Some Amplifiers That I Have Had The Pleasure To Have Known

 

Typical Music Store

I have been learning about guitars and amplifiers since I started playing at age 13. Through the years I have been to many, many music stores and bugged many salespeople with questions about the latest new thing, Along with the electric guitar and bass guitar, the amplifier is crucial in shaping the instruments sound. Over the years I have owned a few.

RCA Tube Manual

Guitar and bass amplifiers have come a long way over the years when I started in 1965 repair manuals. These earliest tube amplifiers were based on modified versions of schematics from RCA, which was a US manufacturer of vacuum tubes that at the time were mostly used for radios. The transistor was to be the next big thing, though it took some time to perfect usable sounds. This morphed into the Integrated circuit and then computer technology which begot modeling amplifiers. Thus ends the lesson of the day. 

Western Auto Store

My first amplifier was one that I purchased at a Western Auto Store. Aside from automobile parts, this store carried a line of guitars and amplifiers which were made by The Kay Guitar Company or Valco..

Kay Model 803

In 1964 for only $39.95 I purchased a Kay Model 803 guitar amplifier. It put out a mere 3 to 4 watts of RMS power through an 8” speaker. The amp utilized 3 tubes, a rectifier, a power tube, and a preamp tube. It only came volume/on/off control and tone control. I still have this amplifier, but put a new speaker and changed the Tolex on it years ago.

The White Building
was Dodd's Music

Dodd’s Music in Covington, Kentucky went out of business many years ago. In the mid 1960's it had been my favorite music store and hang out. Before turning their inventory to mainly guitars and amplifiers it was a popular Jewelry store. This store carried the very latest in guitars and amplifiers from the mid to late 1960's. They were a dealer for Magnatone amplifiers. 

1964 Magnatone M9

I was fascinated by the Magnatone M9 Guitar Amplifier. It was housed in what looks like a molded plastic cabinet. The Magnatone Company has a very interesting history. This model of amplifier was created when the Estey Organ Company purchased Magnatone and was one of the more well-appointed and most versatile tube amps ever made. 

1964 Magnatone M9

Both channels, listed as one and two have Volume, Tone and contour controls..’ Channel One has  the truly amazing Magnatone true pitch shift Vibrato (Speed and Depth controls). This is a stereo amplifier.

If you’ve never heard real Vibrato (Fenders and other amps used Tremolo, which is volume shifting, and labeled them Vibrato), however Magnatone amps actually shift pitch. 

Lonnie Mack's original set up

During the early part of his career Lonnie Mack  played through a Magnatone M9 amp. Since the amp lacked volume, at 35 watts and had a 15" speaker and a 3" tweeter. Lonnie used a direct box made by his friend Gene Lawson, 

This arrangement dropped the Magnatone output to line level and then fed it into a Fender  Tube Reverb unit, then into a Fender Bandmaster to increase volume when he was playing live. 

Supro Thunderbolt Amp

The 1965 Supro Thunderbolt S6420 Combo Amp was marketed as a bass guitar amplifier, but as I recall when my friend tried one out at a gig and cranked it up, this amp rattled and distorted like crazy. This was definitely not a good thing at all for a bass player. However as a guitar amp, the Supro Thunderbolt rocked. 

The Thunderbolt was a very basic amplifier having only two control knobs; Volume and Tone, reminiscent of like a larger version of The Fender Blues Junior. 

Supro Thunderbolt Amp

The Thunderbolt put out 35 watts of full-range sound of honest midrange into a nice vintage  tube tone. The Thunderbolt was great for everything from clean jazz to twang, to humbucker grind. 

As previously mentioned this amp was rated at 35 Watts RMS due to its vintage Supro dual 6L6 power tubes. 

A 5U4 rectifier tube is employed to deliver high-powered vintage sag. The preamp section was made up of a pair of 12AX7 RCA tubes. The amp had Normal and Hot input options for a wide range of available gain depending on how loud it was cranked. 

Turned all the way up, the Thunderbolt exhibits nearly zero noise, and it puts out enough volume to be easily heard on large venue and theater stages, with overdrive completely controlled by the guitar’s volume knob. 

As a plus the Thunderbolt has a singe 15" Jensen C15P Speaker. This amp had a gray speaker baffle covering and "blue rhino hide" cabinet covering. This amp was manufactured by the Valco company. These amps are available, but are very expensive on the vintage market. 

