Aims 1970'S VTG 105 4x10 Combo Tube Amplifier

It’s very difficult to find information on Aims Amplifiers, but I believe the now-defunct Phoenix, Arizona, company was started by former Fender employees sometime in the 1970s. As you might expect, the VTG 105’s design is similar to other Fender combos of the era. The preamp has a 12AT7 long-tail-pair phase inverter that delivers accurate signal balance and gain to the power tubes, and there’s also an optical tremolo circuit and tube-driven reverb. But there’s one major difference between the Aims and most Fenders you’ll encounter—this 4x10 combo uses 6550 power tubes in a push-pull (class-AB) output section. This single change alone means the VTG yields lots of proud volume and crushing low end. And the solid-state rectifier and heavy filtering in the power section ensure the sound is tight and focused, with a very immediate feel in terms of responsiveness.

Given the VTG’s pedigree, features, and 4x10 configuration, it’s only natural to wonder how it compares to a Fender Super Reverb. But the fixed-bias 6550s keep it clean at much higher volumes than a Super and give it a gain structure more akin to a Twin Reverb’s. In fact, any breakup that’s apparent with this amp seems to stem from the speakers and closed-back cabinet design. Further, although the EQ sections are passive, they have a surprisingly active sound. The bass knob offers deep, deep lows, the treble can go really chimey, and the middle control seems to dynamically affect how the other two EQ controls respond.

And while, circuit-wise, the amp’s sine-wave tremolo and spring reverb are similar in almost every way to what you’d find in a Fender from the same period, the reverb pan is mounted rather intriguingly: The tank is uncovered and the springs are visible, but the pan itself has been rigged with small springs at the points where it attaches to the chassis. This is to prevent mechanical vibrations from, say, a bumped cabinet from transferring to the reverb springs themselves. It’s not exactly the prettiest implementation—the tank is basically held in place by bent screws—but the sonic results are nevertheless outstanding. The reverb is lush and warm, and more than capable of defining a small space or instilling surf-y saturation, and the unorthodox “shock-mount” system effectively stifles jarring distractions.

The VTG 105 and other Aims amps are pretty tricky to track down, but despite this rareness they tend to fetch pretty low prices— usually somewhere in the $600 to $800 range.