~1967 Benson Electronics 300G Howard Roberts Wrecking Crew guitar amplifier Black
SOLD!
Who buys vintage guitar amps? We do!
Call 530-570-1525 or email sales@maharsvintageguitars.com to sell your vintage guitar amp, guitar, bass, amplifier, etc - one piece or a collection! We are always ready to buy instruments, amps and effects from Fender, Gibson, Martin, Epiphone, Rickenbacker, Gretsch, Marshall, Vox and just about anything else related to musical instruments.
These days, when people hear Benson and Amps in the same sentence they think of the builder of amps in the Pacific Northwest. There was a previous company bearing the name in the late 60s and early 70s.
The original Benson amps were purpose-built for Howard Roberts, jazz guitarist extraordinaire and member of the Wrecking Crew, the most requested session musicians in the 60s and early 70s. There is some additional history below, borrowed from a Vintage Guitar Magazine article.
Sometimes an item comes in like this amp, something somewhat obscure. In this case, the item is also somewhat historically important. It appears to be an early build, bearing the serial number 207. It lacks some features of later versions of the amp that offered plug in modules to change the tone as well as a built-in fuzz.
The amp has been serviced, having received new filter caps in 1990 and some tremolo work somewhere along the way. The work was done professionally.
Dating such an amp can be interesting. There just aren't any resources out there to help. But, we do know that Benson amps started sometime around 1968, and this amp has stock potentiometers from 1965 as well as a 1967 Utah speaker.
Most Bensons out there are the Model 300H. My assumption is that this amp was a predecessor to the 300H, and that is is probably an early one for the company from 1968. There is a bag of tremolo parts from previous work that calls out the build date as 1967.
I searched for days and cannot find any internet information pointing to another Benson 300g.
The amp sounds as you might expect from reading the history. It excels at clean, warmer tones, but it can also get pretty surf-y thanks to the spring reverb and tremolo.
Everything works as it should and the amp runs strong and quiet.
History of Benson Electronics
The origins of the Benson amplifier arise with Ron Benson's interest in attaining the same sound that Howard Roberts obtained from a Gibson GA50 amplifier. After trying numerous amps, and not accomplishing his goal, Ron decided to learn electronics and to build one himself. Howard suggested that he build two, one for Ron and one for him. Howard provided the money for these first two amps to be built. Unfortunately this amp, together with his first signature guitar, were stolen from Howard.
Subsequent to this Ron spent some time designing and building an amp for Howard's studio work. This amp became very popular with studio players in Los Angeles and Ron began to build a number of these. Because they were used by different instrumentalists they were designed so that a plug-in module could be used with the amp to shape the tonal characteristics to be appropriate for each instrument. This early example does not have the module option.
At this point Ron was still operating from his garage. After some complaints from his neighbors, Ron and Howard decided to find a more appropriate manufacturing context. Inevitably Howard found some investors and a company, The Dr. Henry L. Richter Corporation of Monrovia, CA, to manufacture the amps.
This arrangement lasted for several years until the Richter Corp. lost a significant government contract to manufacture radios and went bankrupt. Subsequent to this the L.D. Heater Corporation of Seattle, a company controlled by Gibson, began to manufacture the amps. This company closed about 1974 and so ended the manufacturing of Benson amplifiers.
Overall Ron estimates that at most 2000 Benson amplifiers were built over its lifetime.
Shipping policy:
Shipments will require signature on delivery, no exceptions. If there is damage, the buyer must retain all packing materials intact and picture them immediately and send them to sales@maharsvintageguitars.com. Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely, but we are taking these additional measures to make sure you are happy with your purchase.
Case/Cover?: No
Color: Black
Dimensions: 19-3/4" x 9" x 23"
Weight: 32 lbs
Watts: 50 Watts
Date: 1967
Speaker 1 Brand/Model: Utah
Speaker 1 Size: 15"
Speaker 1 Code: M115PXC
Speaker 1 Cone: 106765-T
Power Transformer brand and/or codes: PT670
Output Transformer brand and/or codes: OT430
Choke Transformer brand and/or codes: CK201
Reverb Transformer brand and/or codes: 17-6726
Extension Speaker Out? Yes
FX Loop?: No
Reverb or other effects?: Reverb, Tremolo
Power tubes: 2 x EL34
Power Tube Brand: National
Preamp Tubes: 7199 & 4 x 12AX7
Preamp Tube Brand: National
Filter Caps: Original
Pedal?: Original, Hardwired
Pots, codes: Original 137 6540, 137 6741, 137 6724
Tolex: Original
Grille: Original
Knobs: Original
Handle: Original
Power cord: Original 2 Prong
Notes:
Buyer to pay prior to shipment via Paypal, wire transfer, credit card or other electronic means. Payment must clear before shipping. Certified checks and trades are accepted, however checks must clear before we will ship and trades must be received here and evaluated prior to shipment of our item.
All orders ship within three business days of the receipt of an order, usually faster. Tracking information will be automatically forwarded to all buyers. Buyers must retain all shipping materials in the event a return is necessary.
Returns accepted if the purchaser responds within 48 hours of receipt of an item and there is a discrepancy relating to the condition or originality of an item. Returns are not accepted for items that do not meet the needs or sonic tastes of clients due to the subjective nature, unless such concern is stated prior to the purchase. Any return for reasons other than incorrect advertising of condition or originality on the part of Mahar's Vintage Guitars shall be the responsibility of the buyer, which shall result in the buyer paying all shipping costs (to and from) their location.