Cerwin-Vega BG-250. I bought one of these pigs in the mid '70s. It sounded ok but proved to be an unreliable pos for the most part. I grew to hate it and eventually just dumpsterized it.
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Weird Amps Nobody Remembers
- Thread starter Pablo504
- Start date
Heathkit had a long, successful run producing everything from stereo amps to (later on) music amplification for a very active DIY market. Few here will recall that high quality/low cost Japanese gear had yet to make a dent in the US market. Even iconic US brands were just upstarts.
Heathkit gear, particularly stereo and mono hifi amps were often used for PA and instrument applications. My understanding is that the Sundbergs (who founded Sunn) played around with Heathkit amps when they were looking for a way to a higher-powered bass amp that could hold its own against the ridiculously loud Fender Twin Reverbs that completely drowned the early Bassman models. Heathkit was sort of a very low priced, generic amp that filled all sorts of needs before being made obsolete by comparatively cheaper, higher quality Japanese products.
As a young boy I played my bass on my fathers 1959 Supro 1624T Dual Tone Vintage Valco USA 1x12 Tube Amplifier.
I'm betting most folks remember the Trace Elliot Twin-Quatra-Hexavalve line they had decades ago... the ones with the GP12XV pre built in (well, not the Twin, which only had a 7-band EQ of unknown persuasion into it):
These are great heads, articulate and full-sounding... I have a Quatra and love it. But not many people talk about, or even remember, the version of the Quatra that didn't have a pre onto the front end... it was strictly a power amp: the Quatra VR. Apparently, these came in 350 and 400-watt varieties (the VR350 and VR400), not sure why a difference of 50 Watts would make such a huge difference that it warranted separate models, but I'm not an amp designer. Geddy used a pair of VR400's in his stage rig for years in the 90s and early 2000s.
So rare are these VRs that it took me over 15 years to find one... but I eventually did find one just a year or two ago... right here on TalkBass! Here's the obligatory picture:
Das it mane...
These are great heads, articulate and full-sounding... I have a Quatra and love it. But not many people talk about, or even remember, the version of the Quatra that didn't have a pre onto the front end... it was strictly a power amp: the Quatra VR. Apparently, these came in 350 and 400-watt varieties (the VR350 and VR400), not sure why a difference of 50 Watts would make such a huge difference that it warranted separate models, but I'm not an amp designer. Geddy used a pair of VR400's in his stage rig for years in the 90s and early 2000s.
So rare are these VRs that it took me over 15 years to find one... but I eventually did find one just a year or two ago... right here on TalkBass! Here's the obligatory picture:
Das it mane...
My friend had one of the Crate amps that was actual wood like a crate. I don't know how rare they are, but I really wanted it, just for the looks.
Apparently someone in my wife’s family found this amp in the attic of a home they bought as a part of a lot. I do not know why they held on to it, fast forward 20 years and they gave it to me. It powers up but no sound. It says Bass on the control plate, so I think it counts for this thread. Also this thread remindes me that I know just the guy to donate this amp to.
Univox 65B. Sold as a combo amp despite the amp and cab parts being separated. 50 watts (claimed), 15 inch speaker. Didn't sound all that bad if you sat right by it to practice at don't-wake-the-neighbors volume, but the low end would disappear once you cranked it a little. Forget about playing with anybody else, forget about using your 5-stringer. This was sold under a couple different brand names, and this was more or less how it came from the factory, including the paper "Univox" sticker on the front.
Eventually I replaced it with a Fender 40 watt combo. Half the size, 10" speaker, goes louder and lower. Next time somebody tells you that they want a bigger amplifier because they want to be heard, refer them to this.
Eventually I replaced it with a Fender 40 watt combo. Half the size, 10" speaker, goes louder and lower. Next time somebody tells you that they want a bigger amplifier because they want to be heard, refer them to this.
Probably all of us older members have used one of these for a head…
My first bass amp (not my pic). Baldwin B1 Professional. Very modern, almost mid-century styling. Late 60's, early 70's. Two channel, around 35-40 watts, both a 15 and 12 inch speakers.
The Bogen shown earlier. I had one, but actually used it for vocal PA - 2 high-z mics and homemade speaker cabs loaded with Radio Shack 12's and 8's.
The Bogen shown earlier. I had one, but actually used it for vocal PA - 2 high-z mics and homemade speaker cabs loaded with Radio Shack 12's and 8's.
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SG Systems
Road
Plush
Earth
Names that came and went during my young years.
Road
Plush
Earth
Names that came and went during my young years.
There’s an entire thread dedicated to berating the Isovent.
Fender made a weird one in he 70’s with a Yamaha speaker that wasn’t round.
Back in the early 70s in my neck of the woods you’d see a fair number of Earth Sound Research amps with those weird “plush” padded vinyl cases they were doing. Sorta a riff on Kustom’s Chevy backseat look. We used to call it: coffin lining.
Looked like this (not mine btw):
About the best you could say about them was they were loud.
Looked like this (not mine btw):
About the best you could say about them was they were loud.
Sorry, no pics but I recall my brother and I shared a 1x12 Regal amp in the late 70's which suffered by hosting his guitar, my bass and our two crappy mics! A little later I moved onto a bass-legit Traynor amp (YB-1) with a janky Jensen 2x12. My brother however had the amps - Garnet and Guyatone. He moved over to Marshall, then a Legend.
That wasn't a Fender, it was a Yamaha. They made two or three amps with speakers that were "shaped like an ear" (which makes no sense at all). The "cone" of the speaker was some sort of white foam material. Very odd. A friend of mine played his Yamaha combo organ through one, and it sounded pretty darn good! Two channels, reverb and tremolo, plenty loud to play in a small band setting.
I remember those Heath amps. My father was an electrical engineer, and he got all the catalogs: Heath, Radio Shack, :Lafayette Electronics.
Man, I would love to have an amp that looked like there to rock my Multivox Marvels. Fifties to the max! But I'm not sure the wattage would be anything like adequate.
