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Amps For Sale

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The Baby Tortoise Practice Amplifier $149.99 plus shipping.

The SoaringTortoise Electronics Baby Tortoise practice amplifier measures a mere 7 3/4" wide x 5 3/4" deep x 7 1/2" tall but packs the punch of an amp at least 8" x 6" x 8". As with all things SoaringTortoise the Baby Tortoise is made from completely recycled/repurposed materials. In this case the Baby Tortoise's Cabinet and original 5" diameter AlNiCo magnet speaker were formerly a late 1940s or early 1950s intercom speaker system. The 9-volt battery powered amplifier circuit came from a circa 1980's Korean made electric guitar with built-in amp and speaker which was parted out by it's former owner. The Baby Tortoise features a single input jack and volume control on the front panel and ON/OFF toggle switch for power on the back panel. Power is supplied by a single 9-volt battery. The amp displays considerable use wear and age including two cracks on the rear upper corners as well as many scuffs, scratches, stains, and discolorations. In other words it has my favorite finish, real patina.
Price: $149.99 plus actual shipping to you.

SoaringTortoise modified Panasonic table top AM/FM Radio/Guitar Amp/ or Both!

An all Germanium transistor circuit Panasonic AM/FM table top radio from the early 1970's modified in our Super Custom Radio Mod Custom Shop. Bonzo and his buddies (not the original Bonzo, former child actor who worked with Ronald Reagan, but Bonzo Junior. We had to let Bonzo Sr. "retire" a couple of years ago) custom mounted a standard guitar input jack (with guitar friendly input capacitor) and three position switch on the back of the radio. With the switch set in position one (left) the radio can be used by itself as God intended, in position two (middle) the radio can be used as a guitar amplifier, in position three (right) the guitar and radio can both be played at the same time. Good job Bonzo! Price: $119.99 SOLD plus actual shipping to you.

The Rustic Woody 3 Watt All Tube Combo Amp with 10 inch Speaker and Tremolo!

We toyed with calling it the "Elegante" but descriptive terminology won out in the end. The SoaringTortoise Rustic Woody is an approx. 2.5 to 3 Watt all tube guitar amp featuring tremolo and a Fender branded 10 inch Alnico CTS speaker from the early 1970's. The amplifier chassis and transformers were originally a late 1950's or early 1960's Sears Roebuck Silvertone table top radio which we have rewired in our top secret amp conversion laboratory located, oddly enough, in plain sight.
The preamp uses two 6AV6 single triode tubes wired in the manner of a vintage Supro 6616 amplifier with two more 6AV6 tubes in the tremolo circuit. (Two 6AV6 tubes equal one 12AX7 for those of you who speak twin triode.)
The original Supro 6616 had tremolo but only had a rate control with no depth control. We like a depth control on our trem, so we nicked the circuit from a Fender Vibro-Champ and used that instead.
The Rustic Woody has a single input with controls for Volume, Tone, Depth, and Rate and also features a External Speaker output jack on the back which will drive a 4-8 ohm cabinet. When the External Speaker output jack is in use the amps internal speaker is disabled.
PRICE SOLD

The UpperClassman 5 Watt All-Tube Lunchbox-style Guitar Amp Head.

The SoaringTortoise Electronics UpperClassman 5 watt, all tube lunch box-style amp contains tasty, harmonically nutritious, tone in a small metal box (Thermos not included, but you would have dropped that halfway through the school year and ended up with a glass milkshake anyway.) The UpperClassman amp is great for always on the go youths and energetic elders alike and, as with all SoaringTortoise amps and effects, it is made from 100% recycled parts and materials. Weighing in at a mere 7 1/2 pounds (lighter than your Les Paul) and measuring only 7 1/8" x 3 3/8" x 8" including the knobs. the UpperClassman is ultra-portable but surprisingly potent. You can view a video demo of the UpperClassman on our Home page.

