Some Of The Weird Amplifiers That I Have Had The Pleasure To Have Known

 

I'm the kid with the Stratocaster

I started playing guitar when I was 13 years old.  Shortly afterward I began hanging out at the local music stores to take lessons and check out the new guitars and amplifiers. If I wasn't able to get there, I would call the stores bugging the heck out of the salesmen hoping they would tell me all about the latest gear. 

This past year I’ve had to rely on the internet since many music stores have temporarily closed, and I am leery to visit those that are still open. I’m doubtful if Guitar Center sanitizes all those guitar necks and the strings. I hope I'm wrong. I don't know if one can catch COVID from playing guitars that others have touched, but I ain't taking any chances.

Through the years I have come up close and personal with some of the most unusual guitars and amplifiers ever created. Sometimes I shake my head and ask myself, “who in the world came up with this idea?” So here are a few amplifiers that I’ve had the pleasure to have known. 

1969 Fender Bantam Bass

Around 1971 I came across this seemingly normal looking Silverface Fender amplifier at a local music store. It is called The Fender Bantam Bass amplifier. From outward appearances it looked like a Fender Bassman in a combo enclosure. 

Back of The Bantam Amp

The obvious difference from the amp's front was the addition of a mid-range control that is not found on a Bassman. However if you looked at the back of the amplifier you found this very weird 15" trapezoidal Styrofoam coned speaker which was manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation.

I am told these speakers were not very dependable and frequently blew out when the amp's 30 watts were pushed to hard. However if you are looking for a bargain, and are willing to swap out the speaker these amps are a bargain and selling for around $700, which is muchless than the price most vintage Silverface Fender amps are going for these days. 

Acoustic Image Contra bass amp

Earlier this decade Jazz guitar and bass players were looking for a small dependable amplifier. The Acoustic Image Company was founded by a sound engineer. The company makes amps that are very compact, loud, and can be easily transported in a backpack. 

Acoustic Image Contra amp

The original Contra Series Bass amp pumped out 300 watts into a 5" front firing" driver, and a 10" "down firing" driver that was located on the base of the amplifier. Yes, the speaker faced the floor. This amp came with two little feet that elevated the amp's front end a wee-bit to allow the sound to bounce off the floor. 

On the other end of the spectrum was an amplifier created by the Ampeg Company for Jazz guitarist Johnny Smith. Not enough can be said regarding Smith's contribution to the Jazz guitar. His style is still taught and studied. 

Johnny Smith
Ampeg JS-35

Through his career Smith utilized several amplifiers, but perhaps the most unusual was his "Fountain of Sound" Ampeg model JS-35. This 35 watt guitar amp came with high, volume, treble and bass controls, three inputs, an off-standby-power switch, and a 15' Ampeg speaker. 

Johnny Smith Ampeg JS-35

The odd thing was that the amplifier was designed with four detachable legs so the amp lay flat like a table. The speaker pointed straight up supposedly allowing the sound to flow around like "a fountain of sound". The amplifier never really caught on with the public. Smith later endorsed a different amplifier that he sold through his music store.

When the Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, every adolescent in the United States wanted to be a rock star. Companies scrambled to get guitars from any source they could. The Sears company was already ahead of the game since they owned The Harmony Company, which built guitars and other stringed instruments for Sears and other retailers. Sears which sold musical instruments under the Silvertone brand also shopped out their amplifiers to several manufacturing companies. One these manufacturers was the Danelectro company who offered two different models of guitar cases which had built in amplifiers as early as 1963.

Silvertone 1448/1449

The 1448/1449 model included either a one pickup (1448) or two pickup (1449) guitar that came with an amplifier in the case. The amp had a 5" speaker, a single volume control, a single input, an on/off switch, a rectifier tube, a power tube, and a preamp tube. It probably put out 3 to 4 watts. The guitar/amp retailed for an affordable $67.95. 

Silvertone 1457

The model 1449/1457 included a two pickup Danelectro made Formica guitar, but with a much better amplifier built into the case.  This amplifier contained an 8" speaker, along with a rectifier tube, two 6V6 power tubes, and a 12AX7 preamp tube, The controls included a volume, and a tone control, and two tremolo controls; strenght and speed. This amp had two inputs, and an input for a footswitch fo the tremolo effect, and an on/off switch. It came with a larger transformer. It pumped out a little more power, probably 8 to 10 watts. It sold for $99.95 for the guitar and amp combination. 

Remember the Fender bass amp with the Yamaha Styrofoam speaker that I just wrote about?  

