1970’s Japanese Tempo amp upgrades

[markc1340]

I’m looking for some speaker advice. I found this cool little 1970’s Tempo amp. I believe it’s related to the Univox amps of the time.
It sounds pretty cool but the speaker is on its last legs. It starts to break up really early and is crackly. I’m looking to replace the speaker but want to maintain the quirky character of the amp. It’s a 20cm (8inch) 10 watt 8 ohm speaker. Can anyone suggest a replacement or at least a place to look for replacement speakers. Thanks in advance.

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

Weber makes a lot of cool speakers that would work

The Celestion 8-15 would also work and is less $ ; most of the mail order places have these, and the Italian made Jensen RI's the Mod series is usually the least expensive. Watch that you get 8 ohms, some of these come in 4 & 16 in addition to 8

Be aware that most of these will cost more than the $ value of the amp (I'm assuming it's solid state) of course if you like it and don't have much in it thats OK.

IF you just want it to work, I would post a "Wanted " ad on Craiglist, as many people have a few "pulls" from inexpensive/broken amps that they will sell for short money.

Keep in mind that even a SS amp that is approaching 50 years old will often benefit from a service..

 

[markc1340]

I only paid $30 for it so I definitely don’t have much in it. I’m happy to drop another $50 or $60 I guess. I love the look of it and while it’ll never be anything super special I like it’s quirky sounds and think it has a little more potential. Thanks for the advice.

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

I was looking at a blow up of the control panel and I had a head+ cab combo w/ the same layout, from Tesico. Same knobs also, of course there was a lot of "sharing" in Japan BITD.

Three inputs, switch on the 'verb (the cab had two 6" speakers w/ the Pioneer logo on them)
It did sound good, in a fun low fi way..

 

[markc1340]

One more question as I know very little about amps. It is solid state. I’m presuming that you have to match the ohms but is matching the wattage as important? Given that’s the stick speaker is 10watts can I use a 15watt speaker or is that a bad idea?

 

[markc1340]

Fun low fi is exactly what it is!

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

One more question as I know very little about amps. It is solid state. I’m presuming that you have to match the ohms but is matching the wattage as important? Given that’s the stick speaker is 10watts can I use a 15watt speaker or is that a bad idea?

No that should be fine, it will give you a bit of "safety margin" any more than that would be over kill and might sound a bit "stiff". 15 watts is pretty standard for a 8, 10 watts will be hard to find, and not worth the effort.

 

[markc1340]

Thanks

 

[Minimalist518]

My first amp was a Tempo very similar to, but I am certain, far worse than yours.
My face plate was identical, but the green grill cloth was so much more vividly green; almost pool table felt green. The name plate was a trapezoid of crappy metal with the name silkscreened on it. Your embossed badge is positivity kingly by comparison! The worst thing though, was the reverb wouldn’t shut off. It sounded like Nokie Edwards’ fever dream.
However, it was paired with a Univox guitar (I bought the rudimentary rig at a yard sale the summer I turned 16. It was my first guitar.)
They were probably bought together by the original owner. So you may be correct about the Tempo/Univox association.

 

[markc1340]

My first amp was a Tempo very similar to, but I am certain, far worse than yours.
My face plate was identical, but the green grill cloth was so much more vividly green; almost pool table felt green. The name plate was a trapezoid of crappy metal with the name silkscreened on it. Your embossed badge is positivity kingly by comparison! The worst thing though, was the reverb wouldn’t shut off. It sounded like Nokie Edwards’ fever dream.
However, it was paired with a Univox guitar (I bought the rudimentary rig at a yard sale the summer I turned 16. It was my first guitar.)
They were probably bought together by the original owner. So you may be correct about the Tempo/Univox association.

They’re a fun little amp but I haven’t been able to find much info on them. This one uses the reverb dial as the power switch but you can minimize the reverb.

 

[Minimalist518]

They’re a fun little amp but I haven’t been able to find much info on them. This one uses the reverb dial as the power switch but you can minimize the reverb.

Thanks for the memories, it’s fun to see a Tempo amp in its green glory! I can’t say as I’m exactly nostalgic for my old amp, but it was with me for quite a while. It probably would’ve been a decent amp if it weren’t broken. I was a kid; it didn’t occur to me to fix it.
A few years later it was replaced by something called a Rheem Caliphone (also from a yard sale.) It’s the same company that makes furnaces and hot water heaters; identical logo. I guess they made audio equipment too, primarily for schools.
Later I got a Univox solid state amp a bit bigger than the Tempo but pretty much identical in control layout. It was actually a pretty awesome little amp. Good for home because the Peavey Bandit I had by then was a boat anchor and I left it at the bass player’s house where we practiced.

 

[charlie chitlin]

That was my first amp!
Bought from White's department store in Massapequa, Ny.
It was stolen from the storage room where I went to school and played in church.

 

[Shidoin]

Get a Weber Signature speaker. You’ll love it.

 

[charlie chitlin]

You can probably find a cool old alnico speaker on ebay for $15.
I do this often for old amps and have never been disappointed, and am often thrilled.

 

[markc1340]

Thanks for the advice. I ended up going with the celestion 8-15. I couldn’t justify spending close enough to twice the price on those other speakers. Threw it in tonight and gave it a thrash. It sounds kinda cool. I was worried that the new speaker would take away the quirky character of the amp but it hasn’t. It’s still an old, kind of rubbish amp but now it sounds that bit better and goes a bit louder. I like it. It’s fun.