Magnatone

[Chris Lamping]

Ahead of schedule (I've been looking for one for a while, didn't expect to run across one in my price range so soon), I picked up a Magnatone M-13 a few weeks ago. i just got it back from a post purchase overhaul, and man, I think this is THE Dynasonic amp. Maybe it's the 15" speaker, maybe it's whatever Magnatone was doing circuit-wise, but some amps just love certain guitars and this one loves both my filtertron and dyna Gretsches. I very highly recommend picking one of these up if you find one, I'm not even talking about the vibrato here, just an amp voiced (to my ears) perfectly for Gretsch guitars.

 

[Rockabilly Doc]

Congrats!! Cool amp.

 

[Eyeball Jackson]

Ahead of schedule (I've been looking for one for a while, didn't expect to run across one in my price range so soon), I picked up a Magnatone M-13 a few weeks ago. i just got it back from a post purchase overhaul, and man, I think this is THE Dynasonic amp. Maybe it's the 15" speaker, maybe it's whatever Magnatone was doing circuit-wise, but some amps just love certain guitars and this one loves both my filtertron and dyna Gretsches. I very highly recommend picking one of these up if you find one, I'm not even talking about the vibrato here, just an amp voiced (to my ears) perfectly for Gretsch guitars.

I’ve got a Custom 440 and can confirm, Dynasonics sound amazing through a vintage Magnatone.

Filter’Trons, less so - the Magnatone is pretty dark sounding, so single coils are preferable.

 

[charlie chitlins]

Pics, or you got nothin'!
I love my Giulietti-branded 214.
Most badass 1x12 combo I've ever heard.

 

[Chris Lamping]

It's physically pretty beat up. I've taken the badge off to repaint it and have found what I think is pretty darn near the original grill cloth-- this is the sample the seller sent me, I'm waiting for the proper piece to redo that. If you search for gold lurex speaker cloth on ebay, it should turn up-- there was a little bit covered by the side center strips that wasn't exposed to the various things I don't want to know about that have discolored the original cloth over the years and this stuff seems to be a near exact match.

From certain angles, it just looks like a 'wheat' color, but the gold lurex threads in it sparkle like the original in random places. It's very cool stuff. I think the control panel is a lost cause-- the discoloration/rust is in the metal, and I don't think can be cleaned up. Maybe I'll get lucky and will come across one, but from my understanding, the M13's were not very common, so finding spare parts is pretty unlikely.

 

[cielski]

It's physically pretty beat up. I've taken the badge off to repaint it and have found what I think is pretty darn near the original grill cloth-- this is the sample the seller sent me, I'm waiting for the proper piece to redo that. If you search for gold lurex speaker cloth on ebay, it should turn up-- there was a little bit covered by the side center strips that wasn't exposed to the various things I don't want to know about that have discolored the original cloth over the years and this stuff seems to be a near exact match.

From certain angles, it just looks like a 'wheat' color, but the gold lurex threads in it sparkle like the original in random places. It's very cool stuff. I think the control panel is a lost cause-- the discoloration/rust is in the metal, and I don't think can be cleaned up. Maybe I'll get lucky and will come across one, but from my understanding, the M13's were not very common, so finding spare parts is pretty unlikely.

How much of the cab is plastic? I've heard these called the 'suitcase' models.
Hopefully, they're lighter than solid wood cabs. Problem with cleaning the rust off of the control panel is that you'll take the printing off with the rust. Great amps, from what I've heard about them.

 

[Edison]

nice score @Chris Lamping! Agreed; a finely tuned Magnatone really complements a Gretsch tone, especially their single-coil pups.

Like you, I fell into the Estey/Magnatone Custom M series, which were really innovative for the time, in addition to being great sounding amps.
In my case it's been the later iterations, after they shifted from the gold to silver accents (sometime mid-1965).
But by then they began dropping a few features only found in the earlier gold models, like the 4" tweeters. These were expensive amps to produce.

I found an M-10A locally, and was immediately impressed once I got it back up to original specs. after that model whet my desire for another I picked up a separate pair of M-7As, which I ended up modifying. Those twin amps now voice the left and right channels of whatever pedal board I'm using. With those I have full fidelity and true stereo, it doesn't get much better.

