Vintage amp recommendations?

[RalphHandley]

Hello folks.

I’m looking for a good vintage amp under 1k. All I require is an esthetic look and good quality sound. So, what do you have in mind?

Any help will be highly appreciated.

[glebert]

Wow, that is an open ended question! Luckily the "vintage" and "under 1k" will limit some of the perennial favorites.

I would ask what the use model for it is. Studio use? Bedroom strumming? Local bar gigs? Outdoor arenas? What kind of music? Country, death metal, polka? Is portability a concern or do you have roadies to move a full stack? OK, you can't get much of a vintage full stack for 1k.

Where are you located? If there are music stores around that have vintage gear I would say you just need to go and play a bunch of stuff to see what works for you.

[mikeydee77]

Fender silverface... more battered looking the better

[TomCarlos]

My take on this would be to look for something that could easily be repaired if something goes wrong. And that is one good reason to find yourself a Fender. Things like caps and resistors are slam dunks. But if you ever had to replace one of the transformers (Power, Reverb, Output), you can always find a replacement. The circuits are easy and straight forward.

As Glebert mentioned, what are you using this for? If you want something for your bedroom, a Princeton (at 11 watts) will work. If you want something for a small club, wouldn't it be nice to find a Deluxe. But, you will run up against your $1k budget.

Yes, there are other alternatives, like a Gibson. Again, it is all about availability and price.

[g1]

Some say 'vintage' is over 25 yrs. old. That puts the time frame up to around 1997, which sure opens the possibilities to meet your price point.

[Helmholtz]

Some say 'vintage' is over 25 yrs. old. That puts the time frame up to around 1997, which sure opens the possibilities to meet your price point.

Nice!
When I had my shop in the early 80s, vintage meant up to end of '65 (maybe '68 for Marshalls).

[loudthud]

A Silverface Twin Reverb can be found cheap. It will probably require some work to make it reliable. You might consider replacing the speakers with a pair of 16 Ohms and running just two power tubes.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Seeing as I started in NJ, gotta mention the 60's Ampeg combos. Jet, Rocket, Reverberocket, Gemini I, Gemini II, Gemini VI maybe a couple others. Still found often in the 400 - 650 range. When working correctly these amps can sound exquisite with lush reverb in those models that include it.

Amps from Neptune !?! Danelectro brand from the Jersey shore, the town's name was Neptune. Still trading at affordable prices. Those that have reverb, it's usually awful so expect that.

Leaving Joisey for now...

Similarly 60's Gibson and Epiphone combos almost always need help BUT once worked-over can be terrific amps. Similar price range for ones brought up to snuff but don't pay too much for these amps if not properly brought up to snuff. Some mild mods can bring out the best.

Sears Silvertone & Monkey Wards' Airline combos can be kool too. One problem, their reverb systems stunk so don't expect thrilling 'verb from any of them.

Any of the above can sometimes be found at garage sales & similar, you never know maybe dead cheap for one that's dusty & funky. Spend what's necessary to bring 'em back to life, you'll find it's well worth it.

Let us know what ya get. Happy hunting!


.

[DrGonz78]

Well now that 1984 is vintage those early 80’s fender are going to jump in price. Looking at a bunch of amps I came across an all tube Polytone amp. Looks similar to Mesa boogie and there are gut shots of the amp. The power transformer is bracket mounted to the bottom of the cabinet. Perhaps the extra distance from chassis means less noise. Kinda of a cool looking amp. Anyone ever come across one of these before?

[Mick Bailey]

As per glebert's comment - your playing style has a lot to do with the choice of amp, and also whether you want to use pedals for overdrive or reverb.

Much of my work as a repairman came from recently purchased 'vintage' amps where the buyer paid far too much and didn't allow for a recap, new tubes and maybe some fixes as well. There are a lot of amps being sold that do need work and its not until you open them up that you see what they're really like. A good example recently was a 70s Silverface Deluxe Reverb a customer paid £1100 for (about $1400 at that time). A really dangerous step-down mains transformer had been fitted, one power tube was gassy, the reverb didn't work, the speaker was rubbing and distorting, and one of the main filter caps was oozing. Aside from that, the cabinet was really abused and holes had been drilled in the side to mount the transformer. The seller said the amp had been recently serviced. I hear a lot of that - usually it's meaningless.

On the flip side I had a fair number of customers that dropped on real bargains. A one-owner Rexine '63 Vox AC30. All original tubes and components, and in superb cosmetic condition. He paid £800 for it ($1000). It's the best sounding AC30 I've ever heard.

[Greg_L]

[SIZE=16px]Hello folks.

I’m looking for a good vintage amp under 1k. All I require is an esthetic look and good quality sound.

That would be a neat trick. If I knew of one, I'd buy it myself.

[Chuck H]

Well... No point in asking about what kind of music or venues I think. The aesthetic was the first criteria sited. And RalphHandley hasn't been back to address the questions. I'm wondering if this might not be needed as a film prop or more of a display piece for a theme room or something. So, to focus on the second criteria which is "good quality sound"...

Finding an aesthetically desirable amp in good working order (as in it already sounds good and works properly) for under a grand is a very tall order indeed. Anything that is vintage and looks cool, so I'm assuming a 50's, 60's tube amp, in that price range is almost sure to need electronic repair or overdue maintenance to have "good quality sound". What that will cost then must be subtracted from the initial purchase price if the under 1k criteria is to be met. And what an amp like this may need has to be handled on a case by case basis at the bench by a knowledgeable technician.

I think it CAN be done. But I also think it would take real knowledge of the genre and patience for a deep and possibly long search to pull it off. There really is no particular amp to be sought that will invariably be vintage, under a grand, known to have good sound and be in good repair. Therefor there is nothing to recommend here.

[mozz]

"Sears Silvertone & Monkey Wards' Airline combos can be kool too."


Beware of the particle board cabinets. Once damp and swells up you are better off putting it in a new cabinet. Same for Premier although slightly better chassis. Last Premier I bought had all disk caps (except filters) which are still perfectly fine.

[Greg_L]

Sears Silvertone & Monkey Wards' Airline combos

That's exactly what I was gonna say. Silvertones are vintage, look vintage, and still relatively affordable...for now. Sound great? That's subjective.

[glebert]

Don't know if Ralph is going to come back and give more info, so might as well just blather on about amps, because, hey, that's what we like to do.

I think the criteria that he articulated (aesthic look, sound good, under 1k) would be very well served by any number of reissue amps ( looking at you Fender), or modern versions of classic amps (thinking Vox). But if having something that is at least 40-50 years old is just as important a criteria, are those Fenders and Voxs just sad substitutes, and maybe even make an original less appealing (like a silverface Fender)?

Looking on reverb.com and filtering by 60's and 70's guitar combo amps for under 1k the ones that I think have the best aesthetics (and don't have a modern version) are, in no particular order, Gibsons (like Falcons and Scouts), Silvertones/Danelectros, some of the Valco amps (though Supros are reissued now). Now, do I think those amps would be good for Ralph? Maybe not, but if someone wanted a good and unique aesthetic that is the direction I would go.