Just dropping by for the 1st time. I'm semi-retired and play now a couple of nights a week - strictly 1950's-60's Chicago blues, mostly harp. I've always kept life pretty simple - one guitar, one amp and one set of harps at a time, so it's fun to see what others are playing. I sold my 52 Gibson GA40 Les Paul model amp after 25 years and am using a 1948 Masco PA head with the original 1948 12" Jensen speakers in a new cabinet. Tube amp guru Skip Simmons, in Dixon, rebuilt the amp and the tone is perfect for harp and slide guitar. I'm selling my '85 G&L Broadcaster guitar, in case you're looking for a new toy - vintage Leo Fender 1950's tone, but too clean for me. My "new" guitar is a mid-60's Kawai - 3 pick-ups, 4-dials, 3-toggle switchs - some pretty funny Japanese craftsmanship but the perfect axe for playing slide - well worth it's $30 price tag in the 1966 (?) Sears-Roebuck catalog. Just the right blend of rough tone and ground glass with a touch of microphonic distortion.
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First Time Logging In
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 DrBlues |
First Time Logging In |
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Newbie
Posts: 6 05/10/09 2:49 PM |
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Tricone |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 569 05/10/09 3:12 PM Moderator |
The Dr. is in the house! Welcome DrBlues! Shame on me, but I haven't heard of Masco. I'll have to look that one up. Kawai. Is that the same
manufacturer as the piano maker of the same name?
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Telemikester |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 144 05/10/09 3:40 PM Moderator |
Welcome DrBlues! Cool and funky setup you got there. I love it!
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basstard |
#3 | |||
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Champ
Posts: 63 05/11/09 2:43 PM Charter Member
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Hello and welcome, DrBlues!
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Crossroads |
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Champ
Posts: 60 05/11/09 8:46 PM |
Hey Doc Blues! I like the name. That's what I'm talkin' about!
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DrBlues |
MASCO | #5 | ||
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Newbie
Posts: 6 05/18/09 12:47 AM |
Tricone, To make a short story long, start with Long Island, NY. The Mark Alan Sampson Company (MASCO) produced amplifiers there during the 1940s and 1950s. They were available via electronic parts catalogs (Lafayette, Archer, etc.) and as an inexpensive PA/amp at music and appliance stores. They were designed for voice and music amplification, so you might find them used as a PA anywhere - at a school, wired to a turntable or plugged in to a
mic for announcements, on stage at a Blues club, or used for calling Bingo at the lodge hall.
They make great harp amps because they produce a warm tone, have good break-up and the mic input is perfect for a high impedance mic like the Astatic JT-30 I use. They don't have the power (8-35 watts) or high gain that would make them attractive to today's guitar players. I am aware of a local steel guitar player. who was using one in the 40's. That's what I can tell you about MASCO.
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DrBlues |
Kawai | #6 | ||
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Newbie
Posts: 6 05/18/09 1:09 AM |
Tricone,
It's one-in-the-same. Kawai started out in the 1920's. They bought out Teisco (Tokyo Electric Instrument and Sound Company) guitars in about '67. Teiscos were marketed in the US under a variety of labels including Teisco (until 1969), Silvertone, Kay, Kent, and many more. Kawai added their own "brand", Apollo. Low cost, lot's of fun designs, interesting pickup and switch configurations, and the first guitars of many students. Good guitars but never the quality status of their pianos and keyboards. |
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ryuse |
#7 | |||
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Newbie
Posts: 17 05/18/09 9:48 AM |
There's an article about a Masco MAP-15 in the latest issue of Vintage Guitar. It looks really cool! Can you post a photo of yours? And post your G&L
here if you haven't already!
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ryuse |
#8 | |||
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Newbie
Posts: 17 05/18/09 9:52 AM |
Never mind. Just saw your post!
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shithappens.guitarporn |
#9 | |||
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Champ
Posts: 47 05/24/09 6:21 PM Charter Member
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What's up, doc?
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DrBlues |
Masco ME27 | #10 | ||
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Newbie
Posts: 6 05/26/09 10:04 PM |
ryuse,
Here's the PA. Not quite the same visuals as a Fender Tweed or Gibson GA40 with Buffalo-hide covering - just gray hammertone paint on metal. But, back in 1948 I don't think boutique amps were the rage - More form following function. The two 12" (Jensen?) speakers were housed in enclosures that hooked together and had leather handles on top, like a suitcase 
 
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Tricone |
#11 | |||
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Posts: 569 05/26/09 10:08 PM Moderator |
Thanks for posting those pics, DrBlues! I like the look of your Masco. It's neat to see some of these older amps, which reminds me . . how did you like
your GA40??
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DrBlues |
Gibson GA40 | #12 | ||
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Newbie
Posts: 6 06/03/09 6:51 PM |
The GA40 was great and The tone, for harp, is unsurpassed. It was a 1952 "Les Paul" model, coming out the same year as the first LP guitar. I have
to admit though, I just got a new Sonny Jr. "Cruncher" Amp (35 watts), and Gary Onofrio must have put some Little Walter in the amp when he designed,
it because has the warmest 1950 tone I've heard from any new amp of the last 40 years.
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- Wish List
- Electric Guitar Swap
- Acoustic Guitar Swap
- Bass Guitar Swap
- Amp Swap
- Effects, Pickups & Accessories Swap
- Miscellaneous Swap
- Completed Items
- Lost And Found
- Price Guide
- New Member Introductions
- Technical Q&A
- Guitar Talk
- Bass Talk
- Amp Talk
- Bay Area Guitarists Talk . . The Gigging Musician
- Vintage Talk
- Effects, Pickups & Accessories Talk
- Builders
- Teachers
- Guitar Shops & Service
- Concerts & Events
- Everything Media
- Open Mic
- FAQ
- Test Forum
- Suggestions & Concerns
- Approved Members Only
