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Photo Page 1

Studio 20 Head

Arbiter Electronics-Sound City 100 Amp

Arbiter Electronics-Sound City 200 Amp

Arbiter Power One Hundred

C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Amp

C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Slave 150 Amp
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Sound City Studio 20 Front View
~20 watts from two EL84s, Dallas Arbiter-era PA amp probably built for DA by a company called Elpico. (See "Elpico Front View" below.) Black "basketweave" Tolex, original knobs, three inputs: Mic 1, Mic 2, and Gram/Radio/Tape ("Gram" = gramophone), with a volume control for each; two speaker outputs on the front panel.   Photos Home Page

Sound City Studio 20 Rear View
Check out the tricky way they handled input-voltage selection; it's a part of the power transformer.   Photos Home Page

Sound City Studio 20 Chassis Top View   Photos Home Page

Sound City Studio 20 Chassis Interior View
One of very few PCB-based Sound City amps.   Photos Home Page

Elpico Front View   Photos Home Page

1.1: Arbiter-Sound City 100 Front View
This head is still a bit of a mystery, but it has been established that it's a mid-60s Arbiter Electronics 100-watt head using four EL34s (two Mullards, one Brimar and one Tungsram) and five ECC83s (all Mullards). Because of its four inputs and four Volume controls, some have suggested this is a PA head, but there are precedents for four-input guitar heads: the Hiwatt CP103 and the Sound City model One Hundred. It's also been established that this amp is in excellent sonic condition. According to its owner, a bass player, "all four inputs work beautifully and the whole thing is virtually noiseless. No crackles, pops or even hissing - absolutely amazing, clean as a whistle." This description alone might suggest to some that it really isn't a Sound City head... wink, wink... but the current "hunch" is that this might be one of the mystical hand-made Sound City music shop amps, but we're still trying to verify this.   Photos Home Page

(If anyone knows anything about this amp, please contact me.)

1.2: Arbiter-Sound City 100 Rear View
If you didn't know better, you'd think this was the back of a typical Sound City head, except for the oval cutout that reveals the rear panel. And speaking of which, also note that the Power and Standby switches are located near the center of the rear panel.   Photos Home Page

1.3: Arbiter-Sound City 100 Chassis Top View
The usual things appear here: two Partridge transformers, a thermal plate (and note how it covers the tops of the EL34s), an assortment of caps, and a row of ECC83s. Note the lack of extra holes that speckle later Sound City chasses, and which also serves to suggest the shop-built aspect of this amp.   Photos Home Page

1.4: Arbiter-Sound City 100 Chassis Rear View
Somewhat similar to the rear of the C.B.S. Arbiter amp shown below, but different enough to suggest it's another design.   Photos Home Page

1.5: Arbiter-Sound City 100 Chassis Interior View
This amp really does have a shop-built, almost bread-boarded, quality to it.   Photos Home Page

1.6: Arbiter-Sound City 100 Serial Number Label
A typical Sound City-like serial number: nary a clue as to a date, although "016" might mean January of 1966, but there's no way to verify this... so far.   Photos Home Page

1.7: Arbiter-Sound City 100 Mystery Label
Now here's the real mystery about this amp. Invertron, Ltd. is still in business in Sussex (as a government/military contractor), and one of the men who owned Invertron in the mid-60s is still there; we're trying to get information from him. Note the "SC" and "Bass" designations which would seem to be self-explanatory, but the very presence of this label could indicate A) Invertron was an OEM manufacturer for Arbiter (just like Hylight and others were for Hiwatts), or B) simply a maintenance sticker applied by a technician who perhaps performed some maintenance on this amp. But these possibilties are merely conjecture at this point. Perhaps the weirdest things about this label are that the "192" in the serial number bears no relation to the serial number on the Arbiter Electronics label above (except for "B" for "Bass"?), which might be another indication that Invertron was on OEM supplier to Arbiter, and also that there is nothing in the blanks for "Output," which suggests that it might be a maintenance label rather than a production label. And yet another possibility is that this is in fact a PA amp that was modified at some point by Invertron to be a bass amp. But whatever it is, it's a very cool amp that I'm pleased the owner was willing to share with everyone. I just love a good mystery.    Photos Home Page

