Masco MA-17 Amplifier
Archived listing from the original vintage-amplifier.com. Prices, seller details and purchase links have been removed; this page is a reference record, and nothing here is for sale. About this archive.
Masco MA-17 Amplifier. This amp makes a terrific blue’s harp amp. Do a Google search and check it out. It was manufactured under Western Electric patents as the License notification indicates. The capacitors look to be all original. I recently acquired the amp. I brought it up with a variac and tested it. The amp passed a signal but the amp had a low output and distorted the signal. I tested the caps on an LCR meter; they are mostly out of spec. Clearly the amp needs to be electrically rebuilt.
About this model
Masco was the Mark Simpson Manufacturing Company of Long Island City, New York. Radiomuseum describes the MA-17 as a five-tube table-model amplifier with microphone and phono inputs from 1946 or 1947, and the seller notes a licence plate stating manufacture under Western Electric patents.
This one had original capacitors, most measuring out of specification, and gave low, distorted output when brought up on a variac. The seller suggested a full rebuild and mentioned its reputation as a harmonica amplifier.
The archive has another amplifier from a small, poorly documented maker, the Lake Voycall, built by a West Coast public-address firm.
| Maker | Masco (Mark Simpson Manufacturing Co.), Long Island City, New York |
|---|---|
| Model | MA-17 |
| Type | PA amplifier, mic and phono inputs |
| Tubes | 5 (Radiomuseum) |
| Date | 1946–1947 (Radiomuseum) |
| Licence | Western Electric patents (listing) |
Questions collectors ask
What does Masco stand for?
Mark Simpson Manufacturing Company, of Long Island City, New York.
When was the Masco MA-17 made?
Radiomuseum dates it to 1946–1947.
Sources: Radiomuseum: Masco MA-17.
