Vintage Radio Guitar Amp

MusickMan

New Member
Oct 13, 2016
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Hey,

So I was in Oz recently and found a really cool guitar shop where the owner was a bit of a gadget man. He was a guitar tech with more than a passing interest in electronics and a love for vintage valve technology. One of the many cool things about his shop was that he had repurposed old vintage valve radios and converted them into guitar amplifiers.

hqdefault.jpg

They looked incredible and sounded absolutely amazing. I’m into playing dirty, old blues so they are a perfect look and sound for the sort of music I play. It would be a really unusual amp for my shows, but very fitting. The only downside was that they are surprisingly weighty for their size so I couldn’t afford the shipping back to the UK.

Back in the UK, I figured I might as well try and make one myself. I’ve been looking online for old vintage radios for sale and found some great ones that could be repurposed into guitar amps - http://www.for-sale.co.uk/vintage-tube-radio. Has anyone attempted anything like this before? The guy in the shop told me that the old radios had volume limiters on them that he had to remove. Any other hints or tips to make it an easier process would be gratefully received.
 
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NorthStar

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Feb 8, 2011
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Vancouver Island, B.C. Canada
That's a nice project; it's worth searching for.

I can see an old floor model radio converted into a guitar amp. :cool:



? ? https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-...5-tube-radios-converted-into-guitar-amps.html
? ? http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-Any-Radio-Into-a-Guitar-Amp/

 

MusickMan

New Member
Oct 13, 2016
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0
Nice! Great links man, thanks.

One of the sweet things about the amps I played was that the radio still worked so you could switch between amp and FM radio. Very cool. Looks to be pretty straightforward too from the links you posted.
 
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palealien

New Member
Oct 17, 2019
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Hey,

So I was in Oz recently and found a really cool guitar shop where the owner was a bit of a gadget man. He was a guitar tech with more than a passing interest in electronics and a love for vintage valve technology. One of the many cool things about his shop was that he had repurposed old vintage valve radios and converted them into guitar amplifiers.

View attachment 29467

They looked incredible and sounded absolutely amazing. I’m into playing dirty, old blues so they are a perfect look and sound for the sort of music I play. It would be a really unusual amp for my shows, but very fitting. The only downside was that they are surprisingly weighty for their size so I couldn’t afford the shipping back to the UK.

Back in the UK, I figured I might as well try and make one myself. I’ve been looking online for old vintage radios for sale and found some great ones that could be repurposed into guitar amps - http://www.for-sale.co.uk/vintage-tube-radio. Has anyone attempted anything like this before? The guy in the shop told me that the old radios had volume limiters on them that he had to remove. Any other hints or tips to make it an easier process would be gratefully received.

hey musick man

just stumbled across this thread - these radio amps look great!

where abouts in oz was the guitar store? i'm in australia and would love to check it out!

how'd you go with your radio > amp conversion?

cheers
 

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