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Topic: Accordion amps? |
Robert Murphy
From:
West Virginia
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Posted 20 Mar 2011 6:09 am |
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| I've seen a few older amps for sale cheap. They boast very clean channels, high wattage and 15" speakers. Any thoughts? |
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Olli Haavisto
From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
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Posted 20 Mar 2011 6:34 am
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I thought amplifying accordions was illegal
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Olli Haavisto
Finland |
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Jay Fagerlie
From:
Lotus, California, USA
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Posted 20 Mar 2011 7:49 am
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The old Sano amps are real sweet
This one has a 15" and two 8"s
They pick off the signal from the 8" and run it through its own EL84 single ended amp and run it to an additional 8" speaker for the reverb.
I love this amp-it's my "surf and clean" go to amp.
Not too heavy-probably in the 50 lb range...
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Paddy Long
From:
Christchurch, New Zealand
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Posted 20 Mar 2011 6:42 pm
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Olli thats Banjo's and Bagpipes your thinking of mate 
_________________
14'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
08'Zumsteel Hybrid D10 9+9
94' Franklin Stereo D10 9+8
Telonics, Peterson, Steelers Choice, Benado, Lexicon, Red Dirt Cases. |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 20 Mar 2011 7:02 pm
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I've had a few over the years - they were all cool and had interesting sounds. They were warm and and rich-sounding. Ones I had and liked:
About '69 or 70 Ampeg AC-12 - bought it for (I think) $50, gave it to a friend who plays jazz guitar - he put in a good speaker and it's his main small-club gigging amp 20 years later.
Circa mid-60s Excelsior 50-watt accordion amp with EL-34 tubes - sort of a cross between a Vox AC-30 and a Marshall Plexi. Really sweet sounding, I should have restored it and kept it. I was just going for a different sound at the time.
Cordovox accordion amp (can't remember model name) - cool amp. Again, nice and warm - not especially loud but made a good guitar amp.
Never had a Sano. These amps sorta' remind me of some old Magnatones - nice warm midrange, not scooped like the typical Fender. Of course, Ampeg made a bunch of models that had accordion inputs. I love Ampeg amps for jazz guitar, these sorta had that vibe.
Hey - accordion is cool. If you don't think so, go check out the Time Jumpers. I play reasonably freuently with an accordion player, it adds a nice texture to the Americana stuff that unit does.  |
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Jay Fagerlie
From:
Lotus, California, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2011 4:19 am
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The Sano in the pictures I posted has a push/pull EL34 output.
It stays real clean with just a hing of fur on it until it's way too loud for me...I'm not into loudness...I did put a tele 12AT7 in the front end to warm it up and keep the gain down, but even with an 'X' in there, it stays pretty clean-just like the accordion players liked
I'm with you Dave- I love an accordion that's played well.
Rumor has it Sano was ex Ampeg employees, but I'm not sure if that's 100% accurate.
Jay |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2011 10:59 am
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Ampeg Super Echo Twin, they made them for about 2 years, '61-'62 or '62-'63, depending on who you talk to. It's a stereo amp with 2 speakers and I just plug in to both channels.
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Jay Fagerlie
From:
Lotus, California, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2011 12:19 pm
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Those are killer amps Chas
I've only seen 1 for sale- the seller wanted $2K
One of these days I'll get one....
Jay |
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Olie Eshleman
From:
Seattle, WA
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Posted 21 Mar 2011 12:54 pm
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I own 2 Sano amps that i bought after a bandmate showed up with a mid-60's 1X12" w 2 6V6 output that sounded AMAZING on his silvertone 6 string.
I have a late 50's 1X12" w 2 6L6 output, still has the RCA coke bottle tubes! That one is awesome for 6 string, vintage fendery tone, a real sleeper, but not so great for steel. The other one is a single 15" and 2 8"s mid 60's one that is great for baritone, and also not so good for steel. Looks like it's perhaps an earlier version of yours, Jay.
A tech I took it to said the bias was a little funny and he suspected that the EL34's were the wrong tube(?) That 6L6's had less crossover distortion than did the EL34's and that perhaps 6550's would be the best option. Anyway, great ballsy baritone and 6 string sound but not enough clean headroom for steel, I should try it for lap...
Also Polytone makes amps that are used for accordions, I had one years ago that I used for a nylon string acoustic with an internal condenser. It was really natural and clean, i bet it would've been great for steel, 100w in 1X15" combo. Doing sound work I see Jazz guitarists with polytone amps from time to time. |
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chas smith R.I.P.
From:
Encino, CA, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2011 3:13 pm
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Jay, about 20 years ago, I traded one of my B-15s and some cash for it. At the time, there was a famous guitar player, who's name I don't remember, who was buying every one he could get his hands on and stashing them away.
I used to play with an "American Songbook" band of old guys, named the Incontinentals and this was one of that amps I used. |
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Jay Fagerlie
From:
Lotus, California, USA
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Posted 21 Mar 2011 4:02 pm
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Hey Chas- it was probably Peter Frampton
Olie- I have a few Sano schematics if you need them...maybe even the amps you have!
Let me know if you want them, I'll email them to you..
