Official AIMS Amps Thread

[SpankyPants]

Hello!

I just got an AIMS VTB-120 tube head, and since there's SO little about this company online, I figured I'd make a thread about 'em.

AIMS was apparently started in the early 70's by a group of designers from Fender.*(See quote below) My friend who works with amps says that their VTB-line schematics are very similar to those of the Fender Bassman. They worked out of Phoenix, AZ, and all of their amps came with a lifetime warranty. Unfortunately, the company did not come with a warranty and became Randall after a few short years. It's unclear if they were just distributed by Randall or if they were bought-out, but somehow they merged along the way, thus ending AIMS' brief amp galumph.

Here are a couple of posts by TBer 60bass:

Originally Posted by 60bass

They built those suckers in Phoenix, AZ.

Way back when I played guitar and had one of their VTG-105's. Self contained 105 watts RMS 4-10's. It screamed.

They also made the same thing in 6-10's. Toured their factory had their amp tech mod my 105 up to 130 watts RMS the thing really screamed then but blew speakers.

<snip> The original speakers had chrome dust caps with a small black hole in the center. I think they were Eminence. I think AIMS was bought out in the end by Randall.

Their cabs were always built like a tank.

Originally Posted by 60bass

Those AIMS tranny's were capable of putting out way more watts than they were rated for. The AIMS designer went with overkill to get a loud clean sound. They ran those 6550's very clean. Up the wattage, run the tubes hotter and they will put out a lot more power. I think I have a schematic for the VTG series if you need a copy PM me.

EDIT:

Here's an ad from the 70's:

More are available from www.vintageguitars.org.uk/advertisements/aims

And a quote from the H-C forums.

Originally Posted by McDuffie

They were built in Arizona. The man who designed them was named Lee Dominguez and he owned a music store called Arizona Music. The store is still there, but it has changed hands and has a different name.

The amp tech that works at the store, Bob Olsen, has worked at the store since 1960 and he was involved every step of the way in the development of AIMS amps.

There are some internet rumors that AIMS was started by some engineers who used to work for Fender and were let go, or quit, after the CBS buy-out but this isn't so. Mr. Dominguez never worked for Fender, but he did work with Fender in developing their reverb tanks and also on a guitar instructional book.

That's about all the info I have.

I was always skeptical about the claim that it was started by former Fender engineers just because the power tubes on the AIMS amps were 6550s and I am not aware of any Fender guitar amps that employed 6550s. That didn't totally rule it out, but it just made the claim less likely, in my opinion. Now I know it was wrong, because I talked to guy who bought music store from Lee Dominguez.

Feel free to add if you know anything else!

[SpankyPants]

I just got this head in tonight, and I've gotta say, it's a real good first impression!

I happened across the AIMS amp in a music store in Portland, OR. I was testing out a couple of tube amps: Orange and Ampeg, when I saw this fella (with matching 610) sitting there, begging to be played. Right away I like it. It's got more presence than the Orange, almost like the Ampeg SVT-VR I had just played. And at $600 including the cab, I was in love. I moved back to Louisiana, and got them to ship the head (sans cab) to me.

I was a little concerned about how it'd sound at home, though. I'd been using an RBI and QSC PLX amp into a Bill Fitzmaurice O10, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I have almost exclusively played solid state amps, so I was definitely excited to try it out! Well, it got in today, and I was immpppreeesssedd!!

This thing is supposed to be rated at 120w@5.3ohms. It was made to go with that 610 cab, which was wired all funky, resulting in 5.3 ohms. Again, I was concerned about using my 4ohm cab, but I've been told it should be okay.

Well, I plugged it in and right away I thought.... This thing is loud. Much louder than my 1600w solid state amp ever felt. So loud I peed a little. My balls receded into my chest and flew out of my eye sockets. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit, but it was waaaay loud. I haven't taken it past 3 on the volume knob because I was afraid I'd blow my speakers. It sounded a little scratchy, but I'm sure it's nothing some new tubes/capacitors can't fix. I'll need to have a tech look it over soon.

