Simms-Watts 100 mk2

[Mr. Foxen]

No worries as far as hijacking the thread goes...lol.

I guess the Mk ii 100 is hard to get infos on... There must be someone out there who owns, owned or tried one that can surely share what honestly seems to be precious infos...

Can't find the outside pic, but I had a 100w guitar/bass Simms head, not sure of mark, but fits description: http://ampstack.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/simms-watts-ap100-guts/

Very clean until quite loud, weren't aiming for distortion with them, nice chimey cleans, dude who bought it was very pleased with it.

 

[Boot Soul]

HemiBob, you have seen this page of photos, right? >
Link Removed
I would think that this head would do well for bass. It seems to have been marketed for use with bass as the Ox advert shows. The transformers look to be about the same size as the ones in the P.A. 100 MkII, and that head seems to be used for bass. These two channel preamps must provide good EQ too, if they work as those do in the A.P. 200 If you get it for $500 and you don't like it, you can flip it pretty easily to a guitar player. That is cheap for a nice old British amp. A comparable age and power Marshall goes for $2K+ (why, I don't understand). Ampeg V4Bs are at least $800+ Fender Super Twins go for about the same.

One thing I don't know or see on this model of amp is a tap/switch for power voltage/freq selection. Find out from seller if input power is set for North American 120V/60cycle. On the 200 watt heads there are jumpers next to the power transformer that allow selection for voltages. I don't see those in the photos of the amp you are looking to buy, so you may need to consider that. There may be internal jumpers that can be switched.

 

[Mr. Foxen]

Think the voltage switch is internal, possibly on the side of the transformer, safer that way.

 

[Boot Soul]

I suppose the external jumpers next to the PT on the 200 watt models were put there with regard to their use as a stage rig suitable for world tours, and adaptable to places with voltages slightly higher or lower than the expected standard. Still, I wonder why this convenience was not a feature of the 100 watt models. Maybe it was omitted to reduce production costs.

 

[lfh]

Ah, a Simms-Watts thread!

I have no personal experience with the 100 W models (I have two 200 W heads), but according to various sources they're great for bass, too. Most likely the same power section was used in AP 100, PA 100 and GE 100. If you can read German, there's an interesting review dating from 2005 of the GE 100 (regarded as a 'cult' amp) in 'Gitarre und Bass' that can be downloaded for free here:

Invalid Link Removed

The transformer brand is still somewhat of a mystery, and I've recently started a thread over at vintageamps.com (see Invalid Link Removed). Dave Simms has confirmed that the brand was Allen, but he has no records left regarding the whereabouts of the company, so the investigation goes on.

The AP/PA 200 transformers are indeed larger than the ones used in the corresponding 200 W Hiwatt models. The exact dimensions are to be found in the long TB S-W story thread. The 100 W models do have a line voltage selector, situated directly at the side of the PT (see the vintageamps-thread for a pic).