Heath TA-16

This is a late 60's-mid 70's solid state guitar amp. From what I understand it's rated at 60 watts. It has two 12'' Jensen speakers and two channels - reverb/tremolo and normal. No effects loop or headphone jack, but it does have a footswitch jack. Its controls are pretty basic; bass, treble, and volume on both channels, and tremolo and reverb controls on the reverb channel.
I use this amp for practicing, but I could gig with it. Just get a noise filter because it buzzes pretty badly, especially at high volumes.

This amp is great for warm fuzzy vintage sounds, or smooth overdriven tones. Not a metal amp at all. The tremolo is beautiful and can get pretty intense if you crank up the depth and volume. My reverb unit doesn't work, so no input there. The bass resonates wonderfully and usually shakes my house. I personally don't like the distortion it produces when driven hard. To me it sounds like a cheap radio about to explode, but that might just be my amp. I use a vintage les paul knock-off with humbuckers and a coil tap, and it sounds great with humbuckers or single coils alike. The sound is pretty full and warm but the treble can cut through as well.
I play stoner/retro and experimental stuff and I love this amp's sound. There is a bit of a noise issue, but a noise filter can solve this. Also try moving away from the amp a bit to get rid of some noise.

Not sure about the reliability. I wouldn't play it extensively without a back-up, but it is 30+ years old. Just having it serviced regularly should keep it pretty safe. I have noticed alot of heat when played hard for an hour+, but most amps do that. Mine hasn't crapped out yet, and I push it pretty hard.

Heath has given up on the kit business. Good luck finding any support for this one.

If this were stolen I would cry. It's become a part of my personal style and I'm well acquainted with this amp. It would be nice if the reverb worked, but that's my problem. If anyone knows how to repair a reverb unit like this one has, let me know! Great amp.

I built this Ta-16 in the late 60's- early 70's for someone else. Years passed and he died; I was able to get the amp back,clean it up etc. To my knowledge it has never failed to work. On a scale of 1-10 I would say it's a 7 or 8. Has original footswitch,speakers are fine though a little light( I like a squeaky clean sound-80-100W (twin etc)So it breaks up a little too early for me.But it's a gem;looks good too,grill cloth etc is exceptional,all knobs are there and none broken.Tremolo and reverb work fine(wish they could be gotten in other amps). Bmac51@netscape.ca. P.E.I. Canada (902) 961-3044

would not gig with it.

Never repaired.No need.

I've been playing 40 years.Wish amp was cleaner and had better tone, not break up so early(but it's only rated at 25 watts after all)

I think this solid state amp was assembled in the early 70's. It was given to me by my guitar teacher (used.) It has a very nice tremolo effect, very nice reverb, and a cool vintage look. It's got two channels and a jack for a footswitch. It gets plenty loud and it's been used gigging for about 18 years. Now it's retired, but I still use it for practice and recording--very reliable.

Good for country, Jazz, oldies rock--clean sounding stuff, but I used a DOD overdrive pedal with it and could get a very nice sounding distortion for blues, etc. It gets a very harsh distortion at very high volume (as with any solid state amp). I've used it with Les Pauls, Strats, Teles and a Mosrite.

Actually, this is the most dependable amp I've ever owned. It's way more dependable than my VOX and slightly more dependable than my Marshall. I've never done anything to it, but clean it and replace bulbs (the tremolo circuit requires a light bulb to function). It recently needed a good pot cleaning due to setting unused for about 5 years (scratchy.)

Heath is no longer in business, but I did have dealings with them in the mid to late 80's (probably just before they went out of business). I purchased the wiring diagram and owner's manual for this amp. They were easy to deal with and I'm glad I did (just in time.) I would have rated them a 10 in customer support, if they were still around, but as it is, I'll give them a 5. Because it was a kit, the original diagrams and manuals are so good that someone resonably skilled in electronics could repair it.

If I should ever lose this amp, I'd try to replace it. It is a very special amp to me because it was the first "real" amp I ever had. It is of such quality that I didn't feel the need to retire it for many years. It is hard for an amp of this age to compete with some of the newer, full featured amps, but I still consider it a great value.

I got this amp used over 20 years ago. It still sounds great. I love the vintage sound and I'm amazed it still works after all these years. Mine didn't have a foot switch that came with it, so I don't know if that works or not. It would be fun to have one for it.

