Heathkit Rock-Band Hardware c. 1969

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• Heathkit did not go out of business because of anything to do with the cost of labor, here, there, or anywhere. They were bought out by corporate interests and were not making 20% ROI, so they had to go. The purchase was a bad decision in the first place, and then it was just simpler for the corporation to effectively shut it down than try to find any other buyer.

  This is quite common. Ask any Arctic operator about Spilsbury SSB radios, for example.

  But none of their combo music products were any good, to be honest. They didn't understand the business and could not have had. They did well with Schober organs, with simple test equipment-VTVMs, grid dip meters, and so forth-and with ham radio stuff, again particularly with simple designs. They were electronically as good as a Collins (well, almost) but their mechanicals were a little hinky.

  Heathkit claims to be back in the kit business, but it's apparent they still just don't get it. You might go to their web site and let them know what you would buy....maybe a tube mic pre... or a tweed Fender clone amp...

• Hi Roger,

  I agree with almost everything you said in your post, but when you say, "none of their combo music products were any good, to be honest," what is your factual or experiential basis for making this broad assertion? I only ask because I've worked on tube and solid state music equipment since 1977 and personally have not found the TA series to be any more or less well-designed than other SS amps of the period.

  Thanks,
  Jim

  • You summed it up there: "any more or less well-designed than other SS amps of the period. "

    Most solid state MI products from that period were crap: only a small number were any good for their intended purpose. They were designed by electronics people who had never played in bands and were isolated from the world of popular music. Engineers who listened to Mantovani, or in Benton Harbor, Michigan, probably Myron Floren.

    A bunch of uff-da's from Michigan-and not Motor City rebels like Ted Nugent, but small town and rural people. Ham radio, they knew. TV-service grade scopes and color bar generators, you bet. Rock and roll, not so much, eh.

    Hartley Peavey's stuff worked well in churches and for country players, because he knew those people and markets. Mike Matthews, the old horndog notorious for harassing women at NAMM shows and his two-BandAids-and-a-cork-clothed models extolling Freedom Amps, knew East Coast rockers because he was one. The solid state combo amps with the 15" Altecs that were 604s without the center horn made for pedal steel vendors...worked great for pedal steel. But the rest of the stuff was designed by engineers for engineers and was just not what worked in the world of rock music, especially not in those days of Zep/Rush/Floyd, fusion, and Lynyrd Skynyrd southern boogie.

    When Devo and Blondie and whoever it was that did "The Safety Dance" came around, some of that stuff fit in, but by then it was too late.

• Just picked up a Heathkit/Vox Jaguar at a hamfest yesterday. What are the ODDS?? Looks like a mess inside, will need a lot of skilled rework.

• I owned two TA-17 amplifiers and four TA-17-1 speaker cabs. It was my first guitar rig so I figure might as well LOOK like I know what I'm doing. Actually, they sounded really good when cranked to 10. However, it was constantly plagued with power transistor failures and the cabs, equipped with two 12" speakers and a horn, sounded good but blew the horns really easily. I still liked them if/ when they ever worked. Overall, I feel like, while cheap, I would've been much better off with a Fender combo or some other kind of tube amp.

• I had this rig in 1970 and used it for PA only. Worked OK but FET's kept blowing. I was still in highschool and in small town Oklahoma, it was pretty good for our garage band. Removed the hokey aluminum grill and sparkly grill cloth and added expanded metal. Looked much more like a rock band PA I thought. Dragged it all over western Oklahoma. I took it to Nevada when I got married and some dirtbag stole it.

• Hmmm.SS amps are crap, eh? Look for a resurgence in SS equipment from the e1970s - like the Ampeg GT-100 Amp, the ole Acoustic amps, and the Heath amps, too.
  If you want a straight, clean sound, SS amps are very well matched to that kind of tone. BTW, I love tube amps best, but don't disrespect good-sounding SS equipment.

• I had one. The only way it really (Kept from blowing) worked was if it was kept cold by putting it in a freezer while playing. We never played out much.

• I have all the Heathkit's TA -27 as head running into a Silvertone / Jensen 6x10 Cabinet, TA-16 /2x12 Combo w/ Original Foot switch and also the TA-17 Combo Head (Guitar / Bass / Organ) and 1- TA-17 Speaker Cabinet with the Metal Heathkit Logo (ala Fender Script) and the Cool Blue Sparkle Cloth( 2- 12" CTS/Jensen with 27 ounce Magnets and Horn (Pix available on Request bk2ucn@gmail.com) ...all amps have been fully serviced by one of the Worlds's Leading Sr. Amp Design Engineers If you are looking for Museum Quality in Heathkit I have three of the line - I would consider parting with them at Fair Market Value for these rare amps - Shipping, Crating and Insurance is mandatory - The TA-17 Speaker Cabinet is built like a tank and weighs in at 100 pounds. Amp is 42 pounds...solid full stack!