But for the tone.... oh the sweet tone. It was way more articulate than my solid state rig with waaaay more presence and brightness. I felt like with all of my other amps, I was fighting for presence. Eden, PJB, SWR, Kustom, Hartke (not so much on Hartke, actually), Sansamp, etc. I never felt like I really had that "bright" sound I was looking for. But damn, I've had to turn the treble down on this beast. It's actually a bit bass-shy, but I remedied that with the deep switch and a tweak of the bass knob. I've been A/Bing it with my current rig, and I can really hear my bass "breathe" through the AIMS. It seems clearer, less cluttered. When I turned off the RBI's tube emulation, my bass sounded honky. Not with the AIMS. It's clean, bright, and deep. It's not pillowy. I couldn't get much usable grit by cranking the preamp, and it's too loud to try to get some power-tube break up. Maybe with some bigger speakers, but I think I'd blow up my O10.

My fingertone sounds great; slapping sounds even better. Tapping is a bit quieter, but I think it's because my Rane DC-24 multiband compressor has spoiled me. My effects are way cleaner and easier to hear, but also sound much different without the compressor. For example, delay sounds a little different, and the natural presence of the amps kind of make my distortions sound harsh. However - like I said before - I was always looking for more presence and treble, so my distortions are bright-sounding and general have the tone knobs dimed. I honestly can't believe how much clearer everything sounds, especially through an old tube amp that I expected to "warm things up."

It's got a couple of 6550's, and (as I'm told by the sales man in Portland ) is actually pushing around 180w rather than 120. It's got 2 channels with 2 inputs each, and the back has a speaker out, external speaker out, and a preamp out - all 1/4". I'm not sure what the 2 inputs are for, but I think it might be passive/active. Some amps have different inputs for bass/guitar, but this is the VTB (Personalized Bass Sound System) and not the VTG (Personalized Guitar Sound System). I can't notice much difference between the inputs, but I'll spend more time with it in the next few days and figure it out. The first channel only has Bass/Treble EQ, and the second has Bass/Mid/Treble. Each channel has bright and deep switches. The deep switch is easily noticeable, but the bright switch is more noticeable with my tweeters off, which leads me to believe that it's based on the upper-mids.

Again, this is just my FIRST impression. I've spent a couple hours working with it, but you can rest assured that I'll be spending a lot more time with it soon!

Here are some pics:

[anderbass]

Congrats Spanky. Here's my Aims VTG-120 I found at a yard sale here in Phoenix:



Mine still sounds pretty good as a guitar amp but for bass (w/bass cabs) it just didnt seem to have enough headroom to keep up with my bands. I'm thinking your Bass model will probably do a better for ya.



Mine came with a little home made sticker that says Generation X. I've always wanted to try contacting someone from the band to see if they remember anyone using this combo.

[SpankyPants]

The guitar version has tremolo in the second channel, right? What about reverb?

I actually brought my amp to Dave the Tube Guy here in Baton Rouge, and he said everything seems to be in working order. I plan on bringing it back next week to let him run a full diagnostic exam, and I'm thinking about exchanging the 6550's (which are currently old Svet's) with some KT88's. He's got some "slightly" used EHX KT88's which he'll sell to me for cheap.

My jazz fusion band (very reasonable volume) meets on Sunday, so that'll be the real test.

[anderbass]

Yep, mine has foot-switchable Tremolo with speed and intensity knobs for use on the second channel only.
My reverb level knob is also located on the second channel side, but channel-1 has a reverb in/out slider switch feature.

[SpankyPants]

Cool! Maybe my guitarist will pick one up someday.

I brought my AIMS to practice (as well as jamming in my room with my other guitarist), and this thing rips. My bandmates all complimented my tone. The volume was great; even with 2 guitars and a drummer, I never had to turn past 1 on the knob. It's got better treble and articulation than any amp I've ever played. It's got more punch and kick than any amp I've ever owned. This amp is awesome.

