Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Another AWA valve PA amplifier from the PA100X series, from the late sixties. Very utilitarian looking, and very sturdy. It’s a little bit tight in the chassis – not much room to work in there. AWA PA1005 PA AMPLIFIER Standard mic, PU (record player) and tone controls. Bass cut control on the rear, which is … Read more
Such an awesome looking little amp from 1954. Photos from an online listing, I am yet to track one down in person. For a simple single-ended 6V6 based amp, it’s an interesting circuit. AWA MODEL PA-806 PA AMPLIFIER Standard inputs and controls for a small Australian PA amp from AWA. Inputs for a mic, turntable … Read more
I posted another AWA PA872 a while back, but realised I never actually shared this one. It had been sitting on the shelf for months – one of those projects that was nearly there, but never quite finished. I finally got around to wrapping it up this weekend. This looks to be an earlier unit, although … Read more
Philips 976B – I have had one previously that I documented here. PHILIPS MODEL 976B VALVE PA AMPLIFIER This is a small Australian-made valve PA amplifier from the mid to late fifties – about 8 watts, intended for 100v line systems running multiple speakers. These were also sold as Steanes Sounds Systems using the … Read more
This one’s a rare find – a Communication Systems of Australia valve PA head, ~35 watts from around 1967 / 68. It’s super clean, fully functional, with all parts within spec. Anyone familiar with vintage Australian guitar amps will recognise the front panel straight away: it looks just like a Goldentone. That’s no accident. These … Read more
I picked this one up from a factory in an industrial area – apparently, it had been sitting there as long as anyone can remember, and it was actually used to play music at one stage. I know one thing for sure – they never opened it up to dust it. PHILIPS EV4437 … Read more
This four-channel beast is a hybrid valve PA amp, built by a bloke named Jim Farrington in NSW sometime in the late sixties or maybe seventies. From what I can tell, they mostly stayed local to where he lived, and you don’t see many pop up anywhere. I picked this up on eBay, and it … Read more
Unknown amp from the Netherlands…. I really have no idea about this one, and I’ve had no luck searching online. I can only assume that it’s from the Netherlands based on the control labels being Dutch. I was drawn to it mostly for the look, and the fact that it had 2 x EL84s … Read more