.. I did find an M-13A, trekking up to Wisconsin last year to fetch it. That's been the most recent one to get a restoration/modification like the others.

All-in-all, a very short-lived line of amps, only produced from 1963 to '67. But worth picking up if you can find them. welcome to the club!

 

[Chris Lamping]

How much of the cab is plastic? I've heard these called the 'suitcase' models.
Hopefully, they're lighter than solid wood cabs. Problem with cleaning the rust off of the control panel is that you'll take the printing off with the rust. Great amps, from what I've heard about them.

Just the top is plastic, but it's fine and seems quite sturdy. The amp is pretty heavy, I assume plywood. Yeah, on the rust, I think I'm stuck with it. I thought about making my own control panel, doing waterslides for the various functions and inputs, but that would be a lot of letters to line up-- the M13's were (as I understand it) supposed to be amps you could plug a whole band into at once, like a PA before there were really PA's-- guitars, bass and presumably vocals too-- it's got four channels!

 

[Chris Lamping]

There

nice score @Chris Lamping! Agreed; a finely tuned Magnatone really complements a Gretsch tone, especially their single-coil pups.

Like you, I fell into the Estey/Magnatone Custom M series, which were really innovative for the time, in addition to being great sounding amps.
In my case it's been the later iterations, after they shifted from the gold to silver accents (sometime mid-1965).
But by then they began dropping a few features only found in the earlier gold models, like the 4" tweeters. These were expensive amps to produce.

I found an M-10A locally, and was immediately impressed once I got it back up to original specs. after that model whet my desire for another I picked up a separate pair of M-7As, which I ended up modifying. Those twin amps now voice the left and right channels of whatever pedal board I'm using. With those I have full fidelity and true stereo, it doesn't get much better.

.. I did find an M-13A, trekking up to Wisconsin last year to fetch it. That's been the most recent one to get a restoration/modification like the others.

All-in-all, a very short-lived line of amps, only produced from 1963 to '67. But worth picking up if you can find them. welcome to the club!


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There's been a 13A (the 'A's' as I understand were the silver ones) on Craigslist here (Minneapolis) forever, at least a year. It looks nearly mint, the price has fluctuated between $799 and $1099, it's at $799 currently, but who knows, tomorrow it may be back up. i got mine at a Music Go Round in the eastern suburbs, I got a little turned around, 'hey! a MGR! I've got time to kill and need directions anyway...' I saw it, asked about it, the clerk said it had been there a long time, he could give me a really good deal (I'm bad at capitalism, but come on!-- you don't lead with that!) $525 including tax then another $155 to have it gone over, some caps replaced, grounds sorted. I'd read to expect about $200 on these from a tech after purchase, so that was right in line, a little better even.

Filtertrons: I don't know about other models in the series or the later ones, but mine has (in addition to the normal tone controls) a 3-way switch, you can choose dark, normal and bright -- I do the Dyna Gretsch on normal and the Filtertron "Gretsch-ish"on the bright setting and it sounds great to me. I'm not sure what you'd use the dark setting for, it's pretty muddy on everything-- maybe Jah Wobble type bass? I have a Historic Series Hawaiian acoustic with that awful Piezo pickup-- maybe I should try that, it might finally sound something like an acoustic guitar when plugged in? (That guitar sounds great acoustic/not plugged in, I just can't stand the Piezo).

 

[cielski]

Just the top is plastic, but it's fine and seems quite sturdy. The amp is pretty heavy, I assume plywood. Yeah, on the rust, I think I'm stuck with it. I thought about making my own control panel, doing waterslides for the various functions and inputs, but that would be a lot of letters to line up-- the M13's were (as I understand it) supposed to be amps you could plug a whole band into at once, like a PA before there were really PA's-- guitars, bass and presumably vocals too-- it's got four channels!

That sounds similar to a Gibson GSS-100. Even a Super Beatle could be used for a multitude of instruments.
I wonder if an engraving shop could repro a plastic face plate for you. They make ID tags and other similar things. They charge by the letter, so, it could get pricey.