Jay |
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Olie Eshleman
From:
Seattle, WA
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Posted 22 Mar 2011 4:31 pm
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Jay,
I have a model 500R, serial #: 500460
It need work, and I have put off the expense due to it never sounding quite right. I have wanted learn tube amp repair, so I may try to take care of a few minor issues myself. It's list of problems include: 15" Speaker recone, it's a Jensen ceramic 8ohm 50 watt.
couple bad pots and inputs, one of the transformers has 4 broken feet and someone has made ears for 2 of them. The casters pulled out of the cheap particle board chassis. And again I can't be sure what the correct output tubes should be. It is a point to point vintage tube amp, and I can attest to the sound of the brand but, not sure what it'll tune up to be.Here's a couple (not very good) pics:
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Olie Eshleman
From:
Seattle, WA
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Posted 22 Mar 2011 4:32 pm
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But yes, Jay, if you have a schematic for this amp, I would love a copy!
Thanks! |
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Jay Fagerlie
From:
Lotus, California, USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2011 7:47 pm
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Hi Olie,
No 500R in my schematics.
The schematics I do have show 6L6, EL34, 8417, and 7919 output tubes, so it could be any of them.
Try this: Turn the chassis over and see if you can take a nice high resolution picture of the bottom of the tube sockets and I'll see if I can figure out what tubes should go there. The pic needs to show the entire bottom of the chassis so I can trace out the circuit.
PM me and I'll send you my email address
Jay |
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Glenn Uhler
From:
Trenton, New Jersey, USA
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Posted 23 Mar 2011 6:22 pm Sano Amplifier
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Next time I'm in Cranford, NJ, I'll stop and see who is in the building at 49 Meeker Ave. Sano could have been started by some workers from Ampeg. This address is only a few miles from Ampeg's old location.
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1974 Marlen S-12 1968 Tele 1969 Martin D-35H |
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Olli Haavisto
From:
Jarvenpaa,Finland
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Posted 23 Mar 2011 11:16 pm
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Maybe Ruben Sano was involved ? 
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Olli Haavisto
Finland |
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Jussi Huhtakangas
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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Posted 23 Mar 2011 11:41 pm Re: Sano Amplifier
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| Glenn Uhler wrote: |
| Next time I'm in Cranford, NJ, I'll stop and see who is in the building at 49 Meeker Ave. Sano could have been started by some workers from Ampeg. This address is only a few miles from Ampeg's old location. |
Actually no, although often thought so. Here's some info and history of the Sano amps:
http://www.ludlowguitars.com/blog/sano-history |
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Glenn Uhler
From:
Trenton, New Jersey, USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2011 12:36 pm Sano Amplifires
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Thanks for the information, Jussi! I like it that the guys in Finland know more about the American amps than I do. BTW, I have been in the Linden, NJ building where many of the Ampeg amps were made.
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1974 Marlen S-12 1968 Tele 1969 Martin D-35H |
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Jussi Huhtakangas
From:
Helsinki, Finland
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Posted 25 Mar 2011 2:16 am
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Glenn, I seriously doubt that I do! But I'm a big fan of old Ampegs and I happened to stumble on that site not too long ago.  But yes, Sanos and Ampegs bear a lot of similarities and supposedly sound much alike. I've never had a chance to try out any Sanos but I've considered buying one couple of times on ebay. That store has a couple pretty interesting ones for sale too. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 25 Mar 2011 6:09 am
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I have a really great Sano 250R amp that has an accordian channel. It boasts 2 x 12" speakers, which I replaced with an Altec 417-8H and a JBL D-120 and it sounds superb. The reverb is a little much for me, though.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Jay Fagerlie
From:
Lotus, California, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2011 6:52 am
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Hey Mike-
Is the reverb originated from one of the speaker outputs?
Jay |
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Glenn Uhler
From:
Trenton, New Jersey, USA
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Posted 28 Mar 2011 2:45 pm Sano - Meeker Ave.
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Guys,
I stopped by the old Sano address today, just to see what was there. #49 is probably the same building, but it's been modernized a little. The lady I spoke with said the current occupant has been there over 20 years. No one there could remember anything about Sano.
I'll post the picture later tonight.
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1974 Marlen S-12 1968 Tele 1969 Martin D-35H |
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Dan Tyack
From:
Olympia, WA USA
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Posted 29 Mar 2011 10:23 am
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| I have a Sano with 7919 output tubes. It's a 500C (for compact) and it's a killer, killer clean pedal steel amp. Mine has a 15" and 2X8" speakers. This might be my favorite clean steel amp other than my little Walter. It sounds best with a JBL as an extension speaker. I think I paid $300 for it. It does have a lot of noise, but it will be worth sending it to be gone through (replacing the killer two prong chord in the process). |
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Jay Fagerlie
From:
Lotus, California, USA
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Posted 29 Mar 2011 10:41 am
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Hey Dan,
Does it look like the one I posted pics on, above?
Does it have reverb? Is the reverb tap off of one of the 8" speakers?
I think mine is a 500 also...not too sure....
Jay |
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Dan Tyack
From:
Olympia, WA USA
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Posted 29 Mar 2011 11:09 am
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The amp looks very similar to the one Olie posted, but this amp has the two 8" speakers firing to the side. I believe the reverb doesn't just go to the 8" speakers. It's got a great psychadelic vibrato.
Olie, I'm sending mine to Solderhaus, I'll let you know how it goes. |
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