Opinions on vintage matching amps

Dwayne Martineau · Post by **Dwayne Martineau** » 7 Jul 2004 2:57 pm

Howdy.

I've been seeing a lot of extremely attractive vintage 6-string laps with original matching amps on the internet; mostly Magnatones, Tonemasters from the '50s on eBay, etc. (see below for some links)

Since these gems are much rarer up here in my hometown and ex-fur-trading-outpost than in say, Tennessee, I've never had a chance to hear how these little Hawaiian amps sound.

I'd like to hear your opinions on these "matching" amps.

I'm getting a 1952 Supro Supreme (could be a Clipper?) and have a '53 National Triple-Neck, but don't really have a decent amp to speak of.

For these guitars, from purely a sound quality point-of-view (for playing live, recording) are these vintage amps worth lusting over, or is there better sound and value to be had elsewhere?

For "regular" guitar, I've always been a fan of tiny, overpowered amps that you can really crank and get hot. I still think my favourite setup so far was an old no-frills, tube-powered military P.A. plugged into a crummy generic cabinet in my friend's basement-cum-BB-gun-shooting-range. Now there was some honest tone.

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A couple matching amps...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=623&item=3734184422&rd=1#ebayphotohosting
http://dennysguitars.homestead.com/maggieblumots1.html

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Chuck Fisher · Post by **Chuck Fisher** » 7 Jul 2004 5:15 pm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33040&item=3735063445&rd=1

Larry Phleger · Post by **Larry Phleger** » 8 Jul 2004 8:35 am

I have a 55 National Triple neck. I play it through a Peavey Bandit and a Vegas 400. It sounds great through both. If you are after the vintage sound, just kill the reverb, and set the EQ to your liking

Steve Honum · Post by **Steve Honum** » 8 Jul 2004 10:13 am

I think the matching amp concept is totally bitchin. If you play a vintage lap steel and don't need overwhelming volume they really compliment one another... both in looks and tone. Playing with ukes, acoustic guitar or upright bass, you don't need much volume. These little vintage amps are very cool and are currently an overlooked bargain (oops...don't want to drive up the prices). I picked up a little Vibro-Champ for $100 that has a very warm tone and is nice and light. Would like to pick up a Magnatone Leilani, Supro or tweed Gibson. Best of luck on your quest.
Haere mai
Steve H.
S8A6

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 8 Jul 2004 11:56 am

I had the exact same set as that blue Magnatone. My wife found it for me for $100. I eventually traded up for my T8 Stringmaster, coming out a couple hundred $ to the good on the deal.

It was a wonderful set and I wish I had it back. Used to see them frequently at yard sales for as little as $60, but those times seem to be over. Those little class A tube amps, although low-powered, sound so sweet with the old lap steels. One volume knob and one tone knob is all you need. Beautiful lo-fi sound was a built-in feature of those amps. I agree with Steve, a matching lap steel and amp is VERY cool.

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 8 Jul 2004 1:12 pm

My '54 Dual Pro and '56 Princeton sound like they were made for each other!

Ben Sims · Post by **Ben Sims** » 9 Jul 2004 10:48 am

I have a grey MOTS Magnatone with matching Starlet amp, shown here:
http://www.guitarbarn.com/vintagelapsteelsexamplesoct99.html

This is a 3.8 watt amp that is smaller than what usually appears with the Magnatone guitars. It's nothing fancy, and both the guitar and amp are a little rough around the edges quality-wise, and yet ... there's something about the sound these make together that's very cool, especially for playing overdriven blues type stuff - they have a rough, booming quality that's just right for that. They make some nice, slightly compressed clean sounds as well. The guitar is light weight and seems to be made of some very resonant wood, which probably contributes to the sound. I may want to upgrade eventually, but I've seen so many comments from people who wish they still had that Magnatone they started out with, I think I will try to hold on to it. Sound aside, the Magnatones are just neat to look at - I think their molded, streamlined shape is a really nice example of 1940s-50s modern design.

Here's a useful web page about Magnatone amps:
http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/archive.html

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 9 Jul 2004 12:08 pm

I got a new Gibson BR-6 lap steel in the 50's along with a new Gibson amp. I liked the guitar but I wouldn't give you 10 cents for the amp. There is no comparing the sound from todays amps with what was available years ago. The old amps lacked that crispness and clearness available today. The old amps always sounded "muddy" to me.
Erv

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 9 Jul 2004 12:31 pm

i found that only Fenders were good amps back then
especially cause they put out more watts than them other brands
i had a few Gibsons but never really liked them as much as the Fenders
my favorites were the Bassman w: 4-10
Bandmaster w: 3-10 - brown tolex Concert w: 4-10 - tweed Twin - Pro w: 1-15
never tried a Vibrasonic tho'

i'll agree w: Brother Erv - the amps bein' made since the 70s up till now are much better

jes like our gas guzzlin' horseless buggies

Dwayne Martineau · Post by **Dwayne Martineau** » 9 Jul 2004 12:47 pm

Wow, those Magnatone designers ruled the school.

These are beautiful...
http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/M192-5-D.html
http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/M194-6.html
http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/M-195-4-J.html

Thanks for the archive link.

Is is just me, or did amp designers after 1955 just give up and go--literally--to squaresville...? (speaking only of aesthetics, not the electronics.)

Maybe they were victims of the same blind Bauhaus school bandwagon-jumping that killed modern archicture. I wonder.

I think that I'll probably seek out a Princeton Reverb, or something of that ilk. I love the sound of those little things, AND it can pull double-duty as a regular electric guitar amp.

Plus they're tiny. I used to have a Fender Bassman the size of a refrigerator. If it hadn't killed me by now, I'd have killed it. Fortunately, I sold it instead.

(Actually, it did almost kill me when the ground switch was flipped the wrong way at a live-to-radio show)

[This message was edited by Dwayne Martineau on 09 July 2004 at 01:47 PM.][This message was edited by Dwayne Martineau on 09 July 2004 at 01:48 PM.]
[Edited to fix links...again and again][This message was edited by Dwayne Martineau on 09 July 2004 at 01:49 PM.]