SOLD! - 1961 Magnatone Custom 413 18WATT 1x12 Vibrato Tonemaster

The Magnatone is an absolute legendary amp since Phil X (Fretted Americana) declared it his favorite amp! Check it out www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRnXiHGQBSs
 
This is a vintage 1961 Magnatone Custom 413 made in Torrance, California by Estey Electronics. The 413 is the successor to the Model 213/213A which were also sold as the Troubadour and Tonemaster and were Magnatone's most successful models.
 
It was recently serviced and some capacitors were replaced where needed. Otherwise 100% original including the Blue mold capacitors, warranty card and paperwork!! The original Oxford speaker sound outstanding as well, with great break up and creamy, full throated, well rounded, saturated tone. This amp sounds just exquisite, with that ridiculous cool Magnatone pitch shifting "super vibrato" tone.
 
Back in the day, the Magnatone Catalog described these amps this way:
 
"Newest sensation of the music world, the Custom 413 Amplifier is the finest compact, light amplifier available. Covered in modern charcoal leatherette with gold color appointments the Custom 413 is a power-house of tone. Rich, round bass tones, sparkling highs plus the sensational exclusive MAGNATONE BIG "V" Vibrato --the first true musical vibrato-- make the custom 413 the ideal professional amplifier for club dates, recording sessions and T.V. or radio appearances."
 
The List Price back then was a whopping $179.95
 
This Custom Model 413 has 2 input channels (each with high & low gain) preamped by 12AX7 tubes, two volume controls and one tone for both channels. A 12AU7 is used in the vibrato circuits with half a 12AX7 for the oscillator. Half a 12AX7 for phase inversion into 2 x 6V6 power tubes and a 5Y3GT rectifier tube.
 
Notable users are "The Reverend" Billy Gibbons, Scotty Moore, John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Walsh, Jimmy Vaughan, Andy Summers, Brad Whitford, Jack White, Jeff Beck, Ry Cooder, Ronny Wood, Lonnie Mack, Keith Urban, and the list goes on and on...
 
The History of Tremolo and The beginnings of Vibrato
 
Simply put, Tremolo is a cyclic change in volume. Tremolo, a.k.a. amplitude modulation, is a very pleasing effect and probably the first built into an amp, starting in the late 1940's with Danelectro, Gibson, and Premier. In 1955 Fender introduced the Tremolux (model 5E9). This was Fender's first amp with Tremolo. Meanwhile, in nearby Inglewood, Magna Electronics known for student lap-steel/amp combos was manufacturing real professional amps that incorporated unique designs and revolutionary new features such as Stereo Vibrato.
 
So in 1956 Fender introduced the Vibrolux. The Vibrolux supposedly had Vibrato (pitch modulation), but in reality this was just another variation on the Tremolo already found in the Tremolux. In fact, no Fender amp has ever really had true pitch-bending vibrato, regardless of catalog hype to the contrary.
 
- Try this Experiment at Home
Plug your guitar into your amp and power it up. Now strum a chord and turn the volume control up and down rhythmically and repeatedly. You will hear Tremolo. This is what Fender and many others called Vibrato.
 
- Now try this
Fret one of your guitar strings and rhythmically rock your finger back and forth in a sideways motion stretching the string slightly. Notice the pitch is changing: this is True Vibrato.
 
Don L. Bonham's Patented Vibrato Circuits
Sometime in the 1950's, Magna Electronics Inc. started to manufacture the now famous Magnatone guitar amps. They were the first and only guitar amps with real Vibrato. Vibrato a.k.a. frequency modulation, is a cyclic pitch change. Magnatone amps had great tone and features, but were under powered, too heavy, and exspensive compared to the market leaders, Fender and Gibson. These other amp manufacturers probably knew this and were quick to change their amp labeling and advertising to indicate that their amps also had Vibrato. Even the Vibrosonic, made by Fender in 1959, had only a complex Tremolo circuit.