1970s Acoustic Control & Randall Bass Rig

Vintage So. Cal bass half stack, super warm tone, excellent gigging condition

Keeping with the longtime pieces of the collection, this has been my main gigging setup since late-1999. The Acoustic Model 450 head doubles as a bass or guitar amp. No onboard effects, other than the distortion (which is good for solid state amp), but the 5-band EQ helps you dial in a good sound. I've never used any pedals with this amp and have only gigged with it as a bass player. Now that the 150b has been added to the collection, this will strictly be used for guitars.

I didn't have a rig when this came my way, but I had started playing with a new band and needed something for shows. This was sitting in my friend's garage and he didn't even play, so I asked to borrow it for our first show. Every time my friend would come by my place, I would try to get him to take his rig back, but he never would. He's since long moved out of state and this has sort of become my adopted vintage bass half stack.

The footswitch is pretty hard to find and I don't believe I've ever seen one for sale. It controls the distortion and auxiliary volume. I missed out on the rare switch for the 230 head last weekend and was pretty upset about it. I would also love to find a Randall name plate for the R215BH cab, but finding one that is period-correct would probably be difficult. I'm not sure what speakers are loaded in there, I've just never pulled them out, but they look like old Eminence or Black Widows from the front.

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1970s Acoustic Control 150 & 150b Amplifier Heads

Vintage solid state amps, made in So. Cal

Recently, I've made it known that Takamine is the favorite among acoustic guitars and Ibanez the preference of electric guitars. With that in mind, Acoustic Control is the brand of choice when it comes to amplifiers. The first pro rig that I ever had is an ACC 450 plugged into a Randall RB215 and that plays a large role in the interest.

Years later, I would score the ACC 230/403 half-stack that was featured in post #2 here at SCGM and the beast was unleashed. The guitar head was found at a great price just a few months after the 230 and also featured with a Sunn 412L cabinet that was picked up just down the road. One of the previous owners modified this head by adding a pot where one of the input jacks used to be and I think it was a way of controlling the level of the reverb and tremolo effects without a footswitch.

The bass head was found earlier this year by a local seller and is in great shape. The power cord has a couple of rough spots, but it still in working order. These are essentially the same amps, but the guitar version has the effects. The other cool thing is that I was finally able to find a footswitch for a decent price. These things can sometimes cost close to $100 on their own and that is just outrageous.

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1970s-80s Acoustic Control & Sunn Guitar Rig

Vintage half stack, featuring two of the top names in classic solid state amplification, ACC 150 head and Sunn 412L cab

This is a killer rig that I pieced together late last summer, the head was purchased from a student at UCI and is modified, someone put in an extra knob where the 2nd input jack was and it seems to control the volume and reverb. This was made in 1971 or 1972, from what I can find.

The cab was found in Huntington Beach and is loaded with (4) Made in England Celestion G12-80s. Sunn Amplifiers have been a big name since the 1960s, but with the Celestions being added later and the ACC head, it's basically a Sunn in name only.

Still kicks though, finding these old Celestions is easy, but you will have to pay for them, between $75-$150 each and these ACC heads generally run anywhere from $150-$350, depending on the model. Any of them that you find in working condition, you should give it a shot.

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1978 Acoustic 230 Guitar Amp & 403 Cabinet

Vintage solid-state half-stack guitar rig, all original

The original Acoustic Control Corporation started up right here in So. Cal back in the late-60s, they closed up shop in the 1980s, but their legend lives on with an army of rabid collectors worldwide.

No distortion on this model, but the EQ makes it very versatile and when coupled with a quality overdrive or distortion pedal, this thing just cranks that old-school power rock sound.

Inputs: (2) Normal, Active
Power: 125W @ 4 Ohm, 160W @ 2 Ohm
Controls: Bright Switch, Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Reverb, Master Volume, 5-band EQ
Rear Dash: (2) Speaker Outputs, 6-pin Footswitch Jack, Power Amp in and Pre Amp out

Speakers: (4) 12" Eminence Speakers
Speaker Impedance: 200W @ 4 Ohm

Thank you for looking. More high-resolution pictures here.