Penn Instrument Company Amp Restoration

Billy Penn tuned up my '72 Super Reverb. This included restoring the amp to "Blackface" specs, a total cap job and retubing/biasing of the amp. He also suggested and installed a mod that allows me to turn the vibrato circuit off thereby increasing the power and tone of this magnificent amp.

I am using a 62 tele custom reissue, 76 Strat, 96 Les Paul Standard, and a Jerry Jones 12-string electric. This amp is brutally loud! So loud, in fact, that I had to get a THD Hotplate to prevent eviction!
It can be beautiful and clear as a bell or it can distort and sing!
A Twin Reverb's got nothing on this baby!

It is a tube amp after all and since I would have to run it hard with a Hotplate I imagine I could lose a tube. I would probably take a small SS amp as backup to a paying gig or switch to my pedal steel amp (Nashville 400) in a pinch.

Billy Penn is great to deal with. He is a true sound craftsman. He had a lot of great ideas for me to consider in terms of mods for this amp. His restoration included cleaning of the whole amp. The work was done quickly and on budget. I would highly recommend his services and products. He is one hell of a nice guy!

I have been playing guitar for 37 years and this is my 2nd Super. I had the first when I was 13 (a real blackface)but just had to have that Marshall 50 Watt Plexi!(Humble Pie FAN) If somebody stole this I would certainly hope that they threw their back out in the process!

Billy Penn "tuned-up" a 1953 Fender Deluxe for me. The amp has 2 6V6s, 2 6SC7s and a 5Y3 Rectifier. It has two inputs for mic and guitar, each with a volume control, and a tone control. I use this amp to gig in small venues. It had the potential for great tone, but needed a tweaking. Amazing palette of tones with just the three controls. I have the original Jensen, but installed a WeberVST P12R since the old speaker was beat.One of my favorite amps!

The ultimate blues amp. Since I play blues, it sounds great with any guitar I plug into it-no pedals needed. Billy recapped the amp, tweaked it to his standards and it just sings! It will clean up with just a turn of the volume control. This amp has great overdrive when turned up. I'm sure it is the inspiration for many models that followed it over the years.

I own amps that Billy has produced or worked on for me and all of them have been trouble-free over the past few years. I know Billy stands behind his work and will fix anything if it wears out. He serviced this amp for me since it needed a check-up after 50 years of use. I gig with it without any reservations concerning reliability.

Billy Penn is undoubtedly the most helpful and friendly amp doctor I've dealt with in my forty some years of playing. A lifetime warranty cannot be beat! I recommend Billy to all my fellow musicians who are looking for someone they can trust with their equipment and the personal expression (tone) they want from their equipment.

I have been playing over forty years and own Fender, Gibson, Gretsch,Grosh and Epiphone guitars. Also, I own Fender, Gibson, Ampeg, Penn and Supro amps. I love everything about the this amp and how Billy Penn "tuned it up." I am totally satisfied with his service and my dealings with him. I highly recommend him to anyone who wants "the tone" that they have been looking for. Tell him what you want and he will make it so!

I gave Billy Penn a 1951 Supro 1X8 combo amp which had sentimental value to me as well as being a cool amp cosmetically. I had previously had the amp worked on by two different people to attempt to restore it to its greatest potential. In the last attempt at restoration before Billy, the guy had the amp for two years! The Supro never sounded any good until Billy worked on it. One input, one 8" speaker, one 6SL7, 6V6 and 5Y3, volume and tone controls. It's versitility is its simplicity and the singing, responsive output that Billy has bestowed upon it. It is a perfect practice and recording amp now! Excellent for Blues and Blues rock!

Any guitar I plug in sounds good, from a P-90 equipped SG Jr. to Strats, Teles and a Les Paul Special with Humbuckers. Quiet and responsive at all settings on the volume knob. Great bluesy overdrive when full-up without the associated decibels of a larger amp.

Billy Penn has lifetime warranties on his products. He stands by his products in actions and words. He does not want his name associated with low quality or reliablity.

Billy has always been supportive, friendly and reasonable both on the phone and by e-mail. He has given me a resource that motivates me to play and be creative rather than be frustrated from "fighting with" an amp to get decent response and tone from it. His warranty is lifetime.

I've been playing 40 years. I have owned quite a bit of boutique gear in the past that was "long on" marketing and short on response to my playing and the tone I wanted. I have a Victoria Tweed Champ and a blackface Vibrochamp also,and there is no comparison to the tone I get from the Penn restoration of my Supro. Billy has given me the type of tone from my amps that I have been looking for for years by haphazardly buying and selling different amps. Now, my search is over. His products are the ones I use for gigging and practice. Even my wife, a non-musician, notices the great tone of the Supro! That's a first!