Mystery Amp?

cg73cmc · April 10th, 2004, 04:33 AM

Can anyone identify this amp? I can't. Never seen anything like it ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1

According to the seller ...

A 1954 or 1955 Guitar Amplifier ...

Manufacturer ... UNKNOWN (but could be either a Valcro, Supro, Kay, Gretsch, or Fender)
Logo ... Missing, buy any Logo you want for $30 and stick that puppy on there.
FIVE OUTPUTS!!! ...
Operational? ... Well all the tubes "fire up" and there is a slight hum but could have been the guitar used to test it -- a Martin Backpacker -- well lets hope it was the ELECTRIC version and not the Acoustic that was used to test this amp.

LOOKS GREAT -- BUY IT NOW FOR $1,000!!!

Cute amp -- anyone know what this thang is? I got to admire this guy selling this thing -- he's a power seller with good feedback and he's really SWINGING for the fense on this item! Considering there is really very little he knows about it. Strangest thing I've ever seen.

cowboytwang · April 10th, 2004, 07:49 AM

I had that same amp at one time, mine had the Silvertone name on it. They are around a 15 watt amp with a 12 inch speaker but the aren't any louder than a champ. Most of the time they came with some kind of little lap steel guitar. Very cheep amp and they made thousands of them under many names(Supro, Valco,Silvertone,etc).
You can find them in junk stores or antique shops for under $100 in rough shape and up to $300 in good shape, so I don't think he will get the $1000 BIN price.

TexGoneNW · April 10th, 2004, 01:42 PM

"Because it's a business and not a hobby" he should have listed the tube complement, at least.

cg73cmc · April 10th, 2004, 03:13 PM

I emailed the guy and he says the tube compliment is 6V6 / 6SL7 / 6SN7 / with a 5Y3 Rectifier. Seemed like a nice guy and all.

I still haven't found one single other picture of a similar amp anywhere on the web although I think CBTwang is correct above on it's origins.

$20 handling fee? What is that? Is this something new on Ebay? Buyer pays all shipping costs PLUS a $20 handling fee? It might be a "business and not a hobby" -- but he chose the business and now he wants a handling fee for it? Kinda funny.

I was poking around on Ebay looking for an old Ampeg, Danelectro, or Silvertone Amp to pick up cheap -- one that would work right out of the box but one that could be improved by a good tweaking. I don't think this is the one but I'll watch it for awhile.

Found a couple of nice Ampegs -- but some have the 7591 PA Tubes. I checked Groove Tubes and a matched set of those goes for $100 on their website! Expensive retube if you ever have to do it!

cowboytwang · April 10th, 2004, 05:14 PM

I think the one on ebay is a later version of a Magnatone.
Here's a 1955 Magnatone Lyric amp:

The catalog SPECIFICATIONS:

6 Hi Fidelity Multi-purpose tubes
12 Inch Jensen extended range speaker
4 Inputs: 2 microphone, 2 instrument
4 Controls: microphone volume, instrument volume, bass and treble
Stand-by switch
Remote speaker jack
18 watts

buglecorps · April 10th, 2004, 06:19 PM

are getting out of hand..any old unsafe POS with tubes in it is obviously worth a mint

My local "vintage" dealer has some choice pieces..the little Magy in the previous post $1, 200..a LP G5-A $1000
Silver face Champs for $750...Some of you may remember the VT-22 I was thinking about for $500..this schmo bought it and is now asking 2K! ("hey the Stones used em") I put alot of this down (as I do so many things) to this area..lots of folks with lots of $$$ and brains the size of peanuts ("I lease a Bimmer I must be smart..") The VG books don't help either..lets see the little Marshall VS 15r that I just picked up is worth around 200 bills..boy did I score...The Lead 12 I just sold ;$350 or so..Guess I blew that..should have known, it DID have a Celestion..

The old Ampegs are good deals.. get your tubes from a HI FI source and you can grab NOS Sylvanias and such for less than Russian made 6V6's. Stay away from GT.. Aspen is one of the worlds MASTER BS artists. Most GTs are nothing more than relabled Sovetecks and such stuck in a fancy tube.

feojack · April 10th, 2004, 07:41 PM

And I noticed he dropped the price to "Buy It Now" at $450.00 about an hour ago(On Apr-10-04 at 14:54:02 PDT) Must have read this thread, lol.
Cheers. feo

cg73cmc · April 11th, 2004, 02:27 AM

Started out the weekend looking for a fairly obscure vintage amp that could be had cheaply -- ended up with a 1980 SF Champ.

Buglecorps is right, most anything with a tube in it and an electrical plug attached to it is going at some pretty hefty prices. I saw a couple of fairly obscure amps I would be scared to plug into a wall outlet going for well over $200.

So I bought a 1980 SF Champ in virtually mint condition. Something I didn't know -- I didn't think the 80's Champs had a tube rectifier but the photo of the one I bought has one right there in the chassis! So cool, can't go wrong with a Champ right? We'll see.

Again, paid like hell for it -- $345 shipped, but if sounds as good as it looks I'll be happy with that.

Ya'll take care. No more amp shopping for me (least till NEXT weekend)!