2.1 Arbiter-Sound City 200 Front View
This rarity is owned by the same gentleman who owns the Arbiter-Sound City 100 shown above, and this one has a similar configuration to the Arbiter-Sound City 100: four inputs, each with its own Volume control. The rectangular plate just above the Volume controls (see photo below) covers what appear to be precut holes for additional preamp circuitry/pots. These additional holes (four vertical pairs) seem to align with each of the volume controls (one vertical pair per Volume control). It's as if this chassis was designed to be used for a guitar/bass amp or for a PA amp (with the additional preamp circuitry), but this is just a guess. Whatever it is, I think it's safe to say this amp is brutally rare. (Additional details/photos to follow.)   Photos Home Page

2.2 Arbiter-Sound City 200 Rear View   Photos Home Page

2.3 Arbiter-Sound City 200 Chassis Exterior Rear View
Although KT88s were probably the stock output tubes for this amp, this amp currently has four 6550s.   Photos Home Page

2.4 Arbiter-Sound City 200 Chassis Interior View
The interior of this amp is very similar to the interior of the Arbiter-Sound City 100 shown above.   Photos Home Page

3.1: Arbiter Power One Hundred Amplifier Front View
This 1967 J&I Arbiter, Ltd. amp is so similar to the Sound City 105 (SC105, a.k.a. Model "One Hundred") it's scary. Paul Tribe of Two Tribes Music in the UK was kind enough to pass along photos of this rare amp as well as photos of his SC105 for comparison. The missing links in Sound City's history sure are finally starting to appear, and the strong Dave Reeves connection to the early Sound City amps (and now to these Arbiter amps) is undeniable. I believe this Arbiter amplifier is the link between the earlier C.B.S. Arbiter amps (shown below), the Arbiter Sound City amps (shown above) and the Sound City One Hundred (SC105, shown on Photo Page 5).
3.2: Arbiter Power One Hundred Amplifier Rear View
3.3: Arbiter Power One Hundred Amplifier Rear Label
This is the first time I've seen an Arbiter amp with this labeling.
3.4: Arbiter Power One Hundred and SC105 Front View
This is the first of several photos that juxtapose the Arbiter Power One Hundred (top) with a SC105 (bottom).
3.5: Arbiter Power One Hundred and SC105 Rear View
Again, a Power One Hundred (top) and a SC105 (bottom).
3.6: Arbiter Power One Hundred and SC105 Chassis Top Front View
Chassis views from the front, with the Power One Hundred in front of the SC105.
3.7: Arbiter Power One Hundred and SC105 Chassis Top Rear View
Chassis views from the rear, again with the Power One Hundred in front.
3.8: Arbiter Power One Hundred and SC105 Chassis Interior Front View
Chassis interior views from the front, with the same orientation of the amps.
3.9: Arbiter Power One Hundred and SC105 Chassis Interior Rear View
And finally, chassis interior views from the rear, and again with the same orientation. The similarities are undeniable.
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4.1: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Amplifier Front View
This is an amplifier I've never heard of before let alone seen. What an oddity. Note the "sound house" label above the input jacks. This also might be one of the legendary Sound City music shop heads, but this can't be confirmed.
4.2: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Amplifier Rear View
Note the home-made quality to the rear cover.
4.3: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Amplifier Rear View w/o Panel
Love those EL34s! Note the laydown transformers and the reversed transformer arrangement compared to most Sound City amps. Also note the manufacturer's name: "C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd." Was Arbiter, like Fender was at one point, owned by C.B.S. for a time? Hmmm...

4.4: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Amplifier Front View w/o Panel
This is a view of the inside of the chassis front; note what is probably a preamp PCB; here is a closeup of this PCB.

4.5: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Amplifier Front Panel Interior
This is a view of the inside of the front panel, which contains (presumably) another preamp PCB as well as the pots, switches, and input jacks. Here is a closeup of this second PCB.

4.6: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Amplifier Chassis Interior
Not the most orderly wiring, but not atypical of most of this eras's tube amplifiers.

Photos Home Page
5.1: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Slave 150 Amplifier Front View
This is another amplifier I've never heard of before let alone seen. As with the other C.B.S. Arbiter head, note the "sound house" label.
5.2: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Slave 150 Amplifier Rear View
Almost identical to the other C.B.S. Arbiter head.
5.3: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Slave 150 Amplifier Rear Close-Up View
Not all are Mullards, but that's easily remedied.

5.4: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Slave 150 Amplifier Chassis Top View
As with the other C.B.S. Arbiter head, note the PCB, but only one preamp tube.

5.5: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Slave 150 Amplifier Chassis Front View
The connector on the left is presumably for the front panel controls.

5.6: C.B.S. Arbiter, Ltd. Slave 150 Amplifier Chassis Interior
Again, not the most orderly wiring, but not the worst I've seen.

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