TA90, TA60, TA30, & TA20

In 1970 the Yamaha Corporation offered a whole series of amplifiers that included trapezoidal Styrofoam speaker baffles. To make things even weirder, these amps came in triangular wedge shapes. The Yamaha TA series included the TA20, TA30, TA60, TA90, and TA120 solid-state amplifiers. 

1970 Yamaha TA30

The TA30 was enclosed in the wedged shape cabinet with the control panel on the amplifiers top and the inputs were on the side. The amplifier section was housed at the cabinet's base, with the speaker mounted above it. The TA30 was a 30 watt twin channel amplifier. 

Yamaha TA60

The speaker was supposed to represent the shape of a human ear. To me that is a stretch of the imagination. These speakers were used in Yamaha organs of the day. The TA20 amplifier was a single channel version with a smaller speaker. 

The TA60 pumped 60 watts of power into two of the Styrofoam speakers. The TA90 consisted of a PE90 head, and the TS90 cabinet which housed three Styrofoam speakers. 

Yamaha TA120

The Yamaha TA120 was a stereo amp that housed two 60 watt amplifiers and four Styrofoam speakers. This amp was mounted on a detachable roller dolly. I have come across only a few of these TA amplifiers since they were a short-lived venture. 

I remember being a 13 year old kid waiting to take my guitar lesson at Dodd's Music Store in Kentucky. The store had been a jewelry store, but when the guitar craze hit the owner decided to dedicate the store to guitars and amplifiers. 

Magnatone M15A

One of the amps that caught my attention was a Magnatone M15A amplifier. These amps were different than the Fender models that store stocked. The top of these amplifiers appear to be made of a plastic material. 

M15 Control Panel

The two channel control panel had a silver appearance and was laid out much differently than Fender amps of 1964. 

This particular model housed two 12" speakers. It had a wheat colored grill cloth that went around the sides of the amplifier. 

Magnatone M15

Another model in the store was the M15 which had three 8" speakers, one of which was dedicated for reverb.

Lonnie Mack with Magnatone
and Fender amps. 

What I didn't know at the time was that my guitar hero, Lonnie Mack, used one of these amplifiers to get his sound.  He paired it up to drive a Fender Bandmaster.These Maganatone amplifiers had true vibrato, which actually frequency modulation vibrato, which shifted the pitch, as opposed to Fender's version; Tremolo; which interrupted the signal. 

Originally Magnatone was marketing their amplifiers to accordion players, but the stereo vibrato made a wonderful guitar effect. (In later year Lonnie Mack used a Roland JC120 with additional speakers, since it was a louder and more roadworthy amplifier).  

Mike Matthews
Electro-Harmonix

One of the music businesses most flamboyant business owners is Mike Matthews, who is the founder of Electro-Harmonix, the company that is famous for all those great guitar pedals. Around 1971 Matthews determined the need for a battery powered amplifier to be used at venues that did not have access to electricity. 

The only battery powered guitar amplifier available at the time was the 3 watt Pignose. 

Mike Matthews
Freedom Amp

Matthews came up with the Mike Matthews Freedom Amplifier. These amplifers were available in three versions; a guitar amplifier, a bass guitar amplifier, and a PA system. All were available in three power options, AC, AC/DC, and DC only. 

Mike Matthew Freedom Amp

The guitar amp, which is the only one I am acquainted, with, pumped 55 watts of power into a heavy duty 10" CTS speaker. It is covered with black Tolex, with black grill cloth.  There were three control knobs; Volume, Tone, Bite, two inputs and an on/off switch. This little beast ran off of 40 - D cell batteries.

Can you believe it!  40 D - Cells! 

Matthews Freedom Amp

The amp sold for around $200 when it first was offered. It ran on transistors on a circuit board, and was wired to the transformer and speaker.  At the time most stores sold D batteries in a twin pack for $1.25. Forty batteries would run $50.00 and they probably would last only six to eight hours. It was not very practical.

Mike Matthews
Dirt Road Special

Later on Matthews came out with a similar amp that ran on AC power.  This was The Mike Matthews Dirt Road Special. This amp pumped 25 watts into 12" Celestion speaker. It had only one input, a Volume, Tone, and Bite control. The neat this was that it came with a built in Small Stone Phaser that had a Rate control.  All for $250 in 1977.

The Small Stone was a popular effect at the time. Once again the amp was covered with black Tolex, and had a black grill cloth. 

