Sound City 120R - What the...?

[MatronMother]

is this 120R modded?

Hello. I found this thread after months of searching for some intel on 120R Mods and hope you previous posters are still active on this forum I just joined.

To be candid, I am not a service tech, i understand most theory, but have never felt the confidence to fix something on my own.
That said I need help sourcing some information about a recently acquired 120R with a master gain control added where the headphone input is.
Is this really a headphone input or a mod?
Furthermore the send return via the back of the head is capped on the return input.

I do need it serviced and have no issues shipping this head to a person exp. with them. From my understanding these heads are a bit of a task to embrace.

I have attached a image of the head faceplate for quick review.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Hello. I found this thread after months of searching for some intel on 120R Mods and hope you previous posters are still active on this forum I just joined.

Yes these Sound City amps have an unusual EQ section which leads to a unique tone. Which never caught on... no matter, if you like it, that's good.

The "unfinished" fx loop is standard. I guess some engineer had an idea, which got quashed by manufacturing. "we spend enough making this amp, now cut some corners to keep the price in a normal range." No need to complete it unless you have a real need for it.

Many had a master volume fitted post production. Headphone out? Maybe ahead of their time, but that might lead to someone plugging in a pair of cans & not having the amp's output connected to a load (speakers or resistor) which spells doom for output tubes.

What's your location? Maybe some MEF member is nearby and can help you out with this prize. It's always best to avoid shipping if you can. Too many sad stories, no matter which company handles the task. Always best to have personal delivery/pickup.

FWIW HTH & satamax haven't been seen around these parts for a long time.

[drewl]

Not to mention how HEAVY these amps are!

[MatronMother]

Yes these Sound City amps have an unusual EQ section which leads to a unique tone. Which never caught on... no matter, if you like it, that's good.

Many had a master volume fitted post production. Headphone out? Maybe ahead of their time, but that might lead to someone plugging in a pair of cans & not having the amp's output connected to a load (speakers or resistor) which spells doom for output tubes.

What's your location? Maybe some MEF member is nearby and can help you out with this prize. It's always best to avoid shipping if you can. Too many sad stories, no matter which company handles the task. Always best to have personal delivery/pickup.

FWIW HTH & satamax haven't been seen around these parts for a long time.

I love the sound of the head, takes pedals beautifully, the carving ability of the eq, so much play room. I like being able to boost around the guitar players tones to cut through the mix.

I found this on a site about the headphone output
"For a brief time, the Sound City 120 and 200 Plus provided a front-panel, high-impedance headphone output. On the 120 this output is located just to the right of the two non-attenuated instrument inputs. On the 200 Plus, this output is located just to the left of the two Slave inputs. On both amps, this output has a headphone symbol next to it."

The 120R I have has a headphone symbol beside the main gain stage Mark IV knob and no other 120 R image I found has controls the same as the one I purchased. I have attached a image of a different 120R with the output plainly visible and not a control knob.



Thanks for the advice about techs. I will put a call out to the forum now.

[Mick Bailey]

I loaned my mint 50W head to a friend about 38 years ago and never saw it again. I dearly miss that amp and feel a sense of loss each time I get one in for repair.

The thing I like with these amps is this was a real break to get away from a regular FMV tone stack, and the closest perhaps in the guitar amp world to an active EQ. The respective frequency bands are each routed to an individual amp stage and then mixed together, so you have a tone stack that can boost frequencies as well as cut. This makes for a much more versatile amp in my view. For a good while Sound City amps could be bought for very little and regarded as third-rate almost. It just shows you how much many guitarists are led by fashion rather than knowledge. Now they make serious money and the people who always appreciated them are priced out of the market.

[drewl]

There's a picture of Pete Townshend backstage wearing headphones plugged into his Hiwatt.
I'll have to dig it out, it was from the booklet that came with The Kids Are Alright album.
Don't remember what specific amp, whether it was his modded Sound City or later Hiwatt.

[HTH]

Hi all, back from the dead again

I got locked out of my account, and also became a Dad - my spare time for amps has been virtually zero.

Sound City amps changed over time and you do see some oddities. Pretty sure I’ve seen headphone sockets on the back panel before, but that could just be an acid flashback.

If it’s a PTP amp, there are many things you can do to get the hiss and hum down in these amps, as detailed above.

[Jazz P Bass]

"also became a Dad "

Congratulations!!!!!