SOUND CITY 120
Much as old Laneys and
Traynors have acquired a
reputation as Marshalls
for the poor guitarist,
Sound City amps are often
reputed to be the poor
person’s Hiwatt. As a poor
person who has developed
expensive tastes in vintage
British amplification, this
reputation interests me
greatly. Like Hiwatt amps,
early Sound City models
like the monstrous 120
(powered by the menacing
glow of no less than six
EL34s) were designed by
Dave Reeves, who was an
employee of Sound City’s
parent company,
Dallas-Arbiter, before
setting out on his
own to start Hiwatt.
And while it is true
that Sound City
amps were built to
be budget-friendly
for working ‘70s
rockers, they were
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still made with sturdy,
reliable components,
including burly and
gloriously toneful Partridge
transformers. They share
much of their componentry
with early Hiwatts, such
as those played by Pete
Townshend, and they also
share the Hiwatt penchant
for extreme dynamics.
The key to making a
Sound City 120 sing is
cranking it up and using
playing dynamics and
the guitar’s volume knob
to vary the tone, which
can go from glistening
clean to saturated grind
in an instant just by
varying one’s picking
technique. These amps
are also outfitted with
fully active tone controls,
which can be confusing
to players accustomed
to Marshalls or Fenders,
but once mastered,
offer unprecedented
opportunities for serious
tone sculpting. The Sound
City 120 is a fairly common
vintage amp, and a fine
working example with
original Partridge iron
should set you back no
more than 1000 dollars.
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