Cap:
I'm no expert, trying not to add to the inevitable maggie confusion, but here goes anyway. If I am in error on any of this, please correct me:
The 26R happens to be a later variant, not of the 260, but of the 460. The original 460 was Magnatone-branded, a 260 with reverb added but other changes too. Had 6L6GC or 5581 tubes, reputedly a bit less gain than the original 260, not quite the same sonically. Anyway, both the 260 and 460 went on to be made under other names. At first, that rebranding was inhouse. So my '62 Twilighter 260 was actually built by Estey, which had purchased Magnatone and built later (post-reverb) Magnatone branded amps (the 400 series and M series, "suitcase" amps) from '62 to '68. I believe the original 260 was not made under the Magnatone brand after Estey bought it. But it was being made under names (Twilighter, titano, probably others). In fact, the Titano 262R made by Estey in the early 60s is (I think) very much a 260 type amp only with reverb added. Estey also licensed outright. Their deal with Lo Duca in Wisconsin led to manufacture of (basically) maggie amps there, under Laub, Unique and maybe other names. The 26R was a Laub product based on the 460 circuit. It did use 7686 tubes, also had very different cosmetics than original and many of the earlier rebranded maggies. (As in your picture cap. No other maggie type looked like that.) Most of the 460 types had two 5 inch speakers as well. Not sure about the 26R.
It's a tangled history. You'll run across maggie type amps by Tonemaster, Giullietti, Da Vinci, Pac Amp ... some built by Estey, some not. The later they are (Lo Duco probably built maggie types into the late 70s), the more likely they are to differ from the Magnatone-branded originals.
Vibroworld is an essential resource for this stuff, but is not maintained and (supposedly) contains a number of inaccuracies. The best place for more info is the Magnatone/Valco list on Yahoo. Search their archives, join up. If you're at all curious about Maggies (actually, any old and strange amp), that's the place to be.
Coastie: On Robert Ward: Wonderful composer, singer, player. Lots more to this guy than just maggie vibrato, though he hardly ever turned it off. It was listening to him that finally pushed me into Maggie-dom. Especially to "Fear No Evil", and early stuff from his influential 60s? recordings. With Robert it was always an old strat into a 260 (I'm pretty sure), with vibe on, dimed. You can hear the midrangy, toasty/cool tone of those stock oxfords. I much prefer more efficient speakers in these amps, but the originals certainly had a fine sound too. Give that stuff a listen if you can. Maybe you'll end up a helpless Magnatone addict like me!
I'm no expert, trying not to add to the inevitable maggie confusion, but here goes anyway. If I am in error on any of this, please correct me:
The 26R happens to be a later variant, not of the 260, but of the 460. The original 460 was Magnatone-branded, a 260 with reverb added but other changes too. Had 6L6GC or 5581 tubes, reputedly a bit less gain than the original 260, not quite the same sonically. Anyway, both the 260 and 460 went on to be made under other names. At first, that rebranding was inhouse. So my '62 Twilighter 260 was actually built by Estey, which had purchased Magnatone and built later (post-reverb) Magnatone branded amps (the 400 series and M series, "suitcase" amps) from '62 to '68. I believe the original 260 was not made under the Magnatone brand after Estey bought it. But it was being made under names (Twilighter, titano, probably others). In fact, the Titano 262R made by Estey in the early 60s is (I think) very much a 260 type amp only with reverb added. Estey also licensed outright. Their deal with Lo Duca in Wisconsin led to manufacture of (basically) maggie amps there, under Laub, Unique and maybe other names. The 26R was a Laub product based on the 460 circuit. It did use 7686 tubes, also had very different cosmetics than original and many of the earlier rebranded maggies. (As in your picture cap. No other maggie type looked like that.) Most of the 460 types had two 5 inch speakers as well. Not sure about the 26R.
It's a tangled history. You'll run across maggie type amps by Tonemaster, Giullietti, Da Vinci, Pac Amp ... some built by Estey, some not. The later they are (Lo Duco probably built maggie types into the late 70s), the more likely they are to differ from the Magnatone-branded originals.
Vibroworld is an essential resource for this stuff, but is not maintained and (supposedly) contains a number of inaccuracies. The best place for more info is the Magnatone/Valco list on Yahoo. Search their archives, join up. If you're at all curious about Maggies (actually, any old and strange amp), that's the place to be.
Coastie: On Robert Ward: Wonderful composer, singer, player. Lots more to this guy than just maggie vibrato, though he hardly ever turned it off. It was listening to him that finally pushed me into Maggie-dom. Especially to "Fear No Evil", and early stuff from his influential 60s? recordings. With Robert it was always an old strat into a 260 (I'm pretty sure), with vibe on, dimed. You can hear the midrangy, toasty/cool tone of those stock oxfords. I much prefer more efficient speakers in these amps, but the originals certainly had a fine sound too. Give that stuff a listen if you can. Maybe you'll end up a helpless Magnatone addict like me!
