Looking for Magnatone opinions

capnjuan

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Hi Howard; despite some negative remarks below, I think you ought to consider it. Magnatones - and only Magnatones - have true vibrato; it doesn't just manipulate volume like tremolo giving the effect of bending pitch, it changes the pitch. Link here, samples of this very unusual feature: YouTube Magnatone demo vids Despite what seller says, it's an M10-A, one of the pics of the label on the back so indicates; schematic M10A Schematic Finally, the M10-A, like some other Maggies, runs on 7189As prices here 7189As

The 7189A is an over-achieving EL84. Unfortunately and unlike the 7591 and 6973, nobody; Electro Harmonix, JJ, Sovtek, Ruby has elected to bring it back in production. Unless one of them decides to do so, it's likely to go the way of the 8417, 7027, and others. This is a fixed-bias amp but, according to the schematic, it doesn't have pots you can use to adjust the bias which pretty much means that for optimum performance, a matched pair is needed .... except that (new) matched pairs are not readily available.

Re/ the schematic; if you peek, you'll see 4 symbols that look like semaphor flags; these are varistors and they are what makes the vibrato thing work. The weblore is that the Maggie varistors are pretty robust and not prone to self-destruction. That having been said, there is no self-evident location on the web to buy replacements and not much literature around to describe the specific electrical characteristics which is to say that although Mouser and a few others carry varistors, there is the somewhat awkward problem of exactly which one matches requirements - speaking as a maintenance man, this gets my attention.

The auction amp looks pretty clean; if there were any chance to get over and listen to it ... Good luck! J
 

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The 7189A's are about $50 bucks a pop and it helps to know a tech that is familiar with these things. If you take it to someone who's a Marshall or Fender hotshot, they are going to need a fresh set of underdrawers after they pop the hood for the first time. I would lean toward one of the amps with 6v6's if I were you. On the other hand, if you can pick it up fairly cheaply, it doesn't matter how pricey the tubes are.

Item number: 160243516783
Item number: 170221294822

Item number: 360051624505

I'm not much help, am I? :D
 

sfIII

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Thanks to both of you. I'll bid if the price is right. In that it requires a local pick-up I may be able to get it cheap.
 

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That's one of those amps built in a plastic tv case, btw.
Local pickup is a plus, for sure!
 

mad dog

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SF: Everything everyone says here so far is true. I owned one for years, up until last month. They are unique, to say the least. (Check out the Harmony-Central reviews on this. One of them is from me.) Some thoughts:

-- Good thing you are close by. These can be damaged in shipping ... top supports often get broken, and are tough to fix.

-- The 7189A tubes are worth the trouble, if you're fond of EL-84 type tones. Not quite the same, hotter, more punch here, but not worlds away. When you do find a good matched pair, they'll last a long time.

-- If you're lucky, you'll find the stock Jensen C12P speaker, small magnet ceramic. Mine had (has, I still have it) the "whizzer" cone, and remains one of my favorite vintage speakers.

-- I see staining on the grill. Make sure this is not water damage. That would make it a rather risky proposition, unless the price stays real low.

-- A maggie-savvy tech is essential. It will save you (and him/her) grief. There is a tech learning curve on these ... better they don't learn on yours.

Mine came so stock and in such good original condition, it still had the original mullard pre-amp tubes. A hot, voxy kind of sound. Nowhere near the claimed 36 watts. Actually around 20 or so. Amp can get REAL swampy sounding, with that kick-butt vibrato, and the extremely flexible tone-shaping options. Including a way to run both channels without jumpering. The vibrato on these sounds different from other maggies. More chorusy, not "watery". It's addictive. Great reverb. It's a wonderful amp. I miss mine ... have too many amps so one had to go. Best thing about it: people laugh when you drag it to a jam. Usually no-one has ever seen anything like this. Then, when you turn it on, everybody has to have a closer look. Because it sounds SO GOOD. It's a natural for retro, Link Wray crudeness. It's also one of the best jazz amps I've heard. Has as much or as little refinement to the tone as you care to dial in. I haven't played all the suitcase amps, but this one is, IMHO, the best of all.
 

capnjuan

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The buyer, 'bahijadances', is a collector/broker; buying top notch gear right and left: last page
 
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