The UpperClassman 5 watt, all tube, amplifier was once a Voice of Music satellite amplifier circa 1960. It was used in conjunction with a VOM stereo reel-to-reel, or stereo phonograph units in the early days of stereophonic sound.. We had our highly trained ape amp technicians (this is guerilla electronics folks) modify this unit to Fender tweed Princeton (5f2-a) specifications with the addition of a presence control to the tone and volume control compliment. The presence control operates backwards to your standard presence control (stupid apes) and also doubles as the power switch. The UpperClassman is powered by a single 6V6 power tube driven by a 12AX7 preamp tube, and it makes clean healthy DC voltage with the help of a 6X4 rectifier tube. The UpperClassman has a single input for guitar and a 4-8 ohm speaker output jack. The amp also has the option of a second speaker output when used in conjunction with the included adaptor jack cable. (When using two speaker cabinets we recommend that they both are 8 ohm cabinets.).
Enroll in your local institution of higher learning today and wait three years to become an upper-classman, or get one right here on the SoaringTortois Electronics website.
PRICE: $349.99 plus actual shipping to you.SOLD

The ConnMann all-tube, all recycled material, 30Watt guitar amp head. All-American Tone!

The SoaringTortoise Electronics ConnMann is an all tube, 30 Watt, guitar amplifier head made from 100% recycled materials save for it’s NOS pilot light bulb. Price: $999.99 plus actual shipping to you. You can view a video demo of the ConnMann on our HOME Page.

What’s the con? Well there isn’t one really. The amplifier is made completely out of materials sourced from an old Conn tube organ we acquired from the church down the street. The one just up the hill from the little brown church in the vale. The old church organ had a 2x6L6GB power amp which our highly skilled primate amp technicians re-“organ”-ized into the specs of Fender’s very first Tweed Twin amplifier, the 5C8. The only difference being that the original 5C8 Twin used octal preamp tubes whereas our monkey mélange managed to work their magic with 9-pin miniature preamp tubes. The ConnMann’s tube compliment consists of a 5U4 rectifier, two 6L6GB power tubes, a 12AT7 for phase inverter duty, and a 12AX7 preamp tube. The 12AX7 and 12AT7 can be swapped out for other tubes in the 12A?7 camp such as easily attainable 12AU7s or the rarer 12AY7. Using different preamp tubes offers the option of different gain structures and flavors

The ConnMann amp head features a single input jack, controls for Volume, Treble, and Bass, and has an 4-8 OHM speaker output. The ConnMann also features a hard to miss bright orange grounded three prong power cord and a rear panel, two-prong, AC accessory outlet with its own 3-Amp fuse.
Just as in the original 5C8 Twin the volume control comes after the first gain stage (in this case ½ half of a 12AX7) and the tone stack comes after the second gain stage( the other half of the 12AX7). The tone stack placement offers a sound similar too, but not quite like, the Fender Bassman. The difference being that the Bassman uses two triodes set up as a cathode follower for it’s second gain stage and the 5C8 twin uses a single triode for the second gain stage. Either way it translates to Mucho Basso!

The ConnMann’s case is made from the wooden top panel of the same Conn organ from which the amp was sourced and it features distressed Mahogany veneer finish. The distressing is from years of honest (hopefully) use as a church organ and some from being stored in our monkey infested warehouse for a while. Suffice to say the finish is very distressed. I like it because my favorite finish is real patina. The amp’s front power switch and grill/control panels were the organ’s original switch panel (and switch) and paddle switch preset panel. They are made out of some nice shiny black Bakelite just like grannies old telephone. The Masonite back panel was fabricated from the organ’s original back panel and the speaker jack bracket is the organ’s original brass model number and information plate. Almost all the hardware (screws, brackets, etc.) used in the amp came from the organ as well. The organ did not have any knobs so the control knobs on the amp were sourced from some old hi-fi and stereo systems.
The ConnMann measures 21” x 8 3/8” tall x 8” deep (including the knobs) and weighs approx. 25 pounds.
Contact your local law enforcement agency today to see if there are any ConnMenn available in your area or get one right here on the SoaringTortoise website. PRICE: $999.99 plus actual shipping to you.

SoaringTortoise Ten Inch Speaker Cabinet

SoaringTortoise Royal Fisher 8 Eight inch Speaker Extension Cabinet.

The SoaringTortoise Electronics Royal Fisher 8 eight inch speaker extension cabinet contains a single vintage late 1950s-eary 1960s NOS Royal Copenhagen P825W alnico magnet speaker. The cabinet was formally one of a pair of Fisher “the fisher” stereo bookshelf style speakers which contained 8”drivers and approx. 2 1/2 “ tweeters. The driver in this cabinet was dead so we had our trained monkeys down at the SoaringTortoise Electronics Super-Secret Special Speaker R&D Laboratories remove it and the tweeter. In their places were installed the aforementioned Royal Copenhagen 8” speaker and a bass reflex port. The speakers original screw terminals have been replaced with a conventional ¼” speaker plug. You can see the SoaringTortoise Electronics Royal Fisher 8 in action in the amp demo video to the right (Playing starts at 3:15). The speaker cabinet displays use wear in the form of some fairly significant scratches, mild scuffs, and some small chips.The cabinet measures 17 5/8" by 9 1/2" wide x 8 7/8" deep and has that wonderful, but slightly faded, technicolor orange grill cloth that showed up so well on the Brady Bunch and so many other 70s TV shows.
PRICE: $95.99 plus actual shipping to your address.

