PSA: Magnatone Amps

[crunchee]

I just stumbled across an article about the new ones. Anybody here try 'em? Are they any good, or just another gimmicky retro-styled item for players who've got money to burn? The only player that I can think of that actually used one was Buddy Holly...and that was as his last home-use amp.

http://www.magnatoneusa.com/products/

[greenfreak]

Though I have not played one, I did hear three models demoed at the Namm Show in Anaheim last Jan. and they sound and look great. My fave is the 59 model which Billy Gibbons had a lot of design input. The company is headed up by Ted Kornblum, a third generation of St. Louis Music Co. I saw Ted develop this line over a 5 year period and came to fruition at the past Anaheim show.

A bit on the pricey side by made in USA and hand wired point to point. Would love to get a 59 but they're just north of 3 grand and outta my budget. Good luck. I think Ted will doing very well with this line that has such a glorious past:)

[Jakeboy]

I am troubleshooting an ancient Maggie troubadour for a neighbor and OMG it sounds incredible! Best trem ever. Goes into righteous OD that just screams.

[dragan]

I saw that someone started magnatone up again , Know nothing of their new amps but love theyre old amps , got a 61-62 420? single 12 w/ reverb & vibrato 2/6v6 about as loud as a deluxe . Its an awesome amp, I picked it up for $100 , put a new celestion blue in it and the thing rocks . put an od in front and its sustain -feedback tail heaven . BTW the other big user was Lonnie Mack.

[rj2858]

Is the Evil Robot something that you've looked at?

They make a couple versions of the original design, based on the Magnatone 214, and also have come out with a less expensive, non point-to-point wired model.

Check out almost any of he Phil X videos on youtube to see what his original Magnatone, or the offshoot Evil Robot sounds like.

[mc2]

My very first amp was a Magnatone. My dad brought it home for me when I was 13 or 14.

All I remember is that I couldn't get it loud enough to compete with drums or my friends' Ampegs or Fenders....and it looked kind of strange next to them. I don't remember to model but I traded it before to long. I'm thinking it was probably a guitar amp that I was trying to play bass through and the speakers couldn't handle it.

[analogsystem]

Not sure why this is a PSA and not just a legit question thread.

I had an old Maggie for a while and the "true pitch shifting vibrato" is something that words don't quite describe. They had some classic amps that were stereo as well. Neil Young is a pretty famous user, though the model he uses is mostly aesthetic I think and only part of his live sound. The vintage ones were pretty cheap up until a few years ago. Great amps.

[velorush]

The local music shop had a Magnatone back when I was in nerd school I used to go in regularly just to play through it. The vibrato was addictive!

[Never2Late]

The official amp of ZZ Top....but they can afford the boutique price.

[Caddie]

Neil Young's rig has a Magnatone 280a(?) buried somewhere in his lineup.

The Magnatone's claim to fame is its pitch shifting vibrato vs Fender's volume shifting tremolo. Lemme see if I can describe it. Feel free to speak up and tell me i don't know what I'm talking about. Pitch shifting is what a vocalist does with their vocal chords, guitar players get it by using the left hand it to quickly bend up n down (think B.B. King) or by using the inaccurately named (thx Leo) Strat bridge trem bar. Trem is what you do with the trem on your amp or with a volume pedal. Vibrato makes pitch go up n down vs Tremolo makes volume go up n down. You can definitely hear the diff.

Have some fun. Put the Maggie in stereo mode, use an ext cab located well away from the combo. The swirling effect is amazing, memorable, and can induce motion sickness, seizures, probably erectile dysfunction too!

The old Magnatones generally look really beat up. The cab covering was onion skin thin. Plus it was often marketed as a guitar and/or accordian amp. Perfect for grampa's Ooompah Squeezebox Band. Unfortunately he stored his amp on the basement floor, so the bottom 2-3 inches of the cab had decades of soaking up water. Not good for the cab.

I bought a pretty beat up Mag 260a way back when. In a moment of insanity I sold it. Sold it to Bill Kirchen (Mr. Hot Rod Lincoln), my only true brush with a legend. Regretted selling it everyday since. it was always my first search when I would drop in on ebay, even before the "hamer usa" search. Finally, last year one popped up on ebay, or the gear page, or harmony central, or guitarbase, or wherever. Short story, its in incredible condition in all aspects. Even better it was a local deal, no shipping! Sometimes ya get really, really lucky. Thank you God.

There are a lot of pedals out there that claim to precisely duplicate the Maggie pitch shift vibrato. This BTMB Maggie comes closest, in this humble Maggie lover's opinion. A $220 pedal vs a $1k+ old Maggie? If I were a vibrato newbie I'd probably choose the pedal and use the leftover $800 or so that's burning a hole in the pocket to buy a new Fender 68 Custom PRRI or a new Fender 68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb. Juke Amps have both tremolo and vibrato. Very nice, pricey amps. But clearly I'm a vintage Maggie bigot.

However, if you find a vintage Maggie in good shape, you won't lose money when you sell it. We all know the pricing of used pedals. Try to find a Magnatone 213 or 213a, 260 or 260a, 280 or 280a. Just my preferences, YMMV. Guide to vintage Magnatone amps.

Lonnie Mack, Buddy Holly, Neil Young, Michael Campbell and Robert Cray are some of the Maggie lovers I can think of. And since at least 1998 Bill Kirchen!

If you're in the market for a vintage Maggie 260a contact me. Everything is always for sale at The Caddie's Gear Closet. (Everything except the kids and the dog.)

Bring cash

Cheers!

caddie