1990's Matthews
Freedom Amp

Around 1990 an updated version of the Matthews Freedom Amp came out in a smaller version with a pine cabinet, a printed circuit board, and a wall charger.  

2019 Dirt Road Special

The Dirt Road Special was also updated and offered in 2019. Power rating for the reissue is 40 watts RMS, and the amp has built-in reverb instead of a phase shifter.

Over the years I have come across a lot of amplifiers and owned a few. I cannot say these were my favorites, but they were certainly were the most unusual.

Click on the links under the pictures for sources. Click on the links in the text for further information.

©UniqueGuitar Publication 2020 (text only)

        

Here is the original recording of Lonnie Mack's Memphis through his Magnatone amp.

Julian Bream, Classical Guitarist And Lutest Passed Away August 14th, 2020

Julian Bream - recent

One of the most distinguished classical guitarists of our day, Julian Bream passed away on August 14th of this year. His career spread over half a century. He was not just a master of the guitar, but he helped to revive interest in the lute.

Bream was born in 1933 in Battersea, London, England. His father was a commercial artist and an amateur jazz guitarist. The family eventually moved to Hampton. Young Bream’s introduction to music was through the piano and cello. He eventually took up the guitar with encouragement from his father at an early age.

At a very early age he enjoyed the music of Django Reinhardt, and began strumming along on his father’s guitar to tunes on the radio. But  Bream became frustrated with his lack of knowledge of jazz harmony, so he read instruction books by Eddie Lang.

Julian's father, Henry Bream

Bream’s father had taught him the basics on guitar, but his fundamental education came from lesson given to him by Boris Perott, who was president of the Philharmonic Society of Guitarists. Bream’s father joined the society and became the organization’s librarian.

Boris Perott with Students.

This gave young Julian access to a large collection of rare music.

Young Julian Bream
with a Harp Guitar

On his 11th birthday Julian Bream was given a gut-string guitar by his father. Within a year Julian Bream was recognized as a child prodigy winning a junior exhibition for his piano skills. This enabled him to study piano and composition at the Royal College of Music.

By age 13 he made his debut in a guitar recital at Cheltenham. Four years later he debuted in another recital at Wigmore Hall.

His father had apprehensions regarding Bream’s career as a guitarist, which made the young man more determined to pursue his passion for classical guitar.

The Royal College of Music - London

In the late 1940’s the Royal College of Music did not recognize the guitar as a legitimate instrument. Julian was advised not to bring the instrument with him. He was told to concentrate on piano.

Despite the warning, Bream brought his guitar to the school and played late night performances. When this was discovered by the school, he was asked to leave his guitar at home. Bream instead quit the school.

In 1952 he was called into active military service and drafted into the Pay Corps, but eventually managed to sign up for the Royal Artillery Band. After three and half years in the army, he took any musical jobs that came his way, including background music for radio plays and films. Recording sessions and work for the BBC were important to Bream throughout the 1950s and the early 1960s.

Young Julian playing Lute

In 1952 he played part of a recital on the lute at Wigmore Hall. His fame grew and Bream traveled throughout the world on extensive tours.

By 1960 he put together The Julian Bream Consort, which was a four piece ensemble with Bream playing lute. This lead to a revival of music from the Elizabethan era.

Julian Bream 1978 Master Class

In 1963 Julian Bream performed for the Mason Concert series in Boston, which included his Consort. He also taught master classes at the music school in Dartington. Though he suffered a serious injury to his right arm in an auto accident, he continued to play guitar and lute.

Julian Bream

Julian Bream performed with the London Symphony. In 1997, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of his debut, he performed a recital at Cheltenham Town Hall.


A few weeks later, the BBC dedicated a television tribute This Is Your Life programme to Bream, filmed after a commemorative concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.

Julian Bream In Concert

Other engagements around that time included a gala solo performance at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool; a Kosovo Aid concert at St. John's, Smith Square, London, with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; recitals at the Snape Proms, Aldeburgh, and at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.

He also did a tour of National Trust properties in summer and autumn 2000.

Julian Bream at 85

His final recital was at Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich, on 6 May 2002.  Bream died on 14 August 2020, at his home at Donhead St Andrew.

1939 Herman Hauser Sr. guitar

Maestro Bream played and owned many guitars. Most were built in the style of famed German luthier Herman Hauser Sr. Hauser built many fine instruments, in the style of Spanish luthier Antonio de Torres, for numerous artists. Andres Segovia played his guitars. His son Herman Hauser II took over his shop until his death. Currently Herman Hauser III and his sister Kathryn Hauser continue the tradition.

