Jim Kelley Amplifiers

Hardwood Single Channel

Jim Kelley Amplifiers is the trademark for the vacuum tube guitar amplifiers designed by Jim Kelley and manufactured by his company Active Guitar Electronics of Tustin, California between the years of 1978 and 1985.[1] Approximately 600 of these amps were built during that time.[2] The single channel version of the amplifier employed modest gain in the preamp stages, Baxandall type bass and treble controls, a split load phase inverter, and four 6V6GT output tubes.[3][4] The amplifiers produce 60 watts RMS at full power, and include a half power (30/60) switch. An improved version was released in 1980 which included reverb, an additional stage of gain, and optional foot switchable gain boost. These guitar amps were the first to employ a matched quartet of Sylvania 6V6GT output tubes.

They were also the first guitar amplifiers to be offered with an optional power attenuator.[5] Jim developed these high power continuously variable L-pad attenuators as a means of controlling the overall volume of his amplifiers so that the output section could be overdriven at more modest sound pressure levels.

Further innovations were incorporated into the FACS (foot activated channel switching) model, which built upon the single channel design by adding independent switchable preamps and tone stacks, and provided internal relay switching for the power attenuator. Another novel feature developed by Jim Kelley was the LED Bias Indicator.[6][7]

The final model to be developed and produced was the FACS Line Amp. It had all the features of a FACS amp, but the lead channel also employed a low power push-pull output section. The miniature output transformer was followed by the Main Gain control, which functioned as a Master Volume. The lead channel also had a post distortion passive LC tone control which could cut or boost mid-range.

A rack mounted, all FET stereo guitar amplifier with analog delay reverb was developed but never brought to market. [8]

In 2012 Suhr Guitars (JS Technologies) began reissuing the single channel Reverb Model and Power Attenuator under a licensing agreement with Jim Kelley.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Jim Kelley Amplifiers". Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Corrections", Guitar Player, NewBay Media, 40 (5), May 2006
  3. ↑ O'Connor, Kevin (2004). The Ultimate Tone. Power Press. ISBN 0-9698608-9-7.
  4. ↑ Brosnac, Donald (2004). The Amp Book. The Bold Strummer. ISBN 0-933224-05-2.
  5. ↑ Pittman, Aspen (2003). The Tube Amp Book. Hal Leonard. ISBN 0-87930-767-6.
  6. ↑ "Product Profile: Jim Kelley FACS Amp", Guitar Player, NewBay Media, p. 118, June 1983
  7. ↑ Thompson, Art (March 2006), "Artifacts: Jim Kelley Amplifiers", Guitar Player, NewBay Media, 40 (3), pp. 118–119
  8. ↑ "Jim Kelley Amplifiers". Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Suhr Guitars". Retrieved April 18, 2014.

Further reading

External links

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