The Kapellmeister VTBP 35 Watt tube Guitar Amplifier Head

The SoaringTortoise Electronics Kapellmeister VTBP is a single input 35 watt tube guitar amplifier head made from 100% recycled parts and materials. The amp head features switchable 4, 8, and 16 Ohm speaker output impedance capabilities and controls for Volume, Treble, Bass, and Presence. You can view a video demo of the SoaringTortoise Kapellmeister VTBP tube amp on our home page.

The Kapellmeister VTBP was originally a Precision Electronics Model S35 tube PA amplifier which had two microphone channels with volume controls, an Aux/Phono channel with mixer control, a Master volume control, and bass and treble controls. Its tube compliment where; a couple 6EU7 twin triodes for all the preamp duties (6EU7 tubes, for all practical purposes, are the same as a 12AX7 but with a different pinout and no option for 12V heater wiring which nobody uses on a 12AX7 anyway. They can be found in many vintage Gibson amps.), a 6C4 triode for the phase inverter, two 7868 power tubes, and solid state rectification.

We have had our trained monkees here at the SoaringTortoise Electronics Super Special Custom Amp Conversion Shop rearrange the interior of this amp to resemble a veritable collage of all our favorite vintage tube amp circuit sections. Starting with a vintage flavored 6AU6 pentode preamp of our own design for the first gain stage the signal then passes through the volume control to a vintage Fender 5f6-a Bassman voltage amp and cathode follower 2nd and 3rd gain stage(s) which uses one of the original 6EU7 twin triodes. After that we have placed a vintage Fender 5e6-a Treble and Bass tone stack which travels on through the very elegant long tail pair phase invertor from the 5f6-a Bassman that uses both sections of the amps other original 6EU7. We have kept the amps original push-pull two tube 7868 power output section intact along with the original solid state rectifier circuit. This allowed to also leave intact the amps original distortion indicator light which can be used to monitor the amp as it goes into distortion. The distortion indicator light does have a sensitivity adjustment pot accessible through a small hole in the front control panel.

As stated above the amp has switchable speaker impedance accomplished by changing the black wire near the speaker impedance terminals to the output impedance of your choice. There are two speaker output jacks which are wired in parallel. This means if you plug one 8 ohm cab into each speaker output jack you would need to set your speaker impedence for 4 ohms.

In one final nod to vintage amp coolness the Kapellmeister VTBP also features a two prong AC accessory outlet for your all your old tube outboard gear. I suppose it would work for your AC pedal power adaptor too.

Join the choir and get a SoaringTortoise Electronics Kapellmeister VTBP today or get one right here on the SoaringTortoise Electronics website.
PRICE: SOLD$599.99 plus actual shipping to your desired destination.

Vintage Lloyd's All Tube Table Radio with Electric Guitar Input by SoaringTortoise.

This ultra-classy vintage Japanese Lloyd’s all tube table-top radio is the epitome of tube radio technology. It features both AM and FM frequency bands, dual monophonic speaker system, and, thanks to the highly skilled monkeys in our SoaringTortoise Electronics Custom Special Custom Conversion Laboratories it now has an electric guitar input in place of the original RCA-style phonograph input jack. Our skilled lab monkeys (And by lab monkeys we mean they are actual lab monkeys who moonlight part time here at SoaringTortoise Electronics. Their real job is at some kind of infectious disease laboratory, but they won’t tell me which one.) have also installed a vintage Sprague Black Bumblebee capacitor in place of the radio’s original ceramic input capacitor. Those little hairy geniuses (for monkeys anyway) even made it possible to play the guitar along with either the AM or FM radio bands. You can view a video demo of the radio and its guitar input feature on our home page.

The radio features an all tube transformerless style radio circuit which, oddly enough, has a power input isolation transformer. We suspect this is because the radio is mid 1970s vintage and by this time there were safety regulations preventing the use of this style circuit without an isolation transformer. We have installed a three-prong grounded power cord for further safety.

