Silvertone 1391 Combo

Volume & Tone knobs, On/Off switch. That's it. What else do you want from a 50 year old practice amp. I gave it extra marks for having a tone knob :)

It's clean clean clean most of the way up but gets a very slight OD when cranked. It's a really quiet amp, but I think that's a good thing for a practice amp. I've used this to record alot over the years because it's just a good solid round tube tone and it takes pedals really well. It can be a little dark, but I've used single coils pretty much exclusively for a long time, so it works perfect for me.

Eventually, I shredded the poor stock speaker and have gotten a Weber alnico for it. I've heard about putting in a 12AX7 for the preamp tube to increase gain, but haven't ever gotten around to it. I've got other amps for that. It actually has the original preamp & rectifier tubes in it if you can believe it. When I swap them out for new ones, it doesn't sound as good, so I just keep them in. Go figure.

This amp is like a cockroach. 51 years old, and I just put in new electrolytic caps the other day. I got the new speaker last year. I built it into a new pine cab last year too, but the old pressboard one was still holding together just fine. I got this about 15 years ago for $40 at a pawn shop in Norman, OK to play in my efficiency apt while at school. It's probably been one of the most useful, utilitarian, rock solid gear purchases I've ever made. It's been used on countless recordings and hours upon hours of idle playing, practicing, drum machines running through it etc. It.. will.. not.. die..... If only I could give this thing an 11 for reliability.

It's been a great companion at many small apartments over the years. I've gone through countless pieces of gear. This & my '64 Gibson ES-330 have been the only 2 decent pieces of gear to make it this far without getting sold or traded away. Coming from a total gear head / snob, that's saying something.

Made in 1950s' Features? Volume and TONE, Thats it and enuff said. 6V6, 6AX5, preamp tube has been changed to 12AX7. The original was a weaker preamp Tube, I forget the #. My amp tech changed it along with the caps and fiddled the voltages for the higher output preamp. Why did I alter it from original? Because it had almost NO output when I got it. Now it sounds great for Harp. He also added a 1/4" speaker output jack for running different cab. Ran it through my EVM 12, It was much LOUDER. I tried changing the internal speaker to a 8" fender, but it sounded too harsh so I went back to the vintage 8". Thought about building a solid pine cab with room for a 10" or 12" since the cheap pressed paper cab is very weak and will only get beat up with use. I have only seen one other 1391 on E-Bay.

Good to great studio or stage miked harp amp. Sounds much like a Champ but Darker and Mellower. Real nice HARP HONK. Very gritty cool overdriven tube sound with guitar, but only for recording or bedroom practice.

Well it's amazing it's lasted this long. I guess the simple design makes it easy to repair. The cheap pressed paper cab is the biggest drawback (don't lean on it). The fake paper tweed is really crappy. It peels and is impossible to clean. It don't look pretty but sure sounds cool.

Never dealt with Sears for old tube amp repair. The guy behind the counter would probably scratch his head and look twice at you, (thinking is this guy for real?)

Been playin blues for over twenty years. My other amps are mostly bigger and better made than the 1391. They currently are: Fender 65 Bandmaster; 1981 Fender Princeton II (I actually paid less for this than the 1391); 1960's Silvertone 1483 head; early 70's Bogen 35 Tube PA(two Mic inputs-GREAT for Harp); 2000 Spirit Studio Pro(AWESOME for Harp). I Bought the 1391 on E-bay on a whim, thinking it was a larger model. After the repair bill I have way more in it than I wanted. If it were stolen I would not try to replace it and would have something else to whine about. So what.