The strangest amp I ever owned.

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bapu
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2010/07/31 15:11:27 (permalink)

The strangest amp I ever owned.

I was thinking about this baby today.

It was a bass amp made by Toby (in Ft. Worth, Texas) in the mid to late 60's. The ad say it sold for $695. I bought it used for $100. I did some research and it seems they only made about a hundred of them. Go figure.

It's called a flip top and yes that is a metal horn (why in a bass amp you ask? heck if I know). The top part folded over the horn for transport.

Check out those 3" diameter knobs and the VU meter.

The bottom was a folded horn design (similar to the Acoustic 360 bass amp) with a 12 inch speaker that seriously weighed about 100lbs. (I pulled it out once to see if it was damaged, it was not).

The thing was a tank, but I wanted an Acoustic 360 so I sold the Toby. 

Strange, huh?




post edited by bapu - 2010/07/31 15:17:26
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    Guitarhacker
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 17:11:27 (permalink)
    I bought a BALDWIN EXTERMINATOR amp. This thing was big and heavy...and kinda loud too.

    100% solid state. It had 2 15" speakers, 2 12" speakers and 2 7" speakers all in one box.  The amp had tone controls and it also had 5 pushbuttons that inserted a specific tone circuit.
    In addition to this, the back of the amp had an opening at the bottom (ported?) where you could access the speakers and I think there was some circuitry located at the bottom as well. The speakers were fused.... and the fuses used were auto bayonet base car lamps. The louder I played the brighter the lights were.... and they got pretty bright. I carried spares because half of the speakers were on a bulb... and I thing the other 3 were not. I bought it used, and played it for some time before selling it....or trading it in....

    Oh yeah... it had blue Naugahyde on it that was all tore up, so I pulled that off...and then it was gray and tacky. Fortunately, it had wheels on it so it wasn't too bad to move on flat floors.
    post edited by Guitarhacker - 2010/07/31 17:14:02

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    #2
    bapu
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 18:01:54 (permalink)
    Herb, 

    I remember that line of amps.

    In an early band I played in, the guitar player had one of these. 




    I always thought it looked like a PA column. It was about 5 feet tall.
    #3
    Jonbouy
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 18:33:41 (permalink)

    It's called a flip top and yes that is a metal horn (why in a bass amp you ask? heck if I know).


    Because back in them days Bass players were 'real' men and didn't just lurk in the subs. 

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54H3EUAzpVg

    I'll bet that rig of yours would have sounded awesome with a 'Burns Bison' run through it set to 'Wild Dog'! 

     

    http://www.burnsguitars.com/bisonbass.php
    post edited by Jonbouy - 2010/07/31 18:42:32

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    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 18:54:03 (permalink)
    I started on an Ampeg Gemini... not strange... but not normal either.


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    Randy P
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 20:10:23 (permalink)
    I saw a photo once of a very early bar gig by the Who. John Entwistle had some funky looking amp with no cabinet. Just a chassis with tubes sticking up and it was sitting on a small stool. On the wall next to Keith Moon was what looked to be an 18" speaker hanging from a nail on the wall. Now that's low budget.


    Randy

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    #6
    bapu
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 20:42:56 (permalink)
    Jonbouy



    It's called a flip top and yes that is a metal horn (why in a bass amp you ask? heck if I know).


    Because back in them days Bass players were 'real' men and didn't just lurk in the subs. 

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54H3EUAzpVg

    I'll bet that rig of yours would have sounded awesome with a 'Burns Bison' run through it set to 'Wild Dog'! 



    http://www.burnsguitars.com/bisonbass.php

    What happened to the 5th string?


    #7
    Mooch4056
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 21:24:35 (permalink)

    Strange, huh?





    Strange days indeed. Strange days indeed. Most peculiar  Momma! ROLL! - John Lennon 


    WHAT!?
    post edited by Mooch4056 - 2010/07/31 22:07:34

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    #8
    bapu
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 21:26:14 (permalink)
    Mooch4056



    Strange, huh?





    Strange days indeed. Strange days indeed. Most particular  Momma! ROLL! - John Lennon 


    WHAT!?

    Or peculiar?




    #9
    Slugbaby
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 21:55:05 (permalink)
    My first amp was an old Peavey 100W combo.  Nothing strange in that, except that I lost the screw-on cover for the fuse.  I overcame that hurdle by wedging a small nail alongside the fuse, to complete the circuit.  The only problem with this setup was that it was on the back, about 2" away from the power switch.
    It was great fun to watch friends reach to turn on the amp and shock themselves. 

    Another strange amp...

    http://www.MattSwiftMusic.com
     
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    #10
    Mooch4056
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/07/31 22:08:39 (permalink)





    bapu


    Mooch4056



    Strange, huh?





    Strange days indeed. Strange days indeed. Most particular  Momma! ROLL! - John Lennon 


    WHAT!?

    Or peculiar?









    right - that's what I said - peculiar - hellooooooooooo  WHAT!?

