News
Kay 704 Vanguard Reviewed
As a follow-up to a previous post, we just posted a new review for a 1965 Kay Vanguard 704 amplifier. Check it out here! Kay 704 Vanguard with Vibrato
Amps
Kay Vanguard 704 with Vibrato
“A Briefcase Full of Blues” – The World’s First All Solid-State Guitar Amp Quick Info Summary: 1965 5-watt solid-state combo amp with built-in vibrato effect; 8-inch Alnico speaker; seven Germanium transistors and five Germanium diodes. Point-to-point hand soldered. Perfect little amp for practice or recording. Pros: Vintage 60′s tone. Extremely compact Read more…
Amps
Kalamazoo Model 1 Solid State Guitar Amp
A great little solid-state analog-powered practice amp for electric guitars. Around 5 to 10 watts of power into a vintage 10″ American speaker voiced with Alnico magnet.
Amps
Video: Kalamazoo Model 1 Combo
New video posted… 1971 Kalamazoo Model 1. Not a bad sounding 5-watt practice amp with a nice 10″ Alnico speaker. This is as simple as pure analog can sound back in the 70′s.
Amps
Univox UB-250 Bass Amp Video
The UB-250 is a late 60′s solid-state piggy-back (aka mini-stack) bass amp built by Univox in Westbury, New York. These were continuously made through the mid-1970′s, but this is the original design and build from 1969. Although it’s not the loudest of bass amps, it is a vintage cool analog Read more…
Amps
1960′s Vintage Ads for Kay Electric Guitars & Amps
Kay Musical Instruments of Chicago was the first company in 1962 to manufacture guitar amps that were 100% solid-state electronics. Here are some vintage advertisements from that time period. The first ad, Transistorized Amplifiers, I found as a JPEG somewhere on the Internet years ago. Unfortunately I can’t remember where Read more…
Amps
Kay 704 Photos Posted
Finally had a chance to upload some photos of the 1965 Kay 704 Vanguard amp we acquired last month! The photos are posted here: Gallery Photos – Kay 704.
Amps
Photo Gallery: Kay 704 Vanguard Vibrato
Introduced in 1962, the Kay 700 Series of guitar amps were the world’s first mass-produced amplifiers with all solid-state electronics, using early technology Germanium transistors and diodes to replace traditional vacuum tubes.
Amps
A Briefcase Full of Blues
1965 Kay 704 Vanguard Vibrato Find the full review here: Kay 704 Review The Kay 704 Vanguard with Vibrato was the world’s first all transistor solid-state guitar amp, introduced by Kay Musical Instruments in 1962. Based on traditional tube amp design of that period, the vacuum tubes were replaced in Read more…
Amps
First Solid-State Guitar Amplifier
Lucky me! I was looking for a vintage solid-state combo amp to use at practice, and to give my trusty tube Silvertones a rest. Just scored this one off ebay today for cheap! The very first solid-state guitar amp was introduced by Kay Musical Instruments in 1962. Can’t wait for Read more…