And then this beauty came in! This Klemt Echolette BS40 just looks amazing!
Klemt Echolette
Klemt (as made by Arthur Klemt) starts his own business in the 30's in Olching (near Munich), Germany, for repairing radio's and TV's. In the 50's he build an amplifier for Hans Bauer and later a tape echo unit. In 1959 the brand Echolette was found building amps, echo units, speakercabs and some mics. later they would also build Hoyer guitars.
In 1969, Dynacord was sold and Hans Bauer would end up buying 50% of the stocks. He then adds Echolette to the Dynacord group. From that time these brands would be build next to each other in a factory up to 1981. Dynacord shelves the brand Echolette. Recently though the brand was brought back with new models.
In 1969, Dynacord was sold and Hans Bauer would end up buying 50% of the stocks. He then adds Echolette to the Dynacord group. From that time these brands would be build next to each other in a factory up to 1981. Dynacord shelves the brand Echolette. Recently though the brand was brought back with new models.
The brand Echolette would become instant succes when the Beatles started to use the M40's in their Hamburg years.
The BS40 would be produced around 1965 and is, inside, a close working clone of the Fender Bassman '59 (or Marshall range) with a solid state rectifier. Only small changes were made to the design. Multiple versiosn were made of this amp in multiple different chassis. This one pictured here is one of the later models with turning switches.
Below I'll add a link to the schematic.
Changes
This amp looks a lot like their American and English counterparts, but what makes them different?
- First the BS40 has two output impedances: 5 ohm and 20 ohm (fitting the 4 and 16 ohm loads)
- These amps could be run on multiple input voltages
- These amps used some sort of 'Master Volume' knob on the back called 'Pegel' (German for 'Level')
- There is no 'bright' channel; both channels are identical
- These amps used ECC808 preamp tubes
In the below shown schematic you can spot that the master volume knob is located at the cathode of the cathode follower. This makes it an interesting place for a master volume. I noticed that this location added some noises when the knob was turned. The result though is a fine place for the master volume in which the EQ responds to the lowered volume, making them responsive to each other.
The ECC808 (1963) tube is in performance equal to the ECC83 / 12AX7 tube, but the noise and microphony specs are much better. This is done by shortening parts of the tube, adding a much thicker mica plate and adding a shield between the two parts of the tube. This way this tube was much quieter then most ECC83 tubes. They are pretty common in German amps and are pretty expensive if you'd like to replace them.
This amp only needed a recap, new power tubes and some good BIAS setting. The BIAS design is made to make this amp also work with non-matching tubes.All preamp tubes were still sounding amazing and low of noise. This amp is a real sleeper that can put some serious volume.
The sound
This amplifier just sound amazing! It sounds big and low and really fits the bass. On guitar you can easily Rock the Marshall sounds from it, although the lack of a treble channel made me go for a treble booster with it to complete the sound.
The best part are the looks! It still looks amazing!
Schematic
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