slider313 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I recently came upon ANOTHER Martin 112 amp. The one I've had for the last 10 or so years is a 1960, this one is a '59. These amp were only made in '59 and '60 and are VERY rare. Martin never really made amps; they subcontracted Rowe Industries to make them. If you've ever seen a rare D'Armond amp, or a photo of one, you can see the build and appointments are identical. Martin had them use black tolex and what I call a "Buick" grillcloth. The D'Armonds were, I believe, a copper/brown colored tolex with a different grillcloth. The circuit is pretty much identical to a Fender 5E3 tweed Deluxe with a couple of small resistor values being different. The main thing that seperates these from most amps of the day that used two 6V6 power tubes and two 12ax7's was the size of the transformers. They are quite LARGE for such a small amp, which make the amp sound much bigger and tighter than any tweed Deluxe. I would expect to find tranny's of this size in something like a Vibrolux Reverb. I guess you could say these were over designed and a "boutique" amp in its day. The fingerjointed pine cabinet is an inch deeper than the 5E3 Deluxe. These came stock with a Jensen P12R also. A speaker change gives it an even bigger overall tone and I can use one in a small club without micing it up. Even when using an OD to push it, it holds together well. If you should ever see one for sale, grab it. Some vintage dealers are hip to these, but places like GC or SamAsh are not. They would give next to nothing on a trade or purchase and in turn sell it for much less than its worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Very Cool Amp.... thanks for posting. I will certainly keep my eye out for any of these gems. This one is a keeper. ( Somehow your description of the "Buick" cloth seems appropriate. ) It's nice to hear details of a rare find from one who knows... (nice list of amps in your signature, BTW) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurph1 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Very cool looking! i bet it sounds great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Slider~ You are my amp hero!! If you ever decide to sell any of your cool amps, please put me on the top of the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Here's a link to more information about the Martin 112 amp. Martin 112 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slider313 Posted December 3, 2009 Author Share Posted December 3, 2009 Cool. I actually dug that article up soon after I purchased my first one. The Allen Organ Co. mentioned as the builder is incorrect. At the time it was written no one really knew who built them for Martin. If your familiar with The Tonequest report they had Jeff Bakos, of Budda Amps, clone and build copies using Mercury Magnetic transformers. They sell under the Tonequest Clarksdale name. http://www.tonequest.com/content/newslette...asp?ArticleID=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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