Monday, May 14, 2012

Pre-WW2 Valco-made Amp

It's been a while, since I've had the chance to write here.  I thought I would write up an entry about an old Valco amp with a Tower label.  I was given this amp in exchange for some web development about a fifteen years ago.  Here are a couple of photos of the amp.




Since, it appeared original, I decided that it should probably be looked at.  I took it to Skip Simmons Amp Repair in Dixon, CA.  He checked it out and touched up some solder joints and pronounced it good to go.  When I asked Skip about it, he said that it was likely made by Valco, but he had never seen one before.


A few years later, I was curious about the amp.  After doing some research on the Internet, I couldn't find any information about the amp.  I posted some questions on the Valco Amp site.  I received no response.  At this point, I was content knowing that it was a Valco-made mystery amp.


A while ago, I was considering trading it when I received an e-mail from Terry Dobbs (a.k.a. Mr Valco):
"This amp is the same circuit as the first Valco made Supreme amps, however, it was made before WW2 by the same company that made the National Dobro amps, in other words, before Valco was Valco. It has a 10" 4 ohm field coil speaker, 5y3, 2-6V6's, 6sc7 and a 6J7. Single volume and no tone control and two inputs. It is a nice little amp and they sound great when serviced and working right."
Okay, enough talk...  How does it sound?  Let's take a listen...


What do you think?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Joe,
Mr. Valco here, great video! If you come back to the website with a question I'll try to be more prompt with a reply!

Anonymous said...

Sounds fantastic ! I own a few really old Valco amps and the all sound superb. That basic circuit was used for quite a few years with little change. Magnificent lap steel and electric guitar sound, but your harp sounds great as well ! Enjoy it !

Anonymous said...

Superb ! I have the Supro counterpart called the "Model 50". I own several early Valco amps, and that is a Gem. The speaker in particular, it's an early field coil Jensen that has just the right treble roll-off to make it sound super warm and smooth, even though the amp is small. By the way, Sears sold a similar model with a bigger cabinet and a 12" Jensen (same series just bigger) and that is also fabulous.

I would never get rid of my model 50 in a million years, and your amp is exactly the same except for the badging ! Enjoy it ! Fantastic sounding, and a real piece of history it is.