The radio has a 6X4 rectifier tube, a 12AV6 pre-amp tube, a 35C5 power tube (for a whopping 1.5 watts power output) and a plethora of 12BA6s and 12AL5 for the radio circuits. We have replaced the original Hitachi power and preamp tubes with strong used American made tubes to increase volume and preamp gain. The original tubes will also be included with the radio.

The speakers are removable and can be connected to the radio via not-included rca style speaker cables through the speaker output jacks on the back of the radio to connections on the sides of the speakers (see pics). When the speakers are mounted to the radio their hinges act as the speaker contact terminals. Other speakers can be connected to the radio as well through the RCA speaker jacks provided you have the proper cabling and adapters (see video).The radio features an AC accessory outlet, a built in telescoping antenna, and terminals for connecting an FM style radio antenna. There is also a small built in front panel meter to show when the radio is receiving the strongest possible signal from the station being selected. The AM frequency dial also has those cool Emergency Broadcast logos on it for where to tune in case of a nuclear attack which, considering how things are going in the Ukraine right now, might not be a bad idea again.

The radio has a handsome wood cabinet with folding speakers for space reduction when not in use and has storage space in the lower back of the unit for the power cord.

The best thing about a broadcast radio is that there is no monthly fee to activate it, and no special ap required to use it. The music is completely free. Yes, there are those annoying commercials, but a new song is just the simple twist of the dial away.

Cruise on down to your local Radio Shak and get a Lloyd’s all tube table-top radio today and install your own guitar input or, get one right here at SoaringTortoise Electronics with the guitar input already built in.
PRICE: $199.99 SOLDplus actual shipping to you.

The SoaringTortoise Jr. College 5-Watt All Tube Guitar Amp w/ Storage.

The SoaringTortoise Electronics Jr. College 5 Watt all tube guitar amplifier is perfect for the dorm room or the late night juke joint (one and the same for some people) and has built in storage space for those spontaneous weekend road trips. You can hear the Jr.College amp in the Demo videos on our Home Page or you can see it plugged into and played through an extension speaker cabinet in the video to your right. The SoaringTortoise Jr. College amplifier, like all of SoaringTortoise products, is made from 100% recycled materials.

The SoaringTortoise Jr. College amp was originally a Voice of Music model 166 powered extension speaker for use with early reel to reel tape recorders to achieve stereo playback. We have converted it here in our SoaringTortoise Custom Amp Conversion Facility to Early Tweed Fender Princeton Specs (the 5F2-a circuit to be specific) with the addition of a backwards operating presence control which works as a subtle Hi-Cut control. The Jr. College has a single vintage 6V6 GE gray plate power tube, a V of M 6X4 rectifier tube, and a vintage American 12AT7 preamp tube sourced from a Bogen tube PA unit. All tubes test healthy and are not micro-phonic. The original Speakers in the V of M case were not quite up to the tasks this amp can demand so they have been replaced with some heftier units. The case now contains a vintage AlNiCo 6”X 9” Cleveland speaker and a vintage Danish made Royal Copenhagen 4” AlNiCo magnet mid-range driver. The amp also has an output for an 8-16 ohm extension speaker cabinet which can be seen demonstrated in the video mentioned above. The handsome two-toned case, though not covered in the fancy tweed of Ivy League luggage, is stylish and able to withstand the abuses of a rigorous Liberal Arts education. The case’s original handle is cracked nearly in half so it has been repaired with some very strong stranded steel picture framing wire.

In addition to its abilities as a sweet sounding guitar amp the Jr. Collage also features a 9 ½” x 7 3/8” x 6” deep storage space for cables, pedals, tuners, assorted musical sundry, and even dirty socks and t-shirts for that surprise trip home to have Mom do your laundry.
PRICE: $379.99 SOLD plus actual shipping to you.

Vintage 1966 Sears Silvertone 1481 Tube Amp.

This vintage circa 1966 Sears Silvertone Model 1481 tube amplifier was left on our doorstep over twenty years ago with a note reading “ Pleeze take ker of my baby as I kan no longer aford the elektrisity to fede her.” It appears that the poor soul had tried to starve the amp first as it was missing the plug end of the power cord and the rectifier tube. The vagabond came to their senses in the nick of time, we were able to nurse this little gal back to health, and now twenty plus years later, after much laughter, love, and music, she is ready to leave the nest. To view a video demo of this amp in action go to: http://youtu.be/mdiIHz0ymIA.

