Vase Trendsetter

Very basic fender bassman type layout - 2 channels, bright and normal. Separate controls for each channel with volume and high/low tone and tremolo speed and intensity. No master volume. This amp was made in the late 60s. Not a 'bells and whistles' amp.

This is a 'TONE' amp. Loud for 40 watts and very able to gig with.

I played this dusty, funny looking old amp sitting, hidden in the corner of a music shop more or less out of curiosity. I was in the market for a new tube amp and had played many different brands so It had competition.
I thought I was dreaming when I heard the fantastic sound this amp produced. It really was a surprise. I owned a Hiwatt custom 100 at the time and in clean mode it layed out the enormous crisp, rich tone identical to the hiwatt. More British sounding IMO - than fender sounding, given that it has indentical tubes (6L6) and layout to a fender.
With the volume at 12 o'clock and beyond, well..."I'll buy this thanks mate, forget all the other crap...I've found my amp"
The overdrive this amp produced was smooth, articulate, musical and gutsy. It had it's own character too.
I use an overdrive and a metal zone to get distortion as I'm in a metal band, not many effects, just delay and chorus, which all work well with this amp in all situations.
Speakers used are celestion 75s and vintage 30s. Guitars are Les paul
and a strat with active humbucker.
Amp isn't noisy either.
Excellent

Not a problem yet. Vase had a reputation of being very reliable, solid amps. Being a hiwatt owner, I'm quite particular about quality inside and out.
Construction is point to point and very sturdy. Components seem to be of good quality. It is old though, so I expect to correct things as it ages such as tubes and caps. Given the quality of construction I'm not too worried about it, It's reliable.

Be great if Vase went into production again

Played for more than twenty years. I'd buy this amp again if I could find one.
I've owned many amps over the years, mesa, marshall, vox a couple of hiwatts, laney and some transistor stuff. The thing I like about this amp are the British type clean sounds and the beautiful overdrive.
Most styles of music could be played on this. A preamp/distortion is necessary for heavy stuff, however I can get AC/DC, Maiden, Dio and Sabbath, even some Priest straight out of the amp. Mind you it's loud when cranked - not that that's a problem ;)
Another plus is that it's not too heavy to lug around. An eq stompbox gives it a bit more tonal flexability too.
Great little machine

Ah yes, so the word is definately out. It's true, VASE is on the comeback trail, and we have begun prototype manufacture of some products with expectations of being into full production by mid 2006.
The basic plan is to re-manufacture a selection of the original VASE tube-amp products as closely as possible to original, taking into account the availabilty of original components of course. The amps and cabinets will be hand-made right here in Brisbane, as they should be. There are plans to release a range of modern high power bass cabinets and amplification under the VASE banner as well, again to be all made in Brisbane. We have already begun this with our BASSMAN 88, an 8 x 8" 1600w bass cab that's been doing the rounds as a prototype, with very favourable results. We also plan to offer support for owners of the original VASE product, although it's said that most of the originals are still working today, a testiment to these great Aussie amps.
The website will kickoff in the next few weeks and will very much be a historic resource with submissions from the community of past and present VASE owners, so we'll be chasing photos and stories for this. The family of original VASE man Tony Troughton has kindly lent us a collection of photos and some interesting history which we'll be posting as well.
In the meantime, you can email us.

I just discovered that another company in Brisbane has just bought the old VASE business and plans to begin manufacturing VASE amps again according to the original vintage 60s specs. sweet. They havent started rebuilding the business yet but im sure you could enquire through norwestproductions.com if you really wanted?

amplifier :vase trend setter40 watt.year 1967.I play blues with a boss overdrive stomp box and I also bridge/slave the normal and bright channels with a short guitar lead Its got tremaloe which is nice but no reverbI dont use trem muchIts is loud enough to dominate a hard htting drummerIuse it mainly at home and for recording in a home studioI.I use a 74 les paul standard

les paul standard 1975great for blues and rock .also good for clean soundsIts very quiet It has no over drive I drive It with a boss od1 stomp box

I respect this amp too much to travel with it I had to repair a broken resistor leg once I had just about given up trying to find the fault . and tuned out the light to go to bed ,I had one more look at the amp and noticed a small sparkle of arcing light and found theBROKEN RESISTOR LEGA DROP OF SOLDER AND THE AMP HAS BEEN PERFECT EVER SINCE

