R204D

Black Lab

8″ Quincy* speaker, 1-12AU6, 1-12AV6, 1-50C5, 1-35W4 

Ahoy, what have we here, mateys? 

It is an uber-rare Lectrolab R204D.  Evidence of the R204D was first discovered thanks to Howard Bilerman (and here). 

hotel2tango (home page here, Wikipedia page here), a recording studio in Montreal, listed the Lectrolab R204D on their equipment page, which I stumbled over in in August 2010 in my eternal trawl for all things Lectrolab on the web.  I never heard of a R204D so I contacted them and asked “are you sure about this model number”?  Howard, one of the owners, replied: 

hey george… 
at first i thought maybe i had a dyslexic moment when posting our model number.. 
but lo & behold… 
we do have a r204d. 
i bought it in the summer of 2004 while on tour… 
somewhere in the midwest.  [ed. note: I think Howard was with Arcade Fire at this time]
our guitar player said the day before, i wish we had some small amps! 
and then i found this one & a harmony in a music store. 
both were $50. 
maybe $65. 
i let him have first dibs between the two, as it was his idea. 
he chose the harmony. 
i was bummed a bit, cause it was in better condition, and was “a name”… 
but, we use the lectrolab in studio, and it does something no other amp does. 
if you run it wide open, it sounds huge. 
my partner calls it “the cardboard amp” 
and it’s his favourite of all the amps we have. 

all the best, 

hb 

$50 or $65 for a great sounding amp is poetry.  Howard was gracious and kind enough to also send along these excellent photos.  Thank you, Howard!

Another example appeared in a forum posting since then.

This amp is unique among known Lectrolabs for its black faceplate.

Described in an Aldens 1968 Catalog (image below) as:

• 7-watt peak power.  3 tubes, 1 tube-type rectifier,  8-in. speaker, 3 inputs. Top-mounted chassis.  Use as stereo channel for tape recordings or phonograph, or as PA system.  About 13 x 11 x 8 in.  Versatility at a low Aldens price!  $4 Monthly.  Shipping weight 16 lb….$38.88

 

Click image to enlarge 

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 1

R204D Ex. 2

R204D Ex. 2

R204D Ex. 2

Aldens Catalog 1968 $38.88

* 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.