The amplifier is all original except for its volume and tone knobs and the aforementioned power cord plug end and rectifier tube. The volume and tone knobs have been replaced with some good quality metal units swiped from and old stereo hi fi. The power cord has had a newer , used, plug soldered in place and it’s electrical tape insulation installed over twenty years ago was recently replaced with new tape good for another twenty years. The current rectifier tube was installed about five years back and is/was an NOS Amperex unit which has seen light duty since being put in. The amp still retains its original 6V6 power tube and 12AX7 preamp tube both labeled with the “Silvertone” logo. (The tubes were recently tested and all registered strong and healthy.) The 8” AlNiCo speaker is original and in excellent, undamaged, condition. The amplifier is fully functional but does make some moderate crackling static noise when adjusting the volume control due to a dirty potentiometer. This can be heard in the video demo. The amplifier displays moderate use wear in the form of scuffs, scratches, some small nicks in the covering (the worst of which can be seen in the close up picture of the Sears Silvertone badge), some putting and surface rust on the chrome carry handle hardware, and a light patina of dust and grime settled into the texture of the covering. The amp is not dirty but it is not what I would call clean either. Sounds equally great with guitar or harp.
PRICE: $224.99 SOLD plus actual shipping to you.

The Admiral Webster 2-Channel, 10 Watt Guitar Amp Head.

One might surmise that the SoaringTortoise Electronics Admiral Webster 2-channel tube guitar amplifier head was named after the esteemed Vice Admiral John Morrison Webster (ret. 1990), who joined the Royal Navy in 1951, and eventually rose to Flag Officer, Plymouth and Admiral Superintendent at Devonport in 1987. It is not. It is actually called the Admiral Webster because it is made from parts of a vintage late 1950s Webster tube reel-to-reel tape recorder and a late 1960s Admiral console stereo.

The Admiral Webster is an approximately 10 Watt Single-Ended tube guitar amplifier head made from 100% recycled parts and materials. It has two distinctly different sounding channels which can be accessed independently through their own separate inputs, or simultaneously through the shared center input. The amp’s power section consists of a single 5881 power tube with a 5Y3 rectifier. The Admiral Webster can also be operated with a 6L6 power tube. (The amp comes supplied with a vintage used Tung-Sol 5881 and a vintage used RCA 6L6GC). The amplifier’s two input channels consist of a Triode channel based on early 60s brown-face style amps and a Pentode channel similar to what might be found on a vintage Kay 720 bass amp. The triode channel uses a 6C4 preamp tube (which has a similar gain to the triodes in a 12AU7) and has controls for volume and tone. The Pentode channel uses a 5879 preamp tube and has controls for volume and tone as well, but also has the added feature of being able to switch the tone stack out of the circuit for an authentic vintage juke-joint tone. The two signals are then summed through a 6BA4 triode tube (similar in gain to the triodes in a 12AT7) before heading on to the power section. It is worthy to note here that the 6C4 and the 6AB4 tubes can be swapped around for each other which will change the gain structure of the pentode channel making for more headroom and less break up. In the video below the amp is using the 6AB4 tube in the second gain stage before the power section which is the 5881 tube. In the video found at this link: http://youtu.be/LexBko5N5wg the amp is being operated with the 6C4 in the second gain stage and a 6L6 power tube in the output section resulting in a higher headroom, cleaner sounding, tone.

The Admiral Webster can be hooked to any 4 or 8 ohm speaker cabinet and also features a transformer balanced direct output for connection to a recording console or P.A. input. The amplifier still requires a speaker or a dummy load of some sort when using the direct output.

The amplifier head measures approx. 16” x 10” x 8 ½” tall. All the wear, tear, chips and scratches seen on the amplifier were incurred in it’s former lives as a console stereo and tape recorder.

The amplifier’s unique artwork was created by the Anonymous Artt Foxx.

Price: $539.99 SOLD plus actual shipping to you.

