Guild Aspen amp

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Hey folks! I'm new here, and looking for some assistance.

Back in college I had a Guild Aspen amp. What I recall is that it had a nice wood cabinet, gold-finished built-in head, with controls for chorus, reverb and plectrum (?). Any idea where I can run down some information about this amp, or better still, someone who might be interested in selling one?

Thanks much!
 

dklsplace

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Jeff

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xander450 said:
Hey folks! I'm new here, and looking for some assistance.

Back in college I had a Guild Aspen amp. What I recall is that it had a nice wood cabinet, gold-finished built-in head, with controls for chorus, reverb and plectrum (?). Any idea where I can run down some information about this amp, or better still, someone who might be interested in selling one?

Thanks much!

Welcome Xander,

I gotcher Guild Aspen right here!! Found it on Craiglist a while back, bought it from a Frenchman selling off & returning to Paris.

Took my old Hauser classic with a cheap under the saddle pickup to demo it before I bought it. Nice shape, 100%, not a mark on it, Pretty dovetailed hardwood cabinet (oak I think), Two 10" speakers & what looks like a 2 1/2 or 3" high frequency "horn?", original footswitch, Hauser sounded good thru it & was so pretty I couldn't turn it down.

Somewhere I have better pics of the front panel & controls, your original post pretty much covers the features.

I've since aquired a Trace I really like a lot, & have been running my Rhythm machine thru the Aspen since Christmas.

Selling something would likely improve domestic relations around here. Talk to me.



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Jeff,

Wow, I really can't believe it. That's exactly the model I had - looks identical. Any idea how many of these things are floating around?

Well, purely in the interests of improving your domestic conditions (hehe), I'm very interested. Do you want to shoot me a note off-board (alexandergilson at hotmail dot com) and let me know what you want for it, etc?

Thanks so much,
Alex
 

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xander finds his amp and Jeff doesn't have his 'nads removed with a grapefruit spoon.

Everybody wins! :wink:
 

Jeff

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Xander,

Sorry for not getting back sooner, I've experienced a distraction.

Check your PM, (personal messages)
 

Guildmark

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I've emailed some questions to this seller. I've asked for some pics of top, back, and sides. I've asked if there is any speaker damage behind the fabric tear, of which he cleverly avoided a close-up. Also, in one blurry pic it looks like a cigarette burn on the front edge of the top. (?)

The logo in the bottom right says Guild Acoustic. Is this actually an amp for acoustic guitars with pickups, rather than actual electric guitars?
 

The Guilds of Grot

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Guildmark said:
The logo in the bottom right says Guild Acoustic. Is this actually an amp for acoustic guitars with pickups, rather than actual electric guitars?

Yes it is designed for acoustic guitars with pickups. There's even a "Plectron" setting which allows you to dial in pick "clack". I think there's another setting or two related to electric/acoustics.

I have the baby brother Tamarack;
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Jeff

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Is this actually an amp for acoustic guitars with pickups, rather than actual electric guitars?

I plugged my SF III into my Aspen a couple days ago & was surprised. Subjective observation, but it didn't sound half bad, Taylor T-5 & DC5 with the Fishman sound pretty darn acoustic.

The Plectron feature "colors" the sound in interesting ways,, seems to me the amp sounds best with at least a little of the Plectron dialed in.
"The chorus feature is dramatic, a much more "wild & crazy" ?? chorus than the Roland Jazz Chorus. Not so sure the chorus is all that classy a sound, but you know for sure when you switch it on. Amp has one & one only input, unless there's some capability from extra plugs in the back, don't think so, but then I know slightly more than nothing.

I have a couple MP3's of my Aspen plugged into different guitars, recorded on my Zoom H2. Anyone wants to hear amatuer recording of a hacker playing with a Guild Aspen; PM me an e mail address & I'll send em to ya. I'm still challenged posting MP3's to the net. You have to promise not to point & laugh.

Amp has an Active/passive switch & sensitivity control, Taylor T5 & DC 5 have active pickups (onboard 9v baterries), & work best on the active setting, the SF III works best with some boost, (5 ish) from the passive setting.

Notch filter works & isolates a problem bandwidth effectively, only one spot though. Rototron seems to be tied to the chorus, I don't know for sure & like I said the chorus is dramatic.

Footswitch activates the chorus & has a fast & slow button.


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Guildmark

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Thanks, Guys. Very interesting. The seller responded and will be forwarding some additional photos tomorrow. I'll share them with you.

And, Jeff - PM with email address is on the way.
 

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Thank goodness it has a headphone jack! :lol:

Wouldn't want to annoy someone by playing audibly. :mrgreen:
 

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I was amazed by the photos of the Guild Aspen. I have a Legend amp, to the best of my knowledge made in the early 80s, that is remarkably similar to the Aspen. The oak cab with leather strap handle seems identical in design, except mine doesn’t have the two slot openings in the side. The size and proportions also seem identical.

The model # of my Legend is AC 30 112 (30 watts, single 12” speaker). It has a tube preamp, solid state main, footswitch with 2 switches (reverb and channel).

Jeff & Xander – do you know the dates of manufacture of your Aspens?
Does anyone know whether it was common practice for amp makers to obtain cabs from the same source? Or is it more likely that one design copied the other?

The Legend was designed for electric, not acoustic, guitars. It’s quite trebly, especially with Fender-type single coil pickups. When I play my Guild M75 through it, it sounds fine. It’s got the deepest reverb I’ve ever heard.

cheers
R
 

Jeff

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Jeff & Xander – do you know the dates of manufacture of your Aspens?

I can find nothng on my amp to designate year of manufacture. Grot or DKLS may have a better answer.
 

dklsplace

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Jeff said:
Jeff & Xander – do you know the dates of manufacture of your Aspens?

I can find nothng on my amp to designate year of manufacture. Grot or DKLS may have a better answer.

Speaker code would be about the best option for dating if they're original. Early 80's is about as good as I can do. I tried to contact Randall about the Guild acoustics once upon a time. Naturally there was no reply.
 
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