 

[Edison]

Just the top is plastic, but it's fine and seems quite sturdy. The amp is pretty heavy, I assume plywood. Yeah, on the rust, I think I'm stuck with it. I thought about making my own control panel, doing waterslides for the various functions and inputs, but that would be a lot of letters to line up-- the M13's were (as I understand it) supposed to be amps you could plug a whole band into at once, like a PA before there were really PA's-- guitars, bass and presumably vocals too-- it's got four channels!

Yes, a plywood carcass and bottom panel on these. I've stripped down several of these amps in restoring them. Below are a couple of pics of my M-7As getting the going-over.
I routed out cavities for the added DS18 super bullet tweeters, which have their own volume pots hidden inside the cabinet. I also cut 5" ports below so these enclosed cabinets can be a little more responsive to the 15" speakers.

The molded plastic tops were designed to be reversible, so if the player doesn't want the control panel visible they can remove the 2 retaining bolts on the sides and flip it around for a cleaner look. A very thoughtful touch, along with the 'M' pilot light. That being said, I have seen a few where the tubes ran hot and long enough to warp the plastic a little. So these rigs had their minor design flaws. Another being the tendency for the grill cloth to pull away from one or both sides of the T-molding. After a diligent search for that same grill cloth (which was unsuccessful) I decided to go with a classic black Mellotone weave for the newer wrap-around. I liked the understated look of the results so I've just followed through with the others I have. I've found I prefer the look even though it's not to original factory specs.

Regarding the tops with the in-molded handle; it's worth noting that molded plastic parts had only been introduced into mass production manufacturing less than 10 years prior to all of this. Bakelite was still very common well into the late 50s, so these amps really were forward thinking for the times.

 

[Chris Lamping]

Yes, a plywood carcass and bottom panel on these. I've stripped down several of these amps in restoring them. Below are a couple of pics of my M-7As getting the going-over.
I routed out cavities for the added DS18 super bullet tweeters, which have their own volume pots hidden inside the cabinet. I also cut 5" ports below so these enclosed cabinets can be a little more responsive to the 15" speakers.

The molded plastic tops were designed to be reversible, so if the player doesn't want the control panel visible they can remove the 2 retaining bolts on the sides and flip it around for a cleaner look. A very thoughtful touch, along with the 'M' pilot light. That being said, I have seen a few where the tubes ran hot and long enough to warp the plastic a little. So these rigs had their minor design flaws. Another being the tendency for the grill cloth to pull away from one or both sides of the T-molding. After a diligent search for that same grill cloth (which was unsuccessful) I decided to go with a classic black Mellotone weave for the newer wrap-around. I liked the understated look of the results so I've just followed through with the others I have. I've found I prefer the look even though it's not to original factory specs.

Regarding the tops with the in-molded handle; it's worth noting that molded plastic parts had only been introduced into mass production manufacturing less than 10 years prior to all of this. Bakelite was still very common well into the late 50s, so these amps really were forward thinking for the times.

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Too late now, or there's always the next one... the same guy on ebay sells a "black" lurex fabric, which is more a grey. He's sending me a sample with my order of the gold. I have a Standel I'm going to redo the cloth on and that's a candidate. It might work for the silver trimmed Magnatones too.

When you redid the grill cloth on yours, does it attach only at the sides? I haven't pulled it yet, and maybe it will be self explanatory when I do, but feeling around, I'm not sure where and how much is supposed to be glued. The sides are definitely glued-- is the top and bottom? It's loose in the middle, is it supposed to be? Or does the whole baffle get adhesive and the cloth attaches everywhere there isn't a speaker hole?

What did you use for an adhesive? The cloth I bought isn't as stiff as other grill cloths I've worked with. I've read on antique radio forums that people starch their cloth to stiffen it and prevent the weave rom getting distorted-- is that necessary here?

My plan at present is to cover the outward facing part with something called "Carpet Shield," which is a self-adhesive film for keeping paint and such off carpet during construction. The hope there is that that will keep any adhesive from getting on the front and causing it to be tacky/attract dirt and will also prevent the sparkly threads from being dulled. Then, I'm going to use Super 77 on the baffle where it attaches and the back of the cloth in those places. Any obvious or not so obvious flaws to this plan?