I've got two Rickenbacker guitars, so what else can I say about the sound that I'm into playing. The tremolo still works great, the reverb needs a few wires sodered back into place. The 4 spring reverb tank low tech at its best.

Never had a problem with it. It has worked everytime I've turned it on.

I do also use a smaller more modern amp to get the "gain" and distortion for a harder sound. But this old girl still does the job.

I got it for a beat up playstation that wasn't worth $10.00 and have had mine for 6 years now. It has 4 input jacks and 2 12inch speakers. Along with a tremelo,depth,and rate controll knobs. Not a bad sound for a solid state and works great with every effect i have stored in my ZOOM 505 II.

It was badly worn and like most of the people who have posted here it need work.2 new speakers all new wires and paint and it was better thanew it sounds fucking fantastic and keeps up with all any other amp it's size give or take depending on the compared modles

i havent done any repairs since i first finished restoring it 5 years ago i use it for all my gigs if this wont fill a room nothing smaller than a half stack will all i had to do was a a ground but it never fails to do it's job

I use it all the time with a fully upgraded squire bullet orignall worth $99.00 now worth $999.00. With my trusty ZOOM 505 II to back it up i will take on the meta world.

Update on the sound here...

I've been a single-coil kind of guy for the most part, playing telecasters, a jazzmaster and my mosrite. I recently found an Epiphone Sheraton at the pawn shop... HOLY MOLY! Crank this baby with some humbuckers and there is some great sound in there.

Granted, I've done a little bit of customizing to this amp. I cut the cabinet down to make it a head that fits on my '65 bassman 2x12 box. I had to renovate the box, covering it with blonde tolex and fitting it with Mojo Tone speakers (I also have a matching baltic birch box fitted with Celestion Vintage 30's). So, now my TA-16 is a blonde head that actually looks really cool on top of the 2x12 box. If I max the volume and treble and set the bass at 7 or 8, I've got some serious tone crunch.

I'm fixing up a 70's telecaster deluxe... can't wait to hear that baby's buckers cranked through this amp!

Other mods? I'm thinking about finding a three spring reverb pan. Any other suggestions?

These amps are all hand built. Like paint by number. Every transister, capasitor etc was soldered by the original purchaser. My dad and I built the TA-16 kit when I was 12 years old in 1967. It's 25W RMS and 60W Peak. 2 channels normal and reverb/tremlo/depth. Depth is cool it varies the reverb and tremlo speed. The original knobs are plastic glossy black centers with chrome parimeter. The power indicator light is green. This was a beuatifull amp in it's day. I loved it.

I had a semi-hollow (ES style) Harmony guitar when the amp was new. In the late 60s the reverb with a slightly crunchy overdriven sound for blues and clean tremlo for surfer styles was exactly what this amp produced.

Over the years it got dusty and lost it's mojo-power. I gave it to a friend in 92 he still uses it in his jam studio. I feel responsible for it's lack of mojo, AFTER-ALL I was a kid with a hot solder gun.

Heath no longer in biz selling Heathkit products. Being a youngster it seemed like an eternity passed from the time between placing the order and it finally arriving. Brand new kit cost $129.00 (catalog price) + shipping, seemed like a lot.

PAWN SHOP RESCUE!!! They wanted $60 and I talked them into $40 because I would have to "put some money into fixing it." A couple bucks worth of weather stripping for the reverb pan and some elbow grease and I had it in great playing shape. The best $40 I've spent in a long time.

Fairly simple twin-type setup. Two channels with the added tremolo and reverb to the main channel (both footswitchable... very nice). Simple... but I love it. Two 12" "special design" speakers - could be Jensens?! They aren't labled. The power output is definitely not 100 watts like some people have posted. I found an old ad that states "25 watts of EIA music power and 60 watts peak power." If I plug my guitar straight in and crank the volume and tone all the way up it gets fairly loud. If I plug my SansAmp GT2 in first, I hardly need to bring the volume up at all! Monstrously loud!!!

Sounds good with a Tubescreamer as well.

