My Proamps VSQ 65, what's it worth

[Danny1969]

Anyone remember Proamplifiers ? They built amps in Essex in the early nineties as far as I can tell. A few years ago a guy wanted a laptop and had this to trade so a deal was done. With building a studio and general pressure of work I forgot all about the amp until I recently needed to make a 1 x 12" cab and remembered the VSQ could provide a donar box and speaker. Then for the first time I had a really good look at it and started to think that actually a British built all valve 65 watt combo with reverb, 2 channels and Super Q might be worth something. Here's a pic from the net, mines the same as this :




A look on completed listings on Ebay didn't turn up any results. A search of Ebay only turned up someone selling an endorsement advert, apparently Level 42's guitarist has one.

A search of the net only found one (obviously inexperienced) amp repair guy who was cursing about the use of a PCB in a VSQ head and amount of work needed to unbolt all the knobs etc. I've looked inside mine and it's made very well, certainly wouldn't be a problem for myself or any of the electronics engineers I know to change any of the parts. Power valves could use a hammock though as they could work loose.

So what do you guys think mine is worth ? It's a Proamplifiers VSQ 65 in great nick with original footswitch, cover and manual. Oh and a photocopy of the Guitarist mag review in the early nineties when it cost £625

[jpfamps]

I've seen a few Pro Amps, although not the model you have there.

The build quality is fairly typical for a mid 80s British built amp, ie not that stellar.

The models I've seen are usually Musicman knock offs, with SS pre-amps and class B valve power amps.

I'm currently selling a Viper (which is a bit like a Musicman Pro amp) for £200, which about half what the equivalent Musicman amp would cost.

I assume the "obviously inexperienced" amp repair you are referring to isn't John Chambers, as anyone who builds 1000W valve amps, including winding their own transformers, would in my view count as experienced. Anyhow, this is what he says about the amp:

http://www.chambonino.com/work/miscguitar/misc20.html

His major gripe was not so much you needed to remove the knobs to release the PCB (the common lot of the repairer these days), but that you needed to unsolder several wires as well.

Regardless, the amp looks like a Boogie knock off, and as such I would look at the price of the equivalent Boogie and assume that it will be less than this.

[ICBM]

I agree with John Chambers. (Who for what its worth I would say is a real expert on valve amps.) From the ones I've seen - not actually this model, but a few different ones - I would say they're quite poorly-designed, averagely-built amps that are a pain to work on. They're also not especially reliable, in part because of the high MusicMan-style voltages in the power section. They sound quite good if you like MusicMans and 80s Boogies, of which they use elements of both. Not a very desirable sound in modern terms though.

As to value, I really don't know... it's really down to what anyone would want to pay for it. I would be amazed if it was more than about £250-£300 though.

Sorry if that sounds damning - it is just my opinion.

[Danny1969]

Perhaps a better thing to say is this amp might be difficult to work on if you are only used to repairing guitar valve amps. Anyone used to repairing more modern stuff where almost everything is surface mount, multi layered boards and unmarked IDE terminated wouldn't be bothered by it.

Calling an amp "a heap of crap" because it might take a little longer to dissasemble than others just seems a bit silly IMHO

[parker_knoll]

there's been a guy trying to sell a head on ebay several times for £195 and getting no bids. However, he said it wasn't working.

i think the answer is you'll never know what it's worth because there aren't enough of them. Stick it on for the least you'd like to get for it (say £200) and wait to see if anyone bids. you can list it on gumtree and forums for a while before to see if anyone bites.

[MRLEON83]

I have one of those about 8 years ago, I think I payed about £300 for it, not sre if that helps.....

[ICBM]

Perhaps a better thing to say is this amp might be difficult to work on if you are only used to repairing guitar valve amps. Anyone used to repairing more modern stuff where almost everything is surface mount, multi layered boards and unmarked IDE terminated wouldn't be bothered by it.

Calling an amp "a heap of crap" because it might take a little longer to dissasemble than others just seems a bit silly IMHO

No, it's because it's unnecessarily poorly designed, making service work difficult. There is never a good reason to need to unsolder valve sockets just to get a board out.

Look inside something like a Mesa if you want to see how a PCB amp can and should be done.

I like PCBs, by the way - I don't have any problem working on them. But that design is just stupid.

[jpfamps]

Perhaps a better thing to say is this amp might be difficult to work on if you are only used to repairing guitar valve amps.

Well most people take their valve guitar amps to be repaired by people to are used to working with valve guitar amps.......

I would have a look at John's site where there are plenty of examples of his work before you make the judgement as to whether he is "inexperienced" or not.

Regarding fixing PCB-based gear (and speaking as someone who fixes electronic gear for a living), as I'm sure you know the main issue with through hole components is that you need to get to both sides of the board to do a proper repair.

I see plenty of gear that has been design for ease of construction rather than ease of servicing, and releasing the PCB isn't straight forward.

Having to unsolder wires from the board to release the PCB is not ideal as it increases service time, makes testing more labourious (this doesn't particularly bother me per se as I charge by the 1/2 hour, but it does increase the cost of repairs), and increases chances of error.

Modern construction methods employ IDC connectors so boards can be released easier.

The construction of the Proamps I've worked on is average to say the least. The PCB is flimsy, traces have right angled corners, and there is no solder mask. Passive component quality is no more than adequate.

[danomess]

I owned a Pro amp viper for years, sort of musicman type thing, solid state preamp, valve power amp. Nice fenderish clean tones , useless overdrive channel. Good solid reliable amp which I gigged with. Bought it used for £140 sold it many years later for £100. Wish I still had it. Guy who bought managed to blow it up after a few months later. As far as I know the celestian loaded cabinet is still being used with a Fender Bassman head.

[impmann]

John Chambers... inexperienced?

Erm... the man is a gentleman and a scholar. And *REALLY* knows his stuff (unlike some of the muppets that I've had dealings with) - he has restored several amps for me and has been super helpful with advice over the phone. All of my friends use his services (or rather did until he had to stop for personal reasons recently). He restored my VamPower Power Baby 15 - I think its on his site... (I bought it from the guy who paid for the work to be done).

I have no experience of the amp in question - looks interesting, but ultimately the market is cluttered with amps. And its not a 'known' brand, so the value will be affected, no matter how good it is/was. And being used by the guitarist from Level 42 isn't the greatest piece of rock n roll association!!

Good luck with the sale - but you'll make no friends slagging Champ electronics/John off around me.