Grouse amps for sale (paw-picked by Leo the resident tone hound)

Please note that all these amps are vintage valve amps that are point-to-point wired. As a musician of more than 35 years experience, I know the difference between the genuine article and the 're-issue'! Printed circuit boards (PCBs) and the high voltages of valve amps simply don't mix. Only vintage amps and the best of the boutique amps will offer this extremely important feature.

this page last updated Thursday, September 2, 2010

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NOTE; amps are listed chronologically

 

extension boxes

1960s 1x12" with alnico Rola 12PX speaker - a lovely vintage 15-watt Rola wide-range 12PX 15-ohm alnico speaker in a well-built portable front-ported enclosure with a removable back and integral lead. Remove the back, plug in the speaker to the 15 ohm output of a valve amp up to 15 watts, and just dig that vintage tone! - on hold at $245AUD (plus shipping) for Stuart in Brisbane ($150 paid)

 

1950s

1951 Fender Pro Amp - Here's a fantastic TV-front vintage Fender amp from the golden period. Loads of street cred, buckets of vintage tone from the field coil 15" Jensen, and a truly grouse investment - $4995AUD (plus shipping)

1955 Australian 10 watt amp - an incredibly charming amp which sounds amazingly good! Built (almost certainly in Sydney) in 1955, and possibly an extremely early Moody. - $1095AUD (plus shipping)

1959 Goldentone 40-watt EL34 2x12 amp - the oldest Goldentone I have ever seen, in remarkable condition, and fully serviced and ready to rock for another 50 years! - $2795AUD (plus shipping)

1959 Goldentone 10-watt single-ended class-A EL-34 amp - a sister amp to the bigger 2x12 combo from the same era - even has the same tablecloth-look speaker grille! Just back from a service - $1195AUD (plus shipping))

 

1960s

early 1960s JMI (Vox) Domino - a very rare, very basic, very cool amp putting out only about 5 glorious single-ended watts from the single EL-84 output. Valve rectifier, and super-cool 1960s British looks! Very collectable, very usable - $1195AUD (plus shipping)

1960s Vedette (ZJM) amp - a very rare and awesome-sounding 40-watt vintage Australian amp head made in Sydney in the 1960s (probably pre-'64). Fender® blackface circuitry with British-style EL-34 output and great transformers make this a point-to-point wired vintage tone BARGAIN! - $1295AUD (plus shipping)

1960s Vadis 250R 1x12 combo - Vadis made some amazingly good-sounding amps, and this is one of them. 2 x 6L6GC output in cathode bias configuration (around 25 watts) into the original 12" alnico speaker, with reverb and tremolo to die for. Superb! - not for sale

1960s (?) Fi-Sonic Fuzz Blender - Surely this could make rocking horse droppings seem common! From Phil Dreoni's Marrickville (Sydney) workshops back in the '60s or '70s is this hand-made Germanium transistor fuzz box. I bought it purely as a curio, and don't really want to sell it, but you're very welcome to have a look. - not for sale

1960s Strauss Polka - a very conservative estimation of 120 watts from the 4x7027A output valves - 21 kilos of pure vintage Aussie amp muscle that will make a Marshall look like a wimp! And it has tone you wouldn't believe! - $1495AUD (plus shipping)

1960s Moody 2x12 box (Rola 12PEG alnico) - a lovely 8 ohm box loaded with speakers that are amongst my all-time favourites - the alnico Rola 12PEG. I use this with heads up to 30 watts or so (40 at a pinch). Very collectable, very usable - not for sale

1961 Magnatone Custom 260 (260A) amp - you know the sound - that incredible true vibrato (not tremolo) that has shaped the sound of Robert Ward, Lonnie Mack, Buddy Holly, Robert Cray, Ry Cooder and more. Want the sound? Here's the amp! - $3995AUD (plus shipping)

1962 (approx) Fi-Sonic 5 watt combo - I love these handmade amps from Phil Dreoni's Marrickville (Sydney) workshop, and this is a real little gem. Valve rectified, original Mullard rectifier and pre-amp valves, and a fresh EL-84 output valve. Pure class-A single-ended tone, and an ideal home recording amp. Superb! - $995AUD (plus shipping)

Fender® '63 Vibroverb® 2007 handmade reproduction - Made by my favourite amp builder in Australia - very low production, fully handmade, stunning attention to detail, and as amazing to play through as it is to look at. I'm keeping it to play through, but you're welcome to have a look! - not for sale

1963 Moody BA40 1x12 piggyback - a very rare and collectable '63 vintage Moody in totally original condition. 40 watts of cathode-biased 6CA7/EL34 tone into the original alnico Rola 12UEG speaker - not for sale

