Vintage amp, amplifiers Ratajczyk, Reynolds, Richards, Roland

"Building amps (for other people/customers) was something we never set out to do - I had been servicing/fixing/modding amps since 1979. The first amp of our own design was built for myself to use when I jammed with the blokes I use to play with in the 70's - it was an ugly bloody thing....plain pine box, screws sticking out everywhere with a toilet door handle on top. I think the cab took me about 15 minutes to knock up (it only had a cab to stop people touching stuff that would give them a fist full of lightning ;-) That was it - there was no plans for anymore.

My brother Dave started borrowing it and suggested some changes. After a year or two he'd basically claimed it and the "Antichrist" as it became known was seeing a fair bit of work. Other guys also used it from time to time and made some positive input to it's evolution.

Then Dave asked if I could make a better looking cab for it as it was a bit embarrassing having it up on stage under lights. We got "on it" one night and Dave asked if the amp had to be in a rectangular box.......and we came up with the "dollshouse" shape.

It's called a "Dollshouse" cab because Sydney guitarist/drummer Dave Peck was visiting when I was in the process of building the cab - I asked him what he thought of the new amp cab and he looked around the shed and said "what cab?", I pointed the cab shell out to him and he said "that thing? I thought you were building a dollshouse or something!" So that's where that name came from.

The first chassis of the new dimensions was built and brother Dave had his amp. The cabinet was covered in burgundy vinyl auto upholstery. The only reason the amp has timber panels on the front and back is because my mate who did the upholstery refused to cover them in vinyl - he said "how the F@#k am I going to get all those inside corners done?!?" I asked him what I should do and he said "take them home and paint them". I spoke to my wife about the problem and she said that she could try staining/laquering them - so that's where they came from. The control panels were bits of sheetmetal finished in gold "hammertone" enamel. Lettering on the panels was simple "lettraset" labels you can buy at a newsagents with a bit of clear paint over them to stop them rubbing off. Other people saw/heard the amp and before we knew it we were in the amp biz.

The Antichrist was built probably in 1995/96? It's currently buried in my workshop - it doesn't work because I knocked the transformers off years ago to use for something else. I must get it going one day.

The first Dollshouse amp (which Dave named "Frankenstein") was built around the end of 1997/beginning of '98. Frankenstein lives on a shelf in the amproom at work and it works (or did the last time I tried it - which is a few years ago now ;-)

The first 50 watt amp made for someone else was built in 1999 and had "proper" screenprinted anodised aluminium control panels. Only the first few had the model number APR50 stamped on them. After a couple of mods were made we found ourselves with two 50 watt models and named them the APR501 and APR502. The first amp stamped APR501 appeared around the end of '99 (I think!).

Serial numbers were/are stamped into the rear panel as well. The serial number starts with a "P" (for "Pete" as I built the amp - I was thinking that maybe someday someone else may be mad enough to build one) then four numbers for the month and year, then 2 letters which were/are the initials of the person who the amp was made for. For example the serial number "P1199SC" means the amp was built by me in November 1999 for a guy named Shane Curl.

There have been a few 100 watt amps built - these have the model number "APR100"

There are some added letters to the model number - for example "APR501CVR" means a Custom model with Valve Rectifier.

We decided a few years ago that we were never going to go into full time production and that we would keep all amps as custom made. The model number is now for example "APR501C".

The 150 watt amps (DPR1501/2) have their serial numbers in the same fashion. The first "Sledgehammer" was built in 2002.

The first JFR25 was built in 2001 and (as it turned out) for an electric violin player in Western Australia. It was a "one off" and there were no plans for anymore - I didn't even keep any drawings/schematics of it. But people had heard it and played with it in our workshop over the months it was developed and eventually I was asked to build another one. The only way I figured the circuit out was by looking at 35mm photos I'd taken as progress shots to send to WA.

There have been no model/serial numbers stamped on the JFR's made until now. The first JFR's had a chassis that was 150mm high. This was later changed to 180mm high to allow a bit more room inside the chassis.

Then an extra gain switch (known as the "Ludicrous Switch") was added to the back of the amp (lower RHS).

Then two power reduction switches were added to the back LHS of the amp - the Fixed/Cathode bias switch was moved to be next to these two new switches.

There will be model/serial numbers on the JFR's we're building now - we just have decided where/how to do it just yet. I will let you know when we work this out.

We have built a few "JFR50" amps. These are 50 watt 2x12 combo versions of the 501 heads. There is no "Middle" control on Channel A. The amp has reverb. There have been no model/serial numbers on these either. There will be in the future.

Just so you know.....

"APR" are my Dad's and my Grandad's initials.

"JFR" are my Grandmother's initials.

"DPR" is a combination of Dave Reynolds, Pete Reynolds and Dave Peck (the bloke who insisted on a 150 watt amp and also named the cabs "Dolls house")

I have not kept records of how many amps I have built - or the serial numbers of these amps. As I mentioned in the beginning none of this was really meant to happen - I thought I'd build a few funny looking amps for people crazy enough to want them and that would be it. In total I'd say that so far there have been no more than 100 or so amps and cabs made.

Our logo was designed by my son Shayne when he was 12 years old using Microsoft Paint on an old 486 PC.....pixel by pixel.

[Source and images courtesy of: Pete Reynolds, email 16/8/2008 ]

This photo of one of my amp models clearly show where the model name and serial number are located on the rear panel this practice was implemented around 2005. Some amps prior to this had a serial number on the front panel under the power on indicator light (during the 'VanAmp' period)