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Toby Vintage Amp?
- Thread starter t music
- Start date
I grew up near Ft. Worth and saw a few Toby speakers back in the day, but I've never seen that amp. Wow, what a 'beauty'. Even in the '60's, Toby's emphasis was more in the direction of stereo speakers; I did see some MI speaker systems back then but I wasn't aware of the amplifiers.
I'm not sure why, but I'm gratified to see that Toby is still in business, not all that far from his original site on Ft. Worth's east side. They have a FB page, a Web site and everything. It looks like Toby has continued pursuing unusual or obscure design concepts -- I note that many of his sub-woofers now have hexagonal ducted ports. And now I'm remembering that the first acoustic labyrinth speaker I ever saw was one of Toby's products, in about 1972.
I see that the Toby amp in the picture is for sale on Dallas CL for $350. It would almost be worth it to refit that monstrosity with a more modern amp and speakers; imagine the looks you'd get when you wheeled that thing in and flipped the top up. Rockin'!!
Edit: In perusing their Web site, I see that the original owner, Toby Guynn passed on in 2015 -- the current company was restarted/restored by a former employee. "Keeping The Dream Alive".
New Edit: Toby himself was a bass player who played in North Texas State's "1 O'clock Band" in the '60's, when their legendary reputation was being built.
I see that the Toby amp in the picture is for sale on Dallas CL for $350. It would almost be worth it to refit that monstrosity with a more modern amp and speakers; imagine the looks you'd get when you wheeled that thing in and flipped the top up. Rockin'!!
Edit: In perusing their Web site, I see that the original owner, Toby Guynn passed on in 2015 -- the current company was restarted/restored by a former employee. "Keeping The Dream Alive".
New Edit: Toby himself was a bass player who played in North Texas State's "1 O'clock Band" in the '60's, when their legendary reputation was being built.
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It would be interesting to A/B the products (if any are still operating within original spec) against period units (again, operating at original spec) from big/popular/ well-liked brands. I'd be curious if, apart from their unconventional appearances, there were design advantages or increased performance over their contemporaries.
I'd be surprised if any of the Toby amps offered any design innovations -- Toby himself was not an engineer, although he did employ one... I think he was more of an auteur type. I read where he said the original core of his business was young men who wanted BIG stereo speakers. In the early days some of his products prominently featured 6x9 car stereo speakers, IIRC. I remember one pair of stereo speakers that were tall, skinny, and fairly conventional, except for some extra, smaller drivers that were on one side -- the concept was they would sit on the floor on either end of a sofa and aim out into the room -- the extra speakers were near/side 'fills' for listeners seated on the sofa between the speakers. An innovative idea, if not an odd one.
I was able to talk with Toby, he built one of the first magnetic pickups for Double Bass at a time when piezo pickups were terrible sounding. The B&B loan in Muncie, Indiana, where I grew up, had one of the single 15" Toby's prominently
displayed in it's window. It looked incredible.
displayed in it's window. It looked incredible.
Hi folks, I'm Toby's son, Gene Guynn. Just found this thread while looking around for yet unseen bits and pieces of his legacy. I'm happy to answer any questions about him and his creations to the best of my ability!
