Guild/Marlboro solid state amp?

t_byrd

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Hey all,

Looking to see if anyone has any information about some of the Guild solid state amps being rebranded Marlboro amps? I picked up a Model One about a year ago and opened it up today, the bottom of the circuit board is labeled "Marlboro USA". Looked around a little bit and the Guild Model One looks exactly like this Marlboro branded amp: https://reverb.com/item/732076-marlboro-g40-r-guitar-amplifier-70-s-black-12-speaker. The "Reverb Tremolo Footswitch" sticker on the back of the chassis is the same on both amps.

I got this amp for cheap and it looks like it will be a pain to recap. It's working fine for the most part and is kinda fun, sounds cool if I dime it and use it as an amp for my Rhodes. I'm just curious about the history, I saw the post from @GAD where the Model 4 is clearly an Aria rebrand.

Thanks!
 

Default

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From what I've been able to find out, that amp was probably built by the feller that built Hilgen amps. Marlboro was a house name for one of the catalogue/ department stores. At work and my memory is already home.
 

t_byrd

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From what I've been able to find out, that amp was probably built by the feller that built Hilgen amps. Marlboro was a house name for one of the catalogue/ department stores. At work and my memory is already home.
Thanks! I just looked at my original post when I was thinking about buying this and saw you mentioned the same thing there. What is it that leads you to believe this? And what do you mean by "house name"?
 

fronobulax

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Thanks! I just looked at my original post when I was thinking about buying this and saw you mentioned the same thing there. What is it that leads you to believe this? And what do you mean by "house name"?

To the extent that LTG has a Guild amp expert it is @Default . I know some of his info comes from interviews with people who designed and built them. I'm sure there is something concrete behind the belief.

In this context "house name" would be the same as a "house brand" or "store brand". A company contracts with a third party to make an item and then sells the item under their brand name. Usually there is some implied exclusivity. Many Guild pedals were made by someone else and all Guild did was slap a Guild label/logo on them.
 

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I think Marlboro was JC Penney, but I'm still at work. Fwiw, I had a different Marlboro amp as my first.
Don't have it anymore.
 

GAD

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From here: https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/vintage-marlboro-amplifers.1979816/

From that thread:

From somewhere:

Sound amps were made in Mineola Long Island NY (mid 1960's) by a John Dougherty, a former Ampeg employee, who later went on to run Marlboro amps, made by MICA (Musical Instrument Corporation of America), in Syosett NY.

MICA/Marlboro were the original Peavey of their day, making transistor amps from single 6" practice amps, up to 2 X 12 combos. They used transformer driven transistor amps, which actually sounded tolerable.

The Sound amps were pretty well made, sometimes had no NFB, and used similar circuits to Ampeg and Oliver stuff (the DNA didn't fall far from their tree). Using 6EU7's and 7591s, 7868's and so forth.

John also invented and patented the Quadra-Sound Blender, an outboard effect, which combined tremolo, vibrato and reverb, to produce a couple of unique surf-like effects.
 

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Thanks GAD. There is also a mention on the Hilgen website about building some transistor amps for Guild.
My Marlboro was a gawdawfull amp. It had a "master volume", but it was a volume pot wired directly to another volume pot, and then to the circuit.
 

SFIV1967

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"Marlboro Sound Works" was a trademark intended to cover the categories or amplifiers, Speakers and signal modifying units. The Trademark owner was Musical Instruments Corporation of America in Syosset, NY.

Regarding "Hilgen":
"After Hilgen closed its doors, Jack (Gentul) began a new company, "Applied Audio," which for a few years made transistorized amplifiers and effects for the Guild company. Applied Audio was based in Manville, New Jersey."

Ralf
 

Guildedagain

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I had a small Marlboro from that era, it was really bad.

I actually used it as a small part trade on a '68 small box Marshall 50W Plexi.

Different times.
 

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From what I've been able to find out, that amp was probably built by the feller that built Hilgen amps. Marlboro was a house name for one of the catalogue/ department stores. At work and my memory is already home.
Sorry to jump in a few months late. I have a Hilgen amp... a Hilgen Challenger. All tube and a pretty nice amp, actually.
 

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That HM-B schematic that is floating around on the web is the scan I did of the mimeograph that came with my amp. That guy could do some fantastic soldering.
 

mavuser

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I grew up in Syosset, NY, and Marlboro only meant one thing...it wasn't guitar amps...
 
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