1970′s Sound City Bass 150 Tube Amp Head Vintage Rare Works
Wednesday, May 13th, 2026
1970′s Sound City Bass 150. Electric Guitar / Bass Amplifier Head. He bought out most of the Sound City stock when the company went under in 1975. This amp arrived to me in working condition but had no front panel knobs on the potentiometers and I added it right to my collection. Recently (2026) I took it to my current amp tech and he slowly reshaped the filter cap cans with his variac. He also tested all the tubes for shorts, leaks, and trans-conductance. He cleaned and lubricated all the pots and jacks, replaced the power cord, powered it for an hour and checked operation. He says it’s now in great shape but will need a cap job. He noticed there is a substantial hum usually emanating from the lack of shielding on the wiring in the pre-amp and the power amp of the chassis (which is common with these amps). One way of reducing hum is to add more shielding. The more immediate issue and to help reduce the hum is to replace all of the filter capacitors. This amplifier has all the original hardware. You need to understand that the great amps of this era didn’t have master volume controls and needed to be turned up to get the sound you needed in a live situation. And they WON’T cover up your mistakes – they are true player’s amps that reward technique with clear note definition. Finally, please be advised that this is a true vintage guitar amplifier, that will hiss and hum as you crank it up-and it requires periodic maintenance and adjustments by a qualified amplifier technician that is familiar with vintage tube amps. Please understand what you are getting into. During the musical explosion of the 1960′s in London, it was common for music stores to design and build their own equipment for sale at the shop; each neighborhood retailer would try to outdo the other, along with a good bit of copy-catting, of course. This is essentially how Marshall, Orange, and Vox all came to be, and as happens in most free-market industries, competition would arise. Two of the rarest, loudest, and best-sounding competitors were Sound City and Simms-Watts. In the back of one of these West End shops, appropriately named Sound City, Dave Reeves would design and build the SC105 “One Hundred” model amplifier, a high-headroom 100-watt EL34 answer to the Marshall Super Lead “Plexi” head. The Sound City shop was owned by Ivor Arbiter, whose interest in music had been sparked by his father, Joe, a saxophonist with the British big-band led by Harry Roy in the’30s and’40s. The young Ivor began his instrument career working at saxophone repair workshops in and around Soho, and in 1957, he opened his own Paramount woodwind and brass shop on Shaftesbury Avenue-the street that marked the southern boundary of Soho. Ivor was an ambitious young man, and he saw further opportunities with the rise of pop music as the’60s came into view. In 1961, he opened Drum City at 114 Shaftesbury Avenue and the following year Sound City, which specialized in guitars and amps, at 24 Rupert Street. Ivor’s luck ran out with this particular portion of his operation in 1975, when a complicated set of business problems meant his shops-Sound City and Music City (by now in the Drum City location), and Modern Sound in Tottenham Court Road-were swiftly closed. It might serve the buyers purpose to bring up the power slowly with a variac since these used amp heads are over 50 years old and have not been used for a few decades. Our amp tech has only replaced the needed parts -(filter caps & power cords as specified) to just get them turned on and running for an hour. Please see a skilled amp tech before extended use. The operation of the amps requires that they be regularly serviced for optimal performance. Please remember these are vintage pieces, we cannot guarantee that they will not need service or more parts in their future; only some obvious parts were changed to get it working. Most of the parts are still the original old parts remaining which will be stated in our listings. We do not have any control on what was done by previous owners, but we try to write in detail any information we have. We cannot guarantee that all our information is 100% correct; it is our humble opinions and own musical knowledge. Please see photos and ask questions to make your own assessment. ASK ALL QUESTIONS BEFORE PURCHASING! This discriminating collector has curated an incredible collection of guitars & amps since 1965. From a collector & player with an extensive musical history and knowledge. This collection has been stored and cared for impeccably for decades. Now, after all these years, he is ready to share his collection with other enthusiasts and wants his prized possessions to go to good homes and get played! Please follow our listings. LOTS MORE TO COME! We only sell to buyers that are established, verified.
