Harmony H430 210 Combo

Made in the early to mid 60's by Valco - my guess is around 1963. I purchased my H430 off of eBay about 2 months ago but only just recently got it working properly. It came with the original dust cover and looks like it just came off the showroom floor - but the original Jensen C10R's were blown (of course they didn't say that in the auction). Had my friend replace the caps - I replaced the blown Jensen's with some vintage 10" alnico Rola speakers that I had laying around - and now she sings like a bird!

Though I haven't spent a lot of time playing through the 430 yet - I wanted to write a review to clarify something. The previous (and only review thus far) of this amp states that it is an EL84 powered amp. It's not. The H430 is powered by 6973's. It has three of them. One powers the reverb. It also has 5 6EU7s and one big 5Y3 rectifier tube. I believe the amp the previous reviewer was referring to is the EL84 powered H415. It looks almost identical to the H430 from the front. If you look at the back of the H430 though you will see that it has a dual chassis and two 10" speakers instead of the twin 12's of the H415.

The H430 has two channels with two inputs each - marked "bass" and "treble". Channel two has reverb and tremolo - both can be controlled by foot switch. It also has one of my favorite amp features - a stand by switch! I'm not sure how many watts this amp is but it's got some volume. The H415's are about 18 watts and this is louder. I think it's safe to say its in the 20 to 25 rage. Certainly loud enough to rock a small club.

My main guitar is a Silvertone H78 with 3 goldfoil DeArmond pickups. These are very hot pups that put forth a wealth of tone. My musical style is a mix of Beatles, Cheap Trick and Crowded House. The H430 has a sound somewhere between a Vox and an Ampeg. The cleans are very warm and pleasant - push it up about half way and you get beautiful, chimey overdrive - which increases as you push the volume upward. For those of you familiar with the sound of 6973 amps - this has that sound but with more breakup then the typical 6973 amp (the Supro Dualtone excluded - that sucker is otherworldly!). I've heard many complain about the lack of overdrive in some 6973 amps but the H430 certainly wouldn't disappoint. I will give you a tip though - you have to be a tube snob, spend the extra cash, and buy some NOS, or good used, RCA's or other good vintage 6973s. The reissues just don't cut it. I have four 6973 amps and I've tried each one with reissues and NOS - there is a world of difference in each amp

I've never heard this amp with the original Jensen c10r's - I'm sure the alnico Rola's are darkening the tone somewhat - but it's certainly not muddy. I would be interested in hearing it with some ceramic Jensens to see if it adds the high end sparkle that I get with my H415.

The reverb is totally decent - though not as good as the Harmony H440 (my review of that model is coming soon). The trem is very nice - not choppy like a dualtone - but a nice range of useable intensity...as well as a wide speed range.

Almost forgot to mention - channel A and B effect each other without being chained together with a cable. That is to say, you can be plugged into channel A, have it at 10, and dial in some additional overdrive from channel two, even though they are not connected together with a cable. Very cool!

I have heard quite a few 6973 powered amps. As I mentioned before I have 3 others myself. With the acception of the Supro DualTone (which, lets face folks, is a force of frickin nature!) the H430 is probably my favorite. The cleans are warm, buttery, and loaded with personality. The overdrive is smooth and punchy. I've also tried using my Nu-Fuzz (Mosrite Fuzzrite) and Univox SuperFuzz with the 430 and it seems to love pedals.

So far so good. It landed at my door needing some work - though it looks like a brand spaking new amp cosmetically. Valco built it like a tank to last a lifetime. I haven't used it to gig with yet but will be soon. I have two H415's that I have gigged with quite extensively and they have never let me down. Like I said - built like a tank!

Since I don't buy new amps I'm becoming my own customer support center. Find the schematic somewhere on line and do it yourself. Buy a soldering iron and learn to do a cap job. It's easy, it's fun, and it will save you a ton of dough.

I give myself a lifetime warranty on all my work :)

I've been playing four about 25 years. I have about 20 amps - univox, vox, harmony, silvertone, fender, magntone, supro. I love the cosmetics and rich tone of the 430. The wiring is very clean and easy to access for repairs. my only complaint is that I had a bit of a hard time chaning out the speakers - because of the dual chassis it takes a bit of work to get the speakers in and out - but that's a very minor complaint.

Two channels... bass and treble inputs on each. One channel has tremelo (depth and speed) and spring reverb, both foot switchable. 2x10" combo amp... awesome 10" jenson gold back speakers... Dated 63/64. power tubes are EL 84s - excellent overdrive.

Noisy.... probably needs new caps and some microphonic tubes replaced... but will probably change the mojo too so I'll leave it for a while. Tremelo and reverb are "vibey" if not the best I've ever heard. Overdrive and clean sounds are excellent. Dark sounding, best with tele bridge pickup... then it sounds unbeleivable.

Um... still working today, though it seems to need a good tune up but seems sturdy enough. Its been going 40 years already...

A great tube amp for small clubs and recording. Sounds as good as or better than many fenders three times the price. Instant vibe... instant classic rock sound. Tremelo and reverb good and useable. No info on it on the net... must have been made by Valco??