solid state amplifiers

product rdf: 

Guitar_amplifier

West

West Laboratories was an amplifier brand founded by David W. West in 1963. It started out as a Hi-Fi shop in Okemos, Michigan - when Dave West began to build amps for local guitarists. In 1971 they were producing 2 solid state power amp models (J500 & J250) and 3 tube amplifier heads (the Fillmore, Grande and Avalon models). They were owned by Canfield-Marshall Inc - Dave West had left the company by 1972.

Source: West Labs catalog 1971

Source: West Labs website (archived 2007)

Stefan Schlemper

Stefan Schlemper is a classical guitar and amplifier maker from Germany. He started building classical guitars in the workshops of the Spanish guitar makers Manuel Contreras and Antonio Marin Montero. Schlemper also developed integrated amplification systems for the classical guitar - to enable performers to be heard in an orchestra. Schlemper retired from guitar making in January 2021.

Source: Stefan Schlemper website (25 January 2022)

Acus

Acus Sound Engineering was founded by the Canale family in Recanati, Italy. They make amplifiers, PA equipment and pre-amps. Their speakers, cabinets and all electrical components are custom made. The Arcus OneForStrings amplifier range was developed for the acoustic and classical guitar - with battery powered versions available in the OneForStreet range.

Source: Acus Sound Engineering website (6 January 2022)

Studio One

Studio One was a brand name of Red Tree Music Inc a musical instrument distribution company. Red Tree Music was established in 1973 by Austin Lempit in Mamaroneck, New York. They began importing instruments (from Korea) using their own brand names: Studio One for electric guitars and effects and Alton for acoustic guitars and banjos. Lempit had to sell the business in 1978, due to a divorce, and the new owners dropped the Studio One brand name and started using the Zapp brand name instead. They also changed suppliers - some of the Zapp guitars were decent quality Japanese made instruments. Some of the electronic products - such as Zapp or Studio One practice amplifiers were cheaply made in the USA. Red Tree Music stopped trading in the early 1980s.

Zapp

Zapp was a brand name of Red Tree Music Inc a musical instrument distribution company. Red Tree Music was established in 1973 by Austin Lempit in Mamaroneck, New York. They began importing instruments (from Korea) using their own brand names: Studio One for electric guitars and effects and Alton for acoustic guitars and banjos. Lempit had to sell the business in 1978, due to a divorce, and the new owners dropped the Studio One brand name and started using the Zapp brand name instead. They also changed suppliers - some of the Zapp guitars were decent quality Japanese made instruments. Some of the electronic products - such as Zapp or Studio One practice amplifiers were cheaply made in the USA. Red Tree Music stopped trading in the early 1980s.

Woodson

Woodson Music Inc. / Woodson Electronics Inc. was formed by Michael D. Woodson in Bartlesville, Oklahoma but soon moved to Elgin, Missouri in 1973. They produced P.A., guitar and bass amplifiers in the 1970s. The company was dissolved in 1980.

Source: Woodson catalogs 1973, 1977; corporate records

Torque

Torque Amps has its origins in a buisness started by Jim Edgeworth in the early seventies in Darlington, UK. Edgeworth built the forerunners of the current TORQUE range of amplification in small quantities in his retail shop. Success of the first products led to an approach by a major UK national distributor who commissioned a range of amplifiers under their own brand name. This first major contract initiated the formation of the Edgeworth Electronics Limited  company in 1978 and a move to a 2,000 sq. ft. workshop on the Chilton industrial estate. Within a couple of years they purchased a 5,000 sq. ft. factory in Darlington, but the deep recession of the the early eighties caused tremendous difficulties in the UK music trade and forced their sole customer to cancel all of their orders. This forced a widening of the customer base and they were soon supplying several UK distributors with products designed specifically for them and the company began to grow.

Timberidge

Timberidge is an acoustic guitar brand owned by Jade MC Australia musical instrument wholesale. The Timberidge range is focused on acoustic and classical guitars, but they also offer amplifiers and accessories. Typically the guitars are made in China and distributed in Australia.

Source: Timberidge website (12 February 2021)

Synsonics

Synsonics was a musical instrument brand established in 1975 in Savannah, Georgia by Fred Gretsch. By the 1980s Synsonics were shipping thousand of orders a day to J. C. Penney, Service Merchandise, Sears, and many other businesses. In the 1985 Fred bought back the Gretsch brand from Baldwin.

Source: Synsonics website (archived 2001)

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