Magnatone

Magnatone

The original company Magnatone was founded in the late 1930s as Dickerson Musical Instrument Company in Southern California. There they produced amplifiers, Hawaiian and Western guitars. In the 1940s, the company changed hands twice and finally in 1946 came into the hands of Art Duhamell, who renamed the company in Magna Electronics and the amplifier brand in Magnatone. In addition to the guitar amplifiers Magna Electronics also produced turntables, radios and speakers. From 1955 - 1957 Paul Bigsby designed solidbody guitars for Magnatone. The best-known endorsers for Magnatone amps were then Buddy Holly and Lonnie Mack.

In the mid-1970s, Magnatone ceased production.

In 2013, the brand was revived by Ted Kornblum, formerly with Ampeg and St. Louis Music. Magnatone today produces a series of boutique amps, some of which are reproductions of the former Magnatone amps. The consultants include Billy Gibbons and Larry Cragg, Neil Young's guitar tech, whose live rig still has a Magnatone 280 stereo.