Your Favorite Vintage Amp

[korinafan]

What is your favorite Vintage amp to pair with your PRS Guitars?
I have sold off the majority of my Vintage amps except for this Valco made Gretsch from 1960
that is still all original and clean.
I was playing it the other day with some P-90's and just can't see myself ever parting with it.
I just wanted to share this cool amp with some Retro inspired PRS with the forum.

The story on this one,
Back in 1998 I was doing my weekly pawn shop cruise living in Austin, TX wandered into an old Doc Holliday's on Burnet Road. Looking around it was mostly import trash guitars and solid-state amps.
Walked over to what looked like a pile of beat guitar cases, started digging around and noticed a big white case was underneath. Low and behold it was a frigging 50's Gretsch 6120 cowboy case with the tooled leather trim.
I just started freaking out, knowing what it was. Grabbed it and walked over and asked the guy barley awake behind the counter what he wanted for it. He said, " What will you give me?" So, I said how about 30 bucks?
He says sure, and I give him the money and ran like hell. Well, I did not have any Gretsch Guitars that needed that case, but my buddy Dale at Workhorse Guitars did. Long story short I traded Dale the guitar case for the amp and have enjoyed all these years!

Please show your favorite vintage amps and share your stories about them!

 

[andy474x]

Great story!

I don’t have any vintage amps, but as luck would have it, I’m seriously considering running over to my local GC tomorrow to look at a few. They’ve got a black panel Bassman and Showman, both with accompanying cabs. There are a lot of maybes, but I think I should check them out.

 

[KentuckyBoiledChiccan]

I don't own any vintage amps currently but I used to have late 70's Roland JC120 between 2008-2010. Does it count as vintage?

It had one speaker blown and it sounded like an a** same time vibrato mode was the best I heard ever

 

[László]

I had vintage amps when they were new amps. Because I'm an antique.

 

[Tony M.]

I had vintage amps when they were new amps. Because I'm an antique.

I think I remember when I was an antique.
I have since achieved fossildom.

 

[gush]

I don't own any vintage amps to speak of.

I have a Roland JC77 that I bought used sometime in the late 80s.

I have a magnatone lap steel with matching tube amp. I suppose that could be considered vintage???

 

[László]

I have a magnatone lap steel with matching tube amp. I suppose that could be considered vintage???

Yup.

 

[Steve's addiction]

I have 2 70's model Music Man's. Both are 65 watt, one 112 and one 210. Great clean amps.

 

[markd21]

I have always been a fan of the Fender Bassman. I had a '58, a '65 and a Bassman 100. Great tones from all 3. One of my others was a '63 Tremolux I had that had been modded with Mesa Mark I transformers. Still 35 watts, but much fuller and cleaner.

I'll edit for pictures later. I can never get my phone to post Flikr the right way.

 

[veinbuster]

It turns out I have a photo of what might qualify as a vintage amp. Vintage folk whine about the cut off for such things, but I have owned this amp since before Paul started making guitars.
This was a mock up of how I was thinking of settling up the alcove in my library.

Later on my wife got something a bit prettier. Still has a vintage sound though.
Hans might not want to look.

 

[markd21]

It turns out I have a photo of what might qualify as a vintage amp. Vintage folk whine about the cut off for such things, but I have owned this amp since before Paul started making guitars.
This was a mock up of how I was thinking of settling up the alcove in my library.

Later on my wife got something a bit prettier. Still has a vintage sound though.
Hans might not want to look.

What's the Fender? A Bassman 10?

 

[jak3af3r]

Here's another Valco amp to go with the OP's.

I went shopping for an amp at one of Nashville's vintage guitar stores hoping to grab a silverface deluxe reverb. I had also heard about the new supro duotones which had the same wattage, speaker size, etc. Fortunately, this store was also a new supro dealer and they had this old Thunderbolt too. So I did a shootout with the deluxe, the duotone, a new Thunderbolt, and the old Thunderbolt.

This one I believe to be a '64.

 

[RickP]

I have a nice 1964 Fender Super Reverb that I’ve never been able to part with… just saved itself with killer tone every time I thought about putting it on the block. I’ve decided it’s staying.

I had and recently sold a 1967 Fender Band Master that sounded great, but due to the Super, didn’t get any playing time. A guy in Austin is rocking with it now.

I also have a 1990/91 Vox AC30 reissue in the nice fawn covering. It’s a beast, but does the Vox thing well. I’d love to swap it and a little cash for a nice early 60s AC30TB, but you’re seeing fewer and fewer of those.

I’d likely have an old Marshall Plexi, but the discovery of the PRS HX/DA has completely covered all bases that would have filled. I’m currently rebuilding an old Marshall 4x12 with 25 watt Greenbacks to use with those. Just a home plaything project… my days of lugging 4x12s to gigs are over. I’m maintaining my vintage lower back.

 

[gush]

I have a nice 1964 Fender Super Reverb that I’ve never been able to part with… just saved itself with killer tone every time I thought about putting it on the block. I’ve decided it’s staying.

I had and recently sold a 1967 Fender Band Master that sounded great, but due to the Super, didn’t get any playing time. A guy in Austin is rocking with it now.