Julian Bream with Martin 0-28

Julian Bream's first decent guitar was an 1880 Martin 0-28 that was a gift from his father and purchased in 1948. Guitars of that era were braced for steel strings.

Julian Bream's 1st guitar

Prior to this Bream's father purchased a Ramirez classic guitar built by the shop of Jose Ramirez II. The guitar was in poor condition, and the elder Bream repaired the instrument.

Young Bream with Ibanez guitar

During his first recital he played a guitar that was loaned to him.  This was a 1930 Salvador Ibanez instrument. This should not be confused with the Ibanez instruments made in Japan.

13 year old Bream with small Ibanez
and adult sized Ibanez

In 1946 his father acquired a Maccaferi harp guitar (pictured above). However Julian's instructor would not allow him to use a "freak" guitar in recital. An adult sized 1930's Salvatore Ibanez guitar was loaned to him.

Example of a 1937 Herman Hauser I

In 1950 Bream purchased a Herman Hauser I guitar that he used in concerts for the next 5 years. He purchased another Herman Hauser I in 1956.

Bream with Herman Hauser II guitar

In 1959 Bream purchased a guitar built by Herman Hauser II and used it to record the LP, The Art of Julian Bream. He used this guitar through 1963.

Bream with Edgar Monch guitar

In 1959 Bream also purchased a guitar built by Edgar Mönch that same year. He used this guitar on his recording Guitar Concertos - Julian Bream.

1962 Robert Bouchet guitar

In 1962 Bream acquired two guitars built by famed French luthier Robert Bouchet.  One instrument was built in 1957 and the other in 1962. These instruments were both used on the recording Popular Classics for Spanish Guitar.

Manuel Ramirez guitar

In 1962 Bream acquired a Manuel Ramirez classical guitar which he used on several recordings.

1966 Rubio classical

David "Jose" Rubio was an English luthier and guitar player. He moved to Seville, and then to Madrid to study Flamenco guitar. During his time there Rubio became interested in building guitars. Rubio moved to New York City and opened a shop. Julian Bream had played some of his instruments, and visited Rubio.

The two men struck up a friendship. Rubio moved back to Oxford, England and spent the year 1967 through 1969 living at Bream's house in Semly. He eventually opened a shop in Oxford. Robio not only built guitars for Julian Bream, but also built Lutes from Bream, but also built vihuela, theorboes, harpsichords, violas da gamba, baroque guitars, etc. He later relocted his workshop to Cambridge.

Bream's 1969
Jose Romanillos guitar

Around 1969 Julian Bream purchased three guitars that were built by Spanish builder Jose Romanillos. Romanillos retired in 1995 when he passed the business to his son Liam. These guitars were built specifically for Bream. Bream went on to purchase several more guitars from this builder and used them on ten different LP's. 

1961 Hernandez Y Aguado guitar

In the early 1970's Julian Bream purchased a guitar made by Hernandez Y Aguado (Hernanez and Aguado). These were established builders from Madrid. Santiago Diaz Martinez, aka Manuel Hernandez and Victoriano Aguado Rodriguez began building guitars in 1945. Their instruments were played by Julian Bream, John Williams, and other well known classical players. Their guitars are sometimes just abbreviated as HyA.   

Jeffrey Elliot
guitar

In 1986 Julian Bream acquired a guitar built by Jeffrey Elliot. Elliot is not just a luthier, but an exceptional guitarist in his own right. He builds classical and flamenco guitars, and also restores instruments. 

1998 Kevin Aram

Bream purchased two guitars built by UK luthier Kevin Aram. One was acquired in 1986, and another in 1988. Aram builds his instruments in North Devonshire and has built over 300 instruments in the style of Torres and Hauser. 

1997 Brian Cohen guitar

Julian Bream used two guitars built by British luthier Brian Cohen. The first was acquired in 1991 on loan from the builder. Bream purchased the Cohen guitar seen here in 1997.

 

2008 Gerhardt Oldiges model

In 2008 Bream purchased a guitar that was built by German luthier Gerhardt Oldiges. This instrument was bought in England at Kent Guitar Classics, a guitar business that partners with Oldiges.  

2009 Simon Ambridge guitar

The final guitar owned by Maestro Bream was purchased in 2009 from UK luthier Simon Ambridge, a builder from South Devon.

Click on the links under the photos for sources. Click on the links in the text for further information.

©UniqueGuitar Publications 2020 (text only)