I
had been looking for a complete and original Ultratone Custom Forty for
years, after having previously owned a head which I was very impressed
by. This one I came across is a stunner, even if it did need extensive
(and expensive) restoration by Melbourne's best techs.
These are essentially a Moody GA-40 (which some of you know is amongst my favourite amps of all time) but simply made under a different name. They are very, very rare.
This is an amp I am extremely attached to! This has for years been my all-time favourite amplifier, out-classing (by a long shot, in my opinion) a couple of Matchless amps I owned and gigged for some time. The only other amps that are in the same league in my opinion are the (now sold) Electravox 408R, and my often-gigged handmade reproduction of a '63 Fender Vibroverb.
These Moody / Ultratone amps have plenty of overtones and 'fatness' to the tone, largely as a result of the cathode-bias configuration of the output stages (misnamed 'Class-A' by many). This is what sets them apart! Plus those ultra-cool (and rare) 'U' knobs.
The original pair of red-label Rola 12PEG Alnico speakers sound absolutely fantastic, and are an integral part of the amp's sound. Yet again proof of the awesome sound vintage Australian amps are capable of. In fact this one sounds devilishly good, and the a date stamp of 6-66 just might explain why! Also, you can hear me use this amp in a 2009 live studio recording with my Cargill Telecaster here.
The head measures 60cm(W) x 24cm(H) x 22cm(D) and weighs 13kg, while the box measures 75cm(W) x 52cm(H) x 28cm(D) and weighs 19kg. Shipped dimensions and weights will be slightly higher.
not for sale