I love the tremolo on this amp! I've been having fun doing all sorts of crazy stuff with my Mosrite plugged straight in. The reverb is pretty good... crank it all the way and I can start to get a wet drip going on. It lacks the warmth of tubes, though. Still, I've found that I can dial in a wide variety of tone and distortion by cranking this guy up. The natural overdrive is great!

Another thing that I discovered is that it sounds great with my SansAmp GT2. The sound of the GT2 can be killed by plugging it into an amp that doesn't jive with it. This Heath amp handles it very well.

For a 35 year old amp, is has held up very well. Like I mentioned above, things like the original foam on the reverb pan had deteriorated and it was very dusty. Easy things to take care of.

I've found resources for schematics online just in case I have to do any repair, but so far it has taken everything I've given it. However, I'm not going to be taking it on the road any time soon. It will stay in my office/noiseroom.

I think I'm thirty years late for any customer support.

Very cool amp!!! I like to play all sorts of weird stuff, so it may be great for me and complete crap for somebody else. I've had fun plugging my Line6 Delay Modulator into it and doing crazy stuff with the effects... like doubling up the tremolo to create weird patterns where they peak and cancel each other's signals. Even without added effects I've been able to dial in some great sounds... Johnny Marr's guitar sound from "How Soon Is Now?" and stuff like Echo and the Bunnymen. Fun Fun Fun...

I'm extremely pleased to have discovered it. I would easily pay triple the price for another amp like it. I'm sure the only thing to be wary of if you are looking for one is the condition of the electronics.

I remember the ads for these as a "build-it-yourself" amp from the '60s. 60 watts output advertised. Solid -state chassis. Normal (bass, treble, volume controls) and Reverb channels (bass, treble, volume, reverb depth, tremolo speed and intensity controls) with two inputs each. Lacks bright switches. Line reverse (ground) integrated with on-off toggle switch. Reverb pan missing - looking for replacement. Needs a double-foot switch with a phone-jack plug to operate reverb/tremolo rather than the RCA-type plugs that Fender uses. 2-12" Jensen Special Design speakers

Single-coil Fender (Stratocaster, Mustang, Jazzmaster, Jaguar) Thinline-Tele (Humbuckers), Mosrite (P-90), Silvertone. Sound is very clear, but slightly shrill, lacking the "warmth" of tube circuits. I have found this to be common of many solid-state amps. It's suitable for some of the "oldies" music I do - instrumentals, surf, "car-tunes," etc. For the more mellow doo-wop and folk rock, I prefer my Fender or Silvertone tube amps.

I've never suffered the indignity of an amp breaking down, although there's always an extra back-up or two, just in case. This amp appears to be dependable.

Never dealt with the company. The previous owner sent me copy of the schematic, which I will be happy to send on to anyone else who needs one.

Playing off and off for 37+ years. I have a full complement of Fender tube amps: Bandmaster, Bassman, Dual Showman Reverb, Quad Reverb, Twin Reverb (two tube, one solid state), Tremolux, Vibrolux Reverb, Bassman 100. Also, Silvertone: 1482 (1-12" combo), 1483 (bass w/15" Jensen), two 1484 Twin Twelve (2-12" Jensen). Teisco (Checkmate 45 w/2-12" cab, Checkmate 50 and 55 heads). Peavy Bandit 112. Acoustic 150 and a few other assorted solid state heads.

Similar sound as my Fender solid-state Twin Reverb, but in a horizontal cabinet rather than the Twin's vertical.

I picked this up off e-Bay as they rarely show up anywhere. Though I possess no technical electronics skill, I was always fascinated with the kit concept and felt drawn to this amp ever since I first saw the advertisement back in the 1960s.

I built this solid state amp myself in late 1978, early 1979. It has two channels, one clean and one that has onboard tremelo and reverb. No head phone jack is a negative. Plenty of power for me in a non-professional capacity.

I play rock music through it using my 1965 Fender Mustang. It is a little noisy, but the line reverse switch is useful. I rarely get the volume up high enough to distort it. I use an effects box for that.

The foam strips that support the reverb tank disintegrated and I had to replace them. Not difficult at all. I think the in/out footswitch for the trem and reverb no longer works, but I never used it anyway.

The combination of tremelo and the wet spring reverb sound is great. Would be tough to replace. It is very heavy though. It has two channels but I rarely use the second one.