Tempo No. 158 Combo

Here's what I was able to find out about this little combo via Vintage Guitar magazine.
http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=150

An excerpt from the above link: "Two solidstate Tempo beginner amps were offered in ?71. These had black tolex covers, front-mounted controls and a rectangular logo with block letters on the grille. The Tempo No. 158 ($65) had an 8? speaker, 10 watts of power, tremolo with speed control, reverb with depth control, three inputs, volume, tone and a black grillcloth surrounded by white beading."

With this info I would guess that I have the No. 158 as it has the features described. The grillcloth is black and silver (not white) very shimmery kind of like a disco ball or fish scales. Reminds me of an early 70's Fender Bassman combo (those little ones) as it's taller than it is wide and has the chrome faceplate.

The tremolo is switched on by turning/clicking the knob from it's "off" position clockwise. The speed starts off fast and moves to slower and almost non-existent the further you dial clockwise. The tremolo is very strong but I wish it had an intensity knob to dial in the right amount. Also, there is no footswitch jack for the tremolo, so you either have it or you don't. I usually like to employ the tremolo as an effect but rarely during a whole song.

The reverb knob is also, strangely, the power knob which works the same as the tremelo in that you click from it's "off" position clockwise (the power light illuminates); although the further you dial clockwise, the reverb becomes more intense...very splashy, echoey, hi-pitched. Some very cool effects can be had by using the tremelo together with the reverb.

The tone is set by adjusting the knob clockwise from bass to treble. Pretty simple and effective.

The volume is not that impressive, I thought this amp would have a little more kick to it, but with a Strat it didn't quite have the growl and bark I was hoping for. It doesn't break up when giving it all she's got. I haven't used the BOSS distortion on it yet, but I'm sure that would give some beef to this one. The speaker is an 8" japanese alnico 10 watter.

Let's see 3 inputs...I did play a Casio sk-1 through this and surprisingly the amp seemed a whole lot louder than with the Strat. I guess you could play with a mike, guitar and casio or other rhythm machine, I just wouldn't expect too much.

Let's see, the Strat (single coils)...pretty surfy given the reverb and style of a Strat.
I have a Dearmond Starfire with Humbuckers that I haven't played through this yet. Maybe the amp would get more action with this. Also have an Epiphone hollow-body with p90s that might sound pretty cool through the TEMPO...haven't tried that yet either.
Musical styles range from atmospheric to noise and everywhwere in between...shoegazer, indie-rock, ballady. I'm definitely more of a rhythm player than a lead player.
This amp did not distort naturally with the Strat...would need some coaxing from a distortion pedal. The tremolo and reverb can be tweaked in many various ways to produce surf-type rock to space echoey freakiness. The reverb is strong and harsh...not lush and smooth.

Just got it...it's definitely a fun little basement/living room amp...it's got the style and looks for the stage, but not enough power I'm afraid unless you can get the soundman to baby it and push it in the mix...good luck!
I'd think about using it live though for some lo-fi backup.
It seems dependable. I definitely got a prisitne model...don't see any problems occurring any time soon.

No...no....and no.

I've been playing and acquiring instruments for about 17 years now. Started on bass and then got a guitar and now I have quite a few of each including a Kay upright bass, Sigma acoustic electric bass, Fender Jazz, The Strat, Epiphone Casino(?), Dearmond Starfire Special, Stella 12 string, Framus parlor nylon string...ukes and keys.
If this amp were lost or stolen I would be upset but only because I haven't had that kind of misfortune. I heard once that every instrument has a song in it and that's kind of the philosophy I use when adopting a new guitar/amp/instrument. Everything is unique and has it's own quality/sound.
I'd say if you see one of these to try it out and see what you think. I wouldn't use this as my one and only rig because of it's output, but there are definite applications and uses for this little rocker (think "home recording")! I was drawn to this amp because of it's size, style and features. I mean for 45 bucks you can barely get a decent tremelo pedal for that, but this amp has it along with reverb...oh yeah and a speaker too in a classy chassis!