You're in Baton Rouge? Do you think I could drive over and drool in your music room some day?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
The Acoustic Club
- Thread starter The Owl
- Start date
Hi to all,
I'm Alex and I joined TalkBass just a day ago and a big fan of old ACC amps.
I'm the proud owner of a 371 stack and a 220 head and just purchased a not working 270 (Export 240V), which are pretty rare here in Germany.
So here is my problem:
Unfortunately the power amp section is missing. (Dont ask me why) I think everything else is there.
It is almost impossible to find one. Especially here in Europe
Maybe one of you guys has an old and broken acoustic 270 or acoustic 370 (imo they have the same power amp) with a working power amp section and want to sell it.
Or maybe you can install other acoustic power amplifiers?
Thanks so much.
Here is the amp:
I'm Alex and I joined TalkBass just a day ago and a big fan of old ACC amps.
I'm the proud owner of a 371 stack and a 220 head and just purchased a not working 270 (Export 240V), which are pretty rare here in Germany.
So here is my problem:
Unfortunately the power amp section is missing. (Dont ask me why) I think everything else is there.
It is almost impossible to find one. Especially here in Europe
Maybe one of you guys has an old and broken acoustic 270 or acoustic 370 (imo they have the same power amp) with a working power amp section and want to sell it.
Or maybe you can install other acoustic power amplifiers?
Thanks so much.
Here is the amp:
Welcome to TalkBass! I'm sure others will be more helpful!
I've got an old 150 i might cannibalize, not sure if that power section would work - it would be less power. I'll keep an eye open for a 270/370 power section as well.
Unless COVID gets completely out of hand, I'll be in Germany in March and could bring it with me.
People like you are why I sent the guy here, you guys are so helpful and so knowledgeable.
Some people question why we love these old things, for me it comes down to:
1. Very affordable back in the day, even the top of the line rigs (360/370/320) cost less than a SVT
2. Not much more expensive than Peavey, without the Peavey stank reputation
3. Sounded way better than Peavey
4. More reliable and better dealer distribution than Ampeg
5. Did I say reliable? There is a reason you see so many of these amps still working. My 220 fell off my 5 foot tall stack onto concrete TWICE and just kept working. I only noticed it when I turned around and saw it on the floor LOL. Other than one minor repair (done by myself) it's still working 43 years later; it's actually not that noisy even compared to modern heads.
Oh yeah the minor repair (to the power switch) was a good 15 years after the amp fell off my cabinets.
6. Great support to this day from the tons of people who owned or own these things.
I still fire my old 220 up about once every week or two just to play through it, I just wish I had a period correct cabinet to run it through - I use a homemade 2 x 10" loaded with Eminence BP-102's.
Back in the day I built my own cabs, loaded with 15" JBL's because that was a thing back then. Kinda wished I had bought a pair of the 2 x 15" cabs (to get 2 ohms) but that would have been a much more expensive proposition.
Analogeezer
When I was buying in 1978, the 370 head was around $1000.00. I bought my 301 cab new in 1973 and still have.
I bought 2 of these and a Boss BF-2 for the same amount. For ROS playing. ( I have 1 of these left) I never had a problem with the Peavey sound…but the Acoustic is way better!
I did eventually…about 40+ years later… get a 370 though…
When I was buying in 1978, the 370 head was around $1000.00. I bought my 301 cab new in 1973 and still have.
I bought 2 of these and a Boss BF-2 for the same amount. For ROS playing. ( I have 1 of these left) I never had a problem with the Peavey sound…but the Acoustic is way better!
View attachment 4494795
I did eventually…about 40+ years later… get a 370 though…
View attachment 4494805
Not being snarky but you might want to check the MSRP on that 370; also by 1978 it had been replaced by the 320.
I paid $330 for my 220 head that Fall (of 1978) so list price was probably $399. I read some prices of the 120/220/320 stuff a while back and it seems like the MSRP for the 320 was more like $599 maybe $699.
370's obviously would have been cheaper in 1973, given how bad 1970's stagflation was back then.
Analogeezer
I totally believe you. I'm going by my memory. In any case, that's why I bought 2 Peavey heads at the time. You're most likely correct. Maybe I was looking at a 320 then. It was quite a while ago…
I have a working 270 head I will likely never use. If you're interested.
Very nice, I like clean and simple and old well loved Fenders.
List prices in March 1974 were $629 for the 370 and $670 for the 301.
By December 1977 the 370 was gone from the price list and the 301 listed for $819, the 220 for $499, and the 320 for $789.
I found the cure for the failed power switch problem on the 220! I pulled mine out this weekend to see how the old girl is doing. The power switch has miraculously healed itself. So, set amp in closet for about a decade and it will heal! The best part? This amp actually sounds as good as my memory told me it did!
The best part? This amp actually sounds as good as my memory told me it did!
I hope that you gave it a shot of tuner cleaner while it was naked?I found the cure for the failed power switch problem on the 220! I pulled mine out this weekend to see how the old girl is doing. The power switch has miraculously healed itself. So, set amp in closet for about a decade and it will heal!
Nope, didn't even open it up. My conclusion is that the Acoustic 220 has natural healing powers.
Electronically the 220 power amp would be an ideal transplant into a 270 or 370, since all use the exact same power supply. However the 220 power amp assembly sits slightly taller, at least 1/8" to 1/4" too tall for the 270 case. I can't think of an elegant work around. I don't know what parts you've already donated from your 220, but his 270's power transformer would of course drop right into that chassis.
Last edited:
Well then, that $290 price difference in MSRP certainly explains why I didn't shop for the 320 instead of the 220.
Back then at the paid Summer internship I had, was getting paid $4.28 per hour so assuming my net was about 85% of that, I would have had to work two full weeks to make up that price delta.
Of course back then minimum wage was $2.65 an hour so $4.28 for a Summer job for a college puke was pretty good coin!
In my defense the job was in my field of study and I arrived with a ton of knowledge about the job, they really didn't have to train me much at all (also being a college puke a lot of the job was not exactly the brain surgery stuff, but that's how it goes just starting out). So I was instantly productive and kinda ambitious, back then Summer jobs for college students in your field of study were rare indeed.
Analogeezer
I used that 220 only for the power transformer, ironically to put in a 270 that had a US 120V mains. The headshell is also used to make a 126 into a 120