VASE is out of business But search the web with "vase amplifiers" can sometimes yield info

Ive been using this amp for 3 years I would search for another but mine is a freak amp It sounds that good

VASE 120 DELUXE TRENDSETTER GUITAR AMPLIFIER
AS FAR AS I KNOW ITS A LATE 60'S EARLY SEVENTIES AMP BUILT UNDER A HOUSE IN KEDRON BRISBANE.ALL TUBE AMP ( 2 OF 12AX7 PREAMP AND 4 OF EL34 IN THE POWER STAGE ). IT HAS 2 CHANNELS (NORMAL AND BRIGHT) OF WHICH HAVE 2 INPUTS (HI & LOW). SEPERATE VOLUMES ON EACH CHANNEL AS WELL AS A MASTER VOLUME , 3BAND EQ ON THE BRIGHT CHANNEL (TREBLE,MID,BASS) AND 2 BAND ON THE NORMAL CHANNEL(TREBLE,BASS). IT HAS A VIBRATO FEATURE (DEPTH,VIB SPEED) WHICH WORKS ON BOTH CHANNELS. NO REvERB OR EFFECTS LOOPS, NO PHONE JACK.MID SIZE HEAD AND TWO TALL CABINETS WITH 2 X 12 INCH SPEAKERS IN EACH BUT CAN TAKE A THIRD SPEAKER WHICH IS COOL. VERY HEAVY BUT BUILT VERY SOLID. EXCELLENT SPLIT CABINET WHICH U CAN SET UP STEREO AND 1 PERSON CAN CARRY IT NOT LIKE A QUAD BOX WHERE U NEED A ROADIE!!!!! 2 SPEAKER INPUTS SPEAKERS ARE A VASE SPEAKER 30 WATTS 8 OHMS. THIS UNIT WAS IN PERFECT CONDITION FOR AGE TOO FEW SCUFFS AND SCRATCHES BUT NOTHING SERIOUS.CAME WITH COVERS TOO FOR SPEAKERS AND HEAD.PRETTY STANDARD FEATURES WITHOUT TO MUCH EXTRA CRAP ON IT

I HAVE USED LOTS OF GUITARS WITH IT FROM IBANEZ RG SERIES SAMICK LES PAULS ,CORT PERFORMER GUITAR EVEN A PLY WOOD RIVIERA STRAT!!!!!! HUMBUCKERS AND SINGLE COILS AND THIS AMP MAKES THEM ALL SOUND GREAT!!!
ITS NOT NOISY VERY CLEAN ALMOST LIKE A GLASSY FENDER TURNED UP AND IT BREAKS UP BEAUTIFUL (AROUND 4*5) .FULL CREDIT TO THE GUY WHO MADE THEM MAKING A FENDER SOUNDING AMP WITH A LITLE EXTRA AT HIGHER VOLUMES.THIS IS ONLY A CLEAN SOUNDING AMP NOT FOR METAL HEADS!!!THE EQ HAS VERY GOOD RANGE WHICH IS GREAT AND MASTER VOLUME IS VERY COOL WHEN U WANT LOW VOLUME SOUNDS .THE VIBRATO FEATURE IS A VERY COOL SOUND I DONT USE IT MUCH OCCASIONALLY JUST FOR FUN.
I WAS LOOKING FOR A VERY CLEAN CHANNEL VALVE AMP (LIKE A FENDER)AND I HAVE HAD SOLIDSTATE AMPS BEFORE BUT WANTED TO GO VALVE FOR THAT UNIQUE SOUND BUT DIDNT WANT TOO OUTLAY THE BUCKS . FOUND THIS ON EBAY BUT COULDNT FIND ANY INFO ON THESE AMPS HAD TO TALK TO THE DOCTOR (DR BRUCE JONES OF KINGFISHER MUSIC IN STANTHORPE) HE TOLD ME AS MUCH AS HE KNEW SO I TOOK A CHANCE AND WON IT !!! I TOLD MY FRIENDS THEY NEVER HEARD OF EM AND LAFFED AT ME I THOUGHT I BOUGHT A DUD BUT WHEN I GOT IT HOME IT BLEW ME AWAY !!! JUST WHAT I WANTED SUPER CLEAN SOUND THAT CUTS LIKE A HOT KNIFE.I HAD REAL TROUBLE GETTING A GOOD SOUND OUT OF MY IBANEZ NECK HUMBUCKER WITH THE OLD AMP BUT THIS AMP JUST BROUGHT IT TO LIFE.
IM USING A DIGITECH RP2000 UNIT FOR EFFECTS ,WHICH HAS JUST ABOUT EVERYTHIN . THE DIGITECH GIVES OUT A VERY DIGITAL SIGNAL WHICH I HATE SO USE IT AS A PREAMP AND RUN A PATCH LEAD ACROSS CHANNELS TO GIVE MORE OF A BALLSY VALVE SOUND AND ITS PERFECT! NOW ALL THE GUYS JUST WANNA PLAY MY AMP (LAFFS) THEY JUST LOVE THE SOUND . IT GIVES GREAT VARIABLE SOUND TOO WHICH I CANT RECREATE WITH SOLIDSTATE AMPS.