1970 Fender Bantam Bass

One of the weirdest and most unusual amps that I have ever encountered was The Fender Bantam Bass amplifier. This creation was put together by the engineers at CBS. And much like the Supro Thunderbolt, this amp was better suited for guitar, except for the extremely weird trapezoidal shaped Styrofoam Yamaha speaker. What were they thinking? 

Allow me to explain. Bill Schultz worked for the Yamaha Corporation. When CBS was ready to sell off Fender, Bill and a team of investors purchased the company renaming it Fender Musical Instrument Company. Mr. Schultz still had connections through Yamaha. Perhaps it was Mr. Schultz' connection to Yamaha that accounts for the weird Styrofoam speaker. 

Bantam Bass Speaker??

The amp section was essentially a version of the Silverface Fender Bassman head, but in a combo form. It employed the same tone circuit and pumped out 40 watts RMS into that 15” polystyrene speaker, which in most cases blew out. The cabinet was the size of a Fender Super Reverb. The Bantam Bass amp even came with tilt-back legs. 

Most owners removed the Yamaha speaker and replaced it with a practical 15” paper-coned speaker. In the 1970's Yamaha offered a series of amplifiers with this same speaker.

My Old Band  With Vox AC100

Much like a lot of teens, my friends and I put together a garage band in 1966. We had assembled a fairly respectable amount of equipment, a Super Reverb and a Black faced Bassman. I was playing guitar through a 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb. Our drummer wanted bigger, louder, and better for me, so we rented a Vox AC100 amplifier. 

It sure looked impressive. That amp was large, heavy, and was one that The Beatle used. Electronically it was a just very basic amplifier. 

1966 Vox AC100

The single channel head produced 80 class A watts of power into it’s massive speaker cabinet that  contained four 12 inch Vox speakers and two hi frequency horns. . Controls were simple, Volume, Treble, Bass, On/Off switch, and a power selector for US and European power supplies. It also came with its own chromed aluminum ‘trolley’. This was Vox's answer to the Fender Dual Showman. 

 

In 1965 the British based Vox inked a deal with the US based Thomas Organ company. The Vox UK company was not a large enoughg to keep up with the demands for its amplifiers. 

So Thomas Organ produced a line of solid-state guitar and bass amplifiers using the Vox logo and Thomas proprietary organ technology. The company offered quite a line up of amps of differing sizes and power. Most all were based on the same schematics with modifications. 

Vox V114 
Super Beatle

The largest and most impressive amplifier was The Vox Super Beatle or V114 . It was rated at 120 watts into a 2 ohm load. This amp had three channels listed as Normal, Brilliant, and a Mid Range Boost. This amp included a built in Fuzz Tone or Distortion Boost, a Mid Range Boost control, and a Tone-X control 

Vox V114 Amplifier

The amp included a repeat percussion effect that sounding much like a banjo (think the vocals at the end of the song 'Crimson and Clover'. The V-14 included also a built-in E Tuner that generated a sustained note. 

The back of the amp had a special 3 prong plug adapter for the special cable to the speaker cabinet. 

The first series of these amplifiers were named "The Vox Super Beatle."  However The Beatles objected, and the designation became simply the Vox V114. 

Vox V114

The separate speaker cabinet came loaded with four 12 inch heavy duty speaker and two midrange horns. Due to the unusual 2 ohm load, hooking the amplifier up to anything else would damage it. 

The Lemon Pipers (Green Tambourine) played in the Cincinnati area in the mid-1960's. Most of the times I was at their shows they wheeled in a couple of Vox Super Beatle amplifiers. 

The Baldwin Piano Co.

I have lived near Cincinnati, Ohio most of my life. The Baldwin Piano Company made its home for years in this city.

Burns of London

In 1965 Baldwin decided to cash in on the guitar boon. The purchased the remaining stock and parts from the Burns Of London guitar company and later rebranded the existing stock with the Baldwin logo. 

Baldwin C1 Amplifier

Because of the company’s expertise in building organs they designed, built, and sold their own solid-state amplifiers. And these amps were pretty darn good. Willy Nelson has used the same Baldwin C1 amplifier for years. 

1970's Baldwin
Exterminator

The company’s biggest and heaviest model was called The Baldwin Exterminator. Neil Young used one of these for years. This amplifier was almost the size of a small refrigerator standing 4 and a half feet high and was over two and a half feet deep. 

Exterminator Speakers 

The Exterminator  pumped 100 watts RMS (250 watts peak) into two 15″, two 12″, two 7″ speakers. It was loud and it was heavy!!  The darn thing weighed 126 pounds.

Exterminator Controls

The Baldwin Exterminator included two channels; Normal and Reverb. The reverb channel had a depth control, The tremolo section include controls for speed, and intensity. 