I also have a 1990/91 Vox AC30 reissue in the nice fawn covering. It’s a beast, but does the Vox thing well. I’d love to swap it and a little cash for a nice early 60s AC30TB, but you’re seeing fewer and fewer of those.

I’d likely have an old Marshall Plexi, but the discovery of the PRS HX/DA has completely covered all bases that would have filled. I’m currently rebuilding an old Marshall 4x12 with 25 watt Greenbacks to use with those. Just a home plaything project… my days of lugging 4x12s to gigs are over. I’m maintaining my vintage lower back.

Vintage lower back?????

I laughed out loud when I read this but I'm 100% with you on that. I'm 56 and feel like my body is wearing out.

I like my 4x12 cabs but if I play live again it's going to be one of my 2x12s instead.

I did pick up a nice 2x12 with celestion cream back 65s that sounds pretty good. Kind of wanting to gig with it just to see.

I have an interesting Marshall 4x12 that I've been experimenting with.

I cut a new plywood back for it and cut in a box that is recessed and has 4 input jacks. Currently I have a UK greenback, UK g12-65, celestion gold and a Fat Jimmy in it. All four are 16 ohm so I can pick any of the four and run 16 ohm or any two at 8 ohm.

I soldered up a crude wire harness with four 1/4 inch male jacks. It is wired like a vintage marshall 4x12. When I plug all four speakers in it becomes a 16 ohm load.

Kind of cool to play with. I have that cab plus UK greenback cab, G12-75 cab and G12L-35 cab.

Need a bigger room

 

[veinbuster]

What's the Fender? A Bassman 10?

Sure is.

 

[markd21]

The Bassman 10 is very underrated.

 

[RickP]

Vintage lower back?????

I laughed out loud when I read this but I'm 100% with you on that. I'm 56 and feel like my body is wearing out.

I like my 4x12 cabs but if I play live again it's going to be one of my 2x12s instead.

I did pick up a nice 2x12 with celestion cream back 65s that sounds pretty good. Kind of wanting to gig with it just to see.

I have an interesting Marshall 4x12 that I've been experimenting with.

I cut a new plywood back for it and cut in a box that is recessed and has 4 input jacks. Currently I have a UK greenback, UK g12-65, celestion gold and a Fat Jimmy in it. All four are 16 ohm so I can pick any of the four and run 16 ohm or any two at 8 ohm.

I soldered up a crude wire harness with four 1/4 inch male jacks. It is wired like a vintage marshall 4x12. When I plug all four speakers in it becomes a 16 ohm load.

Kind of cool to play with. I have that cab plus UK greenback cab, G12-75 cab and G12L-35 cab.

Need a bigger room

I have a 2x12 cab with Greenbacks in it that just slays with the HXDA, but I’m worried about frying speakers all the time (I’ve got another GB with a rubbing voice coil sitting on a shelf already!). So I picked up another pair of UK-made GBs, and will put those four in the 4x12. It’s a 1960A Lead cab, which I like because it has the mono-stereo 4-8-16 ohm input jack plate on it.

Of course, I’ve got another quad of G12T-75s to sell off now. Great speakers, just not what I wanted for my Plexi project box! Craigslist, here I come

 

[dogrocketp]

I have a 2021 new build of a late 40’s tweed pro. 4 inputs- 2 bright and 2 normal. There’s a volume for each, and a shared single tone control. Done. It has 2-12” ceramic mag Jenson’s in a Mojotone pine cabinet. 27 pounds, 30 watts with 2 6SC7’s. This old guy can carry it up and down stairs with the heavy duty Tuki amp cover. I love my 2 channel 30, but it’s about 60 friggin pounds! I still hand truck it to gigs with no stairs.

 

[gush]

I have a 2x12 cab with Greenbacks in it that just slays with the HXDA, but I’m worried about frying speakers all the time (I’ve got another GB with a rubbing voice coil sitting on a shelf already!). So I picked up another pair of UK-made GBs, and will put those four in the 4x12. It’s a 1960A Lead cab, which I like because it has the mono-stereo 4-8-16 ohm input jack plate on it.

Of course, I’ve got another quad of G12T-75s to sell off now. Great speakers, just not what I wanted for my Plexi project box! Craigslist, here I come

I have a quad of G12T-75s for sale as well. Love these speakers but I have a 1960 loaded with these already.

 

[gush]

I have a 2x12 cab with Greenbacks in it that just slays with the HXDA, but I’m worried about frying speakers all the time (I’ve got another GB with a rubbing voice coil sitting on a shelf already!). So I picked up another pair of UK-made GBs, and will put those four in the 4x12. It’s a 1960A Lead cab, which I like because it has the mono-stereo 4-8-16 ohm input jack plate on it.

Of course, I’ve got another quad of G12T-75s to sell off now. Great speakers, just not what I wanted for my Plexi project box! Craigslist, here I come

I have one 1960 that only gas one input jack.

The other 3 cabs had that stereo mono switch. I took the switch off of all 3 and put one input jack.

I listed those switches on FB MP and they sold immediately. I got several responses.