I HAVE ONLY HAD IR FOR A FEW MONTHS THIS BABY IS BUILT LIKE A TANK !!
IT HASNT BLOWN A FUSE AND THE TUBES WERE ONLY JUST REPLACED SO FAR SO GOOD THE SPEAKERS WERE IN GOOD NICK . I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR GIGS WITHOUT BACK UP IT DOESNT MISS A BEAT.IT DOES RUN PRETTY HOT AND THE HEAD IS MID SIZE NOT A HELL OF ALOT OF ROOM FOR TUBE HEAT DISPLACEMENT. AND THE FRONT IS SOLID WOOD I HAVE BUILT ANOTHER BACK COVER OUT OF MESH JUST TO RUN IT A BIT COOLER BUT OTHERWISE SOLID AS A ROCK . DR BRUCE TOLD ME THEY OCCASSIONALY DID A JIMI HENDRIX(CAUGHT FIRE) BUT IT CAN HANDE LONG RUNNINGS

DONT MAKE EM ANYMORE .THIS IS A BIT OF AUSSIE HISTORY MADE IN GOOD OLD BRISVEGAS QUEENSLAND . ITS A PITY CAUSE ITS A WONDERFUL AMP . I READ IN ANOTHER REVIEW THAT THE GUY WHO MADE THEM PASSED AWAY , I JUST WANNA SAY THAT HE SHOULD BE VERY PROUD OF WHAT HE BUILT . AND OCCASSIONALY I POINT THE UNIT UP TOO THE HEAVENS JUST SO HE KNOWS THESE THINGS ARE STILL TWANGIN DOWN HERE.REALLY IS IN THE COMPANY OF FENDER AND EARLY MARSHALL AMPS.MOST TECHS TELL ME THEY ARE EASY TO FIX OR TWEAK AROUND WITH BUT CANT SAY IVE NEEDED ANYTHING DONE TO IT CAUSE IT S DOIN JUST FINE THANKS!!!!!

I TRUELY LOVE THIS AMP DONT THINK I WILL PART WITH IT CAUSE I FOUND THE SOUND I WAS LOOKING FOR . LOVELY VALVE TONES AND CAN HANDLE SOME SERIOUS GRUNT FROM A PREAMP EFFECTS UNIT. STOLEN NO WAY!!!! KEEP IT UNDER LOCK AND KEY IN MY BEDROOM AND I SLEEP WITH A SHOTGUN IF IT WAS I WOULD HANG THE GUY BY HIS CROWN JEWELS WITH A 0.52 E STRING and LOOK FOR IT TOO THE FAR REACHES OF EARTH I DONT KNOW IF I WOULD EVER FIND ONE AGAIN THEY SEEM TO BE GETTING RARE AS ROCKIN HORSE POO WOULD FIND A FENDER OR EARLY MARSHALL VALVE AMP IF COULDNT FIND ONE OF THESE AGAIN.LIKE I SAID EARLIER WAS LOOKIN FOR CLEAN AMP CAUSE I HAD THE EFFECTS UNIT AND THIS AMP DID IT FOR ME ONLY DISLIKE WAS NO REVERB BUT HAVE THAT ON PEDAL ANYWAY.IF U EVER SEE ONE AROUND JUST TRY IT OUT U MAY BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED ITS A CLASSIC AMP AND EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT IT ,I REALLY LIKE THE SETUP SPLIT CABINETS SO U CAN HANDLE IT ON YOUR OWN EVEN IF IT IS HEAVY AS AND U CAN CHUCK IN AN EXTRA SPEAKER TOO VERY COOL.

