Funky Oddball Amps

standup · Post by **standup** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:11 am

Somebody around here has a Baldwin amp on Craigslist. It's solid state, so not much interest, I guess. But it does have great 70's "Fun Machine" styling and bright colored tone buttons. It's a 2x12 amp, too big for the kind of space I have available. But it looks great in its way.

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/msg/1466377643.html

oldguitars · Post by **oldguitars** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:29 am

those Baldwins are great amps. Willie nelson used them...

wren · Post by **wren** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:01 am

These days I usually go direct (a travesty, I know, but I live in the city), but when I plug in I typically use a Ferrograph mono reel-to-reel built somewhere between '52 and '54 with a strange extension cab I made out of an empty Fender practice amp cab and a no-name but surprisingly good-sounding 8" speaker of appropriate ohm-age for the Ferrograph (16). There's nothing you can do with it that makes it sound clean and pretty.

oldguitars · Post by **oldguitars** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:55 am

My Harmony h400a is really cool and 60's Epi Pathfinder has amazing verb and trem...

tony_tomlinson · Post by **tony_tomlinson** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:45 pm

I have a 55 Electro that's pretty cool. I think it was made by Rickenbacker, like an M-12 with tremolo.

Another poster mentioned Bell & Howell. Bell & Howells are certainly not foriegn to harmonica players but cool just the same. What really unusual is using a tube phonograph as an amp. I have a friend that found a great record player in working condition. During the set he'd play guitar through it and on breaks he'd spin 45's. He sounded like Willie Johson meets Joe Hill Louis. Good times!

tony_tomlinson · Post by **tony_tomlinson** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:48 pm

Oh, I forgot about Alamo and Sano. The later of which was primarily used as an accordian amp. They are awesome!

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:30 pm

I've got an old Bogen record player that sounds pretty good. It's from the 50's, all tube, has a 10" speaker in the cover which detaches.

Hallogallo · Post by **Hallogallo** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:45 pm

tony_tomlinson wrote:Oh, I forgot about Alamo and Sano. The later of which was primarily used as an accordian amp. They are awesome!

I believe the Sanos are Ampeg built. I see them often on eBay with the killer 'swirly' grills.

norton · Post by **norton** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:57 pm

Airline, Magnatone and Estey made great amps...

Another huge thumbs up for Selmer... i love my zodiac.

Trick Fall · Post by **Trick Fall** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:23 pm

I've got an old Sound amp that's not working anymore, but was a pretty cool sixties tube amp when it was. It's like a huge 2 X 12 really tall. Kind of Fenderish sounding. I've never seen another one.

Trick Fall · Post by **Trick Fall** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:33 pm

It's funny I hadn't thought about that Sound amp in a while and was remembering how when it was cranked I always thought it sounded very Keith Richards ger yer ya ya's out. Anyway I did some googling and it was made by an ex Ampeg guy so I guess that figures. I might have to dig it out and see if someone can resurrect it.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:41 am

I have a 1960 Rickenbacker M-10, a TV-front thing with just a cuppla tubes like a Champ - gets me the best Keef sounds after I put a Jensen Blue innit ... Never hear of 'em, but they are cool.

That old Elektar that you had and dumped? Sounds great through a 2x12" with Celestions.

I have a little Zeus S/S (like on the Randy Rhoads pedal board) that is just amazing for some things, all raging 2" speaker...

I have a Peavey Backstage Trans-Tube POS that is actually not a bad little recording amp.

Of recent amps, I really like the little solid-state Pathfinder.

Dakota · Post by **Dakota** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 1:02 pm

Some oddballs I have and like:

Velvetone President. All around great. I gig with that one a lot.

Goya "Attache" suitcase amp. It might be somewhat broken, but if so I'm not in a hurry to get it fixed as it has the most excellently hellacious Stooges sort of raw overdive and frying chaos.

Sears 5-XL. Great clean sounds, very pretty.

riantide · Post by **riantide** » Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:44 pm

Scodiddly wrote:I've got an old Bogen record player that sounds pretty good. It's from the 50's, all tube, has a 10" speaker in the cover which detaches.

Those old 50's and 60's tube phono amps and PAs have a tendency to be pretty awesome. I have an old Newcomb phonograph amplifier that a local guitar tech modded to be a guitar amp and it's one of my favorite amps for tracking. My latest acquisition is an old Bogen PA that this guy here in Portland totally gutted except for the transformers and then built a 5F2A Princeton circuit into the empty chassis. I got it for $125 and it's ugly as hell but totally kicks ass.

One of the reasons those old Bogens and Newcombs (and I've also heard cool stuff come from an old Davis amp) are so cool is that the transformers they used were pretty awesome.

littlesongs · Post by **littlesongs** » Thu Nov 26, 2009 1:53 pm

Hallogallo wrote:
tony_tomlinson wrote:Oh, I forgot about Alamo and Sano. The later of which was primarily used as an accordian amp. They are awesome!
I believe the Sanos are Ampeg built. I see them often on eBay with the killer 'swirly' grills.

Though it is an oft-repeated story, Sano amplifiers were not built by Ampeg. Sano was an independent company owned by the Zonfrilli family.

Sano got their start by patenting and manufacturing the first electric pickup for accordion. In addition to building pickups and amps domestically, Sano imported accordions and stringed instruments from Italy that were sold under their own name and the Zon-Rio marque. Sano also did badge engineered work for squeezebox distributors and guitar companies like Gretsch. Like Ampeg and Hilgen, Sano was based in New Jersey. They produced amplifiers and pickups from around 1950 until the early 80s.

I have a twin combo from '66 that I like quite a bit. It has a 'swirly grill' too.

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