zepman
New member
I yanked this early 60's vintage(from what I can find on the internet) PA from a Church before they Demolished it. I also got some killer old JBL 12" speakers BUT the real treat is that not to long after I scored this, I read in an old Guitar Players magazine under "pawnshop Prize" about how great these sound as guitar amps.
Here is the article as published :
COPYRIGHT 2004 Miller Freeman Publications
Newcomb's tube-powered public-address systems were as common a fixture as the water cooler in offices and factories during the '50s and '60s. And though it's hard to guess how many HLP-14 (14 watt) and H-25 (25 watt) amps (as well as other models) were produced before the Hollywood-based company laid down its soldering guns in 1982, judging by the extremely low prices these units have traditionally commanded at local ham-radio fests--we're talking as little as $20 a pop--Newcomb and crew must have cranked out quite a few.
The H-25 shown here is one of the many now being offered to guitar players for prices starting around $200. It has been retrofitted with 1/4" jacks for the three channel inputs and the speaker output, and the original jumper-style impedance selector can accommodate common 4 [ohm], 8 [ohm], and 16 [ohm] loads.
In classic hi-fi fashion, the H-25 features a point-to-point-wired circuit that uses no boards or terminal strips. Its tube complement consists of two 6L6s, a 5U4G rectifier, and a bevy of vintage, octal-based preamp tubes: three metal-can 6SF5 hi-mu triodes, a 6SN7 dual triode, and a 6S17 pentode.
With its twin pilot lights, louvered metal hood, curved handles leach with a chrome center strip), and large, cream-colored knobs, the H-25 is a relic of the "golden age" of vacuum tubes. And what a cool hillbilly guitar amp this is for recording, rehearsals, or low-volume gigs. Channels 1 and 2 deliver respectable clean and overdrive tones that are in the sonic ball-park of a Fender tweed Deluxe, while Channel 3 is lower gain and less exciting. Pummeled with humbuckers and single-coils, the H-25 kicks out distortion tones that are toothy and bad, with a fuzzy midrange snarl mad plenty of low-end girth. The dynamic qualities of the amp allow you to get happening clean tones when you turn down your guitar, and the Bass and Treble controls have plenty of range to compensate for brighter- or darker-sounding instruments.
Though Newcombs aren't as underground and inexpensive as they once were, they're still pretty impressive deals. It would probably cost a couple of grand to produce a similar hand-wired amp these days, and you still wouldn't get all the nifty accoutrements that make the H-25 such a hip thing to own. And as anything hip always goes up in price, get yours before they start costing what they're really worth.
Amp courtesy of Jude Gold.
It is in greatshape, I just cleaned it really well and retubed it (Thanks Doug!!! @ http://www.dougstubes.com)
And all I have left to do is install a couple of 1/4 inch inputs and we will have clippage
I will try to get her done tomorrow night What do you guys think? Kinda cool lookin mutha huh and built like a tank I REALLY hope it does sound like a Fender Tweed deluxe if so I just found my "clean" tone amp in a trashcan
Here is the article as published :
COPYRIGHT 2004 Miller Freeman Publications
Newcomb's tube-powered public-address systems were as common a fixture as the water cooler in offices and factories during the '50s and '60s. And though it's hard to guess how many HLP-14 (14 watt) and H-25 (25 watt) amps (as well as other models) were produced before the Hollywood-based company laid down its soldering guns in 1982, judging by the extremely low prices these units have traditionally commanded at local ham-radio fests--we're talking as little as $20 a pop--Newcomb and crew must have cranked out quite a few.
The H-25 shown here is one of the many now being offered to guitar players for prices starting around $200. It has been retrofitted with 1/4" jacks for the three channel inputs and the speaker output, and the original jumper-style impedance selector can accommodate common 4 [ohm], 8 [ohm], and 16 [ohm] loads.
In classic hi-fi fashion, the H-25 features a point-to-point-wired circuit that uses no boards or terminal strips. Its tube complement consists of two 6L6s, a 5U4G rectifier, and a bevy of vintage, octal-based preamp tubes: three metal-can 6SF5 hi-mu triodes, a 6SN7 dual triode, and a 6S17 pentode.
With its twin pilot lights, louvered metal hood, curved handles leach with a chrome center strip), and large, cream-colored knobs, the H-25 is a relic of the "golden age" of vacuum tubes. And what a cool hillbilly guitar amp this is for recording, rehearsals, or low-volume gigs. Channels 1 and 2 deliver respectable clean and overdrive tones that are in the sonic ball-park of a Fender tweed Deluxe, while Channel 3 is lower gain and less exciting. Pummeled with humbuckers and single-coils, the H-25 kicks out distortion tones that are toothy and bad, with a fuzzy midrange snarl mad plenty of low-end girth. The dynamic qualities of the amp allow you to get happening clean tones when you turn down your guitar, and the Bass and Treble controls have plenty of range to compensate for brighter- or darker-sounding instruments.
Though Newcombs aren't as underground and inexpensive as they once were, they're still pretty impressive deals. It would probably cost a couple of grand to produce a similar hand-wired amp these days, and you still wouldn't get all the nifty accoutrements that make the H-25 such a hip thing to own. And as anything hip always goes up in price, get yours before they start costing what they're really worth.
Amp courtesy of Jude Gold.
It is in greatshape, I just cleaned it really well and retubed it (Thanks Doug!!! @ http://www.dougstubes.com)
And all I have left to do is install a couple of 1/4 inch inputs and we will have clippage
I will try to get her done tomorrow night What do you guys think? Kinda cool lookin mutha huh and built like a tank I REALLY hope it does sound like a Fender Tweed deluxe if so I just found my "clean" tone amp in a trashcan