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    #11
    fireberd
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 11:41:29 (permalink)
    I built my own guitar amp using a Bogen PA amp back in the 60's and had a speaker cabinet I built that had a 15" Seeburg jukebox speaker.  I was working as a tech for background music and juke box company at the time and all the parts were "surplus" from the company.  It didn't work very good but it was cheap.

    In the early 70's I worked as the Ampeg factory repair tech in Nashville and the hot bass amp at the time was the Ampeg B15N.  This is the bass amp that the amp electronics is flipped over and inserted into the speaker cabinet for transporting and then removed and set upright for use.

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    #12
    Guitarhacker
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 11:49:16 (permalink)
    Fireberd..... I can relate to those comments.

    I met a guitar player in a band at a church fair/carnival that used a Bogen PA head as an amp. They played a lot of the Who's Tommy and it sounded pretty good. 

    Another bass player I knew and played in a band with...when I had the Baldwin Exterminator also has one of those Ampegs that you mentioned.

    I'm wondering, and waiting for someone to fess up to owning one of those butt ugly Kustom pleated/padded amps with a horn in them....... I jammed with a group that had one..... blue sparkle.......

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    SteveStrummerUK
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 16:26:02 (permalink)
     
    Bapsi, these 3" diamater knobs of which you speak...
     
     
     

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    bapu
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 16:29:18 (permalink)
    Stums,

    They're quite something, yes?

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    alexoosthoek
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 16:36:11 (permalink)
    SteveStrummerUK


     
    Bapsi, these 3" diamater knobs of which you speak...
     
     
     


    Oh my

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    SteveStrummerUK
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 16:36:58 (permalink)
     
    It's not often I'm this jealous...
     
     
    Do they go up to eleven
     
     
     

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    MemphisJo
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 17:23:42 (permalink)
    bapu


    Herb, 

    I remember that line of amps.

    In an early band I played in, the guitar player had one of these. 




    I always thought it looked like a PA column. It was about 5 feet tall.


    I want an amp with 'HISS LEVEL CONTROL', hmmmm, let's see, how much hiss should I dial in today? should I set it at 1 or just go all out full hiss on this one.

    www.soundclick.com/peter-nigel-productions 
    Shuttle PC, Mbox2 pro, some guitars and keyboards (with amps and straps etc), Sonar 8 PE plus some other stuff.


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    bapu
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 17:24:30 (permalink)
    SteveStrummerUK


     
    It's not often I'm this jealous...
     
     
    Do they go up to eleven
     
     
     

    Well now, that would be just plain bragging, wouldn't it?
    #19
    bapu
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2010/08/01 17:27:26 (permalink)
    MemphisJo


     an amp with 'HISS LEVEL CONTROL', hmmmm, let's see, how much hiss should I dial in today? should I set it at 1 or just go all out full hiss on this one. 

    George Benson = 0 Hiss
    Blue Cheer = 11.9 Hiss
    Kiss = nevermind.....
    #20
    Russell Edghill
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2011/01/23 18:11:26 (permalink)
      I have this same amp (Toby Flip Top bass amp made in Ft Worth TEXAS) and I was wondering if anyone had any information about it?  I noticed a picture of an ad that showed the amp.  Can you send me a copy of that ad and do you have any information about the amp?  Is this a good amp?  I purchased it for my son a few years ago.  I haven't been able to find out any information or brochures or schematics for it or any good sales pictures  or specifications.  Please let me know if you used the amp in a group and if it performed well?  Was it loud and a good quality amp? Is it useful for a home bass amp or a gig? My email is   desotododgeplymo@hotmail.com I Live in Roanoke Va.  I like the amp but my son says it is old and stupid and not useful for modern day use. He is a teenager 17 years old.  Please let me know if you liked this amp and if you can help me find out some information about it. PS.  The Vu meter does not work but the amp works fine.  Anyone have a nos replacement vu meter?  It is a Monarch VU-102 or VU-103. Can the vu meter be easily troubleshooted?  I have more pictures if anyone is interested.  I love this old amp.  Has anyone else had one?  I contacted Toby and they said it was made by a company called Ramco.  Toby makes  speakers now and they have a web site and they don't have any information about the amp.  Can anyone help me with some information about this amp?

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    Russell Edghill
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2011/01/23 18:22:27 (permalink)
    Toby flip top picture

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    marcos69
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2011/01/23 18:22:35 (permalink)
    rsp@odyssey.net


    I saw a photo once of a very early bar gig by the Who. John Entwistle had some funky looking amp with no cabinet. Just a chassis with tubes sticking up and it was sitting on a small stool. On the wall next to Keith Moon was what looked to be an 18" speaker hanging from a nail on the wall. Now that's low budget.


    Randy


    That was my first set-up.  Our next door neighbor was an air force electronics technician and was always building radios and things with tubes.  He donated an amp to our cause which had no cabinet and we hooked it up to an 8" speaker that had no cabinet either.

    Mark Wessels

    At CD Baby

    At Soundclick
    #23
    Russell Edghill
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2011/01/23 18:26:34 (permalink)
    Toby bass amp picture

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    Russell Edghill
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    Re:The strangest amp I ever owned. 2011/01/23 18:30:00 (permalink)
    Toby amp folded closed

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