Montgomery Wards amp that mysteriously sounds good

[drew_half_empty]

Hey fams, so I got this amp from a tweaker off Facebook marketplace for like $100--just wanted something at my studio that I wouldn't miss if a kid broke it, and like... idk why, but it sounds WAY better than it should. Not "sell my 60's twin" good, but it's got some sparkle, some touch sensitivity, and, weirdest of all... when cranked it has a VERY musical breakup, not that horrid solid state fizz at all. I thought maybe it was the speaker (attached pic but it's a single 15 with an aluminum dustcap and I THINK MAYBE an alnico magnet?) but I ran it through a Weber ceramic JBL clone that can handle way more wattage than this thing puts out &... yep, solid overdrive was still there.

Any idea... like wtf? Lol. If I can figure it out I think maybe I'll start making some 1x12 clones and sell them to kids when they need an amp on the cheap, it's way better than any tube amp you can get for $300-400, plus lighter, plus no hot glass.

Thanks!

 

[jeremy]

i have no idea what that it but glad it worked out for ya. which input sounds the best or are they pretty much the same?

 

[drew_half_empty]

i have no idea what that it but glad it worked out for ya. which input sounds the best or are they pretty much the same?

the organ input is a little brighter and the bass input is DARK but actually works okay for jazz. Main function of the bass input for me is acoustic guitars with a piezo, it's like literally incapable of all the high end nastyness those pickups put out.

For guitar, whether I prefer the guitar or organ input depends on the guitar.

 

[LLL]

Judging by the Monkey Ward (Montgomery Ward) logo, I would say it's late 70's early 80's, but prolly 80's vintage.

Cuz I remember that logo... too well.

 

[ICTGoober]

My first good tube amp was a 20 watt Airline amp from Montgomery Ward that sounded amazing, especially when I ran it through my 12" Celestion cab....Bought it from some sound guy who was using it to power the drummers monitor. It was mounted in a poorly made plywood box covered in light blue shower curtain.... Which I tossed very quickly. It had a real tremolo circuit on it that sounded great when playing dirty with some flanger on it.

 

[ginormous]

Did some quick googling... in the 1970s Marlboro Soundworks did a line of Montgomery Ward guitar amps, way after the so-called "glory days" of Danelectro and Valco.

The company was a division of Musical Instrument Corporation of America, based in Long Island NY.

BION, there's a blog with images, vids and descriptions of the main Marlboro line products. From what I can tell on the blog, the Marlboro equivalent model is the GBO-15B.

https://marlboroamplifiers.blogspot.com/search/label/Marlboro GBO-15B

 

[drew_half_empty]

Thanks guys! None of this really gets to the heart of the question though, which is... what can cause a solid state amp to have musical overdrive when pushed, rather than the horrid sounds we all associate with maxed out solid state amps?

 

[Mincer]

I used to have an old Univox (Sears) amp that had the best clean sound. The reverb was amazing.

 

[ICTGoober]

what can cause a solid state amp to have musical overdrive when pushed, rather than the horrid sounds we all associate with maxed out solid state amps?

We DON'T associate all solid state amps with horrid sounds. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Sunn Coliseum amps Leslie West used were solid state. Did he sound like crap? The mid 70's Gibson Lab Series amps sounded great dirty (Ty Tabor of King's X). Some of the mid-80's Randalls and Traynors sounded terrific cranked up (Dimebag, anyone?). 90's and later Roland Jazz Chorus amps have a superb sounding overdrive. Depends on the series, but some solid state Ampeg's sound great when cranked.

 

[drew_half_empty]

We DON'T associate all solid state amps with horrid sounds. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Sunn Coliseum amps Leslie West used were solid state. Did he sound like crap? The mid 70's Gibson Lab Series amps sounded great dirty (Ty Tabor of King's X). Some of the mid-80's Randalls and Traynors sounded terrific cranked up (Dimebag, anyone?). 90's and later Roland Jazz Chorus amps have a superb sounding overdrive. Depends on the series, but some solid state Ampeg's sound great when cranked.

interesting, i don't associate SS with bad sounds in general, but in my experience when dimed out on the clean channel they've always been horrid sounding

So, again, what's the difference? What's happening in the circuit?

 

[ICTGoober]

So, again, what's the difference? What's happening in the circuit?

Sorry - can't tell you why - I just know some of them sound bitchin.

 

[Demanic]

I used to have a SS Ross 1x12 closed back combo in the early 80's. It was LAF and when you turned up the pregain it got the total Gothenburg sound before it was even a thing.

 

[Top-L]

These days, amp building is outsourced to China.

Back then, amp building was outsourced to Oklahoma.

 

[ICTGoober]

The Kustom and Ross stuff was built in Chanute, Kansas.