New guy with amp questions

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Hola Guild Compadres,

I'm working on some Guild amp history and could use any help possible. Currently I'm researching a 1955 Double-Twin. I may blow this out to a larger survey of "Guild Amps of the '50s" depending on what kind of editorial support I can scrounge.

Specifically, I am looking for company history in regards to the amp program. Who was in charge, who designed the amps, and where were they built. I know that a number of folks suggest Multivox made the amps, but I would need some sort of confirmation to be able to write this. Any help appreciated!

Thanks,

Wallace Marx Jr.
 

capnjuan

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Re: New guy with amp questions!

Hi Wally and welcome to LTG. Hans Moust is a member here and a regular contributor; if there are answers to your questions, he will have them. There is one thread linked here that is an informal collection of pics and advertising literature of Guild amps. You may notice that the 66J bears more than a passing resemblence to any of the early model Univoxs in parts and appearance.

I enjoyed your book on Gibson amps and threaded it Here. If you are interested, if you click the GA20T link in my siggie, it will take you to a thread with pics and discussion of my two GA20T Rangers one of which is 3X6EU7 / 6SQ7 and not 12AY7/5879/6SQ7/7025 in the preamp; I guess one of the last ones produced and after the adoption of the 6EU7 across the board. Having followed Gibson amps for a while, you got a pass from me for not ID'ing this amp and all the other willy-nilly variants Gibson produced.

I hope your research provides enough substance for a book on Guild amps. Again, welcome to LTG! John
 

matsickma

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Re: New guy with amp questions!

Hi Wally,

The 1955 Guild Double Twin was the first year this amplifier was produced. It was released by Guild along with the 66J, 99J and 100J amplifiers that followed the Masteramp series. They remained in production until around 1964 when Guild then released a completely new line of "Thunder" amps.

The complete name of the amplifer was the Guild Model 200 Double Twin amp that was described in advertisments as "This all-new professional amplifier was engineered and perfected in Guild's own sound laboratories for distortion-free power in a clear, sharp tonal range. This unusually fine amplifier features twin 12" Jensen concert speakers."

The amplifier subsequently was renamed the Model 200-S where S stood for Stereo. The early amps were set up as two completely independent amplifiers that shared a common chassis and cabinet. Eventually Guild added a selector switch to the amplifier to allow the amp to 1) work as two seperate amps in a single cab, 2) work as a stereo amp for guitars with stereo wired pickups and 3) work as a independent two channel amplifier with a single mono guitar. This amp was the only amp made by Guild using EL34 finals. Each channel had a pair for a total of 4 tubes.

The amp came in three or four (call it 3.5) cosmetic styles over the years.

The early models were styled like the two tone amp shown below except in a dual 12" speaker model. The next style is shown in the lower picture with grey spotted tolex and individual speaker baffel towed inward for an attempt at stereo seperation. The later model had both speakers directed forward in a grey tolex cabinet. I'll have to get additional pictures to post in the coming days.


M

1GUILD_FRONT_100J_AMP.jpg


Guild_200-SAmp_1.jpg


Guild_200-SAmp_2.jpg
 

jp

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Re: New guy with amp questions!

Hmm. I've always thought matsickma, CJ, and Hans should be writing that book. The primary source Britannica days are gone :( .
 
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Re: New guy with amp questions!

Thanks for the information. I really appreciate it. The Double-Twin I'm researching is earlier than those you mention. Speaker codes are late '55. I think this places it in the very first series of Masteramp, introduced in the '55 catalog with the 66 and the 99. It has a textured vinyl and fake wood two-tone covering and runs on six 50L6 tubes with no power transformer.

I don't know exactly when the first series of Masteramp was introduced. If this example is one of the first, then you can place introduction at late'55. On the other hand, catalogs were regularly printed before the beginning of the model year meaning that the Masteramp series could have been introduced as early as late '54. In addition, I don't know exactly when the first Masteramps actually physically left the factory. For that matter, I don't even know for certain which factory they left.

These are the types of historical questions I'm trying to answer. As capnjuan has pointed out in regards to the Gibson amp book, my writing focus is on the history first, then the technology. I want to get the story of origins and introductions as accurate as I can. Then we'll talk tubes, circuit discrepancies, etc.

So, any help with these problems would be excellent!
 
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