-40%
Very Rare Vintage UNIVERSAL/VERSATONE by Audio Guild Corp.TUBE COMBO AMPLIFIER.
$ 1319.97
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Description
EXTREMELY RARE, one of the coolest 1960’s Vintage UNIVERSAL/VERSATONE by Audio Guild Corp.TUBE COMBO PROFESSIONAL AMPLIFIER in excellent for this year Physical and Working condition.Has 2-way speakers system with 3 separate chambers - for 12” UTAH L.F. WOOFER, 8” JENSEN SOUND LABORATORIES HIGH FIDELITY LOUDSPEAKER and one of the Chambers is EMPTY (see pics).
ALL SPEAKERS AND ALL ANOTHER PARTS ORIGINAL, INCLUDING REVERBERATOR SYSTEM, NOTHING CHANGED. EVERYTHING IN EXCELLENT PHYSICAL AND WORKING CONDITION. JUST SMALL DENT ON THE FRONT LOGO PANEL AND SOME WEARS ON THE CORNERS OF THE CABINET (see pics), BUT IT DOESN’T AFFECT ON THE AMAZING SOUND.
THIS IS THE PROFESSIONAL MODEL as compared to the student model, Bonham or Lyric that are usually for sale. Similar ones were used for recording 1960's Surf Tunes and other clean Hi-Fi sounds.
Audio Guild was established by Magnatone designer, Donald Bonham.
Audio Guild amps were designed by Don Bonham, post Magnatone, and exist under a few different brand names. Amps manufactured in Van Nuys, California in 1960/70s.
After leaving Magnatone in the 1960s, chief engineer Don Bonham went on to form the Audio Guild Corporation. Since Bonham owned the patent, the amps featured the same pitch-shifting vibrato circuit that made Magnatone amps famous
Bonham was an engineer with the Hammond Organ Co before he started building amps, so it was only natural he would be interested in the vibrato effect. Bonham believed in the highest quality sound and innovation. The Audio Guild amps he produced in the late 60’s were used by pros in the studio where the highest fidelity was much more important than brute power. Carol Kay, the most popular studio bass player in Hollywood, used his amp, also how the “Beach Boys” used it.
Bonham was a big fan of Acoustic Suspension speakers. Unheard of in instrument amps, A.S. speakers could not mounted in open cabinets, the large, unrestrained cone travel would destroy the speaker. But Bonham didn’t want to use the usual cabinet design of a box filled with foam to dampen the box’s resonate frequency, the foam also lowered efficiency. So Bonham designed a cabinet with a small chamber next to the speaker chamber, with a small hole between the chambers that acted as a valve. It allowed the speaker to function at max efficiency while eliminating any resonating frequencies.
A technology Bonham borrowed from the HiFi world was bi-amping. The input was split into high and low frequencies and amplified separately, for a cleaner sound.
Donnald Bonham didn’t make the loudest or the most, he just made the best.
If you have any questions, or you need more pics - please, let me know.