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I’ll take your Fuzz Face and raise you 150 Watts!!!
Yep, it’s from the folks at CBS-Arbiter (previously Arbiter, then Dallas-Arbiter), and we are assuming it’s an early 70’s model from the ‘louder is better’ era, possibly after Dave Reeves left to start Hiwatt.
The design of the amp is pretty unusual for the time. It uses 6 EL34s to produce an awe-inspiring 150 watts of power, but the only 12AX7 is for the phase inverter. The preamp is a solid state FET preamp with active tone controls which were also a feature of the Sound City MK IV amps.
What’s cool about this amp is that it has a 4-band EQ with useful ‘low middle’ and ‘high middle’ controls.
The transformers are typically massive for the time, but the lack of 12AX7 preamp tubes means the overall size of the head is nice and compact for it’s output. You could almost say it was an early ‘lunch-box’ head.
Is it too loud for your bedroom? We think not…
Rebuild
The usual service, clean and recap, replacing the filter and other electrolytics with top-notch F&T/TAD/Vishay capacitors.
The power supply, leads, fuses and wiring has been checked, replaced where needed and generally made safe.
Output selector added so you can choose between running 2 x EL34s, 4 x EL34s or the full 6 x EL34s. A built in reactive speaker-load means that you don’t have to change the speaker impedence when changing the output.
Power amp/pre-phase inverter input so you can run your modelling pedals/rig straight into the valve power section.
Revoice
We’ve added some extra preamps using our own 12AX7 emulating transistor circuit, effectivily creating an analog, solid state, modeling amp. At the flick of a switch you can run your guitar through a Marshall, Fender or Orange OR120.