R203

Tubes: 1-12AU6; 1-50C5; 1-35W4

Speaker: 8″

Made by Sound Projects Company, who also made the same amp with different cosmetics for Custom Kraft.

Click pics to enlarge:

Ex. 1Custom Kraft like R203

Ex. 2

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Ex. 3

Ex. 3

Ex. 3

Ex. 3

Ex. 3

Schematic from backpanel

Ex. 4 R203 w/o Tone Control?

Ex. 4 Custom Kraft – R203 w/o Tone Control?

Schematic from observation – R203

Thanks to John Davis for the great pics of Ex. 3, and to Martin Manning and all the helpful guys on the Sound Projects R203 page at http://music-electronics-forum.com/t21844/ for the schematic.  What a great community over there!

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Example 2 has the original Quincy* speaker, and was on eBay in June 2010 with this description:

Here’s another of my favorite small tube practice amps up for sale. This one is a Sound Projects R203. It features 12au6, 50c5 and 35w4 tubes – same tube lineup as many small Harmony’s, Alamo’s, Kay, Lectrolab’s etc. – a 6″ Quincy speaker, 1 Volume, 1 tone and 3 instrument inputs. I estimate 3-5 watts of output. My best guess for manufacturing date is mid 60′s.

Here’s the good: I recently had this amp serviced with a new 3 stage filter cap, new power cord (2 prong) and 3 new input jacks. Everything works well and she is ready to go. I also added a piece of plywood for the back – when I got it, the back was missing. That addition made a huge difference in sound of this small (16 x 16 x 7-1/2) amp. This amp now sounds very good alone or miked. Crank the volume all the way and you get a very nice blues/classic rock sound out of it. It’s fun for practice but my personal opinion is that like most small tube amps like this, it really shines when used for recording. Cosmetically, the amp is in very good shape for it’s age. Some small scuffs in the tolex and what appears tobe a stretch in the grill cloth – It’s not a tear and I’m not sure you will be able to even see it in Pic 1.(It’s just about in the center of the cab).

Here’s the bad: Nothing really – It’s a practice amp so you won’t wake up neighbors, sustain hearing loss or get noise citations.

What else? – You could easily fit an 8″ speaker in the cab and I think a lot of 10″s would fit as well. The tubes are in good shape and replacements are cheap and available. The service work was personally done by Andy Fuchs at Fuchs Audio Technology – They are specialists in tube amp building and repair. If you haven’t seen a Fuchs Amp, I highly recommend you check them on the web.

There is not a lot of info on Sound Projects and it’s rare to come across one of these – especially in such tip-top condition. If you’re a collector or just love these small tube amps then this one is a winner. I am setting a reserve that will just cover my costs. Good Luck!

 Quincy Speaker, in Quincy Illinois, was a spin off of the DuKane Corporation in St. Charles Illinois that built conventional cone type speakers for DuKane, Zenith and other radio manufacturers. They used paper cones manufactured by Hawley Products in St. Charles Illinois. (from http://www.ionovac.com/dshistory1.htm).  Now you know.  They have been seen in other Lectrolab amps as well as this one.

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