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Pre-Rickenbacker Road 220

#21
Hi,

Does anyone have a guess of the weight of amp? Even approx?
"Solid state" gives me a clue on a relatively light unit (compared to full tube), do I guess right?

thanks for any advice
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#24
“pentatonik -- Does anyone have a guess of the weight of amp? Even approx? "Solid state" gives me a clue on a relatively light unit (compared to full tube), do I guess right?”

Hi pentatonik,
Road amplifiers were related to Kustom amps, but the Road amps were built with a special casing to withstand punishment on the road.
A Kustom K200 weighs 32 pounds, so I would guess that a Road 220 weighs between 36 and 42 pounds.
-Les S
(email [email protected] your S.N if you have any questions on dating your Vintage Kustom)
 
#29
I have some Road gear. 2 Road 440 heads, 1 220 head and 2 1x18 cabs. I used it all a lot in the 90's.
For the smaller stuff I just used 1 440 head and the 2 1x18 cabs.
For bigger stuff I used 2 440 heads and 2 1x18 cabs on top of 2 Cerwin-Vega folded horns.
I have since slimmed down to a Ampeg B5R and a couple of 15's but I do miss the power.
I'm thinking of using the Road 18's with the Ampeg next. Harder to move around but worth it.
 

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#30
Trevor,
I own a setup just like yours: Road 220 amplifier with a Road 1-18" cabinet. The amp head is powerfull 200(or 220) watts but appears to be limited to 8 ohms. It is very flexible tonally and has a level control on one channel that can act a bit like a distorted 'overdrive'.
The speaker is a full-range 18" Electro Voice that is bright, low and very punchy, especially for an 18. Both boxes are built right into rugged, aluminum trimmed road cases.

I bought this pair from the original owner around 1978 or 80. Pammy, the original owner, played in an all-girl rock band out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
All amplifiers in the band were from Road Electronics. I don't have an owners manual. But I have seen a schematic for it. I may have that somewhere.

It is a very interesting amp line. Does anyone know what years they were manufactured?
Jonny
 
#33
Hello, I recently received a Road bass amp from a gentleman cleaning out his garage. I don't know if it is a 220 or 440. He told me it was just missing a part that he never got around to replacing and showed me where it would go. However, I don't know what the actual part number is and was hoping someone could open their amp up and take a look for me. I checked inside for a schematic but no luck. Also, if it is obvious to anyone whether it is the 220 or 440 version, that would be groovy information to know as well.

This is my first post here so let me know if the photos don't come through right.

Thanks.
 

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#35
Thank you very much for the photos.
Now, can anyone help me locate the part in the picture above? Is CV514 the actual part number that I should be searching for? I would presume that the exact part is no longer in production but is there a way for finding out what the current equivalent is?
thanks
 
#36
514/527 is likely the batch number.

65351 is probably the real part number.

Or 6535I... i don't know.

Stupid old transistor amps.. using new tech that was replaced with better stuff in six months.... if even that. So much for the "plug and swap" that tubes possess.

Good luck! I have the same problem in an old KUSTOM amp, which is quite similar. Bad output transistor... i doubt it'll ever work.

Cheers mate!
 
#38
im new to this forum and i might be alittle late on this post , but i have all the road schematics and component layouts . got em from a repair tech that serviced them .
so , if anyone needs one , shoot me a msg and ill shoot you the info .
also , if one shows up and its for sale (working or not) let me know , ill make an offer !

have fun !
 
#40
By now it looks like everyone is upto speed on th eRoad amps. I just wanted to put in my 2 cents. I have a Road bass amp with a single 15 inch speaker and a 2x12 guitar amp. I've had them since the early 80's. I have bought and sold a ton of gear over the years and the 2 Roads are the only ones that I have never parted with. They are the cleanest, quietest (as far as noise goes) amps in the world. The massive "speaker armor" (as Rickenbacker advertised it) is great too. It is my understanding that Road introduced the armored speakers before anyone else.

Anyway, to those of you who have and use Road amps still, congratulations. You have one of the coolest amps around. Certainly the coolest from the solid state era.

Let's face it, some things are just plain cool. You know what I mean.
 
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