UHF TV-1 Tube Amp Head

The SoaringTortoise Electronics UHF (Ultra-Hip Frequency) TV1 is an approximately 13 watt, all tube, guitar amplifier head built into a compact heavy duty metal enclosure measuring a mere 12 ¼” wide x 7” deep x 3 ½” tall including its sweet little chrome metal Danish Modern legs (Who doesn’t like sweet little Danish legs? Well, the Swiss I suppose, but that’s a whole n’other can of worms). As with all SoaringTortoise Electronics products the UHF TV1 is built with 100% recycled parts and materials. You can view a video demo of the SoaringTortoise UHF TV1 at:

The SoaringTortoise UHF TV1 has had a storied and travel filled life before finding it’s true calling as a harmonically rich, fat toned, guitar amplifier. It began life in the early 1960s, lovingly handcrafted in the Land of the Rising Sun by the delicate fingers of former Geisha girls, as a monophonic Hi-Fidelity amplifier for use with a matching tuner/pre-amp unit. It was badged with the Midland brand name and took the long boat ride to America, the Land of Prosperity, were the demand for high quality consumer electronics was outpacing it’s own industrial output. The Hi Fi unit spent many years fulfilling the enjoyment of others by replicating the greatest pop, rock, country, and classical music performances of the 1960s and 70s after which it fell into disrepair being replaced by a more visually appealing, but sonically inferior, solid state stereo unit with 8-track tape player.

The old Midland Hi-Fi unit was recently uncovered in an electronics archeological dig in the great e-Land of online auctions. From there it was transported to a secretly located giant warehouse full of monkeys with manual typewriters busily tapping out the next horror novel for a very famous east coast author. In their down time these monkeys have been contracted by SoaringTortoise Electronics to build a very stylish line of 100% recycled material tube guitar amplifiers which we will be offering for sale. (Ed. Note. Except for the words “harmonically rich, fat toned, guitar amplifier”, and the fact that the UHF TV1 is made from an early 1960s Midland branded, Japanese import, tube Hi-Fi amplifier purchased on eBay, everything else in the two preceding paragraphs is pure conjecture or outright fabrication.)

The SoaringTortoise Electronics UHF TV1 features a single input jack with controls for Tone and Volume all located on the front panel. The Volume control also doubles as the power switch. The rear panel has a single speaker output jack with screw terminal style impedence selection of 4, 8, or 16 ohms. The fuse receptacle is also located on the back panel. The amplifier has a modern three prong grounded power cord and all the “death caps” have been removed (there were two in this particular amp). The amplifier’s tube compliment consists of a 6CA4/EZ81 rectifier tube energizing a pair of 6BM8 combination pentode/triode tubes and a single 6AV6 triode. The amplifier has been rewired in a vintage tweed-esque fashion. The power amp section resembles that of an early 1960s Gibson G-8T amplifier which uses the same 6BM8 tubes in its power and phase inverter positions. The preamp section, with its single tone and volume controls, is patterned more along the lines of a tweed Fender design which uses somewhat higher value signal passing capacitors than most tweed Gibson designs. The amplifier is remarkably quiet featuring separate power and heater filament transformers and we were able to use most of the original paper and oil signal capacitors. We did replace the worn out Fox Electronics Multi-Cap Filter capacitor can with a newer, fresher, Mallory Multi-cap can with a higher voltage rating and the original 2 watt power tube bias resistor has been replaced with an NOS 10 watt ceramic resistor.

Available at Guitar Left and Guitar Right but not at Guitar Center or, you can get one right here on our own SoaringTortoise Electronics web-sight.Price: $329.99 SOLD plus actual shipping to your desired destination.

The Solitaire 4-Watt All Tube Guitar Amplifier

The SoaringTortoise Solitaire 4-watt, all tube, electric guitar amp was designed to channel all manner of musical style and genre for your intimate, solitary, soul searching practice sessions. Be it in your parlor, boudoir, study, swanky high dollar studio, or greasy old garage the Solitaire will fine tune your musical broadcasting abilities with great tone at lower volumes…where your friends can’t hear you and make fun of you. To view and hear a video demo of the SoaringTortoise Solitaire visit: http://youtu.be/ldOHFj7kADg

The Solitaire was originally a circa 1960 Montgomery Ward Airline branded AM-FM table top tube radio. It spent its last few serviceable years, until quite recently, serving duty as a radio in a greasy old garage just like the one mentioned above. The radio has been since gutted of its innards (fun fact: It takes about 3-4 times the amount of tubes and parts to make the radio circuit in a tube radio like this as it does the audio amplifier circuit) and rebuilt in the manner of a circa 1960 Montgomery Ward Airline tube guitar amplifier model 8502. We were able to salvage and reuse the radio’s original transformers, chassis, tube sockets, volume and tone controls, control knobs, and brown Bakelite based Rad-Tel 6V6 power tube, as well as a few resistors and a mica capacitor. The rest of the amp was rebuilt with better cared for vintage components compared to what was found in the original.

