Some Valco Goodness

The older I get the more I love this stuff. I ran across the amp a few weeks back and just figured it would make the perfect mate for my Valco-made lap steel with its strings through pickup (the same pup Ry Cooder slapped in his Coodercaster).

That's a beautiful little amp head. The Valco looks great too, love the herringbone binding/purfling on it.

What can you tell us about the amp? How does it sound?

The amp was made in 1968 the year Valco went belly up, a victim of the cheaper Made in Japan gear flooding the country. Pretty much all Valco-made amps sound similar in the sense that old Fenders, Marshalls and Magnatones have an identifiable sound. It is clean and warm and the overdrive is incredible - alot of midrange growl. The Trem/Reverb, while not as good as you found in a Magnatone, will hold its own with a Blackface Fender.

The bizarre thing about Valco amps is that the Supro-badged gear, despite having the same exact circuits as those in the amps with Airline or Gretsch logos will still sell for more money due to their being associated with Hendrix and Jimmy Page.

The lap steel is a 1950s Valco-made Oahu Tonemaster. Solid mahogany with the rope binding. The pickup is amazing and may be the nastiest single coil pup I have ever heard.

Sounds like you got a good deal on it.

I have a lap steel which I have neglected since I bought it, I'll have to get it out and see if I can learn it over again. They're such great instruments, I love the sounds you can get out of them, and I really want to play Hawaiian style music, that would be a hoot.