Hey Zach,
I have an AMP BH-220 head and XB-15 speaker cabinet. I
bought the rig in the ’80s and I’m the original owner, but I
don’t know much about it and can’t seem to find anything significant
searching online. A local music store found some initial
information for me in your Blue Book of Guitar Amplifiers,
but nothing about the value. I’m considering selling this rig,
but have no idea what it’s worth. Can you help? Thanks!
—Neil Springer, Macomb, MI
Hi Neil,
You’re right—there isn’t much
hard information out there
about this amp. However, based
on my research AMP brand
amplifiers seem to have a cult-like
status and a small, but loyal
following. With the exception
of a few original owner’s manuals
and spec sheets, most of the
history I found regarding AMP
was on web forums.
According to California
records, AMP (Amplified
Music Products) was founded
in 1981 in Chatsworth,
California, with Russ Allee
listed as president. Before AMP,
Allee earned his reputation
while working for the Acoustic
Control Corporation, where
he designed the Acoustic 360
and 370 series of bass amplifiers.
After forming AMP, he
had another former Acoustic
Control Corporation employee,
Steve Rabe, design the preamp
for the AMP 420 bass heads.
Rabe left AMP around
1984 to start his own company,
SWR Engineering, where
he continued to develop and
produce bass amplifiers. Allee
stayed on with AMP until
the company folded in 1988.
Gibson reportedly bought
AMP soon after, and began
offering the “new” GB-440
bass amp that was nearly identical
to the AMP Model 420.
(While this is unverified, the
story goes Allee either designed
Gibson’s GB-440 or Gibson
simply used Allee’s model 420
and called it the GB-440.)
Allee went on to work with
David Nordschow of Eden
Electronics to develop the
Eden World Tour Series of
bass amps. It’s no surprise that
the AMP 420, SWR SM-400,
Eden WT-800, and Gibson
GB-440 are very similar in
design and appearance—but
most users agree that each amp
sounds different, and each possesses
varying pros and cons.
Your amp, the BH-220,
is a variant of AMP’s original
BH-420, but has less
power and fewer features.
Specifications include a 240-
watt output at 4 Ω (150 watts
at 8 Ω), solid-state preamp
and power sections, a Volume
control, a Tonal Balance control,
an Enhance switch, two
inputs, a power-amp input
jack, two speaker outputs, a
headphone jack, an effects
loop, a 5-band EQ section, a
balanced direct pre-EQ XLR
jack, and a post-EQ line out.
Your amp originally retailed
for $599 and the BH-420
retailed for $799.
The XB-15 has a unique
design that features a speaker
cabinet and protective carrying
case. While the speaker
cabinet sits inside the case for
travel, the cab rests on top of
the case when in use—and
the case actually becomes part
of the speaker cabinet. This
allows for “clean open E 40 Hz
fundamental notes unmasked
by overtones.” Specifications
include a 250-watt power rating
and an AMP 15B-8 15" speaker
with a 5 pound, 5 ounce magnet.
The original retail price for
the XB-15 was $699.
Most contributors in the
online discussion forums agree
that the AMPs are great sounding
amplifiers, and are often
given more accolades than their
SWR and Eden counterparts.
Construction and performance
appear to be high quality, and
I was hard-pressed to find a
bad review. Based on this, these
amps should be quite collectible
and demand a premium in
value, right?
Yes, the AMP bass amps are
rare, but I often have to remind
people that rarity should not
be confused with desirability. A
rare item seldom translates into
more value or worth. AMP was
unable to create any notoriety
while in business (even though
their products appear to be topnotch
quality), meaning collectors
did not take notice—most
AMPs are or were used by players.
Used values on AMP items
generally appear to be between
$200 and $300, regardless of
model. And I would estimate
the value of your rig to be
between $450 and $600.
Even though AMP has a
cult-like status and quality
build, there just aren’t enough
people interested in them, or
enough amps in the market to
create the demand that would
drive up the value. I don’t set
the values—I simply report
on them from what I see in
the market. For anyone who
is looking for a great bass rig,
consider this a steal. I absolutely
consider this rig a treasure
and one that few people know
about. Unfortunately for the
seller, he’ll probably feel like
he’s getting cheated. But consider
this: If no one out there is
willing to pay what you feel an
item is worth, is it really worth
that much?
Zachary R. Fjestad
is author of
Blue Book of
Acoustic Guitars,
Blue Book
of Electric Guitars, and
Blue
Book of Guitar Amplifiers.
For more information, visit
bluebookinc.com or email
Zach at
guitars@bluebookinc.com.