This is a Vase Trendsetter Deluxe 120. It is 120 watts into 8 oms. The head is a smallis unit but the cabnites are a differ ent story. It has 2 differand chanles. Chenal A: Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass. Chanle B: Volume, Treble, Bass, Vibrato speed, Vibrato Depth. Both chanles has its own high and low inputs.
I only bought this amp today, so I've only had about 10 minuts of playing time. Only 10 because the amp died. It blue a fuse. I repaced it and blue again.
Usualy amps with lots of fetures hasn't got good tone.

It sounds great in both chanles. When it is turned up just passed half way it brakes but realy nice. It has a great cleen sound like a fender amp. These amps were basicaly a coppy of the Fender Twin thus having a Fender sound but is a little more dirty up high. I use an Eppiphone Sherraton with two humbuckers. I play Rock such as Rolling Stones, AC/dc, Guns 'n' Roses, Cold Chissel.

I would use it on a gig with out a backup even though I have had a problem in the first 10 minuts. It probably hadn't been run hot (high) in 10 or so years (probably the problem)? This looks like it has never been repaired in it's life. It has vaves from Rusher, Britain, marshal, Australia, Philips and others in it.

N/A

I hate that it isn't foot switchable between chanles. And that it broke in the first 10 minuts. If it was stolen from me I'd probably look for an other one or a Marshall JCM800. The cabnets are realy big. there are 2 for the amp. They are tall and have 2 x 12 in each although there is room of 3. This is because the PA cabnets are the same but with 3 x12 in each. I had truble fitting them into my Holden EJ wich is a big car. Once I get it repaired I'l buy an AB Box toswitch between chanles.

This amp was made in Brisbane,Qld, Australia in 1968. There was two
models made in various wattages , the Trendsetter and the Trendsetter
Deluxe. They were made under a house in the suburb of Kedron in the early years. The Deluxe,s were a fair bit more expensive owing to
better valves KT88,S and Celestion Greenback,s (G12M)in mine.
Later models opted for different speakers owing to cost.
No reverb but a great tremelo, open back design and 3 x 25 watt
speakers as above. Nice and simple.

I have a vast array of guitars. They all sound great.I,ve had this amp
since 1968, a lot of guitars have come and gone and they all used to sound good through it. Les Pauls, specially with P90,s really shine through it, as do strat,s. We didn,t have many effects back then,it
was a different era to play in. Strat,s sound really nice even without
reverb. The Les Paul,s sound nice and clean up to a certain volume and after that, they really sing, not really overdrive but a great gutsy sound to die for. Just the basic controls on it and a super tremolo.

After 30 year,s I had to replace the fuse and a diode. Aparrently a
buildup of dust and moisture combined created a short. Not the amp,s fault, just lack of maintenance. Owing to it,s size I bought a Peavey Delta Blues to allow more room in our small car, the Vase never get,s
out much anymore, but I have so much confidence in it, I wouldn,t even insult it,s builder Tony (Rest his Soul) by carrying a spare fuse.If Tony was still alive today, there would be lot,s more of these
great amp,s around. Trust me, I have Music Man, Marshall, Sound City, Peavey and have owned a few Fender amps over the years and would never sell this amp.

The manufacturer is no longer with us, but I have a friend who worked with one of Tony,s ex staff and he knows these amps backward,s

This was my first good quality amp 34 years ago. I still own a lot of great amp,s and sold a few good ones over the years. Apart from this amp,s sentimental value to me it is a "great" amp.I have no intention of ever selling it as it has a sound of it,s own. Everything on it is simple (not a knob twiddeler,s amp) and I swear by it. I think any guitarist who plays through it would agree

1970s australian amp. It is a versatile amp its an old amp but great with a be metal zone running thoruogh for your dimebag darrel kind of sound i use it at practice and gigs it has a 140 watts of power it will blow your eardrums out on 4.

I use a Jackon kelly marty friedman signature and a metal zone 2 distortion pedal, its keeps its clean sound even when cranked.

It had the all new tubes 6 months ago its reliable enough to gig with.