For Sale: $599 shipped
Here’s a very cool and uncommon vintage ’60s Takt amp. There isn’t a ton of information out there on these, but based on what I’ve been able to find, I believe this is a 1965 GA-12 model. This is a fun little low-wattage amp that’s perfect for bedroom playing, recording, or anyone who enjoys the character of vintage gear without needing a 100-watt stack. The speaker is rated at 3 watts, so it’s definitely not going to be blowing the doors off your house, but it gets grittier and loud enough when cranked — especially with a boost or overdrive pedal in front of it. I picked this one up in pretty rough condition and put a considerable amount of time into bringing it back to life. It originally came covered in red paint, and at some point the bolts securing the control plate to the chassis had loosened, allowing the chassis to separate into two pieces. This broke a number of the control connections and required quite a bit of repair work. I went through the amp carefully, repaired the damage, and made a number of improvements aimed at both the sound and long-term reliability. It was definitely a labor of love, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. The end result is a unique and very cool little vintage amp with plenty of character. If you’re into obscure Japanese gear, low-wattage amps, or just looking for something different to plug a pedal into and have some fun with, this one is worth a look. Please see the photos for the overall cosmetic condition and restoration work. This is a vintage amp that has lived a life, so it has plenty of character and signs of its age — but that’s also part of the charm. Check out the restoration gallery for a ton of pictures showing the process and what it looked like when it arrived.
- All the rusty exterior screws were replaced to make the amp look nicer
- The amp was cleaned and detailed inside and out, someone had painted it red at some point in it’s life
- Any loose tolex was reglued and a colored filler was used in the exterior corners or other areas that had exposed wood
- The speaker grille cloth was removed and deep cleaned to bring back the original color
- Shellaced the interior of the amp to seal the wood and protect it
- Added flexible speaker dope to the outer edge of the original speaker surround to make sure it lasts a long time
- Replaced the original 2-prong power cord with a longer 3-prong power cord for better safety
- Added a switched output jack to run the amp with an external speaker cabinet if needed
- Removed the original heater wires and installed twisted-pair cloth wiring and a pair of 100 ohm resistors to reduce hum.
- Installed a bigger sag resistor and zener diodes to lower the plate voltage on the 6AR5 and lower the bias to more conservative levels to extend the output tube life
- Added an extra 20uf r-c filter node for the pre-amp tubes to reduce hum and separate the screen grid power from the pre-amp tubes
- Re-wired the power transformer from the 100v Japanese transformer tap to the 117v transformer tap for use in north America
- Potentiometers and jacks cleaned with De-Oxit
- All electrolytic capacitors replaced
Guitar-Restos 