The amp had the usual volume, treble, bass, plus a three-way Supersound switch with five push button Supersound controls. The normal channel just included volume, bass, and treble.

Both the 15” and 12” speakers came with fuses that were actually automotive turn signal lights lamps. These would shine out of the back of the amp, and get brighter as it was played louder. The Exterminator also came with a warning stick on the amp’s backside that told the owner about possible hearing damage if it was turned up too loud. Some lucky Cincinnati bands were given these amps for promotion.

Fender Vibro Champ

My favorite amplifier of all time was my Silverface Fender Vibro Champ. This was Fender's student model amplifier putting out only 6 watts into an eight inch Fender Special Design speaker. This amp used a 5Y3 rectifier tube, a single 6L6 power tube, and two 12AX7 preamp tubes (one controlled the tremolo). 

It ran in class A configuration. It was a sweet little amp for recording, and for gigs I would mike it. When times were tough I had to sell it.

Line 6 Spider III

The last amplifier I will mention is my Line 6 Spider III. I found it at a Guitar Center for $50. It was beat up and stained, but the electronics were fine. It is 15 solid-state watts into an 8 inch speaker. It is never going to be the best amp, but it is a modeling amplifier and I can coax some very usable sounds out of it.

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Lonnie Mack playing through his Magnatone M9

Backlund Guitars - Weird, Wild, & Futuristic Guitars

 

Guitar Doodles

When I was a kid in school there always seemed to be a nerdy kid in at least one my classes that drew futuristic pictures of hot rods, rocket ships, or even wild guitars instead of paying attention to the lessons. 

John Backlund

Though John Backlund of Rapid City, South Dakota, is an older guy now, he may have been such a kid, day dreaming, and doodling some of the most futuristic looking guitars ever. But his guitars were actually made, and offered for sale.

Bruce Bennett

During Backlund’s journey he encountered and collaborated with Chattanooga Tennessee luthier extraordinaire Bruce (Brownie) Bennett, who had already been producing some retro-futuristic guitar designs. Together they came up with the JBD Series of very unusual electric guitars. 

J. Backlund With Guitars
That He Designed

When Bennett first encountered John Backlund he possessed a stack of letters from eager customers wanting to know where they could buy his instruments. 

Bennett made all his instruments by hand, so it took a while to get started on putting Backlund’s concepts to go forward as real guitars. Additionally there was a wait for customers to get an instrument.

JBD-100

The first three were the JBD (John Backlund Design) 100. The body had an unreal shape that allowed the player access on the neck up to the 24th fret. 

The JBD-100 featured a mahogany body, a set mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard, Lace Alumitones—a bridge-position humbucker and neck single-coil—a Hipshot Baby Grand bridge, and all US-made electronics. Another cool standard feature was the recessed Electrosocket jack mount The headstock is a unique six on a side unit. 

JBD-200

The JBD-200 combined a futuristic Tele style body that is made in two pieces. It featured a bolt-on mahogany neck with a figured maple fretboard with ebony inlays, and Lace Alumitones with a bridge humbucker and neck single-coil pickups. 

JBD-800

The JBD-800 features more of a Jazzmaster style body made of a korina wood. This guitar included a bolt-on maple neck with a bird’s-eye maple fretboard, and three Lace Alumitone single-coils.

The prices of these instruments ranged from $2000 to $2800.

 

Bruce Bennett

Sadly Bruce Bennett passed away in December of 2024 at only 61 years of age. 

Backlund Design Retronix

In 2012 John Backlund launched a new venture called J. Backlund Designs which aimed to produce more affordable versions of his guitars by manufacturing them in Asia under the Retronix Brand Name. 

This progect was accomplished through a Kickstarter program. 

Eastwood Backlunds

Currently John Backlund has licensed his guitars through Eastwood Guitars, which is a company that makes replicas of well known classic guitars and basses. These are quality instrument with costs that are much less than what the original instruments value.

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Goya Guitars - From Sweden With Love

 

Julie Andrews - Goya Guitar

When I think of “Goya’ guitars the wonderful motion picture, “The Sound Of Music” comes to mind. Julie Andrew, as a young Maria Von Trapp, is on a mountain top playing a Goya guitar. (model F-19). 

Christopher Plummer - Goya

Later in the movie Captain Von Trapp plays the same instrument. They are lovely and memorable scenes. 

Sound of Music Guitar

However, this is a continuity error since the trademark for Goya Guitars did not exist until 1952. In fact the guitar in the movie is a 1965 model. 

