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info
updated 18/7/2010 |
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Radial Engineering |
The company began in 1991 as the
Canadian distributor of Mogami cable and Jensen Audio
Transformers. In 1992, it became a limited corporation under the
JP Cabletek Electronics Ltd. banner. The Radial name was first
used on house branded cables and snake systems. The Radial name
and logo represents a cross section of quad cable; Radial being
round.
In 1996 the Radial JDI direct box
was launched. This led the way to the Radial JDV and today, over
50 electronic products are now being produced under the Radial,
Tonebone and Forest Audio brands.
In 2001, the Primacoustic brand
was launched to address the growing demand for acoustic products
for the burgeoning home recording market and in 2006, the
company officially changed its name to Radial Engineering Ltd.
[Source: Radial] |
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Radian |
Radian amplifiers by Entertec of
New York.
Image Radian
200 eBay:
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Randall
 |
Don Randall used to make amps with
Leo Fender.
search at
http://www.vintageguitar.com
Randall amplifier schematics
http://www.schematicheaven.com/post70s.htm
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Randall
Image eBay:
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Ratajczyk Amplifiers |
Handmade amps,
Redbank, Queensland, Australia.
"Most
of my amps the serial number was the date - no code necessary .
Production models started in `89 , they had black front panels
and ran for about three years. Grey
hammertone models started about `94 thru to `06 .(about 8
different models)
Stainless steel models started `06 and are current designs .
Clients can call or email me for specific info."
[Source: John Ratajczyk, email 20/8/2008 ] |
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Raven Amps |
"Thank you for your interest in
Raven amps.
We appreciate your request but
have to respectfully decline participation." [Source: Raven
amps, 8/9/2009]
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Raven+Amps |
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Real McCoy Custom |
Image Teese MFOB
number 16 of 20 eBay:
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Reason Amps |
Reason Amplifier Co, St Louis
Missouri, USA.
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Recco |
Recco
amplifiers were manufactured by Rheem Manufacturing Company,
Kansas City, MO. USA
Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar%20Amp/brand/Recco
Images eBay: Ignore the
Ibanez logo.

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Recording
King Amplifiers |
Gibson made
amps with chassis by Lyon & Healy and cabinet by Gieb. [Source:
Gruhn Guide to Vintage Guitars 2nd Ed] |
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Redback |
Guitars made by brothers Rod and
Ed in Sydney, Australia
Redback at
myspace |
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Red Bear
 |
Red
Bear amplifiers were hand made
manufactured (by hand) by a company called Novik,
ltd. located in St.
Petersburg, Russia. [Source
and more information:
Red Bear tribute site]
Red Bear
amplifier schematics
http://www.schematicheaven.com/post70s.htm
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Red+Bear
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Red Star Audio |
Redstar Audio is an
independently-owned, guitar and bass speaker cabinet
manufacturing company located in Houston, TX.
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Redstar+Audio |
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Redstuff |
Redstuff amps are made since "1989
in Germany.
Dating Red Stuff amps
Manufacturing date is handwritten
inside the chassis."
[Source: Stefan Hüther, Redstuff Amplification, email 8/9/2009]
http://www.myspace.com/redstuffamplification
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Red Teletronix |
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Regal |
Canadian amps.
Examples
http://www.fenderbronco.com/id14.html
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Regal
Image eBay:
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Regent effects |
Canadian label for Guyatone in
'60s |
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Reinhardt Amps |
Lynchburg VA,
USA
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Reinhardt
Image eBay:
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Retro King |
Retro King Amplification, Chuck
Dean, Marcellus, New York, USA
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Retro-King+Amps |
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Retroman
Retroplex |

Retroplex amp by Retroman. Make a
5 watt valve amp and pedals. |
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Reußenzehn
Tube Power |
Valve amps from Germany. Made
since 1968.
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Reussenzehn |
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Revenge Amps |
Hand wired, all tube amplifiers
made by Greg Perrine in Conway, Arkansas, USA.
Date of manufacture available from
serial number.
Revenge Amps Models
Revenge Classic - Solid
pine cabs, hand wired, hand stained and lacquered.
15 to 20 watts - 2xEL84, 3x12AX7. Push/Pull engages extra Gain
stage. All cab have removeable center panel for closed or open
back use.
Revenge "LiL Rock" 5 watt
head
tweed covering, 1x6L6, 1x12AX7, 5 watt/3 watt triode/pentode
switch, XLR direct out, 4&8 ohm speaker out
Revenge "Hard Rock" 30 watt
head
4xEL84, 3x12AX7 with REVERB, footswitchable Clean/Lead,
Lead Boost, XLR direct out, 4,8,16 ohms speaker out
[Source and images: Greg Perrine,
Revenge Amps, email 15/9/2009]
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Revenge+Amps
see
Low Watt Valve amps for image |
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Reverend
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"Joe Naylor and Dennis Kager
announced ... that reverend has stopped production of the
reverend king cobra 20/60 (reworked hellhound 40/60), goblin
5/15, reverend speaker enclosures, and reverend all tone
speakers.
according to Mr. Naylor, only 1,000 hellhounds were made, 350
hellhound heads, approx. 600 king cobras.
this means collector, so a heads up...to all of you, lock in
these amps if you have the ka-ching...i was considering parting
ways with mine, but after the tube change and this news, i'm
keeping that hellhound.
all reverends are hand numbered, and some have knob and label
misprints (higher demand). [Source: forum:
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-254495.html
9/2/2005]
Reverend amp and speaker serial
numbers
http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend/archive/amp_cab_sn.html
search at
http://www.vintageguitar.com
Reviews
http://www.reverendguitars.com/reverend/archive/media/reviews/amp_reviews.html
Reverend forum
http://www.reverendguitars.com/forum/
Image Reverend
Hellhound amp eBay:
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Rex
 |
Rex Amplifiers, were made in Australia
by General Music Co according to this serial number label seen
on eBay.
See more on Rex amps at
Ozvalveamps
Images eBay: Note the serial
number label is not from the little solid state unit.
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Rexx