EDIT:
So, after spending a few weeks with this amp, I can honestly say that I'm more satisfied with my tone than I've ever been. This thing sounds great. It only weighs about 30-40 pounds. It's loud as heck. I love playing bass again - I can't stop! I haven't switched the tubes out yet, but I plan on doing it relatively soon. I've actually had to turn off the tweeters with this amp - something I've never done before. I'm a treble-lovin' sombitch (as nad says), and I've always run my tweeters on full with "Presence" cranked. My BFM Omni10 has 8 tweeters on it, and they sound great when playing with clean bass tones. However, like i said before, it just makes the distortions I use sound harsh. I turned the tweeters off, turned the "Bright" switch on... and I like my sound even more now. I think this is "the" amp I've been looking for.

I'd write more... but now I wanna go jam.

[SpankyPants]

Some pictures of the 610 cab (5.3 ohms) that came with the head:

[RickenBoogie]

Cool lookin' rig. I ain't never heard of them before. Looks very old school, prolly has that vibe, too, huh?

[KramerBassFan]

Nice stuff!

That 6x10 cabinet reminds me of a SUNN...

(even though it has no real connection whatsoever.... )

That sir, is some mighty fine looking gear!

[SpankyPants]

Well thank y'all!

[Kip Page]

what are the price ranges of these heads today??

[SpankyPants]

Pretty cheap from what I understand. My head and the 610 cab together were $600. I saw a guitar head on eBay for ~$400 last year. IMO it's a steal for what you get.

[anderbass]

I bought my non-working Aims combo (pitched above) for $35 at a yard sale like 15 years ago. Someone had stacked 2 short fuses into the full sized (AGC-type) fuse holder, one had simply blown because it was under-rated. My origanal speakers aluminum dust caps were also rattling like heck but just needed a quick re-gluing.

[twinfallsbass]

Can I join too? Everything Spankypants sayd is totally true about this amp, it's a VERY Transparent but tubey sounding amp. Hundred tube amps is PLENTY of power for the smaller gigs I want to do, trust me, it gets REALLY loud. Got this off ebay for what I thought was a really good price. I don't think the seller knew how to ship tube amps, because when it arrived the chassis was badly damaged, both the power switch and pilot light where broken as well There was a VERY thin layer of bubble wrap around the amp and the shipping box was basically the same size of the amp. Took it to TB member timv ( like I do with ALL my tube amps ) and he brought everything back to normal, man that guy works wonders He also installed adjustable bias, a set of GE 6550's and some nice preamp tubes. Also wanted to add that I live in the Phoenix area, and to have a piece of local history, to me, it's really cool. here it is, it's similar to spanky's, but the face plate on mine is a little different.

[twinfallsbass]

Pic of GE's, Sweeetness

[SpankyPants]

Yours looks a bit different than mine, and I kinda like it better. Maybe it was a more recent version.

I just wanted to say that I brought my amp in for service and a tube replacement. The tech said a lot of my caps had been replaced in 2006, so most of the stuff was in great working order. He replaced the 6550's with a couple of KT88's. I bridged the preamps... and this thing just screams. It's unbelievable. I'm more satisfied than ever with my tone.

Now I just need to get a solid 215 that can handle these watts.

[SpankyPants]

Twin, what settings do you usually use?

[Clank]

I had that same amp! I'm still trying to replace it. It got me hooked on tube amps.
Great find!

[twinfallsbass]

Originally Posted by SpankyPants

Twin, what settings do you usually use?

Hey Spanky Pants. Right now my settings are:
channel 2 volume set to 6, Bright off, Deep on, bass 7, mid 6, treble 5-6. Running it through my MarkBass CL108 and it Smokes!!! My amp tech was only able to get around 90watts out of the amp with GE 6550's, not sure why they said 120watts RMS on the amp, even with that said this amp is a VERY loud 90watts. I too would like to hear this amp through the 2x15 cab I have, only one problem, it's an 8ohm cab. How did you bridge the two preamp channels?? Did you use a split cable?

[SpankyPants]

Nope, just plug your bass into Channel A's first jack, run a patch cable from Channel A's second jack into Channel B's first jack, and voila! Now you have two blendable preamps!

My tube tech told me that at 5.3 ohms, I'd be fine using an 8 or 4ohm cab. I've used both, and I'm currently gigging with an 8 ohm cab. Works just fine.