Amp nostalgia TVM?

[r***@gmail.com]

I have a TVM amp from the late '60s. It seemed to be the 'budget'
valve amp at the time around Manchester. I was told they were a copy
of the Vox AC 30 or 50? But AFIK the Voxes were copies of the early
Fenders?
The amp has a sloping front like the Fender tops. The whole case is
metaI but I don't know if that's original, or if the outer was
constructed to replace a conventional wood cab which may have suffered
terminal gig damage? It has a 'tremelo' (marked 'vibrato') with speed
and depth, switch and foot control socket. Next 2 channels each with
seperate input and vol control, and a treble and bass control (I
assume a Baxendall circuit?).
Apart from the faceplate, being in a light blue sign-type plastic,
with the legends etched through into the white part of the sandwich,
the significant feature is a vu-meter mounted on the front panel. AFIK
TVM amps always had a vu-meter? Some Selmer amps had 'magic-eye' level
meters, of the type used on domestic tape recorders, but TVM amps were
the only ones seem with vu-meters at the time.
The amp came with Bulgin 3pin and 2pin sockets for the mains and
speakers respectively (2 bulgins for the speakers?) to which I added
conventional 1/4 inch jacks and a captive mains lead to avoid the
expense of the fragile bulgins. It also has a misterious control on
the rear which I think may be wire wound pot, either used for
attenuating the output, adjusting the viewmeter or biasing the valves?
I suspect from the construction TVM may have made theatre or
engineering amplifiers too, and the guitar amps were a bit of a
sideline to cater to the 'beat boom' of the 60's and 70's. AFIK they
never produced any large 100 watt 4 valvers, when the craze took off
with Marshall Hi-Watt and Orange?
Just wondered if anyone (or their dad?) has owned a TVM and knows
anything more about them?
Icarusi
--
remove the 00 to reply

TVM Were in Salford Tey made pa amplifiers the pa 60 watts 2 el34s 4 input Chanels metai cased hope this helps Russell

[JNugent]

Post by r***@gmail.com

I have a TVM amp from the late '60s. It seemed to be the 'budget'
valve amp at the time around Manchester. I was told they were a copy
of the Vox AC 30 or 50? But AFIK the Voxes were copies of the early
Fenders?
The amp has a sloping front like the Fender tops. The whole case is
metaI but I don't know if that's original, or if the outer was
constructed to replace a conventional wood cab which may have suffered
terminal gig damage? It has a 'tremelo' (marked 'vibrato') with speed
and depth, switch and foot control socket. Next 2 channels each with
seperate input and vol control, and a treble and bass control (I
assume a Baxendall circuit?).
Apart from the faceplate, being in a light blue sign-type plastic,
with the legends etched through into the white part of the sandwich,
the significant feature is a vu-meter mounted on the front panel. AFIK
TVM amps always had a vu-meter? Some Selmer amps had 'magic-eye' level
meters, of the type used on domestic tape recorders, but TVM amps were
the only ones seem with vu-meters at the time.
The amp came with Bulgin 3pin and 2pin sockets for the mains and
speakers respectively (2 bulgins for the speakers?) to which I added
conventional 1/4 inch jacks and a captive mains lead to avoid the
expense of the fragile bulgins. It also has a misterious control on
the rear which I think may be wire wound pot, either used for
attenuating the output, adjusting the viewmeter or biasing the valves?
I suspect from the construction TVM may have made theatre or
engineering amplifiers too, and the guitar amps were a bit of a
sideline to cater to the 'beat boom' of the 60's and 70's. AFIK they
never produced any large 100 watt 4 valvers, when the craze took off
with Marshall Hi-Watt and Orange?
Just wondered if anyone (or their dad?) has owned a TVM and knows
anything more about them?
Icarusi
--
remove the 00 to reply

TVM Were in Salford Tey made pa amplifiers the pa 60 watts 2 el34s 4 input Chanels metai cased hope this helps Russell

I remember TVM PA systems. A band I worked with around 1970/71 used the
TVM metal-clad PA unit (though with Selmer spk cabs).

They were almost impossible to sell s/h in the south of England becuse
they were such a local brand around the North West.

A separate point, but no Vox amplifiers were ever copies of any Fenders.
The circuitry was completely different. In fact, the AC15 and AC30 were
effectively unique. The AC50 and AC100 were more "generic" (using EL34s)
but still not copies of Fenders or anything else.

[d***@gmail.com]

TVM made 30 Watt and 60 Watt pa amps and speakers. I have just been gifted a Mk60 amp and TVM speaker. The amp has 3. ECC83 valves a EF86 and two EL84 output valves.

Wish I could include a photo here.

It’s a pa so designed to be clean, I’m going to figure out how I can mod my pre amp stage for a more overdriven guitar tone.

[g***@gmail.com]

I have a TVM amp from the late '60s. It seemed to be the 'budget'
valve amp at the time around Manchester. I was told they were a copy
of the Vox AC 30 or 50? But AFIK the Voxes were copies of the early
Fenders?
The amp has a sloping front like the Fender tops. The whole case is
metaI but I don't know if that's original, or if the outer was
constructed to replace a conventional wood cab which may have suffered
terminal gig damage? It has a 'tremelo' (marked 'vibrato') with speed
and depth, switch and foot control socket. Next 2 channels each with
seperate input and vol control, and a treble and bass control (I
assume a Baxendall circuit?).
Apart from the faceplate, being in a light blue sign-type plastic,
with the legends etched through into the white part of the sandwich,
the significant feature is a vu-meter mounted on the front panel. AFIK
TVM amps always had a vu-meter? Some Selmer amps had 'magic-eye' level
meters, of the type used on domestic tape recorders, but TVM amps were
the only ones seem with vu-meters at the time.
The amp came with Bulgin 3pin and 2pin sockets for the mains and
speakers respectively (2 bulgins for the speakers?) to which I added
conventional 1/4 inch jacks and a captive mains lead to avoid the
expense of the fragile bulgins. It also has a misterious control on
the rear which I think may be wire wound pot, either used for
attenuating the output, adjusting the viewmeter or biasing the valves?
I suspect from the construction TVM may have made theatre or
engineering amplifiers too, and the guitar amps were a bit of a
sideline to cater to the 'beat boom' of the 60's and 70's. AFIK they
never produced any large 100 watt 4 valvers, when the craze took off
with Marshall Hi-Watt and Orange?
Just wondered if anyone (or their dad?) has owned a TVM and knows
anything more about them?
Icarusi
--
remove the 00 to reply

sir i worked at tvm in the mid sixties and will say the amps were that good marshall wanted to buy tvm out they even built amps for redifusion and barratts of m/cr ltd on deansgate m/cr they were not copies of anybody yours truthfully george lockley

[s***@ieee.org]

Just wondered if anyone (or their dad?) has owned a TVM and knows
anything more about them?
Icarusi

I had a TVM "yellowface" back in the 1960s when I was playing bass in a band. It had the central VU meter and tremolo and a 2 x EL34 output stage. I have never seen another TVM with a yellow front panel. I was in Jimmy Reno's in Manchester looking for a new amp as my current one had blown up terminally but I couldn't afford anything they had. However, one of the customers said he had an amp at home that I could have cheap - it was the TVM. Many of the North-West clubs used TVMs for PA at the time but they had blue front panels and, of course, many more inputs.

Steve