents anyway.

[TieRBuoY]

Elk 45

If it is similar to the one I have, they were manufactured by Miyuki Electronics in the 1960's. I have a "Twin Amp 45" that is a separate head with a 2x12 cab and looks similar to a Fender Blackface.

These things are ripe for modding. I don't know if I would call them total crap.

[custom_amp_30]

Man those are harsh words about ELK. I own Six Elk amplifiers from the Custom Amp 30 to the ELK Twin Amp 60.

I have had a good time collecting and repairing these amps. I remember that this was once a very proud brand in Japan and even contacted Joe Fire, The only American Engineer to work at the Original Elk Factory in the late sixties.

The few amps that are still out there are in most parts fair condition with most requiring a few capacitors to be changed out, pots cleaned and a good look at the Power Transformer.