Dobro Tube Amplifier (1935)
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Item # 9872
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Dobro Tube Amplifier (1935), made in Chicago, black textured fabric finish.
The early amplifiers from the recently merged National/Dobro company were some of the first competitors marketed following Rickenbacker's successful commercialization of the electric steel guitar in 1933. They are typical of their era; small, solidly made but fairly plain, distinguished mostly by the use of the company's familiar stamped resonator coverplate as a speaker cover!
Mid-1930s Dobro and National amps are very similar in design, differentiated mainly by different cover plates over the speakers -- this one is the Dobro version. Despite being close to 90 years old this is still a functional amp, a lovely survivor from the earliest days of electric music. It features two input jacks and a single volume/on/off control. The two highly coveted 2A3 power tubes put out around 15-20 watts into an early Lansing field coil speaker. This is a very neatly made amp and a high-quality unit for its day, back when just the existence of such a thing was a novelty!
Height is 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm.), 15 in. (38.1 cm.) width, and 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm.) deep.
The amp is cosmetically in very fine shape. The rather frail outer cabinet covering is intact and cleaner than most of these we've seen. There's moderate corrosion on the metal corners, but the speaker coverplate is nice and shiny. Even the original leather and paper-covered handle is still present, albeit somewhat worn away at the ends with a slightly funky bolt retaining it at one side.
Electrically, the amp is nicely original. The speaker is the original Lansing field coil, which has been professionally reconed and functions and sounds wonderful. Due to the additional space needed for the thicker gasket, the speaker protrudes a little further back, which in turn meant the chassis had to be shifted about a quarter-inch towards the rear. The amp is otherwise unaltered but has received our typical maintenance and servicing, including replacement of all electrolytic capacitors, a new grounded detachable IEC 3-prong power cord, all sockets pots and jacks cleaned and power section biased to spec.
This is quite a good-sounding amp for its day, not quite as loud as the early Gibson ES-150, but with more headroom than many other period amps. A wonderful period piece and a nice example of one of the world's first commercially available guitar amplifiers. Overall Excellent Condition.
The early amplifiers from the recently merged National/Dobro company were some of the first competitors marketed following Rickenbacker's successful commercialization of the electric steel guitar in 1933. They are typical of their era; small, solidly made but fairly plain, distinguished mostly by the use of the company's familiar stamped resonator coverplate as a speaker cover!
Mid-1930s Dobro and National amps are very similar in design, differentiated mainly by different cover plates over the speakers -- this one is the Dobro version. Despite being close to 90 years old this is still a functional amp, a lovely survivor from the earliest days of electric music. It features two input jacks and a single volume/on/off control. The two highly coveted 2A3 power tubes put out around 15-20 watts into an early Lansing field coil speaker. This is a very neatly made amp and a high-quality unit for its day, back when just the existence of such a thing was a novelty!
Height is 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm.), 15 in. (38.1 cm.) width, and 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm.) deep.
The amp is cosmetically in very fine shape. The rather frail outer cabinet covering is intact and cleaner than most of these we've seen. There's moderate corrosion on the metal corners, but the speaker coverplate is nice and shiny. Even the original leather and paper-covered handle is still present, albeit somewhat worn away at the ends with a slightly funky bolt retaining it at one side.
Electrically, the amp is nicely original. The speaker is the original Lansing field coil, which has been professionally reconed and functions and sounds wonderful. Due to the additional space needed for the thicker gasket, the speaker protrudes a little further back, which in turn meant the chassis had to be shifted about a quarter-inch towards the rear. The amp is otherwise unaltered but has received our typical maintenance and servicing, including replacement of all electrolytic capacitors, a new grounded detachable IEC 3-prong power cord, all sockets pots and jacks cleaned and power section biased to spec.
This is quite a good-sounding amp for its day, not quite as loud as the early Gibson ES-150, but with more headroom than many other period amps. A wonderful period piece and a nice example of one of the world's first commercially available guitar amplifiers. Overall Excellent Condition.