The Solitaire features a vintage 6 inch Jensen Concert Series DP Alnico 5 speaker which was manufactured in 1960. The speaker is in near mint physical and working condition having been recently removed from a well-kept Allen organ. The amp also features a speaker output jack on the back which can be used with any 4-8 ohm speaker cabinet. When the speaker output jack is in use the internal speaker is disconnected.

The Solitaires’ tube compliment consists of the aforementioned 6V6 power tube, a 6AU6 pentode preamp tube, and a 6X5GT rectifier tube. The amp includes an NOS Sylvania 6AU6 preamp tube and a spare older, used and unmarked, 6AU6 which offers a slightly different tone than the NOS unit. The spare tube can be kept in the amp, in an unused and disconnected tube socket, which was left installed for just this purpose.

The amp has a single input, a volume control which also functions as the power switch, and a tone control. The original tuner dial is still intact and functional to the extent of still being able to move when the tuner knob is turned. The amp will not pick up any radio stations unless you have a lot of old pedals plugged in front of it and you are lucky. The original control graphics are still present on the radio but are quite small and hard to read even, I am guessing, when the radio was new.

Other than cleaning the grime and dirt off of the case and chassis and repairing the original Masonite back panel the radio/amp is unrestored displaying all of its fifty plus years of use, abuse, wit, and wisdom. Including two very noticeable holes bored through the wood case near the back edge of the top panel .

Buy the Solitaire, take it to your woodshed, and don’t come out until you’re ready.Price: $279.99 SOLD free shipping in the U.S. Lower 48. Actual shipping cost elsewhere.

Art Deco 10" Speaker Extension Cabinet

The SoaringTortoise Art Deco 10 inch Extension Speaker Cabinet was originally a Jensen Dynamic Speaker enclosure of undetermined age. It has been repurposed in our SoaringTortoise Custom Shop as a ten inch speaker extension cab for electric guitar. We are offering this speaker cab with the option of being loaded with either a vintage 1972 Fender labeled, brown/bronze frame, 8 ohm, 10” speaker or, as a premium option, a vintage 1957 Jensen blue frame P10Q Concert which is also an 8 ohm, 10 inch speaker. You can view a video demo of the cabinet loaded with the CTS speaker at: http://youtu.be/ql7ass_R8Q4 or the Jensen speaker at: http://youtu.be/yRa8yVh0tWY . The speakers in the demos are being driven by an approx. 3 watt tube amp with 6V6 power tube and pentode preamp. We were careful to keep the amp settings, mic placement, and guitar the same for both videos.

The speaker box came to us empty and the fancy deco front panel was badly damaged. We restored the wooden front panel as best a bunch of solder monkeys can and installed a new ½” plywood baffle board made from the baffle board of a late sixties/early seventies Admiral console stereo. When we received the speaker cabinet it had no front grill cloth but did have the original cloth on the back panel. We foolishly removed the cloth from the back panel and installed it in the front panel of the speaker cab. We then, even more foolishly, replaced the back panel grill cloth with some spacy dark blue sparkly material. The extension cab has a standard ¼” speaker jack mounted behind the back panel. Please note that only straight, standard barrel sized, ¼” speaker plugs will work with this cabinet when the back is installed. Right angle plugs or plugs with oversized barrels will not work in this cabinet unless the back panel is removed.

The cabinet measures approx. 14” wide x 13 1/8” tall x 11” deep ( these are exterior dimensions. The interior of the cabinet is about 9 1/2” deep.)

:Price: SOLD

TV-TV 2-Channel, 14 Watt, Tube Amp Head

The SoaringTortoise TV-TV 2 Channel, 14 watt, tube amp head was originally a Heathkit EA-3 Mono Hi-Fi amplifier. After receiving extensive modifications at SoaringTortoise laboratories the amp has emerged as the TV-TV 2-channel guitar amplifier. You can view a couple video demos of the TV-TV at: http://youtu.be/XtY9HgfdDXk and http://youtu.be/p07JhwKEyyo .

The TV-TV is a 14 watt all tube amp powered by two EL84/6BQ5 power tubes with a 6CA4 rectifier. The amp features two channels, each with their own input, and a third, central, input which allows the guitar to be played through both channels at once. Additionally, each channel has a pre-input send jack (the two outside jacks) which can be used when the guitar is plugged into the central input. This allows you to use separate effects for each channel by patching cords between the send jack and effect input and the effect output and channel input jack.

