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Dave Hunter
Bad Cat Cub V EL34 Amp
First-Class Blast
The Bad Cat Cub has evolved through several iterations since arriving with the maker’s inaugural lineup 25 years ago. It has gained (and lost) features, morphed into more-affordable PCB-based versions, even occasionally doubled in power. The new Cub V returns to its entirely hand-wired/point-to-point origins equipped for two popular power levels – a 20-watter with…
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Dave Hunter
The Supro Montauk 1×10
Club Combo
Striking out from its more historically inspired models like the Black Magick and Delta King, Supro’s new Montauk 1×10 combo tacks a more-original line and, in the process, throws down a solid rival to the perennial Princeton Reverb and others in the grab-and-go-amp sector. The Montauk delivers 15 watts to its Celestion BD10 10″ speaker…
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Dave Hunter
Alternative ’60s Club Classics
Amps Beyond the Everyday
The “club amp” has been a perpetual best-seller since the dawn of guitar amplification, and several big-name ’60s models are among the all-time classics. But what if you’re looking for a different sound? Let’s check out five fantastic small combos with nary a Fender, Gibson, Marshall, or Vox in sight. Many tube amps of the…
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Dave Hunter
Selmer/RSA Truvoice TV10
Shock and Awe
If the British market needed a couple of decades to decide what form the guitar amplifier would ultimately take, we shouldn’t be surprised; well into the rock-and-roll age, the U.K. hadn’t even decided what form of electrical current the country should run on, as we’re reminded by this 1955 combo from Selmer. We have examined…
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Dave Hunter
Fender Player II Series Telecaster
Twang Banger
As the world’s first mass-production solidbody electric guitar fast approaches its 75th birthday, Fender continues to offer variations on the theme. But the biggest takeaway from the design’s diamond anniversary might be that variations straying relatively little from the original concept still fare best with players. The Mexican-made Player II Series Telecaster checks many of…
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Dave Hunter
JMI Vox AC15 “Two-Tone” 1×12″
TV Star
The permutations of early Vox models remain endlessly fascinating to vintage-amp enthusiasts, and few get us as worked up as a rare transitional version of the hallowed AC15. The “TV-front” designation is more often applied to tweed Fender combos of the late ’40s and early ’50s, but when we hear it in connection with a…
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Dave Hunter
Louis Electric 6L6-183 Cobra
Humble, Capital D
One glance at the control panel and cabinet styling of the Louis Electric 6L6-183 Cobra is all most will need to know what this amp is about – and builder Lou Rosano isn’t shy about flagging it as his take on the coveted Dumble Overdrive Special. Rosano’s first Cobra 183 hit the streets in 2020…
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Dave Hunter
Oahu 415k
Hawiian Style
If an American guitar amplifier from the late ’40s, ’50s, or ’60s doesn’t carry the Gibson or Fender badge, odds are high it was manufactured by Valco, no matter the name on the cabinet. More than just a big-brand jobber, though, Valco made great-sounding combos, as this Oahu 415k reminds us. Manufactured in Chicago but…
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Dave Hunter
Gibson 1953 GA-40 Les Paul Model
Brown Sound
Gibson landing Les Paul’s name on the headstock of its debut solidbody electric in 1952 was the biggest guitar-star endorsement of its time. And, as was the way, an amp came with it, offering a flavor of tube tone that plenty of players still dig today. The term might have been coined by disc jockey…
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Dave Hunter
1937-’38 Dobro Amplifier
Time Machine
In the mid 1930s, the “electric” guitar was the latest in a string of innovations aimed at making the instrument louder, though it was by no means guaranteed to be a final solution. This pristine Dobro amplifier is a time capsule from the first decade of plugging in and turning up. Any fan of vintage…