April 10th, 2004, 04:33 AM	#1 (permalink)
cg73cmc Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 697	Mystery Amp? Can anyone identify this amp? I can't. Never seen anything like it ... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EBWA%3AIT&rd=1 According to the seller ... A 1954 or 1955 Guitar Amplifier ... Manufacturer ... UNKNOWN (but could be either a Valcro, Supro, Kay, Gretsch, or Fender) Logo ... Missing, buy any Logo you want for $30 and stick that puppy on there. FIVE OUTPUTS!!! ... Operational? ... Well all the tubes "fire up" and there is a slight hum but could have been the guitar used to test it -- a Martin Backpacker -- well lets hope it was the ELECTRIC version and not the Acoustic that was used to test this amp. LOOKS GREAT -- BUY IT NOW FOR $1,000!!! Cute amp -- anyone know what this thang is? I got to admire this guy selling this thing -- he's a power seller with good feedback and he's really SWINGING for the fense on this item! Considering there is really very little he knows about it. Strangest thing I've ever seen. __________________ Take Care! Mark "If I'd known I was going to be a big guitar hero -- I would have practiced more" -- Ace Frehley

April 10th, 2004, 07:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
cowboytwang Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: mojave desert Posts: 1,581 14 Photos	I had that same amp at one time, mine had the Silvertone name on it. They are around a 15 watt amp with a 12 inch speaker but the aren't any louder than a champ. Most of the time they came with some kind of little lap steel guitar. Very cheep amp and they made thousands of them under many names(Supro, Valco,Silvertone,etc). You can find them in junk stores or antique shops for under $100 in rough shape and up to $300 in good shape, so I don't think he will get the $1000 BIN price. __________________ Alvin http://www.myspace.com/alvinblaine http://www.oldbluesound.com/about.htm _________________________ Originality is just undetected Plagiarism!

April 10th, 2004, 01:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
TexGoneNW Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Victoria, TX Age: 50 Posts: 910 4 Photos	Hmph... "Because it's a business and not a hobby" he should have listed the tube complement, at least.

April 10th, 2004, 03:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
cg73cmc Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 697	He says it's a 6V6 I emailed the guy and he says the tube compliment is 6V6 / 6SL7 / 6SN7 / with a 5Y3 Rectifier. Seemed like a nice guy and all. I still haven't found one single other picture of a similar amp anywhere on the web although I think CBTwang is correct above on it's origins. $20 handling fee? What is that? Is this something new on Ebay? Buyer pays all shipping costs PLUS a $20 handling fee? It might be a "business and not a hobby" -- but he chose the business and now he wants a handling fee for it? Kinda funny. I was poking around on Ebay looking for an old Ampeg, Danelectro, or Silvertone Amp to pick up cheap -- one that would work right out of the box but one that could be improved by a good tweaking. I don't think this is the one but I'll watch it for awhile. Found a couple of nice Ampegs -- but some have the 7591 PA Tubes. I checked Groove Tubes and a matched set of those goes for $100 on their website! Expensive retube if you ever have to do it! __________________ Take Care! Mark "If I'd known I was going to be a big guitar hero -- I would have practiced more" -- Ace Frehley

April 10th, 2004, 05:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
cowboytwang Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: mojave desert Posts: 1,581 14 Photos	I think the one on ebay is a later version of a Magnatone. Here's a 1955 Magnatone Lyric amp: The catalog SPECIFICATIONS: 6 Hi Fidelity Multi-purpose tubes 12 Inch Jensen extended range speaker 4 Inputs: 2 microphone, 2 instrument 4 Controls: microphone volume, instrument volume, bass and treble Stand-by switch Remote speaker jack 18 watts __________________ Alvin http://www.myspace.com/alvinblaine http://www.oldbluesound.com/about.htm _________________________ Originality is just undetected Plagiarism!

April 10th, 2004, 06:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
buglecorps Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Suburban Twang Town Posts: 753	Tube amp prices... are getting out of hand..any old unsafe POS with tubes in it is obviously worth a mint My local "vintage" dealer has some choice pieces..the little Magy in the previous post $1, 200..a LP G5-A $1000 Silver face Champs for $750...Some of you may remember the VT-22 I was thinking about for $500..this schmo bought it and is now asking 2K! ("hey the Stones used em") I put alot of this down (as I do so many things) to this area..lots of folks with lots of $$$ and brains the size of peanuts ("I lease a Bimmer I must be smart..") The VG books don't help either..lets see the little Marshall VS 15r that I just picked up is worth around 200 bills..boy did I score...The Lead 12 I just sold ;$350 or so..Guess I blew that..should have known, it DID have a Celestion.. The old Ampegs are good deals.. get your tubes from a HI FI source and you can grab NOS Sylvanias and such for less than Russian made 6V6's. Stay away from GT.. Aspen is one of the worlds MASTER BS artists. Most GTs are nothing more than relabled Sovetecks and such stuck in a fancy tube. __________________ Loud is Good...

April 10th, 2004, 07:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
feojack Tele-Meister Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Houston,TX Posts: 240	Had a look And I noticed he dropped the price to "Buy It Now" at $450.00 about an hour ago(On Apr-10-04 at 14:54:02 PDT) Must have read this thread, lol. Cheers. feo __________________ "Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music." - Angela Monet

April 11th, 2004, 02:27 AM	#8 (permalink)
cg73cmc Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 697	Well Dawg ... Started out the weekend looking for a fairly obscure vintage amp that could be had cheaply -- ended up with a 1980 SF Champ. Buglecorps is right, most anything with a tube in it and an electrical plug attached to it is going at some pretty hefty prices. I saw a couple of fairly obscure amps I would be scared to plug into a wall outlet going for well over $200. So I bought a 1980 SF Champ in virtually mint condition. Something I didn't know -- I didn't think the 80's Champs had a tube rectifier but the photo of the one I bought has one right there in the chassis! So cool, can't go wrong with a Champ right? We'll see. Again, paid like hell for it -- $345 shipped, but if sounds as good as it looks I'll be happy with that. Ya'll take care. No more amp shopping for me (least till NEXT weekend)! __________________ Take Care! Mark "If I'd known I was going to be a big guitar hero -- I would have practiced more" -- Ace Frehley