Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Etone speakers are a bit of a hidden gem in the guitar world, with their roots firmly planted in Australia. Manufactured in Sydney, these speakers were often considered the local (and cheaper) alternative to Celestion. Unfortunately there isn’t much detailed information available on the specs, but it’s widely believed that they have a ceramic magnet … Read more
Branded as Fox Sound Systems, this is really an AWA PA1003. I couldn’t find any information on Fox Sound Systems, Sydney. My guess is that they were an installer who ordered unbranded amps directly from AWA for their installation work—possibly for schools or government buildings. But who knows? I already own one of these, so … Read more
This is an unbranded Philips or Steanes model 956C valve PA amplifier – it’s very similar to the Philips 956B that I have, which is why I bought it. It’s a prime candidate for a guitar amp conversion. The amplifier was unbranded and came from a batch of various types labelled as “Fox Sound Systems” … Read more
Cause everyone needs a 100w valve powered PA head right? Mainly for historical interest & I wanted to note the way the meter is set-up for later.
PLAYMASTER MODEL 103 GUITAR AMPLIFIER From Radio, Television and Hobbies (Australia), 1963. They published their designs for a number of amplifiers in their magazine under the Playmaster name. This was a pretty interesting DIY amplifier for back in the day – speaker driven reverb, trem and ultra-linear output transformer.
eBay purchase – it listed a bit on the high side, but after a quick chat the seller revised the price down to something very reasonable, so I couldn’t pass it by. External references: Tim Robbins blog. Radio Museum PHILIPS MODEL 976B, VALVE PA AMPLIFIER Made in Australia in the mid to late 1950s, this … Read more
I picked up a couple of valve PA heads on the cheap, without valves, so jotting down a few notes for later. I believe that this is almost the same as a Philips 982, based on early observations. The preamp was converted to something very similar to the Marshall 18w, with two inputs, volume, tone … Read more
Yep, another valve PA head. Adding details as I find out more about this one. PHILIPS MODEL 956B VALVE PA AMPLIFIER I’m still looking for information on this one, apart from what appears to be an almost identical amp made by Steane’s Sound Systems, Model S304 amplifier. Steane’s operated in Australia somewhere up into the … Read more
AWA was one of the big names in Australian electronics for decades. Formed as Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) in 1913, it went on to build everything from radios and communications gear to TVs and commercial audio equipment, so by the time this PA1003 was made in the 1960s, AWA was already a very familiar name in … Read more
This is an interesting little valve PA amplifier that I picked up today, probably from the late fifties or early sixties. I don’t think it will need too much work, but I’ll find out soon enough. It’s a little tight on space compared to some others, but not it’s not as bad as some other … Read more