 

[Edison]

When you redid the grill cloth on yours, does it attach only at the sides? I haven't pulled it yet, and maybe it will be self explanatory when I do, but feeling around, I'm not sure where and how much is supposed to be glued. The sides are definitely glued-- is the top and bottom? It's loose in the middle, is it supposed to be? Or does the whole baffle get adhesive and the cloth attaches everywhere there isn't a speaker hole?

What did you use for an adhesive? The cloth I bought isn't as stiff as other grill cloths I've worked with. I've read on antique radio forums that people starch their cloth to stiffen it and prevent the weave rom getting distorted-- is that necessary here?

My plan at present is to cover the outward facing part with something called "Carpet Shield," which is a self-adhesive film for keeping paint and such off carpet during construction. The hope there is that that will keep any adhesive from getting on the front and causing it to be tacky/attract dirt and will also prevent the sparkly threads from being dulled. Then, I'm going to use Super 77 on the baffle where it attaches and the back of the cloth in those places. Any obvious or not so obvious flaws to this plan?

It appears some mild adhesive was initially used to adhere the grill cloth on these. And yeah; nothing else holding the sides in except the T-molding strip. They are stapled along the top and bottom sides, as you'll find when removing the top and bottom panel.

For adhering the new grill cloth; The Mellotone and other cloth I've been using is already pretty stiff, likely some nylon or filament weave rather than an actual textile thread. Even still, I apply an underlay of black fiberglass screen under most of my exterior grill cloths (storm door screen sold by the roll). And I typically use Super 77 or a comparable 3M spray adhesive for that. I usually spray the backside of the screen and just shield the speaker area with a piece of cardboard, using it as a frisket. When I apply the actual grill cloth on top of that I don't use any adhesive. I use an electric staple gun and it does a great job. I just stretch it straight and tight, never have any problems with sagging where the speaker port is.
The challenge in recovering one of these Custom M cabinets is that the side T-molding strips aren't very wide, so any stapling of the grill cloth has to be very close to the slot or else they'll be visible when the T-molding is tapped back in.

It does seem clear that back when these amps were made the grill cloth they used was thinner, actual cloth attached with adhesive. and its ends could easily be trapped by the inserted molding strips. But over time the grill cloth would either shrink enough or just become dry and unglued, and the sides would pop out from under the T-strip. Almost every Custom M amp I've seen shares that design flaw.

Best of luck with your own restoration! Be sure to post pics!

 

[Chris Lamping]

Here it is with the new grill cloth.

I suppose it's possible that they were never there, but the tweeters are all gone. I repainted the badge, but will need to wait on that to dry to put it on.

WHICH leads me to my next question/favor. Could someone with one of these give me measurements for where the badge goes-- how far down from the lip and over from the edge? I thought about it about 10 times while I was doing this: "don't forget to mark where the holes are for the badge" but of course didn't actually do it.

Actually, if I could get measurements for where the nails go into the badge, that would work too.

 

[cielski]

Here it is with the new grill cloth.

I suppose it's possible that they were never there, but the tweeters are all gone. I repainted the badge, but will need to wait on that to dry to put it on.

WHICH leads me to my next question/favor. Could someone with one of these give me measurements for where the badge goes-- how far down from the lip and over from the edge? I thought about it about 10 times while I was doing this: "don't forget to mark where the holes are for the badge" but of course didn't actually do it.

Actually, if I could get measurements for where the nails go into the badge, that would work too.

Lookin' good!

 

[Chris Lamping]

I've still got some stuff to clean up with clay tools, but here is the badge.

 

[Chris Lamping]

Here's the end result. I'm pretty sure I can make a new control panel, but that's for another time. Putting the screen behind helped, I'll wait for the grill cloth to finish settling before pulling it taught at bottom again. The gold and gold sparkle really aren't showing up in this light, but they're really nice in person. The gold on the badge ended up perfect, I took the side strip to the hardware store and picked a Rust-Oleum to match.