Aims VTG-120 Personalized Guitar Sound System

This amp was made somewhere between 1970-73. Specs are as follows:

VTG-120 Personalized Guitar Sound System 6x10 combo (yes 6x10!!)

point-to-point hand wired 120 watts RMS

Class A/B , 4 7025(12ax7), 2 12aT7, 2 6550 tubes

4 separate inputs

reverb, tremolo, treble, mid, bass, 2 channel volumes, 1 master volume

Speakers are original Eminence 6 x 10" cab. Came stocked with Mullard preamp tubes and RCA power tubes (probably made by Tung-Sol and relabled)

Can support an external speaker out as well as a preamp in.

I play a number of guitars, but mainly a Fender Stratocaster and a Mohagany set-neck Telecaster with Humbuckers.

This is a very clean amp that can easily support guitar or bass at VERY loud volume levels. The EQ works very well and can go from bright and spanky to dark and punchy and everything inbetween. In terms of tone it's probably most similar to a blackface Fender Bassman but definitely has it's own character.

This is a VERY VERY good sounding amplifier. Quite possibly the best clean tone I have heard out of ANY amp and I've played vintage and boutique amps. By today's standards this amp is easily boutique in sound and quality. This is a vintage amp so there is no "hi gain" channel. However, the clean ranks up there with the best. You have to hear it to believe how good it sounds. The reverb is good and the tremolo is very good.

If you can find one of these amps I highly recommend snatching it up. Not many were made and people who know about them hang onto them.

This amplifier is built like a tank. It's about 130lbs or so as a combo in a 6x10 cabinet. The tube sockets are a little loose, but after nearly 40 years... Let me say this again NEARLY FOURTY YEARS, that's pretty much the only problem. The point to point wiring is clean, the amp was built to last with an attention to detail. You can tell that AIMS were trying to make a statement with these amps. If you wanted a hand wired amp like this with similar features made today...get ready to spend about $3,000 on a boutique amp.

In terms of reliability I'm giving these an 8 because they are so old they are bound to have an issue here or there. That being said, they are built like a tank.

The company went out of business after only a few years of production. It certainly wasn't because the amps weren't good. These amps came with a lifetime warranty against defects, too bad the company no longer exists.

Whether you are a vintage amp collector or a gigging musician looking to jump into the boutique range of quality amplifiers, this is an amp you will love. Like I said earlier, one of the best, fullest clean tones I've ever heard for bass or guitar and it responds very well to effects pedals.

God, they just don't make them like they used to do they?

My name is Doug,
I bought this model Aims Amp new in early 1973.I believe around $650.00
Very crisp,Clean sound for country as well as jazz and old rock and roll.The only effects were reverb,so I had to use peddles.
It has 2 chanels and outlet for external speakers which I used.
I used it from 1973 to 1978 in a road band then stored it in a closet till 1995. I now play the odd gig and use it for recording.

I am using a 1972 Telecaster Delux I bought new with the Aims Amp.
I had to take out the rear humbucking pickup and replace it with a strat singlewound pickup to get the versitility I wanted such as Country,blues,and old rock and roll.
This amp has tremendous punch and sometimes to clear so I turned it towards the wall to get some distortion.In big open gigs we would
mike it but was plenty loud for your averaga club.

The only maintenance this amp has had is the odd tube,one resistor,
and I just put one new 10 in. speaker in it,the other 3 are oridginal.
This amp has never let me down so I never had the heart to sell it
when I was bringing up 4 kids.Probably could of used the money at times but I still have it and use it.LOVE THIS AMP.

This amp had a life time waranty.
To bad they closed down shortly after I bought it.
As someone-else put it, these amps are built like tanks.
If this company was around today I would recomend them on there quality.
Easy to get repaired.

I 've played this amp since 1973.
I love the clear sound even at high volume.
I used to use a 1970 Super-reverb amp.Only other amp I liked.
Marshal amps just aren't clear enough for the music I play however they are the best in my oppinun for heavier rock.

AIMS amps were made by Randall in the mid 1970's. On the front it says "Personalized Guitar Sound System" and on the back the model number is VTG-120... not to be confused with the VTB-120 which is the "Personalized Bass Sound System" which I think might be the same thing as the "Personalized Producer". It's basically the same as an old Fender Bassman head... 2 channels, each having 2 inputs. One channel is best for guitar and the other is best for bass. Each channel has a volume knob and 3 knobs for the eq. There's a "bright" switch on it and a couple other switches (forget what they do). Also has a master volume that affects both channels. On the back are two speaker output jacks and a preamp out jack. So as you can see, it has all the features of an old Fender Bassman... PLUS... it has a reverb, tremolo and a jack for a footswitch! I also think this thing is a bit better laid out than the bassman because the power, ground and stand-by switches are mounted on the front.

SUPERB! I plugged my bass into one of the channels and thought it sounded kinda thin. Then I plugged the bass into the other channel and discovered this thing has balls... even kept up with my Peavey 210TX! Plugged my guitar in and the sound very much reminded me of my Sovtek Mig-60. Great sound and a great EQ. Reverb is not bad and unfortunately my tremolo was broken when I got it, so I can't comment on it. For the price, I'd say the sound is a 10, but in comparison to other equipment I'll say 9 to be fair. You won't be disappointed with this thing. Judging by the way this thing sounds with a bass, I suspect that they first made the "Personalized Producer" and found that they were good for guitar as well as bass... so they decided to do away with the "Producer" and created two amps, keeping the bass version pretty much the same, but on the guitar version added reverb and trem.

Made by Randall which were pretty good back then. This thing is built like a tank and is bigger than most heads.

I've been playing for 12 years and owned a lot of amps including a 1965 Fender Bassman, a Sovtek Mig-60, a smaller Garnet tube amp, and several solid state amps. I've only been playing the bass for about 5 years but really only gotten serious about it in the last 6 months. A great alternative to a Fender Bassman. This is a great bang-for-your-buck amp. Only thing I could ask for is some sort of overdrive on it.