Product: Magnatone Custom 280
Price Paid: US $40 bucks broke, after fixed $120 used
Submitted
01/15/1999
at
01:32am
by
Brian Jackson
Email: gibsonmn67 at aol<dot>com
Features
:
9
It was made in the 50's. It sounds great for blues & any kind of rhythm. I play rock but this amp was not designed for that. I used to put a Boss ds-1 on it but now I just use it with a Boss ce-2 chorus pedal or clean. Great Stereo Vibrato built in(this is the original don't be fooled otherwise), with speed & level control also has footswitch jack. I have the manual & it says there was a pedal that went in the 1A input jack which controlled the speed of the Vibrato. Has 2 channels with 2 inputs per & bass, treble, & vol knobs. Has 2 external speaker jacks to plug in 1 12" single matching boxes. This amp is one of a kind,it was my first amp so I took it everywhere but now I try not to move it as much. It has LOTS of power, but it has some of the original tubes in it so I've noticed its not as loud as it used to be.
Sound Quality
:
10
I use a Les Paul & that sounds pretty good, I have also used acoustic guitars with built-in preamps those sound GREAT! It got noisy a few times with either a bad cable or low 9volt on pedal but thats it. It has a very cool Vibrato effect. I've not really turned it past the 1 o clock (about 6) & got no distortion but the tubes are old now, & I get a little.
Reliability
:
10
The thing is 50 some odd years old, I'm the third owner & I'm shocked how everything still works. It needs a few new parts like tubes & caps. But I used it at a gig not to long ago & did not bring a backup. It has not broke down since I've had it.
Customer Support
:
8
Magna electronics is long gone. But when I first got it I had it repaired through local guitar shop. I think this site http://www.vibroworld.com/ has taken over with Magnatone stuff. these guys know there stuff. They have access to all the tubes & parts.
Overall Rating
:
9
I've been playing 2+ years or even 3 now. I have a Kustom KLA10 amp(lots of punch for its size), Am buying a VERY cool Crate G600 4 12" halfstack. Have a neat Nu-Fuzz wah/fuzz pedal,original crybaby,DOD DFX9 delay & a fx 75c stereo flanger,Boss CE-2 Chorus & GE-7 EQ. I would buy it again if I found someone with one. I would love to find the other original external speaker cabs. It was the first amp I came across, but now that I know more I would still get it (you can't beat 40 bucks!) I love the WARM tube sound, but as with ANY tube amp it needs a lot of babying (such as letting it cool before transporting) which is hard but worth it.
