Here at Reverb, we often get emails and chats from people asking for our expertise and advice about all things music and gear. We're always happy to help. We have a crack team of experts and affiliated gearheads working behind the scenes who genuinely love chiming in with opinions on tube rectifiers or analog oscillators, and offering insight for people looking to identify obscure pieces of gear.
There are times, though, when a question comes along that truly stumps the Reverb team. Such was the case earlier this week when we received this close-up image of a mysterious amp cabinet adorned with an oddly familiar yet totally unknown badge on its grill.
We have some theories. Some thought it was a Teisco-esque Japanese mark from the '60s. Some assumed it was just some custom builder outfitting a cab with a quirky bit of design. But these are just theories, and as of yet, we have no conclusive information on this cab and, frankly, it's starting to bother us.
So we're putting it to you: do you have any information about this mystery badge? Let us know in the comments. If you can unravel this gear mystery, we'll send you a Reverb swag package.
UPDATE 9/17/2019: Well, it's been a little over a year since we first started wondering, but we've finally tracked down an answer. A user in the Ugly Guitars Facebook group solved the mystery with an image from a Wards catalog page that featured the cabinets alongside Hinsdale, Illinois' The Cryan' Shames.
With the full view of the amplifiers on display, we are able to definitively say that these amplifiers and speaker cabinets were made by Valco and sold under the Wards brand, in addition to Airline, National, and other brands as well. Regardless of name, the cool swirly badge, or lack thereof, Valco was the manufacturer.
As you can see in the comments section below, reader Mordechai Rosenblatt said "Montgomery Ward!" a full year ago. So, congrats to Mordechai for setting us down the right path and special thanks to the people over at Ugly Guitars for putting this mystery to rest.