Channel A, on the left side of the amp as you face the control panel, is patterned after Fender’s early 1960’s G-series amplifier preamp topology and uses a 12AX7 twin triode with controls for Tone and Volume.

Channel B, on the right, was inspired by the highly underappreciated Kay 720 bass amp preamp topology featuring a 6AU6 pentode with a three position treble roll-off Tone switch( in place of the Kay 720’s standard tone control) and a Volume control.

A 6AN8 pentode/triode tube takes care of the driver and phase inverter duties

The amplifier also features speaker output jacks for 4, 8, and 16 ohm speaker loads.

All this adds up to one very versatile electric guitar amplifier.

The front panel artwork entitled "Eve Arriving Fashionably Late With Her SG" was assembled by the famously unknown artiste El Puerco

The tubes used in the TV-TV are original to the Hi- Fi amp and include some sweet vintage Mullard EL84 power tubes and 6CA4 rectifier and a Mullard 12AX7 in the A channel. As awesome as vintage British Mullard tubes are one wonders why vintage English sports cars always appear to be wired by a monkey with minimal training. $499.99 plus actual shipping. SOLD

Woody Drive 18

The SoaringTortoise Electronics Woody Drive 18 is an eighteen watt tube amplifier head made from recycled materials. The Woody drive 18 is based on the Marshall 18 watt tube amps manufactured in the 1960s and uses two 7189 (mil –spec EL84/6BQ5) power tubes, two 12AX7 preamp tubes and a 6CA4 rectifier tube. The amp is made to operate with 8 Ohm speaker cabs. To hear a video demo of the Woody Drive go to: http://youtu.be/bGHz9QGFdRg

In the video the amp is being played through one of the 12” Celestion G12T speakers mounted in the open back Marshal Bi-Chorus 200 amp on which the Woody Drive 18 is sitting. Connected between the speaker and the amp is a Tom Scholz Power Soak speaker attenuator. The attenuator was used to keep the volume of the hi gain input from distorting the cheap digital recording equipment. If you don’t want to hear me yacking about these facts on the video skip ahead to around 2:00 where the playing starts.

The amp features inputs for Hi and Lo Gain and controls for Volume and Tone. The low gain input stays pretty clean until you get to the top 1/3 of its range where it starts to break up nicely. The high gain input starts off where the low gain input stops in both gain and volume. The hi gain input is a rocker’s delight and smokes for lead playing and crunch rhythms depending on how you set guitar’s volume. The perceived volume boost the hi gain input exhibits over the lo gain input makes it sound almost like it doubles in volume.

The amp’s chassis, transformers, and tube sockets originally came from a vintage Gregory Mark XXX bass amplifier which I bought at the Michigan Guitar Show in the late 1990s. After using it in its original form for a few years I opened it up one day to discover that every piece of wire inside the amp, including heater wires, was solid core 22 gauge. The wire for the tube heaters had been working so hard that the plastic insulation was melting and drooping down. It looked like some kind Salvador Dali amplifier painting. If you are reading this, and own a Gregory tube amp, you may want to look inside to see how your wire is fairing. I removed all of this wire from inside the chassis, as well as all of the electrical components. I did, however, use some of the old 22 gauge wire to stitch the leather handle together with. After gutting the chassis of its wire and parts I rebuilt it in the style of a 1960s Marshall 18 watt tube amp with used components. I used 18 gauge wire and all the electrical components where thoroughly inspected and measured to insure good, durable, parts where used. I did make one sacrifice to my all recycled parts ethic and used an NOS multi-capacitor can and one other fairly new large value, high voltage, cap in the amps AC filter section. The tubes are an assortment of used/vintage including a matched set of Westinghouse branded 7189 power tubes, a Magnavox branded 12AX7 and a General Electric 12AX7 both with long grey plates. The rectifier tube is a Hitachi branded 6CA4. The amp has a three prong grounded power cord.

The amplifier case is made from roughhewn wood from 1/8” to ¼” thick which has been veneered to ¼” plywood and it measures 19 ¼” x 8 1/8” x 7” tall.

The Woody Drive 18’s rough, raw exterior mimics the amps raw tube tone. When you fire up the hi gain input folks will have a hard believing it is coming out of this thing that looks like their Grandpa’s tool box. This amp is guaranteed to rock. Price:SOLD Free Shipping in the Lower 48 States. Actual Shipping elsewhere.