Image from 1989 Rex amp ad on ebay
- click for full version. |
Rexx was a company which made
solid state gear for guitar. Rik Emmett was a notable endorser.
There appeared to be at least two models - a combo as per
picture below: Rexx Acoustics RG45 solid-state guitar amp 12"
cone, switchable 2-channel, clean and high-gain settings.
Effects loop with built-in 9V DC power output for pedals or
effects units.
and a single rack unit Rexx 1602 100 watt head,
footswitchable 2 channel amp with an effects loop - no reverb or
other effects.
Image from kijiji.
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Reynolds Valveart
 |
Peter and David Reynolds make
Reynolds Valveart amps in in Windsor, New South Wales,
Australia.
"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.
"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 ]
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Richards Amplifier
Company
 |
I have been building amps under
about four different names since 1970
!!
The
amps have always been hand-built in relatively
small numbers, and always toa customer order, they have never
been sold via retail (when new).
So my first customer order was in 1970
and was a nominal 100 watt 4 x 6L6GC head.
Unfortunately I never took serial numbers
very seriously until the 1990's - the serial
numbers now are in fact engraved into the
control panels, and I'm not sure exactly when
I started this practice.
During
the 1970's I built valve amps under the
logo of 'Knight Amplification', which started
out as a partnership, but I ended up doing it
all & retained the name (even though my name
is obviously not 'Knight').
During
the 1980's for whatever bizarre reason
it became unfashionable to buy Aussie custom
amps (& pedals) and I mainly built small PA systems
for bands and schools etc - this was under the
'RAK' logo, which stood for Richards & Kelly.
Along
came the 1990's and people became interested
in what I was doing again, including some more
high profile players, and I started building valve
amps again under the 'VanAmp' logo, which
obviously stands for Ivan's Amps. However,
most people just didn't get 'VanAmp',
even though it is pretty bloody obvious, and also
I discovered a USA amp builder with exactly
the same name !! you wouldn't believe it.....
so I finally changed the logo to 'RICHARDS'
and everyone is happy now and a lot more
people are taking an interest in what I do.
The
actual name of the amp building side
of my business is: the Richards
Amplifier Company - Australia
Approximate
years of manufacture:
Knight 1970 to 1982
RAK 1983 to 1994
VanAmp 1995 to 2003
Richards 2004 onwards with 4-digit sequential
serial numbers engraved into control panel - this
practice probably started around 1997.
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)
You may
be surprised to learn that we Aussie's
were actually building pedal-steel
guitars back in the 1940's with
matching amps to complete the set (my father,
Jack Richards, was responsible for this).
Ivan
Richards Custom Pedals
All my pedals
have a 4-digit sequential serial # in
dymo tape underneath & inside the pedal
enclosure this practice
commenced when I went retail in the
late 1990's.
Apart
from a handful of pedals and power
supplies made previously, production
of guitar FX pedals & switchers began in 1997.
Anyone with a serial # can email me for
specific details.
My workshop is in Wyoming NSW ie
Gosford/Central Coast, half way between Sydney-Newcastle "
[Source: Ivan Richards, email 13/8/2008 ] |
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Richter
Amplification |
http://www.richteramplification.com/
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Richter+Amplification
Images eBay:
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Rickenbacker
 |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
amplifier
schematics
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/electronics/schempage.php?cat=1
http://www.schematicheaven.com/post70s.htm
Rickenbacker schematic
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Rickenbacker
Image Chicago
Music Exchange:
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Rick Tone |
Hand wired tube amps by Rick
Campbell 1984 to 1992.
Ricktone at
wikipedia
Rick Tone amplifier schematics
http://www.schematicheaven.com/post70s.htm |
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Risson |
Bob Rissi was hired by Leo Fender
in 1961, and worked under Leo in the Amplifier Div.
Worked for Paul Spranger in 1964
[As Project Electronic Engineer at Fender CBS R&D]
1967 [Director of Amplifier
Division Rickenbacker ] until late 1970, Designed The Transonic
Amplifier series used by Groups like Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck,
and Steppinwolf.
Started Risson Amplifiers in 1972,
built Quality Amplifiers through Mid 1980's, left to work in
computer industry until now. As at 2010 plans to build limited
quantity of Tube amplifiers, built in the USA ,with NOS (US or
UK) parts he has been warehousing for 20-30 years. [Source:
eBay]
Image eBay:
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Rivera |
Paul Rivera, based in California,
USA since 1976. Also designs for Fender, Yamaha and Pignose.
Rivera
amplifier schematics
http://www.blueguitar.org/schems.htm
http://www.schematicheaven.com/post70s.htm
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Rivera
Image eBay
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Riviera |
see Pepco |
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