Back    Home

Your Valco Amplifiers

Please send me your Valco instrument photos! Instructions are on the FAQ/Contact Me page. The most recent submission is at the top.

I'll contribute two that I used to own. A 1965 Supro Tremo-Verb:

A 1966 Harmony H420, whose grill cloth has seen better days:

Here's one from Rod - 1957 Supro Special in very clean condition with the original tubes:

Additional photos: 1, 2, 3.

More amps from Richard - a 1938-1940 Model B:

Additional photos: 1, 2, 3.

A 1953 Oahu 230K Tonemaster:

Additional photos: 1, 2.

The first model Supro amp, from 1936:

Additional photos: 1, 2, 3.

Richard submits a rare and wonderful specimen, an example of the first amp sold under the National-Dobro brand. This model was sold in the mid '30s as a compliment to early electrics such as National and Dobro Electric Hawaiian lap steels (yes, there were Dobro-branded electric instruments). It's quite rare to see one in such clean condition.

Julia submits pictures of her 1951 National 1212, a 12W amp that appears to be all original. I love the bird on the grill cloth.

Mike submits a 1960 model 1224T Tremo-Tone amp, essentially a big brother to my 1210 (see bottom of the page). The Tremo-Tone uses two 6973 power tubes, two 12AX7 preamp tubes and Valco's usual 5Y3 rectifier. Interestingly, the 1959 National catalog says that this amp has a 6-tube chassis; a typo, perhaps? The amp puts out 17 Watts through two oval Rola speakers.

He also submits this 1955 Gretsch 6161 "Electromatic Twin", a 14-Watt amp with tremolo. This model was available in two finishes: the "Western" finish (shown here) for $175 and a "charcoal gray, silver flake" covering for $160. The Western finish was presumably intended to match the similar styling of the new Chet Atkins series of guitars.

Steve submits pics of his 1952 National 1210. The tolex has been expertly replaced, but everything else appears to be original. This model sold for $195 when it was new, plus $4.50 for a cover.

Garret submits a National amp whose serial dates to 1955. I haven't been able to figure out exactly what model this is, but it may be the same circuit as the contemporary Supro 1600E "Supreme Twin Speaker" model. The Supro has a different cabinet, but the speakers, controls and number of tubes appear to be the same. Visually, it looks like a National 1212N, but that model had a single 12" speaker and was discontinued in 1953.

Zak submits a couple of Supro amps, a 1961 model 1616TN (left; back view here) and a 1959 model 1633 (right).

He also submits a Valco-built Harmony H525 from 1967 (left) and a mystery amp whose pots date to 1971 (right). The mystery amp is labeled as a Montgomery Ward (who previously used the "Airline" brand name). It appears to be made from old Valco parts; when the company went bankrupt in 1968, its assets and inventory were sold to other manufacturers who assembled a few more guitars and amps. The amp has two parallel output sections and dual output transformers, but Zak says that the circuit doesn't match the closest Valco designs (a Supro Statesman/Gretsch Fury).

Marco submits an amp that was one of the most expensive Supros available when it was built in 1957, with a catalog price of $199.50 (not including cover or footswitch). This 1615T Accordion model was built for just that - electrified accordions, which were surprisingly popular at the time. The amp uses two 6L6s, a 5V4 rectifier and three 12AX7s, and it has its original 15" Jensen.

Steve submits a common amp with an uncommon twist. This dual-6V6, approximately 9W amp appeared under a variety of brand names, but I've never seen one labeled "Symphonie" before. Apparently, it was the name of a music store, I assume where the amp was originally sold. It's always nice to see what appear to be the original tubes.

I have a 1960 model 1210 amplifier. It's all original down to the RCA tubes. It's an odd amp: a single 6V6 puts out only 5 Watts, but through two Rola oval speakers. That makes this the smallest twin amp I've ever seen, and also one of the loudest 5W amps I've ever heard.

Updated 1/21/2009