Jerry Hershman Jr.

Goya Guitars Inc. was a product imported from the Levin Manufacturing of Sweden by the Hershman Musical Instrument Company. (Pronounced 'Lah-veen')

The company owner, Jerome Hershman used the brand name Goya after being inspired by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya, who was well known for depicting guitars in his paintings. 

Herman Carlson Levin went to carpentry school training as a furniture maker. In 1887, Levin moved to America, working briefly as a carpenter before getting a job in 1888 at a guitar factory. Three years later, Levin and two partners started small-scale production of instruments in New York City. 

Levin Factory 1903

While on a visit to Sweden 1895, Levin recognized that demand for instruments was high and that manufacturing of instruments in Sweden could be profitable. Levin opened Herman Carlsson's Instrumentfabrik at Norra Larmgatan in Gothenburg Sweden. 

Levin and his small staff he started manufacturing guitars and mandolins. By the end of 1901, 473 instruments had been made, and by 1903, with a staff of five, Levin's 1000th instrument was made. 

Levin Factory

The Levin factory gained a reputation as one of the best in Europe, receiving accolades and awards. By the 1920’s the plant had manufactured over 50,000 instruments. The line increased with the addition of archtop guitars, and banjos. 

1950 Levin Tarragona

In 1950 Levin launched a line of inexpensive guitars intended for novice players and schools. These inexpensive guitars were what caught the attention of Mr. Hershman. He saw an opportunity. 

The guitar was gaining popularity during this era. The use of nylon strings also gave the guitar a different tone than guitars that used steel strings, making it popular among folk musicians. In later years a line of steel-stringed flat-tops were launched, furnished with adjustable truss rods and bolted necks.

Melanie With Her Goya Guitar 

I recall friends that started playing folk and Gospel music on guitar using a Goya instrument. 

By 1967 Levin and Goya Music (formerly Hershman Music) reached a deal and contracted to import instruments. 

Goya Ad 1968

Unfortunately the following year the deal collapsed. Goya Music was acquired by Avnet Incorporated, the same company that owned Guild Guitar. The Goya brand name was then sold to Kustom Electric. It was not long before Kustom filed for bankruptcy. 

After a series of Goya changing hands, the rights were eventually acquired in 1976 by the C.F. Martin Company. Three years earlier C.F. Martin had purchased the Levin Guitar Company and moved their European headquarters to the facility in Gothenburg, Sweden. At this time some Goya instruments were made in Japan before Martin discontinued the brand.

Sigma SDJM-18

In 1973 Martin began producing a line of guitars under the Sigma brand name from their Swedish facility. Most of these instruments were made in Japan and shipped back. However there was a run of run of some two-hundred Martin D-18 acoustic guitars, which were labelled "LD-18 - Made In Gothenburg, Sweden". Some LD 28 Martins stamped "Made In Gothenburg" have surfaced. 

In 1981, the last guitar was built in the Gothenburg facility and parts of the inventory and the brand were bought by Svensk Musik AB, which started producing Levin classical guitars in a factory owned by former guitar neck supplier Hans Persson. 

Levin
Guitar

Hans's son Lennart is still producing guitars for "Svenska Levin AB" in his father's workshop outside Mariestad, Sweden. Svenska Levin offers steel string flat tops and a line of archtop jazz guitars based on old Levin models, but they are made in Korea. 

'65 Rangemaster

During Levin/Goya’s heyday a line of unusual electric guitars were offered under the Goya brand. These guitars were made by an Italian company named ZeroSette, which was a subsidiary of an accordion company. Remember, Hershman Music was a broker/distributor that handled many brands. These included Eko, and Hagstrom. 

'68 Goya Rangemasters

The ZeroSette made the Goya Rangemaster guitar which came in several styles. These included a solidbody model and several hollow body electrics. There distinguishing feature was the twin split coil pickups and the many buttons that allowed a wide ‘range’ of pickup combinations. 

While the  trademark is currently discontinued, the rights to the name are still held by the Martin Guitar company. 

Goya Innovations

The Goya company featured a number of innovations that most people are not aware of. Goya was the first classic guitar line to put the trademark name on the headstock.  

The company was the first to create the ball end classic guitar string. 

Vintage Goya Label

Levin-Era Goya models feature interior paper label with the Goya trademark in a cursive style, and designated "Made by A.B. Herman Carlson Levin - Gothenburg, Sweden." Model and serial number appear on the label, as well as on the neck block. combinations.  

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This one is long, but interesting