Vintage Jordan Tube Blaster Boss Tone 10 Combo Amp 1970s

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The legend...

Here is a Jordan Tube Blaster 10 combo. Jordan transistor amp were used by the Doors, Yardbirds and many classic sixties outfits. It's a laughably small and ordinary looking amp unless you know about the legendary Boss Tone distortion pedals created by Jordan in the 1960s. This amp has Tube Blaster circuit and an external jack so aside from getting a very cool little bedroom/recording amp you can rig it into your favourite tube amp and achieve THAT sound. These have all analog Japanese circuit boards and were assembled in Korea. The speaker is an 8" Jordan. This one is in very nice condition with only a small tear in the tolex. Tested and sounding rad. Here is an article from JHS about the history and legacy of Jordan...

Legacy of Jordan Electronics

Okay, I’m just going to rip this bandaid right off: this article is not about the Space Jam Michael Jordan handheld electronic game from the ’90s. If that’s what you wanted (and I wouldn’t blame you if you did), then this ain’t the article for you. This article is going to dig into the very weird, nuclear-powered, slightly radioactive history of a company called Jordan Electronics, and a device they invented called the Boss Tone.

Jordan Electronics created some of the coolest effects units of the sixties and seventies, but before we start demoing the gear, I’ve got to talk about the story behind this company. It starts in the 1920s (a full six years before the first electric guitar is invented) and it’s B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

The History

The year is 1925, smack dab in the middle between World War 1 and World War 2. A physicist named Otto Glasser creates a device called the electrometer dosimeter with the help of radio parts manufacturer Jack Victoreen.

I know you’re all thinking, “The electrometer dosimeter? How did the world even function before that was invented?”

I hear you. This is a lot of technobabble, but it’s going to pay off. Basically, the electrometer dosimeter was created to measure x-ray radiation, since x-ray technology had just started to take off in the medical field. This guy, Jack, helped invent a device to track how much radiation you were exposed to at a time, so that doctors could measure it. Let me break it down:

Being exposed to radiation without protection is bad.

Tracking the amount of radiation you’re exposed to is good.

In 1928, Jack launched the Victoreen Instrument Company, which had nothing to do with musical instruments. Instead, they manufactured nuclear instruments and became known as the world's first nuclear company. No big deal. During World War II, they performed top-secret work for the first South Pacific atomic bomb tests.** Their gear was also used as props in tons of sci-fi films. If you are a fan of vintage sci-fi movies, chances are you have seen a Victoreen device being used in some completely ridiculous and out-of-context way.

**Although, if it was really top secret, would we be talking about it right now? I smell a rat, and not the kind that distorts guitar.

In the mid-’60s, Victoreen Instruments formed another company called Jordan Electronics. Originally, Jordan Electronics made medical equipment, but a young employee suggested that they explore the musical instrument market because the British Invasion had taken over the world and guitar was massive. At the time, it was hard to find affordable amps, so Jordan Electronics introduced this line of transistorized guitar amps that were really popular with bands like the Yardbirds, the Doors and the Mamas & the Papas.

Jordan Electronics shows a little black plastic box at the 1966 NAMM Show that you can plug directly into your guitar. It’s been done before in gear like the VOX 816, but this is the first time a guitar plug-in is a smash hit in the U.S.

Fuzz was still a new thing to most players. Pedals like the Mosrite Fuzzrite, the Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone, the Sola Sound Tone Bender and a few others were available, but nothing looked or sounded quite like the Boss Tone. The design of the Boss Tone is very well-thought-out, and it’s a testament to Jordan Electronics’ design abilities-- specifically the owner, George Cole, and the head engineer, Bob Garcia --that it did so well. Tons of companies copied this device (Dan Armstrong, Vox, Electro Harmonix, etc.) but the original Boss Tone is my favorite.

There's five official versions of the Boss Tone/Model 1000, including the new reproduction. Nick and I jammed with all of them, and although there are a few differences between the versions, this simple two-transistor fuzz circuit sounds really cool across the board. Plus it's quirky. It picks up radio signals because the enclosure isn’t shielded, so you’re basically getting a free transistor radio, and the V3 unit squeals like a dying hog when you take your hands off the guitar strings, so you can enjoy that effect without actually having to kill a hog.

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