FS :: Oliver B200 Head

RobertUI · #1 09-10-2010, 08:12 AM

FS :: Oliver B200 Head - $500 (shipped CONUS)

This amp is not getting played and it really should be! I don't have a clue at the market value on this, and am willing to be flexible on the price. The Aguilar cabinets in the pictures are gone. The preamp tubes are Mullards and the power tubes are RCA, I think that the rectifier is a Mullard as well. I checked, and I could honestly sell the tubes on this amp for about what I'm asking for it. Oh, and if you don't know Oliver is the company that Jess Oliver started when he left Ampeg. I traded emails with him a while back and he was still working on them until a couple years ago. He is no longer working on these however.

I got this head from an older gentleman in DC who had it in his closet for about 30 years. I took the head to my buddy SDG Vintage and had him make it safe to play. He replaced the caps that needed replacing and converted it to a grounded plug. I also had him rewire the input jacks to elimate some serious humming that was going on. He also wired the "ANT/HUM" switch to be a standby switch. Through my 2 Aguilar cabs the head sounded absolutely amazing. I am now running it through a Hartke 2x10 (cube shaped cab) that I might be willing to let go to a local person for the right deal. All of the bits and pieces that were replaced are included, so there's no loss of originality.

Please ask questions, this is a stunning head and I'll dearly miss it if it does sell. This picasa album includes many shots before and after different repairs, and has lots of gut shots!

seventhsunbass was nice enough to point this link out to me http://www.pmillett.com/file_downloads/oliver_amps.pdf where you can read more about these cool amps. Apparently we're looking at 156W PMP (60W RMS) and the amp is the same as the B150, but was sold with 2 15" speakers as opposed to the 1 15" that the 150 came with. Here are the important excerpts...

TwoGearGeeks · #2 09-11-2010, 11:48 PM

This looks to be a sweet amp! Weight? Power output?

RobertUI · #3 09-12-2010, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TwoGearGeeks

This looks to be a sweet amp! Weight? Power output?

The amp's definitely not light, but it's not terribly heavy either. I'd guess ~35#

I am not sure about the power output... I was told 200W but recently someone mentioned that it's 50W. I can speak to the volume... with 1 of the Aguilar cabinets, it was able to keep up with a drummer and was louder than the 120W Crate Combo amp that lives at my drummer's house (which has a hard time keeping up with the drummer). I hope that helps...

TO ALL:

The date of the amp is ~1972

I really have NO idea what the value of this amp is, and would definitely consider offers.

**Chef** · #4 09-13-2010, 10:41 AM

have power and ohm info would be really helpful for this.
oliver amps used to have a website, dunno if there's manuals or other info there.

RobertUI · #5 09-13-2010, 11:06 AM

Thanks Chef... I can't seem to find any info on this amp (never have). When I traded emails with Jess a while back, he indicated that it was built to run at 4 ohms, so that much I do know.

I am going to try and contact him again to see if I can get a power rating.

jarrod cunningham · #6 09-15-2010, 12:24 PM

What are the power tubes and how many are they ?

basslinejam · #7 09-15-2010, 06:51 PM

I looked at the picasa album and it looks a little like the layout for a B-15 - so maybe 50-60 watts?
Good luck with your sale - sure wish it could be me!

JimmyM · #8 09-16-2010, 12:52 AM

beauty amp...wish i could get it...one slight correction...jess had to retire from working on amps about a year ago because he had a stroke.

RobertUI · #9 09-17-2010, 11:10 AM

Jimmy, thanks for that update! I was actually about to contact you about the amp.

I'll get a tube inventory for you guys this evening. I know that all of the tubes are hi-fi spec. When I looked at getting a replacement compliment a few years ago, every site that carried them spec'd them out for Macintosh audio amps.

seventhsunbass · #10 09-26-2010, 10:06 AM

Didn't know if this would interest you in a trade??
MIJ Ibanez Roadstar II Fretless, Natural Body, Rosewood Lined Board, DiMarzio P/U's

I do dig me some old tube vibe.

Check your PM's, I think I can help. Let me know.

SSB

Wally Malone · #11 09-26-2010, 12:28 PM

I had an Oliver in which the head came out of the cab via a motor. I still have the cabinet that is cut in half and used for my stereo system. The cab had 2-15 Altec Lansing speakers.

Wally

RobertUI · #12 09-28-2010, 06:06 AM

I got a reply from Oliver sound and they confirmed what I've already posted here, and that is that the amp is 60W and will operate safely at 4 ohms. I also had a discussion with my amp tech and he said that this will also operate safely at 8ohms for anyone who was interested.

Zentner · #13 09-29-2010, 01:48 PM

I've got an oliver P500 head - 60watt portaflex kinda thing. It is one of the best guitar amps on the planet! Serious plexi tonezzz!

Randall · #14 10-01-2010, 12:56 PM

Wow. 535$ in 1972 was a lot of coin

Wish I had room for another amp.

RobertUI · #15 10-27-2010, 08:04 AM

I got a recent PM asking if this was still for sale, and it is. I am playing through it, and loving it, but it's definitely not getting the time that it deserves. I probably won't budge too much on price b/c for less than I'm asking, I'd rather just keep it. If anyone wants incredible tube tone for just a couple bucks, you can't do better!

Oh.... I've got a little switch box that I'll include that allows you to switch between the 2 channels... it's essentially an A/B box that I built just for this amp.

Sifl · #16 10-27-2010, 09:20 AM

My name is Oliver! Man, that'd be sweet to have!

RobertUI · #17 11-01-2010, 11:08 AM

ON HOLD