Standel Super Imperial XV Combo

I don't know why this is listed as a bass amp, because it was not sold as one. I first used a Standel Super Imperial XV at a rock benefit show I did at Cobo Hall in Detroit back in Oct 1966. They had a stage full of them for our use. It was a monster. My Super Imperial amp was made probably in 1966 or 67 and I bought it used in maybe 1968. I know the original owner who used it for guitar, and the second owner, who bought it thru me, and used it for bass. Then I bought it from him and used it for keyboards and guitar. Mine came as original with J.B. Lansing D130F speakers. I still have it and it still works fine. It has nice reverb and tremolo. Nice basic solid state amp with huge clean power.

With 2 JBL 15s, the amp is capable of enormous sound levels. It's characteristic sound I guess is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN and solid. I can't imagine turning it up loud enough to distort! I say again, this was not sold as a bass amp. If it was, the speakers would be JBL D140F.

I thought I had a problem with it way back in '68, but brought it in to be checked and they found nothing wrong. Perhaps a connection problem which never came back after they took it apart and put it back together? It's 40 years since it was made and it still works. Although to be honest, I don't use it much because of it's size and power.

When I had it looked at, it was out of warranty. Never dealt with Standel. Although, as an electronics tech, I understand the potted modules they used in these (and some other models) became a real problem to fix when replacement modules ceased to exist.

Started piano at 8. Learned guitar at around 14. My first amp was from a short-lived company called "Sound Amplifiers". If you ever saw one, you'd remember it, with it's distinctive gray tolex, blue pilot light and silver grille. It was a tube amp with a 15" Jensen. I still have it, but it doesn't work. Probably needs a few tubes. Then I got the Standel Super Imperial XV. Then I stopped playing for a number of years. And my last amp, which I have used for about 15 years of weekly gigging, is a Peavey KB300 Keyboard amp. Very reliable. The Standel Super Imperial is just too big.

Purchased about 1967, sold about 1974. 2 15" speakers, two channels, rated at 100 watts. My model came with casters.

I used it with a Farfisa Combo Compact organ, with the manual bass running to channel 1 and the regular organ output running to channel 2. At the time, I was in a band that played a lot of music by the Doors, and the amplifier gave a comparable sound to the Acoustic amp used by Manzarek of the Doors.

Playing at frat-house party volume (which was not all that loud back then), and playing the bass lines through the same amp, the treble of the organ generated considerable distortion.

A friend of mine who bought the same model at the same time used it for bass, and he had no problems with it.

The amp gave me problems the first month or so that I owned it. The dealer performed repairs while it was under warranty, and I had no problems with it after that.

I never dealt with the company; the dealer performed the warranty work (see above). I did not like the dealer--I gave them the amp with a brand new vinyl cover, and they beat and tore the cover to pieces, returning it to me without an apology. I was a teenager then, and didn't know how to stand up for myself--but I'm pleased to say that I and my friends stopped patronizing that store, and they went out of business a year or two later.

I bought this amp for use with a Farfisa organ, just a few months before Leslie came out with the Combo Pre-amp which allowed connection of a combo organ to a Leslie 147/145 speaker. Since I was in school at the time, it took many years before I finally sold the Standel and bought a Leslie (and finally sold the Farfisa for a Hammond). Some of my dislike of the Standel was doubtlessly caused by the fact that I really had the wrong amplifier for what I wanted.

Year unkown, bought used in 1972, It was made to compete with the dual showman or so I was told.
2-15" Freecone Trusonic speakers.
Worked darned good.

Mainly used witha 72 fretless P Bass. I subbed alot in bands, this one was used in "horn" band.

never broke

NA

Great amp, I loved the sounds, our sound man didn't l;ike it when I cranked up the bass or volume.
I have no space or need for one, yet I look for one every day