I had been looking for a complete and original Ultratone Custom Forty for years, after having previously owned a head which I was very impressed by.

These are essentially a Moody GA-40 (which some of you know is amongst my favourite amps of all time) but simply made under a different name. They are very, very rare.

The downside of finding this example was the fact that I was taken for a ride by an eBay seller (from Canberra), who had described the amp as "This works and is as clear as a bell". When it arrived, the amp most clearly did not work, and subsequent investigation by our favourite Melbourne amp tech showed that the amp had not worked for some time, having several major faults which would have resulted in the amp's silence. Further to that, there were clear signs the amp had run extremely hot late in its life, with the bakelite bases of the EL-34 output valves blistered and buckled, and damage to the plates where a virtual melt-down had occurred. A previous, clumsy and somewhat desperate attempt had been made by an incompetent person to get the amp back in a state of workable bias by adding a separate 240/24volt stepdown transformer, diode and resistor!

( a warning about potential eBay nightmares, and also about the complete uselessness of the PayPal buyer protection policy - click here to see a couple more examples)

Our tech then set about undoing the amateurish modifications, replacing any worn and faulty components, installing new valves and biasing and adjusting it to put it back to the way it should be. Now it indeed "works and is as clear as a bell" as the eBay seller had originally described. Actually, these amps aren't all that 'clear', with plenty of overtones and 'fatness' to the tone, largely as a result of the cathode-bias configuration of the output stages (misnamed 'Class-A' by many). This is what sets them apart!

The original pair of red-label Rola 12PEG Alnico speakers sound absolutely fantastic, and are an integral part of the amp's incredible sound.

In view of the cost of this amp to me, plus the fact that I'd been searching for one for so long (and the fact I prefer it to ANY amp I have owned, including my Matchless), I plan to keep this as a front-line gigging amp. It sounds absolutely divine, and is yet again proof of the awesome sound these vintage Australian amps are capable of. In fact this one sounds devilishly good, and the a date stamp of 6-66 just might explain why!

The head measures 60cm(W) x 24cm(H) x 22cm(D) and weighs 13kg, while the box measures 75cm(W) x 52cm(H) x 28cm(D) and weighs 19kg. Shipped dimensions and weights will be slightly higher.

Click here for Australia-wide shipping quote for the head, and click here for the box. Just add your postcode, select whether you want the security of signing for delivery, and click the 'Calculate Postage' button!

Not for sale