Power Sonic Amplifier

[gohunder]

I bought this amplifier off my 75 yr old teacher 20 years ago.  He was a NYC union musician and this was the amp he used ~30 years ago.  I got it along with a '63 Gretsch.  I can't find reference to this amp any place on the web.  I also got a nifty little ancient veneered ok drum machine.

Anyone know anything about the amp?

grant

[teemuk]

Wow, there was a small mention of those in SS amp history thread of this forum.

I have bumped into few discussions where people quote their cosmetic appearance: Illuminated xenon lightning bolt in the speaker grill that flashed during loud signals and the name Power Sonic written inside a cloud of thunder. Neat.

Those had two JBL speakers (either 12" or 15") and the lamp was a current limiter in series with speakers for protection. I think the amp was originally designed for bass. Supposedly Powersonic was an in-house brand of some music store in New Jersey –Rondo Music, I believe. They appeared either in the late 60´s or in the very early 70's.

As with most vintage SS amps, those don't receive much attention and that could be the only info you get unless you're extremely lucky and bump into someone that knows more about these. Couple of old timers in alt.guitar.amps newsgroup recognise them but I doubt that even they could provide more insight. You likely would do many people who dig old SS amps a big favour by posting a few detailed photos (inside and outside) – and if you're handy, trace out the schema. I'm pretty sure that one can't be found from anywhere.

[Jack1962]

Wow , I have seen a Power Sonic years and years, I think it was a Bass amp (not really sure). If mot mistakin It had 2 15 inch speakers old alinco's. However one of the older guys here says that back in the day they made bass, guitar and PA's. Good luck bro

                                 Rock On

[wab]

I was in a band in the '60 and the lead guitarist bought a Power Sonic Amp ( with lightning bolt)
from Rondo Music in Linden, NJ. Years later I became interested in the amp and phoned Rondo. I spoke with the owner and found out that he and an engineer buddy designed and built the Power Sonic. It came with 2-12" JBL speakers (Free floating heads). He and his buddy only build a few of these amps. It was just about the time that transistors starting to appear in guitar amps and most folks were a little leery of using them. As I recall the amp had a large heat sink mounted on the back and got rather hot. The owner sent me a copy of the schematics. All hand drawn. Cool.

[joecool85]

I was in a band in the '60 and the lead guitarist bought a Power Sonic Amp ( with lightning bolt)
from Rondo Music in Linden, NJ. Years later I became interested in the amp and phoned Rondo. I spoke with the owner and found out that he and an engineer buddy designed and built the Power Sonic. It came with 2-12" JBL speakers (Free floating heads). He and his buddy only build a few of these amps. It was just about the time that transistors starting to appear in guitar amps and most folks were a little leery of using them. As I recall the amp had a large heat sink mounted on the back and got rather hot. The owner sent me a copy of the schematics. All hand drawn. Cool.

Great information on this obscure amp!  Any chance you could scan in and share the schematics?

[wab]

I've moved twice since obtaining the schematics and 'am still looking for them. In conversation (2004) with the owner of Rondo ( co-designer). He mentioned that they only produced a couple of the models and found that they weren't very popular. The one that Rich ( our lead player ) had got hot as hell. It had the power transistors mounted on a heat-sink affixed to the back of the cabinet and you didn't dare touch it once the thing warmed up. Another interesting note were the speakers. It had what JBL called "free floating" coils and you could see them pumping  when a heavy chord was struck. The other notable was of course the neon lighting bolt on the grill. According to Rondo it was a functional part of the amp and not just for looks. At the time, Rondo's main stay was found in Fender and VOX. I had a choice  (price range limited) between a new Super Reverb or a used Viscount and stuck with Fender. I think I paid $450 for the amp and later a new tele with case for $215.  I'll keep looking and let you know.