SANO 250r

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I picked up a SANO 250R off of craigslist yesterday. I call the guy a couple days ago and he said someone was coming over to look at it so I figured it was gone. well the guy calls me and says the amp is still available as the 1st guy couldn't come up with the cash. Plus it was only a couple miles or so from my house. A good buddy of mine is very experienced on old tube amps so I already knew about SANO amps. This thing is all original and near perfect plus it sounds great. It has 7591 power tubes, reverb, tremolo and 2 12" CTS speakers. Anyone else have one of these or used one before?
Thanks John
 

SouthernSounds

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Don't know about that particular model, but member littlesongs (Hey Dave!), introduced me to them. Treem has a SANO amp too, IIRC. Both of them had only great words for them.

Now, if I only lived in the US...

All the best,
B.
 
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Brown-Recluse

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I had one of those for several years. I sold it a couple of years ago. The electronics were relatively well assembled, however, the cabinet was made of particle board/press board. The amp wasn't particularly loud and was a little dark sounding. The darkness may have been from the particular speakers that were in it. I don't recall what they were. The amp was definitely on the bulky and heavy side. I recall selling it for around $250 so it was definitely a reasonably priced toy. I have had other Sanos that I found preferable to the 250R.
 

Default

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I've seen a couple that had 6bq5's as the power tubes. I thought they were appealing, but I either didn't have the funds, or I was pursuing something else at the time.
 

mad dog

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I had one for years. In stock form, not that loud. After some tech help, became a very cool amp. Had two CTS alnico speakers, looked faux JBL from the front, plastic shiny dustcaps. Faux aside, they are great speakers. Had the trem redone as bias vary. That was one of the only amps I've found that sounded excellent with bass too. My bass player friend had it for years after me.
MD
 

Treem

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Oh yes, Sano amps are awesome! I have 2 now, a 59 and a (I believe) 60 Sano Twin Amp. Really cool tone out of these amps.

Congratulations PWJ!

And thank you littlesongs for turning me on to Sano amps!
 
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Now that I have had a chance to play this amp a bit I am really enjoying the sound and feel of this SANO. I was looking for a new and different flavor from my 64 Tremolux or my Mesa and this hits the nail on the head. I have been playing my archtops through it and it is fairly clean sounding and plenty loud for my old ears. Yesterday a friend came over and we played for a while so we got a chance to get a good feel of the amp. He brought over his OCD and I broke out the GSR Starfire VI and wow that thing rocks too. Not to bulky or heavy for a 2 12 amp. I opened it up on Sunday and cleaned out the dust and it looks original and untouched inside and out, I don't think it was used much. It's always fun to have a new toy on the toy box.
Thanks John
 

Jeff Haddad

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Congrats! Got any pix? Does it have the paint splatter grille cloth?

Reading about these so-called "off-brand" amps make me think I should hang onto the Ampeg I have listed for sale.
 

littlesongs

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Sano amplifiers were in production from '51-'80, so there's a wide range of different models to try. Just keep in mind that their main market was accordions, so there are some rather unique designs to explore. Really fond of a '66 25WR with a pair of stock 12" CTS. Schematic: http://www.larryjohnmcnally.com/sano4.pdf
 

alpep

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I've owned several sano was an accordian company.
they were made in jersey and derivative of ampeg hence the 7591's
well built and sound good a sleeper on the market IMHO
 
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