1963 Moody GA35 2x12 combo - a delightful example of a super-collectable vintage Australian amplifier! dates from 1963, and incredibly original, right down to its red-coned MSP Radial Beam alnico speakers - $2795AUD (plus shipping)

1964 Fi-Sonic 2x12 combo - I love these amps made by Phil Dreoni in Marrickville (Sydney) in the 1960s - and this is the first big 2x12 version I have come across. Typical Aussie blend of USA and UK characteristics - sort of a Fender Twin®/Vox AC-30®/Marshall Blues Breaker® lovechild! Grouse sound, grouse rarity, grouse giggability. Point-to-point vintage valve amp with loads of stage cred - $1895AUD (plus shipping)

1964 Vedette (ZJM) amp - a very rare and awesome-sounding vintage Australian amp made in Sydney in 1964. Fender® blackface circuitry with British-style EL-34 output and very high quality transformers make this a point-to-point wired vintage tone BARGAIN! - $1795AUD (plus shipping)

1964 Selmer Thunderbird Truevoice Twin 50, super cool and very rare amplifier in its original faux crocodile-skin covering and with original Goodmans speakers and cover. Recently revalved and serviced. This would be the coolest amp in Australia - $4995AUD (plus shipping)

1966 Ultratone Custom Forty - a rare version of the Moody GA-40, one of my favourite amps ever. Dead original right down to its Rola 12PEG red-label alnico speakers! - not for sale

1967 Jason 4-watt class A amp - this thing's bloody beautiful! Very rare vintage Australian amp, and it has balls! 4 Class A (single-ended) watts into the original vintage MSP Hi-Flux Alnico 8" speaker gives tone, tone, tone, and there's plenty of gain from the EF86 pre-amp stage to dial in pure single-ended distortion rich in even-order harmonics. Has also been fitted with a switched outlet, meaning you can use this as a 4-watt head with any 4-ohm cab - $895AUD (plus shipping)

1968 (?) Fender Vibratone - a very rare Fender Vibratone, the Fender-badged version of the Leslie 16. I bought it to gig with my Fender Vibrosonic, a match made in heaven! - not for sale, but a Leslie 16 I sold some time back is now for sale - if interested I can pass your details on to the seller (in Perth)

1968 Aussie-built Eminar 100 watt amp - the earliest Eminar I have ever come across, dating from mid 1968. British style pre-amp and tone stack feeding into USA-style 4 x 6L6 output. Fantastic tone and power, and super cool looks! - $1995AUD (plus shipping)

 

1970s

1970s Maxim 60 watt bass amp - a very rare amplifier, handmade in Elwood, Melbourne, by Peter McCarthy, probably in the very early 1970s. In almost New Old Stock condition, but fully serviced, re-valved and re-capped. A superb amp! - $2195AUD (plus shipping)

1970s Jansen 880 Reverb 70watt head - a great sounding amp from one of New Zealand's most highly regarded manufacturers in the '60s and '70s, with heaps of power from its two new hand-matched 7027A valves running 600V on the plates! Extensively serviced by a leading Melbourne amp tech, with carefully hand-matched new 7027A outputs, new coupling caps and two new 12AX7s - on hold at $1295AUD (plus shipping) for Michael ($1000 paid)

1973 Diason (Goldentone) 'Tallboy' amp - a lovely vintage Australian amplifier, putting out about 10 watts from its 2x6GW8 Class AB1 output into the original 12" Alnico speaker, making it ideal for your home studio or even for small gigs. Fully serviced and re-capped, and ready to rock for another 36 years! - $995AUD (plus shipping)

1973 Leslie 825 - often dubbed 'the guitarist's Leslie', the 825 was designed as the smaller, more portable brother to the big 760 model. Beautiful high-power 12" Jensen fires downwards into the rotating foam drum, fed by the inbuilt 70-watt solid-state power amp. Comes complete with the very sought-after 2-channel Combo Pre-amp and 9-pin lead - $1695AUD (plus shipping)

1974 Fender Vibrosonic - I've been searching for many years for a good Vibrosonic, a model which rarely comes up for sale. Essentially a 100-watt Twin Reverb with a glorious single 15" JBL D130F speaker instead of the Twin's 2x12" configuration, these sound huge, and are a favourite of pedal steel players. I'm keeping this one for a while, as I want to gig it extensively (and carefully) before considering letting it go - not for sale

1975 Fender Twin Reverb - a very original and well cared-for example of the legendary Fender Twin Reverb. Buckets of deep reverb, great tremolo, and that unmistakeable Fender Twin sound. One mature owner for 20 years with light home use only. SUPERB! - $2795AUD (plus shipping)