Airline 62-9022A Combo

Distributed by Montgomery Ward in the 1960s, this black & cream Tolex covered combo has a 6V6GT power tube, 12AX7 pre-amp tube & a 5Y3GT rectifier, one volume & one tone control. The original speaker is a 8" Jensen Special Design, which sounds great --clean at moderate volume & breaks up nicely at high volume, but I mostly use the amp as a head. I installed a switch that lets me easily switch between the Jensen and cab I built with a 12" and 8". The amp puts our 18 watts and can easily drive this & larger cabs. The amp is very responsive to tube changes: the original RCA 6V6, for example, is much cleaner than the JJ Tesla I usually run; different pre-amp tubes also produce different sounds.

As this amp probably was in the '60s, I would rate this "7"; as it's set up now: "9". It's a perfect recording amp & with the right cabinet it's loud enough for small venues.

I primarily use this with a Les Paul or a Telecaster. It works well with both types of pickups and is happy with pedals in the signal path. I play blues, rock & jazz and the Airline gives me most of the sounds I want. I need a pedal or another amp if I want heavy distortion or a lot of reverb, but 50% of the time I play I'm plugged in here. The amp is responsive and not at all noisy.

The schematic for the Airline looks very much like a 1957 Gibson GA5 Skylark --most older amps are based on designs from the RCA amp design manual, so this is not too unusual-- still, the sound of this amp is more Gibson than Fender.

The amp is VERY dependable & has never broken down. It has bounced around in the trunk of a car a lot, but it now it's mostly used in my studio. It's 40+ years old & deserves some good treatment. I don't think I would gig with it without a backup.

No one's been home at that number for a LONG time.

I have been playing on & off for close to 25 years. If this amp were lost or stolen I would try to replace it, but from what I have seen of new, small amps, replacing the Airline would be an expensive proposition.