1965–67 Lectrolab R700C Vintage Tube Combo Amp Chicago-Built Rarity EL84 / Point-to-Point

Up for sale is an extremely rare mid-1960s Lectrolab R700C tube combo amp one of the coolest under-the-radar American amps of the era.

Built in Chicago by Sound Projects Company, the same company responsible for many vintage Harmony and department-store amps, the R700C has quietly developed a cult following among players chasing raw, organic vintage tube tone without paying vintage Fender prices.

Originally marketed as a bass amplifier in the mid-1960s, these amps are now far more appreciated by guitar players for their thick harmonics, chewy mids, and gritty EL84 breakup. Tonally it sits somewhere between a tweed Fender, Valco, and early Supro vibe with its own unmistakably raw Chicago character.

This is the later black-tolex version from roughly 1965–1967 and features:

• Point-to-point wiring
• 2x EL84 / 6BQ5 power tubes
• 2x 12AX7 preamp tubes
• Volume / Treble / Bass controls
• Standby switch
• Vintage American tube tone

Unlike the original single 15” Jensen configuration, this amp was converted to a dual 12 inch Rolla speaker setup sometime in its life, giving it a huge, room-filling sound with strong low-end response and a thick midrange character. The speakers are ether from 1967 or 1977.

Tonally, the amp has a warm, darker clean sound with lots of low-end, but absolutely comes alive when pushed. Cranked up, it delivers raw EL84 breakup, compression, and gritty vintage overdrive that sounds incredible for garage rock, blues, indie, harmonica, and recording.

The amp works great and has solid output on the bottom input. It has 20% less output on the top input. All controls function and it produces strong vintage tube tone. Service history is unknown, so it’s being sold as a vintage amplifier with no documented maintenance records.

Condition is vintage and shows honest age throughout:

• cosmetic wear
• aged handle
• unoriginal rear panel
• modified speaker configuration
• replacement/internal service components visible

This is a killer player-grade vintage amp with tons of vibe and character not a pristine collector piece, but an extremely cool and increasingly hard to find American tube combo.

Perfect for:

• blues
• garage rock
• indie
• stoner rock
• harmonica
• studio recording
• collectors of obscure vintage amps

If you know Valco, Supro, Harmony, Airline, or Danelectro amps, you already understand the appeal here.

Comparable serviced/original examples have pushed toward the $1,000 range, but this one is priced fairly due to modifications and unknown service history.