Standel C15R I Custom XV

I guessn this was made in the mid to late 60's. It has a "Normal" channel and one for tremelo and reverb. It also has an output for a footswitch. It says 80 watts on the back and I guess it puts out about that much power. The reverb and tremelo are both fantastic-deep and rich, better than the Ampeg Gemini I I used to have. The amp is solid state and has a trmendously clear tone. I play a Rickenbacker 360/12 and a Vox Teardrop Mark XII electric 12 string through it, as well as a standard sitar, a Baglama Saz and a dulcimer. It puts out a lush, beautiful tone whether I put an electric or an acoustic instrument through it. Needless to say, I play Byrds/Jefferson Airplane/Fairport Convention inspired music through it and it is splendid.

Cranked up I get some distortion on the high end, but my instruments tend to be of the droning, jangling and somewhat "weedy" type. The Vox Mark XII sounds the clearest through it. That is my only criticism and as I said, I somewhat expect the amp to do this.

Very dependable. I've gigged with it a number of times and it has never let me down. I blew out the original speaker in practice once and had it replaced. Its got a Jensen in it-15 inch.

Never had to contact them.

I've been playing for 40 years. I'd love to have another and play through both with my direct box. As it is, I play through it and a Vox Lead 50 simultaneously. If lost, I would TRY to replace it if I could.

Manufactured 1968 50 watts Solid State
Two Channels
Channel 1: Volume Treble Bass Contour
Channel 2: Volume Treble Bass Reverb Speed Intensity
Two button footswitch for reverb and tremelo
Speaker: Standel SS15 System Designed Transducer 15" 8 Ohm with 4 lb alnico magnet

This amp is incredibly clean sounding: in fact I could not get it to distort noticeably at all, even when turned up to the max with a humbucker-equipped Gibson plugged in. It would be excellent for country guitar or pedal steel.

I've used it with a '66 Tele set up for country, '66 Jaguar with flatwounds, '82 Strat, new Flying V, Dano 6 string bass, and an ancient Guild hollowbody jazz box with the same result: you only hear the sound of the guitar. This amp is from another era; in a sense has no tone, which is great if you've got a great sounding guitar: the Tele and the Guild sound amazing, for example. Another example: the Flying V pretty much has one sound for chords. It's just a roar from the high output pickups, and well, that's what you hear!

The reverb is very deep and surfy, kind of like an old Ampeg or an outboard Fender or Premier reverb unit. The tremelo is also deep and weird: you can play in rhythm with it, and it can sound like a backwards guitar effect, again kind of like an old Ampeg or Thomas Organ Vox. Very cool.

I've used it for bass and the 15" speaker makes it great for that, though maybe a little under-powered: 50 solid state watts just doesn't seem like 50 tube watts...

Have only used it at a gig a couple times, and had no problems. This is an old amp. I am told that it has orignal Delco germanium transistors in the power amp. I had it serviced: pots cleaned and caps checked and everything works well.

I contacted the revived Standel Co. and they were kind enough to send me an original schematic! I was told that this was one of the earliest transistor amps, from around the same time the Thomas Organ Vox amps came out int he mid '60s. There was a lot of competition in circuit design then, so this amp was built with sealed modules for the preamp, reverb circuit, etc. The tech who clened it up for me has been in business for years and was familiar with them. He said they rarely have any problems, even after allthese years. Standel is making and repairing these modules again, so it would be easy to get another one or send to to them for repair if necessary

This is a good, basci all-around amp.
I've been playing for 30+ years. Own various Fenders, Voxes, old and new. If it were stolen I doubt I'd be able to find another one! It only cost $30 at a garage sale, so it was an incredible bargain. The speaker alone is probably worth about $300.

The amp is very heavy (because of the massive speaker magnet) and has casters mounted on one side, opposite the side with the handle. Not sure if these are original, but they sure make it easier to move around!

It's a cool amp that I use for back-up. Would be interested to see how it records.