DC Ron Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Anyway...over the recent holidays I went to this guys house to check out his Evans amp. Oops...DOA. But sitting in the opposite corner of the room was something under a polytone cover. Hmmm...what's that? Turns out it's the OTHER amp his grandfather gave him, an old red knob polytone mini brute IV with a 15" speaker. I plug it in and in ten minutes it's in the back of the SUV and headed for home. It's been under a cover for most of it's almost 30 years so is in great shape. Gramps added some casters I guess, which is cool even though the amp is pretty light. Wow, this beast is LOUD and really nails the jazz guitar sounds I like...even though it was apparently designed as an accordion amp. It's so loud that my hollowbody archtops feedback like nobody's business. The Roy Clark does great though. (see foreground.) Polytone still makes a version of these, but this old timer is pretty cool. That's the 1965 Princeton Reverb under the cover in back...oh my!
fxdx99 Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Nice score! That 15" looks huge in that cab. Those finds of old gear in great shape are SO cool.
DC Ron Posted January 8, 2010 Author Posted January 8, 2010 Nice score! That 15" looks huge in that cab. Those finds of old gear in great shape are SO cool. Yep, the speaker not only fills the cabinet, but the closed back cabinet is filled with what look like residential-quality insulation. No doubt plays a huge part in the tone. Don't know if you can see it clearly in the pic, but the covering is a really cool diamond pattern that I've not seen on any other maker's amp. I just look at it and smile...
iim7v7im7 Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Nice find...great for jazz. I still have a Polytone Megabrute with an 8" speaker (22lb and 120w). I don't play it much any more, but it definitely has a great jazz tone. Your 1 x 15 must sound great. Aim it away from you or in front of you with your Roy Clark. Mine is a great grab-n-go play some jazz at Borders type of amp. A lot of guys have had some problems with their reverb not working over the years. :-) Bob
DC Ron Posted January 8, 2010 Author Posted January 8, 2010 Great tip--need to stay out of the direct line of fire on this one. The reverb works but it's not a dripping wet effect. Hardware is an accutronics two spring, short tank. When I looked inside one of the two spring terminals had broken and I soldered it back together. Gooder than new now. One of the issues on these is the op amps used at the time are no longer in production and can be a pain in the *** to find. Hoping that this one will hang on for a while--I like it!
barrymclark Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 I was supposed to have one but SOMEBODY dropped it down some stairs when it was to be shipped to me.
barrymclark Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Killer find, though! Congrats! These are also GREAT for bass. That is what I was mainly wanting the IV I was trying to get for.
slider313 Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Yep, the speaker not only fills the cabinet, but the closed back cabinet is filled with what look like residential-quality insulation. No doubt plays a huge part in the tone. Don't know if you can see it clearly in the pic, but the covering is a really cool diamond pattern that I've not seen on any other maker's amp. I just look at it and smile... Great score. The insulation was used in non ported cabinets to help with frequency cancellation. Fender used it in their Tremolux, Bandmaster, Bassman and Showman cabinets.
FredZepp Posted January 8, 2010 Posted January 8, 2010 Cool Find...!! I do bet that the 15" is awesome... It's nice to hear some variety of speakers.. 10" can be cool for rock and something different than the common 12, but I bet that a well powered 15 is a blast..
DC Ron Posted January 9, 2010 Author Posted January 9, 2010 I was supposed to have one but SOMEBODY dropped it down some stairs when it was to be shipped to me. Very sorry to hear that. If I dropped this one down the stairs I'd worry about the condition of the steps...
DC Ron Posted January 9, 2010 Author Posted January 9, 2010 Polytone + Archtop = My experience exactly. SUBLIME archtop experience. Thx!
DC Ron Posted January 9, 2010 Author Posted January 9, 2010 Killer find, though! Congrats! These are also GREAT for bass. That is what I was mainly wanting the IV I was trying to get for. I believe you. I THINK that Polytone markets the MB III as their 15" bass amp and that it is exactly the same as this one without the reverb. Same for the MB I being the same as the 12" MB II sans reverb tank. In fact...I think MB I-IV share identical amp sections with only the reverb as +/- on the preamp. For those of you who have cracked one of these open, the preamp is in the top of the amp with the control, the power amp is in the bottom next to the feet.
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